NASA Announces Artemis III Crew for 2027 Moon Mission

NASA unveiled the four-member crew for the Artemis III mission, slated for 2027. Randy Bresnik will serve as commander, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot, and specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio—who is of Salvadoran descent—will round out the team. Bob Hines was named as a backup astronaut.

Artemis III will conduct a two‑week test flight in low‑Earth orbit, using the Orion spacecraft to dock with prototype lunar landers built by Blue Origin and SpaceX. The mission aims to validate technologies, life‑support systems and operational procedures before returning astronauts to the lunar surface with Artemis IV in 2028 and ultimately establishing a permanent base.

The announcement was made at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with representatives of the agency’s commercial partners, Blue Origin and SpaceX, in attendance. The program seeks to restore U.S. crewed lunar capability ahead of a possible Chinese challenge.