NASA Announces Artemis III Crew for Earth Orbit Test Flight
NASA announced on Tuesday that astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and Luca Parmitano will fly the Artemis III mission, a two-week test flight scheduled for late 2027. Rather than landing on the moon, the crew will orbit Earth and practice docking their Orion capsule with lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. This mission represents a critical step in NASA's broader Artemis program to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since the 1970s.
NASA selected four astronauts for Artemis III, the next phase of its lunar exploration program. The crew includes commander Randy Bresnik, mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, and pilot Luca Parmitano from the European Space Agency. Unlike earlier Artemis missions, Artemis III will not attempt a lunar landing; instead, the crew will spend approximately two weeks in low Earth orbit practicing critical docking procedures with two separate lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. The mission is targeted for launch in late 2027 using NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule. The crew will undergo approximately 18 months of training. This test flight is designed to validate the systems and procedures needed for a planned lunar landing mission in 2028, part of NASA's broader effort to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era.
How coverage differed
The Daily Wire emphasizes the crew members' military backgrounds and extensive biographical details, while AP News focuses more on the mission's technical objectives and the broader Artemis program timeline, including recent setbacks with Blue Origin's rocket test.
What different sources said
- Daily WireRight
NASA Announces Crew For Next Phase Of Its Moon Mission
- AP NewsCenter
NASA unveils Artemis III astronauts to test technology for a future moon landing
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