NASA has officially named the crew for the Artemis III mission, which aims to land humans on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four astronauts—Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen—were announced during a ceremony at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on April 3, 2023. The mission is currently targeted for no earlier than 2027, according to NASA's latest schedule updates.
The Artemis III mission is part of NASA's broader Artemis program, which seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon. The crew includes the first woman (Koch) and the first person of color (Glover) assigned to a lunar landing mission. Hansen, a Canadian astronaut, represents the first non-American to be part of a Moon landing crew. The mission will launch aboard the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, with a planned landing near the lunar south pole.
NASA officials have emphasized that the 2027 timeline is subject to technical and budgetary constraints. The agency is currently working on the development of the Human Landing System, awarded to SpaceX's Starship, which will transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface. Delays in Starship testing and other program elements have pushed the original 2025 target to 2027 or later.
The Artemis III mission will focus on scientific exploration, including collecting samples and conducting experiments in the south pole region, which is believed to contain water ice. The crew will spend about a week on the lunar surface, marking a significant step toward NASA's goal of sending humans to Mars in the 2030s.
