Nasa names next astronauts for Artemis Moon programme

Nasa names next astronauts for Artemis Moon programme6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePallab Ghosh,Science CorrespondentandAlison Francis,Senior Science JournalistAFPThe four named astronauts are due to go to space in 2027NASA 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...