NASA Announces Artemis III Crew — Four Astronauts to Test Lunar Landing Systems in LEO in 2027
Summary: In June 2026, NASA formally announced the Artemis III crew — Commander Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio (NASA), and Luca Parmitano (ESA) — for a 2027 low-Earth-orbit mission to test critical lunar lander systems.
NASA officially unveiled the Artemis III crew on June 9, 2026, at the Johnson Space Center. The four-member team consists of Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano (ESA, Italy), and Mission Specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas (NASA). Bob Hines has been designated as the backup crew member.
Randy Bresnik, selected by NASA in 2004, is the most experienced member of the crew — he flew a two-week mission aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) in 2009, making him the only crew member with shuttle flight experience. Luca Parmitano, selected by ESA in 2009, has previously completed two long-duration missions to the International Space Station. Frank Rubio holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut. Andre Douglas is a first-time spaceflyer.
Rather than heading to the lunar surface, Artemis III will focus on testing two commercially developed lunar landers in low-Earth orbit — SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System and Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander. Both vehicles are expected to carry astronauts to the Moon's surface for the first time during the Artemis IV mission in 2028. The Artemis III mission is scheduled to launch in 2027.