NASA astronaut and International Space Station Expedition 74/75 flight engineer Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA/James Blair
NASA astronaut Anil Menon will be available for limited media interviews beginning at 9 a.m. EDT Monday, June 22, to discuss his upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74/75.
The virtual interviews will take place from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel.
Media interested in participating must submit a request to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, by emailing jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
Menon is scheduled to launch to the space station Tuesday, July 14, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The trio will spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in spring 2027.
During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help humans prepare for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and to provide benefits on Earth. Among the hundreds of experiments planned during his mission, he will participate in studies to better understand astronaut vein structure, blood flow, and blood composition in microgravity. He also will test producing intravenous fluids using the space station’s potable water.
The Soyuz MS-29 mission will be his first spaceflight after he was selected as part of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class. A native of Minneapolis, Menon is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He also has served as an expedition flight surgeon supporting the agency’s crew members aboard the space station.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.
To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:
NASA astronaut and International Space Station Expedition 74/75 flight engineer Anil Menon poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA/James Blair
NASA astronaut Anil Menon will be available for limited media interviews beginning at 9 a.m. EDT Monday, June 22, to discuss his upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of Expeditions 74/75.
The virtual interviews will take place from the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, and will stream live on the agency’s YouTube channel.
Media interested in participating must submit a request to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, by emailing jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
Menon is scheduled to launch to the space station Tuesday, July 14, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. The trio will spend about eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory before returning to Earth in spring 2027.
During his expedition, Menon will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help humans prepare for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and to provide benefits on Earth. Among the hundreds of experiments planned during his mission, he will participate in studies to better understand astronaut vein structure, blood flow, and blood composition in microgravity. He also will test producing intravenous fluids using the space station’s potable water.
The Soyuz MS-29 mission will be his first spaceflight after he was selected as part of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class. A native of Minneapolis, Menon is an emergency medicine physician, mechanical engineer, and colonel in the United States Space Force. He also has served as an expedition flight surgeon supporting the agency’s crew members aboard the space station.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.
To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:
Across the stories today, a common thread emerges around the gap between scientific urgency and practical action — from coral reefs that might survive climate change to political systems struggling to keep pace with environmental reality.
The day’s coverage points to growing momentum around citizen-led conservation, revealing how communities are stepping in where institutions fall short. In Britain, volunteers are using remote cameras to protect red squirrels while citizen scientists help restore bog insect populations through coordinated community efforts. Meanwhile, American homeowners are banding together in group buying programs, saving thousands of dollars on heat pumps while collectively advancing climate solutions one neighborhood at a time.
Yet this grassroots energy exists alongside troubling institutional retreats. The UK government appears ready to scale back electric vehicle targets after industry pushback, while critical monitoring systems for Atlantic ocean currents — which could collapse ten times faster than previously predicted — may lose funding just when we need them most. It’s a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together, creating political tensions that can undermine long-term environmental goals.
The human cost of these delays becomes starkly visible in places like Delhi, where thermal imaging revealed that 43.5°C air temperatures translated into furnace-like conditions on urban surfaces, or in the Marshall Islands, where researchers race to identify “super reefs” that might survive rising ocean temperatures. Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time, from Thai rubber farmers navigating new EU deforestation rules to climate-displaced people facing growing barriers to safety as extreme weather events multiply.
Perhaps most striking is how wildlife serves as both victim and indicator of these broader pressures. Little terns face their most challenging breeding season yet due to dog disturbances, while a single black-headed gull spotted in Australia sends bird enthusiasts flying across the continent — a reminder of how rare the unexpected has become. Meanwhile, Mexican long-tongued bats continue their nightly dance through agave flowers, unknowingly keeping the tequila industry alive through pollination, even as global wildlife trade creates what scientists call “pandemic roulette” by moving billions of animals across unnatural boundaries.
The most promising thread runs through stories of restoration and discovery. A former banker is bringing back Australia’s lost Big Scrub rainforest, while Amazon deforestation drops to nearly decade-low levels, showing environmental progress is possible when political will aligns with practical action. Century-old Antarctic research voyages are revealing early clues to El Niño patterns, and scientists have identified hidden pollutants driving 15 percent of global warming — knowledge that could reshape climate policy.
Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta’s argument that “false narratives drive environmental destruction” feels particularly relevant amid today’s stories. From conservation groups rejecting shark culling calls in favor of drone technology to the controversy over displaying an African elephant at a political convention, the battle over environmental stories — which ones we tell, which ones we fund, which ones we act upon — shapes outcomes as much as any scientific discovery.
As the week unfolds, all eyes will be on whether these citizen-led conservation efforts can scale fast enough to compensate for institutional hesitation, and whether the gap between scientific understanding and political action will narrow or continue to widen in the face of accelerating environmental change.
The United Kingdom appears ready to soften its ambitious electric vehicle transition goals following sustained pressure from automotive manufacturers and labor unions. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly prepared to override Environment Secretary Ed Miliband’s stance on maintaining the current 2030 timeline for electric vehicle adoption.
The government is now planning to launch a public consultation on revised, less stringent targets for the shift to battery-powered vehicles throughout the remainder of this decade. This potential policy reversal comes after car manufacturers and union representatives raised serious concerns about the economic impact of the current mandates.
Industry leaders have argued that the existing 2030 targets could result in financial penalties for manufacturers who struggle to meet the aggressive sales quotas. They warn that such penalties could force companies to reduce operations or relocate production facilities, potentially leading to significant job losses across the automotive sector.
The debate highlights the ongoing tension between environmental policy goals and economic realities in the transition to cleaner transportation. While electric vehicle adoption has been steadily increasing, manufacturers contend that consumer demand and charging infrastructure development have not kept pace with government expectations. The automotive industry employs hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK, making job security a critical consideration in policy decisions.
This development represents a significant test for the government’s climate commitments, as transportation accounts for a substantial portion of the country’s carbon emissions. The final decision on whether to adjust these targets will likely influence the UK’s broader environmental strategy and its ability to meet international climate pledges.
Across the stories today, a common thread emerges: the tension between revelation and rescue—moments when new understanding drives urgent action, even as time runs short.
Beneath our feet, scientists have mapped fungal networks stretching nearly a billion times the distance to the sun, revealing an underground web of connection that dwarfs anything visible above ground. It’s a reminder that the natural world operates on scales both microscopic and cosmic, with systems we’re only beginning to understand. This same spirit of discovery appears in unexpected places—from the ghostly earthshine illuminating the moon’s dark side to the arrival of a tropical western reef heron in Wales, likely pushed northward by changing climate patterns.
The day’s coverage points to growing momentum around what happens when scientific insight meets conservation urgency. In Mozambique, nine female white rhinos completed their journey to establish the country’s first viable breeding population in generations—a decade-long effort finally bearing fruit. Meanwhile, Australian researchers at PlantBank work like modern-day ark builders, preserving seeds before species disappear forever. On Palau’s Ulong Island, the simple act of removing invasive rats triggered rapid ecological recovery across both land and marine environments, challenging assumptions about how long nature needs to heal.
Yet revelations don’t always bring good news. China’s power sector emissions fell for the first time in a decade, a historic milestone, but a coal surge threatens to reverse that progress. Trees may store less carbon than scientists hoped, according to new research examining growth patterns across 137 forest sites. And Antarctica is missing sea ice equivalent to France’s size, with winter temperatures soaring 20°C above normal—numbers that feel abstract until you consider their global implications.
It’s a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together. Lake Mead approaches the critical threshold that will slash Hoover Dam’s electricity production, while thousands of marine animals die in fishing nets annually through bycatch. For the 58-year-old Kenyan fisherman Mohamed Mwazigona, returning to shore with just 2 kilograms of fish, these aren’t statistics—they’re the reality of dwindling catches that threaten coastal livelihoods.
Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time. Eight volunteers used ropes and pulleys to rescue a 172-pound loggerhead turtle named Bowser from a Florida pier—the kind of hands-on conservation that makes the difference between survival and loss. In Albania, protesters dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution” emerged after bulldozers illegally destroyed protected wetlands for a luxury resort, showing how environmental destruction can galvanize public resistance.
