NASA announces Artemis III crew: 4 astronauts tapped for Moon lander test mission

Hostun: NASA has named the four astronauts who will fly the Artemis III mission, a key test flight for spacecraft that will eventually carry crews to the Moon.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the crew Tuesday at Johnson Space Center. The team includes three U.S. astronauts — Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik — and Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency.

The mission is a docking demonstration in Earth’s orbit planned for late 2026. It will test new lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin in space for the first time. Both companies are developing landers under NASA’s Artemis program to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface.