NASA announced on Tuesday that the Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano will be the first European to participate in the Artemis 3 mission. While the mission is notable for its European involvement, Parmitano is not from Germany.
He will be one of four astronauts scheduled to launch in 2027 into Earth orbit to test the docking of the Orion spacecraft with lunar landing systems. It is important to note that a lunar landing is not planned for this particular mission.
The crew also includes the Americans Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik, with Bob Hines standing by as a replacement. Although initially, a German astronaut was planned to be part of the mission, the selection process shifted, resulting in Parmitano being chosen instead. This development comes despite the original plan where ESA Chief Josef Aschbacher had stated in 2025 that the inaugural European astronauts on a lunar mission would originate from Germany, France, and Italy.
Parmitano, who is 49 years old and married with two children, was trained at the Italian Air Force Academy and served as a test pilot before being selected as an ESA astronaut in 2009. His experience includes two missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), where he participated in docking maneuvers.
