“We need to return humanity to the Moon’s surface”, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said, as it announced the Artemis III astronauts.
On Tuesday, NASA released details of the crew of its Artemis III mission, the next move in the space agency’s ambition to eventually land astronauts on the moon.
The announcement is coming following the record-shattering Artemis II journey around the Moon two (2) months ago.
The Artemis II surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.
Astronauts for NASA’s Artemis III mission are, Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano. Their mission is not to fly to the moon or land on the surface, but, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.
NASA posted on X: “Introducing Artemis III.
“Four astronauts. Three launches. Two dockings. One splashdown.”
Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator, said: “To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead.”
SpaceX and Blue Origin owned by American businessmen, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respectively, are hustling to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week trip is targeted at 2027.
Recently, Blue Origin suffered a setback after its rocket massively exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in the State of Florida.
The explosion caused structures around to vibrate with a huge orange shine in the sky.
In his reaction, Jeremy Parsons of NASA said, the explosion is an opportunity to learn, and that, the Space Agency is certain the Blue Origin rocket will be ready in time.
The goal of NASA’s Artemis program is to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon for the first time since the 1970s.
According to Isaacman, a revamp of the program recently is targeted at speeding it up to be similar to the Apollo era. He said, the upcoming spaceflight will journey around Planet Earth before the lunar landing mission in 2028.
NASA further posted: “In 2027, the Artemis III mission will practice docking the Orion spacecraft with two lunar landers in low Earth orbit — the capability we need to return humanity to the Moon’s surface.”
Artemis III Commander, Bresnik, said: “We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space.”
Isaacman posted on X: “The Artemis Generation is here.
Artemis III will help us get into the rhythm of multi-launch campaigns, test new capabilities close to home, and then take the next step toward building a sustained human presence at the lunar South Pole.”
In May, hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts was awarded by NASA to four companies encompassing, Bezos’ Blue Origin, to build landers, drones and Rovers for a Base in the Moon in the future.
The NASA Administrator explained, the aim for the Lunar Base is to lay the foundation for a journey to Planet Mars.
Photo: From Left – The Artemis III crew, Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio | NASA via AP via The Hindu
