‘Earth’s first starfleet’: Nasa reveals Artemis III crew and project’s next steps

Jared Isaacman, the Nasa administrator, hailed the creation of “Earth’s first starfleet” on Tuesday as he revealed the Artemis III crew and details of the next stages of the space agency’s project to return humans to the moon.An Italian astronaut, Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency (ESA), will be the pilot of the planned two-week mission to lower Earth orbit next year that will test lunar landers from private companies Blue Origin and SpaceX.Three Americans, Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Randy Bresnik, form the rest of the all-male crew of four paving the way for the planned first human lunar landing in 66 years on Artemis IV in 2028.“We wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead, you carry the fire of exploration from generations past, the confidence of this agency, and the support of this nation, and the dreams of millions who will be cheering you on,” Isaacman said during the event at Houston’s Johnson space center.The Nasa chief also listed the numerous rockets, capsules, landers and support spacecraft that will be needed for the two-week test flight, the subsequent construction of a permanent moon base, and future exploration missions including Artemis IV set for 2028 that will see the first crewed lunar touchdown since 1972.“Think about how many spacecraft, all of which will eventually carry human beings, will be in orbit at the same time, from Dragon, Shenzhou, Soyuz, possibly Starliner, Starship, and Blue Origin landers,” he said, including spacecraft from Russia and China.“This seems like the beginning of the future that we imagined as children. This seems like the very beginning of Earth’s first Starfleet to me.”Unlike the Artemis II astronauts who looped around the moon in Nasa’s highly successful April mission to test its Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule, the Artemis III crew will remain close to Earth.They will test docking procedures and life support systems for the two landers vying for the Artemis IV contract, firstly Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, then SpaceX’s Human Landing System.John Couluris, Blue Origin’s senior vice-president of lunar permanence, acknowledged the 28 May launchpad explosion in Florida that destroyed the company’s New Glenn rocket designed to carry its lander.But he said Blue Origin was confident that New Glenn, and the launchpad, would be ready for next year’s flight.“As you know, we had a significant anomaly,” he said. “The response from Nasa, our partners, and customers has been extraordinary. We’re making excellent progress on the investigation and pad cleanup. We’ll begin rebuilding once cleanup is complete.”Jeremy Parsons, Nasa’s acting deputy associate administrator for the moon to Mars program office, said he shared that optimism.“While we recognize there are questions about how Blue Origin’s recent anomaly impacts our plans, setbacks are a learning opportunity,” he said.“We are confident that New Glenn will be ready for Artemis III, together with Blue Origin, but Nasa is stepping in and bringing all of our expertise and capabilities to bear. We are working hand in hand with them to meet our commitments to return our nation to the moon.“Let me assure you, Nasa is taking an active role with all of our partners, contractors, and vendors to help solve the problems that are here today and ensure the right outcomes are achieved.”The biggest cheers at the Houston event came when the Artemis III astronauts were revealed, as well as their support crew member, Bob Hines of Nasa.Bresnik, the mission commander, is a marine colonel, a former commander of the international space station, and a veteran of the space shuttle program. Nicknamed Komrade by fellow astronauts, he is an accomplished pilot with more than 7,000 hours flying time, and is only one of two astronauts to have a child born while away in space.Parmitano almost “drowned” in space in 2013 when his helmet filled with liquid during a space walk from the ISS. A fighter pilot in the Italian air force, he has an asteroid named for him and was the first disc jockey in space.Rubio, an army Black Hawk helicopter pilot and flight surgeon, holds the record for the single longest duration spaceflight by a Nasa astronaut, 371 days. He was born in California but considers Miami, Florida, his home town.Douglas, a systems engineer and Coast Guard reserve officer also from Miami, has no previous spaceflight experience, but trained alongside Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen as part of their back-up crew.“Nasa astronauts, alongside our international partners and tens of thousands of the best and brightest across the agency and industry, are ushering in the golden age of discovery,” Isaacman said.“They are carrying forward the hopes and dreams of the next generation, just as the Apollo astronauts did for so many of us.”