Artemis III, test like you won’t fly?

The Artemis III crew on the announcement day. Image: NASA / Robert MarkowitzOn June 9, NASA announced an all-male crew for the upcoming Artemis III mission, which aims to dock the crew’s Orion spacecraft with prototype lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX in low Earth orbit to test several key systems and reduce risks ahead of a crewed Moon landing attempt with Artemis IV. The Artemis III crew comprises three NASA astronauts and one from ESA:Randy Bresnik, commanderESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, pilotAndre Douglas, mission specialistFrank Rubio, mission specialistNotably for the mission, SpaceX’s Lunar Starship prototype will not fly with life support systems, and so unlike with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander prototype, the astronauts will not enter Starship from Orion after docking. The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft are on track to be ready by mid-2027 for the mission. The SLS will not use nor need the upper stage, instead carrying just a structural “spacer” which replaces the…