NASA named the artemis 3 crew on Monday, selecting four astronauts for the 2027 mission and giving the next phase of the program a defined team. Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, Luca Parmitano and Randy Bresnik will fly as the agency moves toward a mission that is meant to support later Moon-landing flights.
Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, said Artemis III marks “the beginning of the future.” The crew will launch next year into Earth's orbit from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System rocket.
Artemis III Crew
NASA named Douglas and Rubio as mission specialists. Parmitano was named as pilot, and Bresnik was named as commander. Each role points to a different part of the flight work, with the mission set up around rendezvous and docking testing rather than a landing itself.
The astronauts will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft during their flight. NASA said those manoeuvres will be required for subsequent missions to land on the Moon, putting the technical check directly ahead of later lunar flights.
Kennedy Space Center Launch
The launch is set for next year from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft stack will pair Orion with the Space Launch System rocket, the same hardware NASA says will carry the crew into Earth's orbit before the docking work begins.
That schedule comes after a Blue Origin craft set to transport future astronauts to the Moon later this decade exploded during a test last month. For NASA, the Artemis III crew announcement now puts named astronauts on a mission tied to the program's next operational step.
Isaacman Statement
After the announcement, Rubio told the audience, “You guys are the ones that make this happen, so thank you.” Parmitano said, “I am honoured by the role that I have been given” and “I am also very humbled by the task in front of us.” Douglas added, “My heart, it is so warm, it is so full,” and thanked his mother, saying, “Mum, thank you so much for believing in me,” before adding of his wife, Rachel, “I am so glad you are on this journey with us.”
The immediate task for the crew is clear: fly the 2027 mission, carry out the Orion docking work, and prove the procedures NASA says later Moon landings will need. The names are now public, and the mission has moved from planning to a specific four-person team.
