NASA Announces Astronauts For Its Artemis III Mission (nbcnews.com) 33
NASA has named Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas as the crew for Artemis III, which has been reworked from a moon-landing mission into a roughly two-week Earth-orbit test of lunar landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. NBC News reports: Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas are expected to launch into Earth orbit next year, with the goal of testing two commercially developed lunar landers that are slated to carry astronauts to the surface of the moon during the Artemis IV mission in 2028. Bresnik will be the mission's commander, with Parmitano, an Italian astronaut with the European Space Agency, serving as the pilot. Douglas and Rubio will be mission specialists, and Bob Hines will train with the crew as a backup member. "This test flight will enable us to prove we can carry out highly choreographed operations with our partners across hardware interfaces, software propulsion systems and life support elements with crew in the high-stakes space environment," Jeremy Parsons, NASA's Artemis program manager, said during NASA's announcement on Tuesday.
Bresnik has been to the International Space Station twice, most recently as commander of an expedition in 2017. A retired U.S. Marine colonel, he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004. Bresnik has helped oversee development and testing of spacecraft for the Artemis program as an assistant to the chief of the Astronaut Office, which manages astronaut training and operations. Parmitano has also done two stints on the ISS and served as commander of an expedition in 2019. He has completed a total of six spacewalks and also performed the first live DJ set in orbit. Before becoming an astronaut, Parmitano was a test pilot for the Italian air force.
For Rubio, a physician with 28 years of service in the Army, Artemis III will be his second trip to space. From 2022 to 2023, he spent 371 days on the space station, breaking the record for longest-duration spaceflight by an American, according to NASA. Douglas is the only crew member making his spaceflight debut. An engineer who previously worked on space exploration and robotics at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, he became a NASA astronaut in 2022. Douglas was the backup crew member for the Artemis II mission around the moon earlier this year. He told NBC News in an interview after Tuesday's announcement that the role had at times been a challenge. "It was hard to figure out how do you balance getting ready to go, not go, all that stuff," he said. "But to go now is just fantastic."
Bresnik has been to the International Space Station twice, most recently as commander of an expedition in 2017. A retired U.S. Marine colonel, he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004. Bresnik has helped oversee development and testing of spacecraft for the Artemis program as an assistant to the chief of the Astronaut Office, which manages astronaut training and operations. Parmitano has also done two stints on the ISS and served as commander of an expedition in 2019. He has completed a total of six spacewalks and also performed the first live DJ set in orbit. Before becoming an astronaut, Parmitano was a test pilot for the Italian air force.
For Rubio, a physician with 28 years of service in the Army, Artemis III will be his second trip to space. From 2022 to 2023, he spent 371 days on the space station, breaking the record for longest-duration spaceflight by an American, according to NASA. Douglas is the only crew member making his spaceflight debut. An engineer who previously worked on space exploration and robotics at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, he became a NASA astronaut in 2022. Douglas was the backup crew member for the Artemis II mission around the moon earlier this year. He told NBC News in an interview after Tuesday's announcement that the role had at times been a challenge. "It was hard to figure out how do you balance getting ready to go, not go, all that stuff," he said. "But to go now is just fantastic."
I saw For All Mankind ... (Score:2)
I saw For All Mankind, now whenever an Astronaut is a Marine I have to wonder what contingency scenarios NASA has in mind.
Re: (Score:2)
In For All Mankind, the US space programme starts taking in women much earlier than in real life, because the Soviets put a woman on the moon.
In real life... Well, half of the current crop of NASA astronauts are women, so this crew beat the odds.
Re: (Score:2)
*** SPOILER ALERT *** I saw For All Mankind, now whenever an Astronaut is a Marine I have to wonder what contingency scenarios NASA has in mind. :-)
The first American to orbit, John Glenn, was also a Marine.
Re: (Score:2)
Ooh-rah, Semper-Fi. (I'm an Ohio Marine too) I have an autographed photo of John Glenn suiting up for that flight, signed by 5 of the 7 original Mercury astronauts. I contacted Glenn shortly after his flight in 1998 to show him the photo I had. Soon after he sent me an autographed photo of himself in the NASA spacesuit he wore for the shuttle flight. I was given the Mercury astronaut photo back in 1993 in exchange for a new computer. The father of the lady I received the photo from was in the Air Force and
Re: (Score:2)
Correction: Grissom signed as "V I Grissom" instead of "Gus Grissom". Still very odd.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Huh, I never thought of if like that. Thank you for the new perspective.
Re: (Score:2)
Huh, I never thought of if like that. Thank you for the new perspective.
Your welcome. It's not any great insight of mine. I've seen it before. The elderly neighbor of a friend gave my friend a genuine civil war musket when he found out my friend was a history nerd. The neighbor's kids and grandkids weren't interested in history, he said the musket deserved to be in the hands of someone who would care for it, who would preserve it.
My friend and I were smart enough to know such a relic should not be fired. Hell, I feel iffy firing a Garand. My friend purchased a replica musket
Re: (Score:2)
My uncle used to build custom muskets back when I was a kid. It was lots of fun learning to load and fire them correctly. He had one behemoth of a musket that I was always scared to fire though. It was so heavy that you had to rest the barrel on a rod he stuck into the ground with a "V" shape on top. I eventually did fire that beast and my shoulder ached for days.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The only people who ever utter the name James Talerico and transgender in the same sentence are republicans. Would you be happier if you were able to perform a genital inspection of James Talerico? Does thinking about what might be inside his pants give you strange feelings?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
What did he say?
Re: (Score:2)
making plans (Score:3)
That must be pretty stressful... "hey you MIGHT be going to space in a few months, but maybe not! Plan accordingly!"
Those are some pretty radically different options there, going to space and staying on earth really aren't two separate scenarios that are easy to come up with a flexible plan that can cover both.
I recall Neil saying he wasn't able to get life insurance when he was flying the experimental planes, and so NASA had to cover him. I wonder how that works with astronauts? I can just imagine making that phone call to your insurance company.... heeeey say I'm going to be flying around the moon next month so... "thank you for letting us know, we've suspended your insurance coverage for the next two months". Gee thanks.
Re:making plans (Score:4, Interesting)
Apollo astronauts found a workaround for life insurance [wikipedia.org]. I wonder if the Orion crew will do something like that.
Re: (Score:2)
In the 90s I remember reading that NASA provided insurance themselves for shuttle astronauts. I don't know whether that's still the case.
Re: (Score:2)
Whoopdedo! (Score:2)
What difference does it make who they send up. They're better off sending up poets.
republican racism and misogyny on full display. (Score:1)