Over the course of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, the world fell in love with astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen. There’s something so special about the camaraderie of a crew—that inescapable, beautiful, dutiful link between astronauts going where no humans have gone before, to paraphrase Koch. When Artemis 3 lifts off in 2027, we’ll get to witness that magic all over again. After weeks of anticipation, NASA finally unveiled the Artemis 3 crew on Tuesday. This mission will send the agency’s Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, Randy Bresnik, and the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano to low Earth orbit to test out NASA’s commercial Moon landers in space. Seeing these astronauts assembled as a crew for the first time truly made Artemis 3 feel real, and humanity’s return to the lunar surface has never seemed closer. If you can’t wait to get acquainted with these four intrepid explorers, look no further. Here’s what you should know about the astronauts who will make the next leap toward establishing a sustained American presence on the Moon.
1. Rubio spent over a year in space During Artemis 3, the crew will spend about two weeks in low Earth orbit. For Artemis 3 Mission Specialist Frank Rubio, that will feel like a piece of cake. Rubio holds the American record for the single longest spaceflight at a whopping 371 days.
