The crew of NASA's upcoming Artemis 3 mission (from left to right): NASA's Frank Rubio, NASA's Andre Douglas, NASA's Randy Bresnik, and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency.
(Image credit: NASA/ESA)
HOUSTON — NASA has announced the astronauts who will launch to space on the Artemis 3 mission next year.The international crew consists of three spaceflight veterans and one first-time spaceflyer, all with backgrounds specially suited for their upcoming mission. The three NASA astronauts and one European Space Agency astronaut of Artemis 3 include commander Randy Bresnik of NASA, ESA's Luca Parmitano as pilot, and NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio as mission specialists. All were present at the announcement ceremony today (June 9) here at NASA's Johnson Space Center."You carry the fire of exploration from generations past, the confidence of this agency, and the support of this nation, and the dreams of millions who will be cheering you on, knowing that what others believe to be impossible happens to be what we do best here at NASA," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during the proceedings.Each Artemis 3 astronaut comes from a unique background, with expertise that will contribute to the mission's success, and an array of experiences in aerospace engineering, piloting, EVAs and spacecraft development.Here's a quick look at the newly announced Artemis 3 crew:Artemis 3 mission commander Randy Bresnik joined NASA as part of the 2004 astronaut class. Bresnik came to the agency having served in the United States Marine Corps as an F/A-18 pilot who flew combat missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2009, Bresnik spent nearly 11 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), serving as mission specialist of NASA's STS-129 mission aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. During that stint, Bresnik performed a six-hour spacewalk outside the station. More recently, Bresnik has served as Assistant-to-the-Chief of the Astronaut Office for Exploration, helping oversee testing for Artemis program hardware.ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano will serve as the Artemis 3 pilot. Before being selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009, Parmitano served in the Italian Air Force as a test pilot where he earned the rank of Colonel. Throughout his career as an Italian Air Force Pilot, Parmitano has banked over 2000 hours flying time across over 40 types of aircraft.NASA astronaut Andre Douglas was selected as an Artemis 3 mission specialist, having previously served as a backup astronaut for Artemis 2. Douglas was chosen for NASA's 2021 astronaut class after earning a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University and serving in the U.S. Coast Guard. Artemis 3 will be Douglas' first spaceflight mission.Record-breaking astronaut Frank Rubio was also selected as an Artemis 3 mission specialist. Rubio most famously ended up spending over a year in space aboard the ISS after his mission's Soyuz spacecraft sprang a significant coolant leak, setting a NASA record for the single longest spaceflight at 371 days. Rubio previously served as a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot with over 1,100 hours of flight time including 600 hours of combat experience.NASA's Bob Hines was selected as a backup astronaut for Artemis 3. Hines joined NASA's 2017 astronaut class after serving 23 years in the United State Air Force as a fighter pilot and instructor. Hines previously flew to space aboard the SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station in 2022 where he logged 170 days in space.The diverse group was chosen from a wide range of possible candidates, including NASA's original 2020 Artemis astronaut cadre and a number of potential picks from more recent astronaut classes.Today's announcement comes just two months after the end of Artemis 2, which flew NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day mission around the moon's far side and back to Earth. Artemis 2 was the first mission with astronauts aboard NASA's Orion capsule. It flew farther from Earth than any crewed spaceflight in history.During today's ceremony, the three NASA astronauts of the Artemis 2 crew passed the (literal) Artemis baton to the new crew.
