Italian Luca Parmitano to fly to space with Artemis 3 in 2027 – German astronauts miss out on Moon mission

Instead, the docking of the "Orion" spacecraft with Moon landing systems is to be tested. "Artemis 3" is to launch into Earth orbit in 2027 for tests. Unlike originally planned, no Moon landing is envisaged for this mission: "Anders als ursprünglich geplant ist bei „Artemis 3" keine Mondlandung vorgesehen", NASA stated. Bob Hines is on standby as a backup in case of emergency.

Alongside Parmitano, the US Americans Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik are part of the crew. The mission is part of the Artemis program, which was announced in 2017 and originally was expected to feature a crewed Moon landing as early as 2024. Due to repeated delays, the schedule has been pushed back several times. With the program, NASA is pursuing the goal of establishing a permanent presence on the Moon.

Reactions from Europe

For European spaceflight, Parmitano's nomination is a milestone. "Erstmals wird Europa mit einem eigenen Astronauten beim NASA-Mondprogramm dabei sein", commented former ESA Director General Jan Wörner, who held the office from 2015 to 2021. He congratulated the 49-year-old Italian and described him as "absoluter Profi und zudem ein sehr sympathischer Typ". At the same time, he expressed the expectation: "Meine Erwartung und Hoffnung ist, dass auch bei der Landung auf dem Mond ein Europäer dabei ist."

Wörner also emphasized: "Prima, dass ein Europäer am Artemis-Programm teilnehmen kann". His successor at the head of ESA, Josef Aschbacher, had announced at the end of 2025: "Ich habe entschieden, dass die ersten Europäer, die auf einer Mondmission fliegen werden, Esa-Astronauten deutscher, französischer und italienischer Nationalität sein werden." In doing so, he had initially held out the prospect of an early role for the German astronaut.

German astronauts miss out

However, no German spacefarer is aboard Artemis 3. The German ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer had publicly expressed their desire to take part in the Moon mission. NASA's decision to nominate Parmitano for the 2027 flight means that a German has not been considered for this mission.

For 2028, two Moon landing missions – Artemis 4 and Artemis 5 – are planned. This leaves open the possibility that a German astronaut could also be deployed on future missions. Already at the beginning of April this year, humans had flown near the Moon for the first time in more than half a century, without actually setting foot on it.

Outlook on Artemis 4 and 5

Luca Parmitano looks back on a long-standing astronaut career. He had already flown to space for the second time in 2019. With his nomination for Artemis 3, he continues his career within the framework of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. The Artemis program is named after the Greek goddess of the Moon and twin sister of the god Apollo and forms NASA's central endeavor for the coming years.

ESA and NASA have built up their partnership within the framework of the Artemis program over many years. With the European Service Module of the Orion spacecraft, Europe provides a key technical element. Parmitano's nomination is the most visible expression to date of this cooperation at the crew level.