NASA announces astronauts for Artemis III spaceflight, scheduled for 2027

Published 9 June 2026 · science

Questions linger over whether the recent explosion of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will affect the Artemis III mission. The Aeronautics and Space Administration

Questions linger over whether the recent explosion of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will affect the Artemis III mission. The Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, has unveiled the crew for its upcoming Artemis III spaceflight, a preparatory mission as the United States plans to return to the Moon. On Tuesday, it was revealed that astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, Luca Parmitano and Randy Bresnik will be leading the flight. Serving as a backup is veteran test pilot Bob Heintz, who is able to substitute into any role. Their mission will focus on collecting research and practicing in-space docking procedures in preparation for a future Moon landing. While no women were named to the Artemis III flight, the newly announced crew represents a range of experiences and backgrounds. Making his first spaceflight is Florida-born engineer Douglas, 40, who was a backup crew member for NASA’s last major spaceflight, Artemis II, which flew a loop around the Moon. Douglas will serve as mission specialist on Artemis III, and his presence on the flight will make him one of roughly two dozen African American people to travel to space, out of a population of hundreds of space travellers so far. Also serving as mission specialist will be Rubio, a 50-year-old Salvadoran American physician who used to pilot Black Hawk helicopters for the US Army. He currently holds the record for the longest single-duration spaceflight by a US astronaut, at 371 days. The oldest member of the four-man crew is its 58-year-old commander, Bresnik. A former US Navy test pilot and Marine, Bresnik is the only Artemis III crew member to have participated in a space shuttle mission, back in 2009. That programme has since been retired. More recently, in 2017, Bresnik served as the commander for the International Space Station. The fourth and final member of the Artemis III mission is its pilot, Parmitano, 49.

He will be the only astronaut on the mission who is not a US citizen. Born in Paterno, Italy, Parmitano has a background in his country’s Air Force. In 2019, he too served as commander aboard the International Space Station, becoming the first Italian to do so. “ Each of you possess a unique background,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, who introduced the astronauts. “Your vast experience and unwavering dedication to NASA’s mission enables you to help make us and take this next great step in space exploration.” The Artemis III mission will be a public-private partnership. Three rockets will blast off as part of the initiative. One will carry the four-man crew into orbit around Earth in an Orion spacecraft. Another two rockets will bear aloft Moon lander models from Blue Origin and SpaceX, private firms owned respectively by tech entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. The Orion spacecraft will then practice rendezvous procedures with each of the two landers, in preparation for similar manoeuvres during future Moon missions. The Artemis III flight is set to take off before the end of 2027. “Artemis III will be an extraordinary demonstration of what is possible when the greatest aerospace companies across the United States, alongside our European partners, come together to showcase the technological might and ambition of the free world,” said Isaacman, a Trump appointee who has experience commanding private space flights for SpaceX. Explosion prompts concern The mood at Tuesday’s unveiling ceremony was celebratory, as each newly announced astronaut took the stage to soaring music and standing ovations. But looming over the event were concerns related to the explosion of an uncrewed Blue Origin New Glenn rocket in Florida on May 28. That blast sent a mushroom cloud billowing above the city of Cape Canaveral, and it caused severe damage to a launch pad complex where the takeoff was scheduled.