'Golden age of exploration': Nasa announces crew for Artemis III paving way to lunar South Pole mission

Nasa on Tuesday announced the crew for the Artemis III mission, naming Andre Douglas as mission specialist, Frank Rubio as astronaut, Luca Parmitano as pilot and Randy Bresnik as commander for the landmark flight, while also unveiling new details of the mission.

The 2027 mission will undertake a series of complex tests in Earth orbit that are considered essential for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.

The announcement marks another major milestone in Nasa's effort to return humans to the Moon through the Artemis programme.

“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts,” said Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman.

“Their achievements reignited global excitement for exploration, and now they pass the torch to the Artemis III team, Randy, Luca, Frank, and Andre. Artemis III will demonstrate the power of American innovation and international partnership as we test complex rendezvous and docking operations and advance the technologies that will one day carry us deeper into the solar system," he added.





Isaacman said the Artemis III astronauts, working alongside the European Space Agency and other international partners, would help advance a new era of space exploration.

“The Artemis III astronauts, alongside ESA and our international partners, and the tens of thousands of the best and brightest across the agency and industry, are ushering in a new Golden Age of exploration carrying forward the hopes and dreams of the next generation just as the Apollo astronauts did for so many of us,” Isaacman said.

During Artemis III, Nasa's Space Launch System rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida into low Earth orbit.

Following a series of system checks, Orion will, for the first time, demonstrate rendezvous and docking operations with test versions of one or both commercial human landing systems being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The mission will involve a complex multi-launch campaign using some of the world's most powerful rockets and will test the integration of Orion with the lunar landers. Key systems to be evaluated include software, propulsion, communications and the interfaces connecting the spacecraft and landing systems.

Nasa also named astronaut Bob Hines as the backup crew member for Artemis III during Tuesday's announcement.

The crew is set to begin training immediately on Orion spacecraft systems and will also support the development and operational testing of the lunar landing systems being built by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The Artemis III mission builds on the success of Artemis II, which was completed in April, and represents another key step in Nasa's long-term exploration plans. The mission is expected to help the agency prepare for future crewed missions to Mars, including the eventual goal of landing astronauts on the Red Planet.