NASA named the crew members of the "Artemis-3" mission — the next stage on the way to landing on the Moon

Photo: Brandon Bell / Getty Images

NASA has unveiled the crew of the Artemis III mission, which will depart for Earth's orbit from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2027. Pilot Luca Parmitano, two mission specialists André Douglas and Frank Rubio, and commander Randy Bresnik will take part in the expedition, writes the BBC.

Although a Moon landing is not planned as part of the third mission, the data obtained during the flight will be used to prepare for the next stage of the lunar program, NASA states.

The American space agency expects to return humans to the lunar surface in 2028, and they are planned to spend about a week there.

One of the key tasks of the Artemis-3 mission will be to practice docking with prototype landers using technologies and equipment developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, as well as testing new spacesuits.

After the mission, which is expected to last about two weeks, the crew will splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

Unlike the previous Artemis II mission, in which astronauts performed a crewed flyby of the Moon in April, this time the crew will consist exclusively of men. Bresnik, Rubio, and Douglas are NASA astronauts, while Parmitano represents the European Space Agency.

Parmitano has flown to space twice and spent a total of 366 days in orbit. Mission Commander Bresnik spent 149.5 days in space, Rubio — almost 371 days, and for Douglas, this will be his first flight.

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch date has not yet been set.

Four astronauts will travel into space in the Orion capsule — the same one used in April during the previous mission.

Unlike Artemis-2, the astronauts will not orbit the Moon but will go to low Earth orbit at an altitude of approximately 467 km above the planet — 64 km higher than the International Space Station.

There, Orion will dock with prototype lunar landers. At least one crew member is expected to transfer into the lander to check hatches, life support system connections, and the new Axiom spacesuits.

The spacesuits are developed by Axiom Space in collaboration with the Italian fashion house Prada.

Axiom Space was involved in engineering developments, including creating a backup cooling loop in case the primary one fails.

Prada, on the other hand, was responsible for designing the inner garment, intended to distribute chilled water across the body during eight-hour spacewalks on the Moon, planned as part of the Artemis IV mission.

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