NASA has revealed the four astronauts that will join the next Artemis mission, a two-week flight that will test out various technologies considered vital to putting astronauts back on the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Artemis III Mission

The crew, set to launch as soon as late 2027, includes three NASA astronauts — first-time space flier Andre Douglas, record-setting astronaut Frank Rubio, and veteran flier and test pilot Randy Bresnik — as well as Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano with the European Space Agency.

Artemis III is designed to serve as a precursor mission to a moon landing, testing out how the NASA-built Orion spacecraft will dock with a lunar lander. The primary goal of the flight, the space agency says, is to “reduce risk” heading into an actual lunar touchdown, which NASA hopes will take place as soon as 2028.

The Artemis III crew will launch from Florida aboard their Orion capsule and hang out in low-Earth orbit. At least one lunar lander will then launch separately — and it’s not yet clear whether it will be SpaceX’s Starship, Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, or one of each.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.