NASA has selected the crew for the Artemis III mission, a critical phase in its Moon programme, which will test rendezvous and docking procedures with lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. The mission, originally intended to land astronauts on the Moon, has been delayed until 2028 due to setbacks in the development of the Starship rocket; According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, the crew will serve as a ‘unifying link’ between the Artemis II mission and the upcoming Artemis IV.

Artemis III Crew Members

The crew includes Commander Randy “Komrade” Bresnik, a former Marine fighter pilot and “TOPGUN” graduate with 149 days in space; Luca Parmitano, the first Italian commander of the International Space Station (ISS) and a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut; and mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. Bob Hines has been named the backup crew member.

Bresnik, 58, previously spent time on the space shuttle in 2009 and a long-duration stay on the ISS in 2017. Parmitano, 49, has spent over 300 days in space. Rubio, 49, holds the U.S. record for the longest single spaceflight at 371 days aboard the ISS in 2022-23. Douglas, 40, will make his first space flight and previously served as a backup on Artemis II.

Delays and Technical Challenges

The Artemis III mission has been shifted from a lunar landing to an Earth-orbit test due to delays in SpaceX’s Starship rocket development. The Government Accountability Office reported in March 2026 that SpaceX had made “limited progress” in maturing the technologies needed for in-orbit refuelling and cryogenic propellant storage. Starship requires refuelling in Earth orbit before reaching the Moon, a process involving multiple tanker launches that have not yet been tested.

NASA’s mission also faces setbacks from its partner, Blue Origin, whose New Glenn rocket exploded during a routine engine test last month. The incident damaged the launch pad and may delay operations for months. Unlike SpaceX, which had backup launch pads after a 2016 explosion, Blue Origin does not.

International and Academic Contributions

Argentina’s Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) is contributing to the Artemis mission with a CubeSat named Athena. The satellite will travel aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and will test new technologies, including radiation measurement, silicon photomultiplier tubes, GPS data collection, and long-range communication. This mission marks the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 that astronauts will orbit the Moon.

According to Gabriel Sanca, a researcher at UNSAM, the mission is a milestone for Argentina, highlighting the country’s ability to participate in an international space mission and collaborate with other national universities under the coordination of CONAE, Argentina’s space agency.

Artemis I, the uncrewed test flight in 2022, demonstrated the capabilities of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft by orbiting the Moon for 25 days before returning to Earth. The Artemis programme continues to face challenges but remains a cornerstone of NASA’s long-term plans for lunar exploration and eventual human missions to Mars.