Nasa has named the four astronauts for its Artemis III mission – but they will not walk on the Moon, nor even leave Earth’s orbit. The crew, all male, are commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano of the Italian Space Agency, and mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, all American. Bob Heintz will serve as backup.
The mission was originally conceived as the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, with two astronauts due to set down near the Moon’s south pole. But in February 2026, Nasa scrapped those plans. The reason: SpaceX’s Starship lander, contracted to carry astronauts to the surface, is not ready. A March 2026 report from the US Government Accountability Office found that Elon Musk’s company had made “limited progress” maturing the technology for in-orbit refuelling, a critical step Starship depends on.
“Nasa names all-male crew for Artemis III, a docking rehearsal in Earth orbit after delays to SpaceX and Blue Origin landers.”
Then came a second blow. On 28 May, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket blew up during a routine engine test, extensively damaging the launch pad. The company has no other way to launch New Glenn, and repairs could take months. John Couluris, Blue Origin’s senior vice-president of lunar permanence, acknowledged “a significant anomaly” but said the company was “making excellent progress” and expected to be ready for next year’s flight.
Instead of a lunar landing, Artemis III will fly only to low Earth orbit, about 290 miles up – roughly the distance from Manchester to Edinburgh. The crew will travel inside Nasa’s Orion capsule, launched on the Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Once in orbit, Orion will dock with prototype lunar landers, called pathfinders, from Blue Origin and SpaceX. At least one crew member is expected to climb inside a lander to test hatches, life-support connections and the new Axiom spacesuits – designed by Italian fashion house Prada, with a backup cooling loop for safety. The mission will also test an upgraded heat shield during re-entry.
Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman hailed the mission as “the most awe-inspiring coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history” and called it “the very beginning of Earth’s first Starfleet”. The crew will be aboard Orion for slightly longer than the nine days of Artemis II.
Nasa hopes Artemis IV, targeted for 2028, will finally put American astronauts on the Moon for the first time since 1972. But that depends on the landers being ready – and on the success of this orbital rehearsal.