NASA to Reveal Artemis III Crew at June 9 Live Event

NASA will announce the crew for its Artemis III mission during a live event from Johnson Space Center in Houston on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. The event, scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT, marks a significant milestone for the agency's lunar program, though the mission's objectives have shifted from an immediate Moon landing to a critical test of orbital systems.

Artemis III is now planned as a low Earth orbit rendezvous and docking mission. Its primary goal is to test the integration and operations between the Orion spacecraft and the commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin under NASA's Human Landing System program. This test is considered a vital rehearsal to validate complex procedures and reduce risk before attempting a crewed lunar landing, which is now targeted for the Artemis IV mission in late 2028.

The four-person crew will launch aboard Orion on NASA's Space Launch System rocket. In orbit, they will practice docking maneuvers with one or both of the commercial landers—SpaceX's Starship HLS and Blue Origin's Blue Moon. The mission will also provide an opportunity to test next-generation spacesuits designed for lunar surface excursions. NASA officials have...