NASA has named the four astronauts for the Artemis III mission, a key step in the agency's program to return humans to the lunar surface. The crew consists of NASA commander Randy Bresnik, European Space Agency pilot Luca Parmitano, and NASA mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas.
Planned for 2027, the mission will not approach the moon but will instead conduct a spacecraft docking demonstration in Earth's orbit. The astronauts will practice rendezvous techniques and other tasks to simulate skills needed for a lunar landing, serving as a debut test for commercial moon landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin for the first time in space.
NASA described Artemis III as an extraordinary demonstration of what is possible. However, questions remain regarding whether the mission will be ready to fly in 2027 and if the explosion of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will affect the mission.