NASA names four astronauts for Artemis III as spacesuit delays threaten moon mission

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the names of astronauts set to join the Artemis III mission, a two-week flight in space, amid fears that it could be delayed due to slow progress in development of new spacesuits.

In a statement on Tuesday, the American space agency shared the names of four astronauts selected for the mission aiming to test various technologies considered significant in putting humans back to the moon.

The crew of the mission set to launch in 2027 include:

• NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, who will make his first trip to space
• NASA astronaut Frank Rubio
• NASA astronaut and test pilot Randy Bresnik
• European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano of Italy

The primary purpose of the Artemis III mission is to test the docking of the NASA-built Orion spacecraft with a lunar lander. Elon Musk-owned SpaceX is building a moon lander, Starship, for the mission.

NASA has revised its original mission profile. Instead of attempting a lunar landing, Artemis III is currently planned as a low Earth orbit (LEO) docking rehearsal.

The crew will launch from Florida aboard the Orion capsule, the one used in the historic Artemis II mission; however, it remains unclear which company’s lunar lander will be used for the mission.

Earlier, NASA put two billionaires’ companies in competition to build the moon lander for it, stating that the one ready by 2027 will be used.

This comes after an audit by the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the next-gen spacesuits that the American space agency is getting from private contractor Axiom Space may not be ready by 2028.