Posted: Sat, Jun 13, 2026, 10:01 AM ET (1401 GMT)
NASA announced Tuesday the crew of Artemis 3 and revealed more details about the low Earth orbit test flight of lunar landers. The mission, slated to launch in mid-2027, will be commanded by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot. NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio will be mission specialists. Artemis 3 will fly Orion in low Earth orbit, where it will first dock with a prototype of Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 lander. Orion will later dock with a SpaceX Starship vehicle during the two-week flight. The mission is designed to test both landers in Earth orbit before using them for crewed lunar landings starting with Artemis 4 in 2028.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  CBS article
•  AP article
•  Ars Technica article
•  NASA press release