NASA has tapped Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano to pilot the Artemis III mission, making him the first European to be a part of the US space agency’s key human spaceflight campaign.
On Tuesday, NASA chief Jared Isaacman unveiled a four-member crew and a backup for the 2027 flight that will test new lunar landers — not on the moon as originally planned, but closer to home in Earth’s orbit.
The Artemis III crew
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik has been picked as the mission commander, with Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio serving as mission specialists.
The three US astronauts and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Parmitano will orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two moon landers.
NASA described the tests as challenging and essential for Artemis IV, which is its first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.
NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member to be on standby in case of an emergency.
NASA builds on Artemis II win
The Artemis III comes after thesuccess of the Artemis II mission two months ago, when humans flew around the moon for the first time in over five decades.
The April mission beat the distance record of the 1970 spaceflight Apollo 13.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts,” said NASA administrator Isaacman.
“The Artemis III astronauts, alongside ESA and our international partners, and the tens of thousands of the best and brightest across the agency and industry, are ushering in a new Golden Age of exploration carrying forward the hopes and dreams of the next generation just as the Apollo astronauts did for so many of us,” he added.
Who is Luca Parmitano?
Parmitano will be the second non-US member involved in the Artemis program after the Canadian Space Agency’s Jeremy Hansen flew on Artemis II.
The 49-year-old was selected as an astronaut by the ESA in 2009. His track record includes two completed missions on board the International Space Station (ISS).
Parmitano, who trained at the Italian Air Force Academy and worked as a test pilot, also completed complex spacewalks.
In one such excursion in 2013, he met with a near-fatal mishap on a planned six-hour spacewalk, when his helmet began filling with water due to a failure in the suit’s cooling system.
He is also credited for performing the first-ever DJ set from space.
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“I am honored to be part of this crew, and humbled at the same time: my crew mates bring a wealth of different experiences, and I am looking forward to working with them, eager to learn and to contribute as much as I can in my role,” Parmitano said in a statement after being named the Artemis III’s lead pilot.
Boost for Italy
Parmitano’s inclusion in NASA’s Artemis program is being seen as a win for Italy as the agency’s other international partners eye new roles.
In a statement, Italian Space Agency President Teodoro Valente said that Parmitano’s selection for Artemis III “confirms and enhances the role and capabilities of the European and Italian space system in the human exploration of the universe.”
Edited by: Natalie Muller
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