NASA Artemis III Mission Pilot: European Space Agency Astronaut Luca Parmitano

NASA Artemis III Mission Pilot: European Space Agency Astronaut Luca Parmitano

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano is assigned to serve as pilot of NASA’s Artemis III Mission. ESA will also support the Orion III Mission with the European Service Module (ESM). NASA's Artemis III Mission will test critical operations preparing for a return to the Moon's surface. The key objective of the Artemis III Mission is to test rendezvous and docking capabilities ahead of future lunar landing missions.

The crew of Artemis III mission will include, NASA astronaut and commander Randy Bresnik, pilot Luca Parmitano of ESA, and NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas as lander specialists. NASA astronaut Bob Hines was also assigned as a backup crew member. The crew will now begin a rigorous training schedule to learn the Orion spacecraft systems, as well as the operations of the human landing systems (HLS), to prepare for an ambitious series of demonstrations ahead of a Moon landing mission.

Luca Parmitano is an ESA astronaut from Italy. He spent 366 days in space across two long-duration missions to the International Space Station, Volare and Beyond. During these missions, he supported hundreds of experiments, performed six spacewalks totalling more than 30 hours and became commander the Station. Since returning to Earth, he has served as ESA’s liaison at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, acting as CAPCOM and training ESA astronauts for spacewalks and robotic operations. Last year, Luca participated in NASA’s Underway Recovery Test 12 off the coast of California to simulate the splashdown and recovery of Artemis astronauts from a full-scale mock-up of the Orion spacecraft.

Before joining the European astronaut corps, Luca was selected in 2007 by the Italian Air Force to become a test pilot. He trained as an Experimental Test Pilot at EPNER, the French test pilot school in Istres. Luca was promoted to the role of Colonel in the Italian Air Force ahead of his Beyond mission in 2019. He has logged more than 2000 hours flying time, is qualified on more than 20 types of military airplanes and helicopters and has flown over 40 types of aircraft. His technical skills as test pilot will be put to the test once again during the Artemis III mission.

Luca Parmitano: “I am honored to be part of this crew, and humbled at the same time: my crew mates bring a wealth of different experiences, and I’m looking forward to working with them, eager to learn and to contribute as much as I can in my role. As a test pilot, this is truly a dream mission, as we’ll be able to help testing systems and developing procedures so that future crews may go further and ultimately take humanity back to the Moon” said Luca Parmitano, ESA astronaut. “I am very grateful to the Italian Air Force for providing me with training in my early stages; to the Italian Space Agency -and Italy as a whole- for trusting me with their very first long duration flight when I was just a rookie; and to the European Space Agency for the training, endless support and amazing opportunities I have had since I became an ESA astronaut, and to NASA for its leadership in returning humanity to the Moon. It’s the confirmation that ESA is a reliable partner, and the continuation of a strong partnership with NASA that will take a European to the Moon.” 

“Europe will play not only one but two decisive roles in this upcoming Artemis mission,” said Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration. “ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, in his piloting seat, will be responsible for the complex spacecraft maneouvering, alongside the NASA commander, which the mission will require. The European industry will also be onboard with him thanks to our European Service Module with contributions from across 13 ESA Member States, involving 20 main contractors and over 100 suppliers.”

ESA’s European Service Module supports NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Artemis missions to the Moon by providing power, propulsion, thermal control, air and water for the four astronauts on board. Built by European industry led by ESA, the module’s structure is produced by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, before final assembly by prime contractor Airbus in Bremen, Germany. The first two European Service Modules successfully powered the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 and the crewed Artemis II mission earlier this year.

As announced by NASA, Artemis III is now planned as a crewed test flight in Earth orbit to demonstrate systems and operations required for future lunar landing missions planned from Artemis IV onwards. Following launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, the European Service Module’s engines will be used to perform key propulsion maneuvers, as well as supporting proximity operations and docking demonstrations with lunar landing system pathfinders.

The third European Service Module is currently undergoing testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The module recently completed acoustic testing and will soon be connected to the Orion crew module, forming the integrated spacecraft. The four European-built solar arrays will then be installed before Orion continues its test and integration campaign ahead of launch next year.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Release Date: June 9, 2026

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