The stories also reveal how legal frameworks struggle to keep pace with environmental challenges. A federal judge ruled the Trump administration’s cancellation of environmental justice grants illegal, while Australia’s climate chief outlined plans to transform the country from fossil fuel exporter to renewable energy leader. Meanwhile, environmental laws were waived to enable border wall construction through Big Bend National Park, illustrating how political priorities can override conservation concerns.
What emerges is a picture of a planet under pressure, but also of human ingenuity rising to meet unprecedented challenges. As commercial satellites threaten the night sky that has guided humanity for millennia, conservationists celebrate osprey chicks hatching in Wales and sengi pups born in captivity. Progress isn’t linear, and solutions often come from unexpected directions—underground fungal networks, community rescue efforts, and the patient work of seed preservation.
As the week unfolds, all eyes will be on how these parallel stories of discovery and rescue continue to intersect, shaping our understanding of what’s possible when knowledge meets action.
A part of Canadarm2 robotic arm on the ISS broke in May, requiring repairs by spacewalking astronauts no earlier than June 30. A spare is already on the station.
Across the stories today, a common thread emerges: conservation is working, but the planet isn’t waiting for us to catch up. From Kent’s butterfly meadows to Cambodia’s tiger corridors, dedicated efforts are bringing species back from the brink — yet climate disasters are simultaneously accelerating faster than anyone predicted.
The Duke of Burgundy butterfly’s 90-fold population surge in Kent represents the kind of conservation victory that reminds us what’s possible with focused effort and patience. Similarly, Kyrgyzstan’s massive wildlife corridor for snow leopards and Cambodia’s ambitious tiger reintroduction program signal that countries are thinking beyond traditional protected areas toward landscape-scale solutions. These aren’t just feel-good stories — they’re blueprints for how targeted conservation can reverse seemingly impossible odds.
But the day’s coverage points to growing momentum around an uncomfortable truth: even our biggest successes are racing against accelerating climate impacts. In Indonesia, extreme rainfall killed 58 of the world’s rarest orangutans in just four days — a 7% population loss that no conservation program can quickly replace. Meanwhile, Antarctica recorded winter temperatures above 15°C, shattering records and leaving scientists describing conditions as “very strange.”
Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time. Indonesian fishers are turning to mangrove restoration and crab farming as traditional catches dwindle. Coffee farmers worldwide are rediscovering forgotten species as familiar varieties fail under changing conditions. In the Cotswolds, citizen scientists are filling gaps left by overstretched agencies, uncovering “worrying” pollution levels in rivers that official monitoring might have missed.
The tension between protection and development threads through multiple stories today. Property developers argue that new environmental regulations will drive up housing costs, while environmental groups fight to prevent SpaceX from acquiring wildlife refuge land in Texas. In Ethiopia, successful conservation efforts are preserving nature but may be undermining local food security — a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together.
Perhaps most revealing is how different institutions are responding to crisis. While the U.S. weakens marine protections domestically, it’s actively policing illegal fishing internationally. Kenya becomes the first African nation to receive UN climate disaster compensation, while proposed federal budget cuts threaten to eliminate Great Lakes monitoring programs. China’s Belt and Road Initiative generates massive emissions through steel-heavy construction, even as solar power surpasses coal in the U.S. for the first time in history.
The enforcement stories offer a different kind of hope. South Africa sentenced two pangolin traffickers to eight years in prison — a serious consequence in a field often marked by weak penalties. Durham’s chemical company faces state lawsuits for decades of toxic contamination, while an 80-year-old Texas shrimper traveled 8,000 miles to Taiwan to confront a petrochemical giant at their shareholder meeting.
What emerges is a picture of environmental action happening at every scale — from butterfly meadows to international courts — but also of systems under unprecedented stress. As extreme weather kills endangered species faster than breeding programs can replace them, and as climate displacement intensifies while immigration laws offer no protection, the question isn’t whether we can solve individual problems. It’s whether we can solve them fast enough, and at the scale the planet now demands.
