NASA announces Artemis III crew; taps U.S. astronauts, Italian for mission with SpaceX, Blue Origin mooncraft
NASA has selected a crew of four, including three U.S. astronauts and one Italian astronaut, for the Artemis III mission. The mission will serve as a critical test for SpaceX and Blue Origin moon landers in low-Earth orbit next year.
Why it matters
This mission is a pivotal step in NASA's broader goal of returning humans to the moon and maintaining a competitive edge in space exploration against international rivals like China.
NASA named three U.S. astronauts and an Italian astronaut on Tuesday (June 9, 2026) to serve as the crew for its next Artemis mission, a spacecraft docking demonstration in Earth’s orbit next year that will test moon landers from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for the first time in space.
The article reports on official NASA announcements and program goals without editorializing.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in