NASA picks first European astronaut for Artemis mission

NASA has tapped Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano to pilot the Artemis III mission, making him the first European to be a part of the US space agency's key human spaceflight campaign.

On Tuesday, NASA chief Jared Isaacman unveiled a four-member crew and a backup for the 2027 flight that will test new lunar landers — not on the moon as originally planned, but closer to home in Earth's orbit.

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik has been picked as the mission commander, with Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio serving as mission specialists.

The three US astronauts and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Parmitano will orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two moon landers.

NASA described the tests as challenging and essential for Artemis IV, which is its first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.

NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member to be on standby in case of an emergency.

The Artemis III comes after the success of the Artemis II mission two months ago, when humans flew around the moon for the first time in over five decades.

The April mission beat the distance record of the 1970 spaceflight Apollo 13.