Countdown to Artemis III: New crew set to test next-gen Moon landers

WASHINGTON: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has officially announced the crew for its highly anticipated Artemis III mission, scheduled to launch next year.
NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik have been selected for the two-week mission alongside Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA's Bob Hines has been named as the backup crew member.
While the space agency initially intended for Artemis III to mark humanity's return to the lunar surface, the mission profile has shifted toward testing critical infrastructure in Earth orbit. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will deploy the Orion spacecraft into a low Earth orbit ranging between 290 and 460 kilometers.
Once in orbit, the crew will execute complex docking maneuvers with prototype lunar landers, specifically SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. These operations are designed to validate docking and transfer capabilities before committing to deep-space transit.
If these orbital trials prove successful, NASA plans to officially land humans back on the Moon during the subsequent Artemis IV mission.
This phased approach builds toward the first crewed lunar landing since December 1972, when the Apollo 17 mission concluded humanity's initial era of lunar exploration.