Cantwell Statement on Artemis III Crew Announcement

Cantwell Statement on Artemis III Crew Announcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the crew for the upcoming Artemis III mission, which is scheduled to launch next year:

• Randy Bresnik, Commander
• Luca Parmitano, Pilot
• Frank Rubio, Mission Specialist
• Andre Douglas, Mission Specialist
• Bob Hines, Backup Crew Member

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) serves as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which oversees NASA. She issued the following statement following the crew announcement today:

"Congratulations to Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and Bob Hines on being selected for NASA's Artemis III mission! With the help of Washington state's aerospace innovators, engineers, and skilled workforce, this highly complex mission will prove out key technologies for docking the Orion spacecraft with our lunar landers in Earth orbit. This is an integral step for the United States to return to the moon and to establish a lasting presence there."

The Artemis III mission will send a crew into Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft needed to land astronauts on the Moon.

Sen. Cantwell is a champion of American space exploration. Last month, she met the Artemis II crew and presented them with a Senate resolution celebrating their historic journey around the moon earlier this year. Video of Sen. Cantwell's remarks at that ceremony are HERE and a transcript is HERE; photos are HERE.

On April 9, while they were still on their mission, Sen. Cantwell spoke live to the Artemis II crew about the future of human space exploration. NASA's livestream of that exchange is available HERE; Video showing Sen. Cantwell as she spoke to the astronauts from her Seattle office is available HERE.

On March 30, Sen. Cantwell visited two of the dozens of Washington state companies that are supplying NASA's Artemis Mission - Karman Space & Defense in Mukilteo, and L3Harris in Redmond. Karman Space & Defense is a manufacturer of mission-critical subsystems for launch vehicles, spacecraft, and hypersonic systems. The company's Mukilteo campus produces components for the Orion capsule that flew on the Artemis II mission. L3Harris specializes in rocket propulsion, holding contracts to provide many of the thrusters used on Artemis. The company's Redmond facility has manufactured spacecraft thrusters for NASA since 1968 and has supported famous missions such as Viking and Voyager.

READ MORE:

Fact Sheet: Washington's Space Economy and Sen. Cantwell's Support for the Artemis Program

NASA Marches Toward Artemis III Mission in 2027, Names Crew Members - NASA

The Seattle Times: Washington's space economy powers the Artemis II moonshot

KIRO 7: Artemis II: Washington's hand in the upcoming historic flight around the moon

GeekWire: Watch NASA count down to the launch of humanity's first moon voyage in nearly 54 years

Sen. Cantwell currently oversees NASA and the space industry as ranking member of the Commerce Committee. In March, Sen. Cantwell led bipartisan, unanimous passage through the Commerce Committee of the NASA Authorization Act of 2026, which confirms support for the Artemis missions.