Nasa names next astronauts for Artemis Moon programme

Nasa names next astronauts for Artemis Moon programme 33 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Pallab Ghosh , Science Correspondent and Alison Francis , Senior Science Journalist AFP The four named astronauts are due to go to space in 2027 NASA has named its crew for its next major Moon mission, Artemis III, though the astronauts will not walk on the Moon or go anywhere near it. The mission was originally planned as the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, with two astronauts due to set down near the Moon's south pole and spend a week on the surface. But in February, Nasa changed that plan and said the mission would fly only in low Earth orbit, barely deeper in space than the International Space Station, and dock with prototype lunar landers. Nasa's Administrator Jared Isaacman said the mission would nevertheless be the most complex ever. "This mission will require the most awe-inspiring coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history, drawing on the talent and capability of teams across government and the spaceflight community," he said. Randy Bresnik, a Nasa astronaut, will serve as the mission's commander. Luca Parmitano, of the Italian Space Agency, will be the pilot of Artemis III. He's spent more than 300 days in space. Americans Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio will be the mission specialists. Bob Heintz will serve as a backup crew member. He is a test pilot who logged 170 days in space and can step into any role needed on the mission. Artemis III changed from being an historic, crewed Moon landing to a technology test in Earth orbit because of delays to Elon Musk's SpaceX's Starship rocket. This is the vehicle intended to take astronauts from lunar orbit to its surface. It was also judged to be too big a leap to go from looping the Moon, with Artemis II, to go straight to a lunar landing without first testing the procedure to dock with the lunar landers in Earth orbit. In March 2026, the Government Accountability Office found that SpaceX had made "limited progress maturing the technologies needed for in-orbit refuelling and cryogenic propellant storage." Starship is so heavy that it cannot reach the Moon withot being refuelled in Earth orbit first. This involves launching a fleet of tanker vehicles which transfer cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen across in sequence, a highly ambitious manoever has not yet been tested. Nasa's Moon mission team received a further setback last month when its other partner, Blue Origin, watched its New Glenn rocket blow up during a routine engine test. No one was hurt, but the launch pad was extensively damaged. SPACEFLIGHTNOW The fireball that engulfed Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket which exploded during a hot-fire engine test on 28 May Blue Origin has no other way to launch New Glenn and it could take months to repair the damage. When SpaceX suffered an explosion in September 2016, it took 15 months to return to service - and SpaceX had other pads to fall back on. Blue