Four astronauts have been tapped to helm Artemis III, a mission set to push America’s lunar ambitions forward as NASA works toward putting boots on the moon by 2028.
Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, and Andrew Douglas will represent NASA on the flight, joined by European Space Agency veteran Luca Parmitano. The quartet was unveiled at a press conference that was intended as a milestone celebration — but the mood shifted fast.
Rather than a moon landing, Artemis III’s 2027 flight plan centers on something more technical: testing rendezvous and docking procedures between NASA’s Orion spacecraft and commercial human landers while in low-Earth orbit.
Think of it as a dress rehearsal. Every system, every protocol, and every handoff between vehicles must be verified before NASA commits to sending a crew to the lunar surface.
At roughly two weeks in length, the mission will run about four days longer than Artemis II, which completed a historic loop around the moon earlier this year.
That mission carried Christina Koch into the history books as the first woman to travel around the moon. Koch flew alongside three male crewmates as the four circled the lunar dark side in a journey that drew enormous public enthusiasm.
With Koch’s milestone still fresh, the absence of any woman among the Artemis III crew struck many observers as a jarring reversal. Criticism erupted across X within hours of the announcement.
“Not a single woman flying on Artemis III is an insane choice,” one user declared bluntly.
The connection to Koch’s achievement was front and center in the backlash. “What a huge blow to those who were inspired by Christina on Artemis II,” another commenter wrote.
The frustration ran deeper for some. “I’m kinda mind-blown that there’s no woman on the Artemis III crew, bro. You, as NASA, saw so many people hyping up Christina going to the moon because it means a lot to people that a woman is doing things that are inspiring and cool,” one user posted.
Another leveled a pointed message at the agency directly: “Artemis II was so big on point with Christina being a capable woman, showing others we can do whatever we put our minds to. Disappointed, NASA.”
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stepped in to address the mounting criticism head-on. “I don’t think anyone should be reading into this,” he told reporters.
When pressed on how the crew was assembled, Isaacman said NASA “put forth the best astronauts to undertake and complete the mission’s objectives” — stopping short of elaborating on the specific selection process behind the decision.
Before closing, Isaacman offered the new crew a send-off: “To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead.”
Commander Randy Bresnik spoke with clear awareness of what the mission represents. “We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” Bresnik said.
Mission specialist Andrew Douglas struggled to contain his reaction at the podium. “My brain… it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full,” he said.
With Artemis III serving as the program’s final test mission, a clean execution would greenlight Artemis IV — the mission designed to actually land humans on the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 touched down in December 1972.
The stakes on both fronts — scientific and cultural — are enormous, and NASA’s crew selection choices will likely remain under scrutiny from the moment of liftoff.
