NASA revealed the full crew for its Artemis III mission on June 9, 2026, at the Johnson Space Center. The team includes three American astronauts—commander Randy Bresnik, mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas—and Italian European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano serving as pilot [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Parmitano is the first European chosen for the Artemis program as a pilot and the second non-US participant after Canadian Jeremy Hansen on Artemis II [6, 2, 7, 3].
The Artemis III flight is set for late 2027, launching aboard NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and using the Orion capsule to enter low Earth orbit [1, 2, 3, 4]. The mission is expected to last about two weeks, during which the crew will test docking procedures with commercial lunar landers under development: Blue Origin's Blue Moon and SpaceX's Starship [1, 6, 8, 3, 4, 9, 5]. Artemis III will focus on these orbital tests and will not land on the Moon itself; instead, it aims to reduce risks before Artemis IV's planned crewed lunar South Pole landing in 2028 [6, 8, 3, 4, 5].
Blue Origin recently experienced a ground test explosion damaging its New Glenn launchpad in May 2026, raising readiness concerns for its crewed lander [3, 4]. Despite the setback, Blue Origin executives said they remain committed to being ready for Artemis III. Artemis manager Parsons stated the mission remains on schedule [3].
The Artemis III crew is diverse: Rubio holds the US record for longest single spaceflight at 371 days and is an army flight surgeon and pilot [3, 4, 5]. Douglas, the youngest crew member, has a doctorate in system engineering and experience with the Coast Guard and applied physics [5]. Parmitano has flown two International Space Station missions, including complex spacewalks and was ISS commander in 2019 [6, 7, 3, 4]. He expressed humility and pride in the collaboration between NASA and ESA, saying, "When NASA chooses a European astronaut to be a pilot, (it) is sending a strong message that our leadership is understood" [2, 7, 3, 4]. Parmitano also joked about bringing Italian cuisine to space, calling Italian food a "UNESCO treasure" [7, 10]. ESA Director Herbert Hoffmann praised Parmitano's calm handling of a past near-fatal spacewalk incident, saying he would bring "a touch of Italian ease to the cockpit" [3].
Backup astronaut Bob Hines will support the crew if needed [1, 3]. The Artemis III mission will test the Orion capsule’s systems and the commercial landers’ docking capabilities, key steps for NASA’s goal of sustainable crewed lunar exploration [1, 6, 3, 4, 9, 5].
