NASA will announce the four-person crew for the Artemis III mission on Tuesday, June 9, during a live broadcast at 11 a.m. ET from Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The crew will head into Earth orbit in 2027 to test one or both of the commercial manned lunar landers being developed by spaceflight companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The Artemis mission is focused on expanding knowledge of the lunar surface and its surroundings and establishing a long-term human presence.
Artemis II sent four astronauts around the moon without landing earlier this year. The passengers were NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
When will Artemis III be released?
The Artemis III mission is expected to launch by the end of 2027 at the earliest. NASA plans to release more details about the Artemis III mission’s design and crew closer to launch.
The program began with Artemis I, an unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft that will orbit the moon in 2022.
Who are the four crew members of the Artemis III mission?
NASA did not confirm the names ahead of the announcement. We do know that the four-member crew will be selected from NASA’s active astronaut corps and will consist of two mission specialists: a pilot and a commander.
The Artemis II crew was announced in April 2023, three years before the April 2026 lunar mission.
What is Artemis III’s mission?
Artemis III will launch four astronauts on an SLS (Space Launch System) rocket aboard the Orion spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will test rendezvous and docking between Orion and the SpaceX and Blue Origin Commercial Human Landing System (HLS) needed to deliver astronauts to the moon’s surface.
What is NASA’s Manned Landing System?
The Human Landing System (HLS) is the vehicle that takes astronauts to the lunar surface.
On future Artemis missions, the lander will also serve as a habitat while astronauts collect samples, conduct experiments, and test new technologies on the lunar surface. After completing their mission, the crew returns to the lander, reunites with their teammates, and returns to Earth in the constellation Orion.
Will Artemis III land on the moon?
No, Artemis III will test the lander in low Earth orbit, but future Artemis missions will send the unmanned lander into lunar orbit to await astronauts. The Orion spacecraft will transport the crew from Earth to the lander, then descend to the moon’s surface. For later missions, crew transfer will be via NASA’s lunar space station Gateway.
How to watch Artemis III crew announcements
The crew announcement will be broadcast live from Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday, June 9 at 11 a.m. ET and streamed live on NASA+ and NASA’s YouTube channel.
Photos from Artemis II
SOURCE USA TODAY NETWORK REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS. NASA; SpaceX. blue origin
