NASA has unveiled the crew for Artemis III, naming Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano as the mission's pilot. He will join mission commander Randy Bresnik and landing specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas in a mission designed to prepare for future human landings on the Moon.
The crew will now begin an intensive training program focused on the Orion spacecraft and the human landing systems that will be used during upcoming lunar operations.
A European Space Agency astronaut, Parmitano has spent a total of 366 days aboard the International Space Station during the Volare and Beyond missions. Throughout his career, he has participated in hundreds of scientific experiments, completed six spacewalks totaling more than 30 hours, and served as commander of the ISS.
Before becoming an astronaut, Parmitano trained as a test pilot with the Italian Air Force and the French Test Pilot School in Istres. Now a colonel in the Italian Air Force, he has logged more than 2,000 flight hours and is qualified to fly more than 20 types of military aircraft and helicopters.