The Appointment of Luca Parmitano for the Artemis III Mission and Changes to the Space Program Aimed at the Moon
As announced a few days ago, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano will be on board the Artemis III mission as a pilot alongside NASA astronauts Randolph Bresnik (commander), Andre Douglas (mission specialist), and Frank Rubio (mission specialist), while Bob Hines will be the backup astronaut. This is a great honor for our country and further recognition of Parmitano's work, both in space and on Earth, as well as at the mission control center for the ISS and for other aerospace-related missions.
As stated by Teodoro Valente (President of ASI), "Italy has always had a strong representation of astronauts in the European group, a presence of great professionals born from our country’s space ecosystem and the support of the Italian Space Agency, which includes the training of two reserve astronauts, Anthea Evelina Comellini and Andrea Patassa, supported by ASI along with ESA's organized training modules."
Luca Parmitano and the Artemis Program Missions
The change in strategy of the Artemis program has also affected the order of astronaut assignments. Just a few months ago, the Artemis III mission was supposed to include a lunar landing, but Jared Isaacman (NASA administrator) later indicated that the third mission of the program would serve as a "test" to conduct trials on one or two lunar landers. To this end, the U.S. space agency required the presence of a test pilot, thus favoring the selection of Luca Parmitano (who is a test pilot for the Italian Air Force with over 2000 flight hours on more than 40 different aircraft), in addition to his experience aboard the ISS, even in critical situations (we recall the malfunction of his spacesuit during a spacewalk).
These changes within the program involve the suspension of the Lunar Gateway, although, in fact, with the construction of a permanent lunar base on the surface, an orbiting space station used for the Moon now seems unnecessary. Astronaut assignments occur in various ways, but generally, there are agreements between space agencies. An example is Jeremy Hansen (mission specialist for Artemis II), who was assigned to a mission under a NASA-CSA agreement for the supply of Canadarm3 for the Gateway. The construction of the device is ongoing, according to the main contractor, but its use will be different (possibly in LEO, possibly on the Moon).
Current Opportunities for Italy
Italy currently has two spots available. One is related to a NASA-ASI bilateral agreement for the supply of the MPH module, while the other is linked to ESA, as our country is the third-largest contributor to the European Space Agency after Germany and France. However, for Luca Parmitano, neither of the two available spots was "used," as this was a specific choice made by NASA, in agreement with ESA, given Parmitano’s mission profile and specific characteristics that made him one of the most suitable candidates for the role.
Currently, it is unclear what the composition of future crews will be after Artemis III. Unless there are further changes, the fourth mission of the program and the first to land (scheduled for early 2028) could feature four American astronauts: two on the surface and two inside Orion. Artemis V, on the other hand, could be the first to have a "mixed" crew on the lunar surface.
In 2024, NASA and JAXA announced together that a Japanese astronaut would have a spot on an Artemis mission for the construction of the pressurized Japanese rover Lunar Cruiser, and could potentially be the first non-American astronaut to walk on the Moon. This non-binding agreement suggests that between the end of 2028 and 2029, crews might include astronauts from different space agencies. As mentioned above, it's worth considering that until relatively recently, Artemis IV and Artemis V were missions expected to include European astronauts for the assembly of the Lunar Gateway. Plans, therefore, remain quite uncertain, and while the return to the Moon will almost certainly be U.S.-led, in the following years, the dynamics could involve multiple nationalities, including Italian astronauts on the surface of the natural satellite.