NASA Names Crew for 2027 Artemis III Mission, Including First European Astronaut

NASA has announced the four-person crew for the 2027 Artemis III mission, which will feature Italian European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano. The mission will focus on testing docking procedures in Earth's orbit.

Key points

• The crew includes NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik, with Bob Hines serving as the backup.
• Artemis III will not land on the moon as originally planned, but will instead test the coupling of the Orion spacecraft with lunar landers in low Earth orbit.
• Luca Parmitano is the first European astronaut selected for a mission within the Artemis program.
• The mission is currently scheduled for the second half of 2027, following a strategic shift in the program's timeline.

Why it matters

This mission marks a significant milestone for international cooperation in space exploration and represents a key technical step in NASA's long-term goal of establishing a permanent human presence on the moon.