NASA Moon Program: Italian to Fly on 'Artemis 3' in 2027 - No German Astronaut Included

Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano is set to become the first European to participate in NASA's Artemis moon program, though not in the way initially anticipated. Parmitano will join the crew of Artemis 3, a mission slated for 2027. However, this mission will not involve a landing on the moon. Instead, it will focus on testing the docking capabilities of the Orion spacecraft with lunar lander systems while in Earth orbit. This represents a shift from earlier plans where a German astronaut was initially slated for a lunar mission. The Artemis program's ultimate goal is to establish a sustained human presence on the moon. Actual lunar landings are now projected for the Artemis 4 and Artemis 5 missions in 2028. Parmitano, a seasoned astronaut with experience on the International Space Station, was selected as part of a crew that also includes Americans Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik, with Bob Hines as backup. The mission commander, Jared Isaacman, announced this revised strategy earlier this year, emphasizing the testing phase in Earth orbit before subsequent lunar missions.

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Luca is an absolute professional and also a very likeable guy.