The four astronauts assigned to fly NASA's Artemis III mission are deep into hands-on training at Johnson Space Center, practicing meals in a cramped capsule and rehearsing the photography skills they'll use to beam images back from space.
NASA's Johnson Space Center posted photos on Thursday, Aug. 20, showing Commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and mission specialist Frank Rubio working inside the full-scale Orion spacecraft mockup at JSC's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. In one image, Parmitano aims a camera at Rubio while both practice inside the capsule. In another, crew members smile alongside a NASA trainer while sampling the foods and drinks they'll consume during the roughly two-week mission.
The crew was announced June 9 at JSC's Teague Auditorium. A fourth member, mission specialist Andre Douglas, rounds out the team. All four have been training at the Houston campus since mid-June, when they began spacecraft familiarization sessions that included a full-suited run-through and a six-hour malfunction simulation involving Parmitano and Douglas.
"Something that we dream of as kids, is to get on a rocket and go to space, and so to be able to do that as part of my job is fantastic," Rubio told NBC's TODAY show on Aug. 20.
Rubio holds NASA's record for the longest consecutive spaceflight at more than 371 days aboard the International Space Station. Parmitano, the first European astronaut assigned to an Artemis mission, previously served as the first Italian commander of the ISS and the first Italian to perform a spacewalk.
The Orion capsule's livable volume is roughly 8 to 9 cubic meters, about the size of a large SUV. Targeted for launch in the second half of 2027, Artemis III will send the crew into low-Earth orbit to rendezvous with test versions of commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, demonstrating systems needed for future Moon landings beginning with Artemis IV.
Hardware is keeping pace with the crew's preparation. Technicians at Kennedy Space Center joined the Orion crew and service modules together on July 30, and a terminal countdown simulation ran Aug. 6 at KSC's launch control center. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Aug. 20 that he remains confident the mission will launch in 2027.
This fall, the crew is scheduled to begin training with the commercial lunar landing systems. As we reported Aug. 20, NASA Johnson photographers Luna Posadas Nava and James Blair, who captured the Orion mockup training images, are part of the team documenting spaceflight history from inside JSC.
What's ahead
- Fall 2026: Artemis III crew begins lunar lander system training
- Second half of 2027: Targeted launch of Artemis III from Kennedy Space Center
