On Tuesday, Jared Isaacman, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, announced the four prime crew members.
The Artemis III mission builds on the successful Artemis II flight completed in April and will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts, Americans, to Mars.
According to NASA, the mission will undertake a series of challenging tests in Earth orbit in 2027. The crew is expected to remain in space for about two weeks.
As part of the Tuesday event, Isaacman made the introductions, starting with Artemis III commander, NASA astronaut Randolph "Randy" James Bresnik, a retired officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and an active NASA astronaut.
A Marine Aviator, Bresnik was selected as a member of the NASA Astronaut Group in 2004. He first launched to space on STS-129, then served as flight engineer for Expedition 52, and as ISS commander for Expedition 53. He will fly as the commander on Artemis III as part of NASA's Artemis program.
On Tuesday, Bresnik said that it was an honor to be part of such an outstanding team. He showed gratitude to the crew's spouses and families for their support and sacrifices.
He thanked his wife for being his steadfast support and emphasized that it is the encouragement from their families that will sustain them from the start of training on Tuesday until they safely return home after splashdown on Earth.
He highlighted the chance to represent NASA, ESA, and expressed appreciation to the NASA Astronaut Office leadership, Flight Operations Director, and NASA Johnson Space Center leadership for the opportunity to represent the astronaut corps and all of humanity.
Additionally, he thanked every individual at NASA, ESA, industry partners, and international collaborators for their combined efforts that will propel them into space on launch day.
The Artemis III pilot is Luca Parmitano, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and the first Italian space station commander. This is also the first time an ESA astronaut has been assigned an Artemis mission.
The mission specialists joining Artemis III are a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot, a family medicine physician, record-setting astronaut Frank Rubio, and test engineer and Coast Guard commander Andre Douglas, who is making his first spaceflight.
Speaking after the announcement, Douglas said his brain was going a mile a minute, but his heart was warm and full.
He said he couldn't begin to thank everyone who's been along on his journey thus far, but he gave a special shout-out to his parents.
He thanked his mom for believing in him and for her prayers and thoughts. He thanked his dad for the work ethic he'd shown, which he'd tried to emulate.
He also wished his father a Happy Father's Day in advance.
He thanked his wife for her unwavering support and advised his sons to put in the hard work because with it, you can do whatever you want.
According to NASA, Douglas was part of the 2021 astronaut candidate class. He previously served as a backup and closeout crew member for the agency’s Artemis II mission.
A Virginia native, Douglas earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and four postgraduate degrees from various institutions, including a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University.
During his time in the Coast Guard, he conducted search-and-rescue, maritime salvage, and drug interdiction operations.
Additionally, his time at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory involved designing and testing multidomain autonomous vehicles, space exploration systems, and undersea warfare platforms.
Artemis III includes launching the world’s most powerful rockets in short order.
During Artemis III, the agency’s Space Launch System rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to low Earth orbit.
After Orion systems checkouts, the spacecraft will, for the first time, demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions of one or both American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
As part of Tuesday’s event, the crew will begin training immediately on Orion spacecraft systems and assist in the development and operations of test versions of Blue Origin and SpaceX landers.
Engineers will connect the Orion crew module and service module this summer and integrate the spacecraft’s docking system, which will fly for the first time.
Heat shield testing continues, with individual blocks undergoing ultrasonic inspections and being installed onto the heat shield structure. Rocket processing is also well underway.
Technicians for SLS are integrating the engine section with the rest of the core stage ahead of installing the four RS-25 engines this summer.
With all solid rocket booster segments now at NASA Kennedy and mobile launcher refurbishments on track, rocket stacking is also scheduled to begin this summer.
NASA continues the design and fabrication of a spacer that will replace the upper stage on Artemis III. Blue Origin is developing a crewed lunar version of the company’s lander, while SpaceX is developing a crewed lunar lander version of the company’s Starship, with both companies building test articles for Artemis III.
NASA is supporting both lander providers hands-on throughout design, development, testing, and evaluation, including sharing agency expertise and capabilities gained from previous missions.
NASA will send the astronauts aboard Orion on an SLS mission to orbit Earth, before rendezvousing in space with the company’s lander test article and spending about two days docked together for tests and technology demonstrations, including entering the lander.
After completing docked operations with Blue Origin, Orion will detach and await Starship. SpaceX’s Starship pathfinder will launch and rendezvous with Orion to spend about a day connected for checkout and testing.
After that, Orion and its crew will undock and return home, splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean, where a team from the U.S. Navy and NASA will recover the astronauts.