NASA Confirms Artemis III Crew: First Humans to Land on the Moon Since 1972
NASA has officially announced the four astronauts assigned to the Artemis III mission, scheduled to land near the lunar south pole and mark humanity's return to the lunar surface.
NASA has officially announced the crew for Artemis III, the mission that will return humans to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The mission is targeting a landing site near the lunar south pole, a region rich in water ice that could be critical for future long-duration exploration.
The Crew
The four-person crew includes a mission commander, a pilot, and two mission specialists. The landing crew — two of the four — will descend to the surface aboard SpaceX’s Human Landing System (HLS), a variant of Starship adapted for lunar operations.
The selection reflects NASA’s commitment to landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, a milestone established under the original Artemis mandate.
The Lunar South Pole Target
Unlike Apollo landings which targeted equatorial regions for technical simplicity, Artemis III aims for the south polar region. The scientific rationale is compelling:
- Water ice deposits confirmed by LCROSS, LRO and other missions
- Permanently shadowed craters that have preserved volatiles for billions of years
- Potential ISRU resources (in-situ resource utilization) for future propellant production
The landing site will be within reach of Shackleton Crater, one of the most studied targets in the region.
Timeline and Next Steps
Before the crewed landing, Artemis II — a crewed lunar flyby without landing — must complete successfully. That mission is currently scheduled for late 2025, with Artemis III to follow approximately 12-18 months later pending results.
The Orion capsule will carry all four crew members into lunar orbit. From there, two astronauts will board the SpaceX HLS for the final descent.
Industry Implications
The Artemis program represents a fundamental shift in how NASA approaches human exploration — from an agency-owned, agency-operated model to a commercial partnership model. SpaceX’s HLS contract, along with the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, sets the template for how deep space exploration will be structured in the coming decades.
For the NewSpace sector, every Artemis milestone is validation of the commercial-first approach that has defined the industry since the COTS era.