NASA picks Italian astronaut Parmitano as pilot for Artemis III mission

Parmitano will be the first European astronaut to hold a primary operational role on an Artemis mission. Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano has been selected as pilot for the Artemis III spaceflight mission, joining three US astronauts on the crew, NASA announced on Tuesday.

Parmitano, 49, will become the first European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut to join an Artemis mission and the second non-US citizen to fly on the programme, after Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew on Artemis II.

NASA announced the full crew as: commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano of ESA, and NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas as lander specialists, with Bob Hines assigned as backup crew member. The launch is planned for 2027, though no specific date has yet been announced.

Mission The four-person mission will test moon landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin for the first time in space, conducting a docking demonstration with each in turn.

The mission is now planned as a crewed test flight in Earth orbit, with the primary objective of testing rendezvous and docking capabilities ahead of future lunar landing missions planned from Artemis IV onwards.

Parmitano, from Paternò in Sicily, brings considerable experience to the role. He has spent 366 days in space across two long-duration missions to the International Space Station - Volare and Beyond - during which he supported hundreds of experiments, carried out six spacewalks totalling more than 30 hours and served as Station commander.

Before joining the European astronaut corps, he was selected in 2007 by the Italian Air Force to train as an experimental test pilot at the French test pilot school EPNER. He has logged more than 2,000 flying hours and is qualified on more than 20 types of military aircraft and helicopter.

Reaction Speaking in English during the crew's presentation on Tuesday, a visibly moved Parmitano said he was honoured and humbled, but above all, grateful.

He hailed Italy as his "launch pad", before paying tribute to the country's education system, its air force and space agency, and his family.  

“[My] launchpad is my country, Italy…The European Space Agency is like a launch tower… the rocket, literally and figuratively, is NASA.” @ESA astronaut and Artemis III pilot @Astro_Luca shares words of gratitude. pic.twitter.com/a3w2AsCZcs

— NASA (@NASA) June 9, 2026

  ESA director general Josef Aschbacher welcomed the appointment, saying Parmitano's assignment as pilot reflected the depth of European expertise in human spaceflight and drew on his extensive operational experience in high-pressure situations.

ESA director of Human and Robotic Exploration Daniel Neuenschwander noted that Parmitano, in his piloting seat, would be responsible alongside the NASA commander for the complex spacecraft manoeuvring the mission would require, while European industry would also be represented through the European Service Module, with contributions from 13 ESA member states, 20 main contractors and over 100 suppliers.

Artemis III crew The full crew also brings notable variety of background. Commander Randy Bresnik, 58, is a retired US Marine Corps colonel and test pilot with more than 7,000 flying hours across 95 aircraft types, who has previously logged around 150 days in space.

Mission specialist Frank Rubio, 50, holds the record for the longest continuous spaceflight by a US astronaut at 371 days, set during a stay on the International Space Station that was extended when the Russian Soyuz spacecraft he arrived on developed a leak.

Andre Douglas, 40, will be making his first spaceflight; a former US Coast Guard naval architect, he holds a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University.

ESA's European Service Module - which provides power, propulsion, thermal control and life support for the Orion spacecraft - is currently undergoing testing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The module completed acoustic testing and will shortly be joined to the Orion crew module ahead of the integrated spacecraft's final test campaign before launch.

Photo credit: FabioMitidieri / Shutterstock.com