The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced the names of the four astronauts for the Artemis III mission. This took place during an official presentation at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, UNN reports with reference to the NASA press service.
Details
The list of expedition participants is as follows:
- NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, commander;
- ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut
Luca Parmitano, pilot;
- NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, mission specialist;
- NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, mission specialist.
Additionally
The Artemis III program involves the launch of the world's most powerful rockets in the near future. Initially, a reconnaissance lander from Blue Origin, capable of remaining in orbit for several weeks, will be launched into orbit to await the crew. NASA will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft using the SLS launch vehicle into Earth orbit, after which they will rendezvous in space with the company's experimental lander and spend about two days docked for testing and technology demonstrations, including entering the lander.
Upon completion of docking operations with Blue Origin, Orion will undock and wait for Starship. SpaceX's Starship pilot vehicle will launch and rendezvous with Orion to spend about a day connected for checks and tests. After this, Orion and its crew will undock and return home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, where a U.S. Navy and NASA team will recover the astronauts.
As a reminder
NASA announced a large-scale plan to create a permanent lunar base, which is expected to become operational as early as 2032.