NASA names crew for Artemis III lunar lander rehearsal

NASA has named the four astronauts set to fly the Artemis III mission in an announcement that raised as many questions as it answered. The quartet is comprised of a Space Shuttle veteran, Randy Bresnik, as commander, and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano, whose helmet filled with water during an International Space Station (ISS) spacewalk. NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas will serve as mission specialists. In addition, NASA astronaut Bob Hines will serve as a backup crew member. Originally slated to land astronauts on the Moon, Artemis III was repurposed to test human lander technology from Blue Origin and SpaceX in low Earth orbit, similar to Apollo 9's check of the lunar module. The change also sidesteps an awkward problem: Orion and SLS may be closer to ready than the landers they were supposed to support. The official announcement sticks to the line that the aim is to test "one or both" commercial landers, and NASA presented a mission profile that includes both Blue Origin and SpaceX. The hope is that the Artemis III crew will first rendezvous with the Blue Moon lunar pathfinder, which, according to NASA's Jeremy Parsons, can loiter in orbit for up to 90 days. John Coulouris of Blue Origin then detailed the activities planned. As well as docking, the hatch will be opened, astronauts will enter and possibly perform a trial run at donning lunar spacesuits. Docked operations will last approximately two days, according to NASA. Once done, the Orion spacecraft will detach and await the arrival of SpaceX's test article, consisting of a Starship fitted with the docking equipment planned for the lunar lander variant. Docked operations are expected to last for around a day. There are several problems with this. The first is that SpaceX has yet to get a Starship into orbit and does not appear to be as far along in its lunar lander development as Blue Origin, at least as far as Artemis III is concerned. Blue Origin also suffered a significant anomaly in recent weeks. Its New Glenn rocket, required for launching its lander, exploded on the launchpad. While CEO Dave Limp insisted "we will fly again before the end of this year," Blue Origin has significant work to do to return to flight, and Artemis III is planned for the second half of 2027. Although Parsons said "we are confident that New Glenn will be ready for Artemis III," alternatives are being considered. The lander requires a heavy-lift rocket – something like a Falcon Heavy is a possibility, but the liquid hydrogen fuel used by Blue Origin's BE-7 engines would make the plumbing tricky, and any modifications could take as long as returning New Glenn to flight status. ®