Washington (USA), June 9 (LaPresse) – NASA has announced the names of the four astronauts who will bring humanity one step closer to returning to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis III mission. They are Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, mission specialists; Luca Parmitano, of the Italian Space Agency, as pilot; and Randy Bresnik, as commander. NASA confirmed that Blue Origin’s lunar lander will take part in Artemis III, despite the explosion a few weeks ago of a rocket built by the aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos. It is not yet clear whether the repairs will affect the mission schedule, currently planned for mid-2027. Jeremy Parsons, manager of the Artemis program, provided an optimistic update on the program’s progress and a description of the mission. He explained that Blue Origin’s lander will launch first, followed by the crew aboard an Orion capsule launched by the Space Launch System rocket. Orion and the Blue Origin lander will dock in orbit and remain joined for several days of operations. After their separation, SpaceX’s Starship will be launched and dock with Orion for a day of joint operations. The mission will last about two weeks and conclude with the crew splashing down aboard the Orion capsule. In February, NASA announced that instead of heading to the Moon, the mission will serve as a test flight to demonstrate the ability to perform rendezvous and docking maneuvers with at least one lunar lander in low Earth orbit. This change makes the Artemis III mission simpler and less risky, while also paving the way for two NASA lunar landing attempts in 2028 during the Artemis IV and V missions.