Meet the NASA crew who will keep Artemis III on track for its 2028 moon landing

NASA announced the Artemis III crew and mission goals on March 19, 2024, focusing on preparing for the 2028 lunar landing. Astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas, and Frank Rubio, alongside European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, will embark on a two-week mission in orbit to test maneuverability and compatibility between the Orion spacecraft and two lander prototypes. This mission, Artemis III, is designed to precede Artemis IV, the first crewed mission to the Lunar South Pole scheduled for 2028. The crew will practice rendezvous and docking maneuvers with test models of the Blue Origin Blue Moon and SpaceX Starship landers in low Earth orbit. Orion will dock with each lander for several days to assess life support, hatch operations, communications, propulsion systems, and Axiom Space's new spacesuits, providing crucial feedback for lander development. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated on X that Artemis III will involve a multi-launch campaign using powerful rockets to test systems near Earth before returning astronauts to the lunar surface. Following Artemis III, both Blue Origin and SpaceX will conduct several uncrewed demonstrations to the lunar surface in 2028, further preparing for Artemis IV. Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons highlighted that this test flight is the first crewed Artemis mission involving commercial spacecraft and will prove choreographed operations with partners across systems and launch pads.