NASA has named Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas as the crew of Artemis III, which has been reconfigured from a lunar landing mission into a lunar test spacecraft.
It is being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. NBC News reports :
Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas are expected to launch into Earth orbit next year, with the goal of testing two commercially developed lunar spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to the Moon's surface during the Artemis IV mission in 2028.
Bresnik will be the mission commander, with Parmitano, an Italian astronaut with the European Space Agency, serving as pilot. Douglas and Rubio will be mission specialists, and Bob Hines will train with the crew as a backup.
"This test flight will allow us to demonstrate that we can execute highly choreographed operations with our partners in hardware interfaces, software propulsion systems and crewed life support elements in a high-risk space environment," said Jeremy Parsons, NASA's Artemis program manager, during NASA's announcement Tuesday.
Bresnik has been to the International Space Station twice, most recently as a mission commander in 2017. He is a retired U.S. Army colonel, and was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004.
Bresnik has helped oversee the development and testing of spacecraft for the Artemis program as assistant to the chief of the Astronaut Office, which manages astronaut training and operations. Parmitano has also served two stints on the ISS and served as a mission commander in 2019. He has completed a total of six spacewalks and performed the first live DJ set in orbit. Before becoming an astronaut, Parmitano was a test pilot for the Italian Air Force.
Rubio, a 28-year Army doctor, will be making his second trip to space on Artemis III. From 2022 to 2023, he spent 371 days on the space station, breaking the record for the longest spaceflight by an American, according to NASA.
Douglas is the only crew member who has not flown in space. He is an engineer and has worked in space exploration and robotics at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He became a NASA astronaut in 2022.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