A talk on rising energy costs on Capitol Hill hosted by Democrats, from left, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, in March.
The four astronauts named to the Artemis 3 crew are all male, but NASA officials emphasized they were selected based on their qualifications and experience.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the world’s largest infrastructure development program, is generating enormous greenhouse gas emissions that threaten global climate goals. Two comprehensive new studies reveal that more than half of the program’s carbon footprint comes from a single source: steel production, with the vast majority manufactured within China itself.
The Belt and Road Initiative spans over 130 countries and involves massive construction projects including highways, railways, ports, and power plants across Asia, Africa, and Europe. While these infrastructure developments promise economic growth and connectivity, the environmental cost is staggering. The steel required for bridges, buildings, and transportation networks carries an enormous carbon burden, as steel production is one of the most energy-intensive and polluting industrial processes.
The research highlights a critical challenge in global climate action: even as countries commit to reducing emissions, mega-infrastructure projects continue pumping massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Steel manufacturing typically relies on coal-fired furnaces and generates substantial emissions both from energy consumption and chemical processes that release CO2 directly from raw materials.
Addressing this climate impact will require fundamental changes in how infrastructure projects approach materials and manufacturing. The studies emphasize that stronger environmental regulations and major investments in cleaner steel production technologies are essential. Without these shifts toward low-carbon manufacturing methods, large-scale construction projects will continue undermining global efforts to limit temperature rise and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
NASA's Artemis 3 mission in 2027 looks to be one of agency's most complicated missions ever, with three giant rocket launches and two private moon lander prototypes that haven't been built yet.
Across the stories today, a common thread emerges: the growing gap between urgent environmental realities and the systems—political, economic, and social—struggling to keep pace with change.
This tension plays out most starkly in the realm of climate health impacts. New research warns that heat-related hospitalizations could double by 2040, while a super El Niño threatens to deepen global economic inequality through cascading climate disruptions. Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time. In Pacoima, a working-class Los Angeles neighborhood sandwiched between highways and heavy industry, residents like Jose Luis Salas are mounting their own defense against air pollution, installing shoebox-sized monitoring devices that track what they breathe daily.
Yet the day’s coverage also points to growing momentum around practical solutions gaining real traction. Solar energy quietly surpassed coal in U.S. electricity generation for the first time this May—a milestone that arrived not through grand announcements but through the steady accumulation of rooftop panels and utility-scale installations. Britain cleared a major bottleneck by offering grid connections to over 700 clean energy projects, while new data reveals the country’s green economy now employs over one million workers across a £100 billion sector.
The stories reveal how environmental challenges are increasingly driving innovation at the community level. In Guatemala’s Western Highlands, approximately 60 communities are reviving ancient Maya agricultural wisdom, creating homemade biopesticides from aromatic plants to replace expensive chemical alternatives. Similarly, 120 women farmers in Malawi’s Chiradzulu district have transformed traditional maize cultivation by adding organic fruits and vegetables now in high demand from urban buyers—though their success is shadowed by a troubling reality: their bees, crucial pollinators for food security, are mysteriously disappearing.
It’s a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together. Colombia enacted groundbreaking legislation requiring detailed cattle tracking to prevent deforestation-linked beef from reaching markets, while Indonesia’s magnificent hornbills face accelerating threats from both habitat loss and an illegal online pet trade. The contrast illustrates how conservation gains in one area can be undermined by emerging threats in another.
Perhaps most telling is how wealth continues to complicate climate action. New research from Greenpeace reveals that the ultra-rich drive a quarter of global emissions not through private jets—their visible symbols of excess—but through their investment portfolios and asset ownership. Meanwhile, chemical companies are quietly pushing “immunity laws” across 15 states to shield themselves from health-related lawsuits, even as communities bear the costs of environmental damage.
The space program offers its own metaphor for these broader tensions. NASA’s latest astronaut selections for Artemis missions reflect both ambition and limitation—crews training for missions that won’t reach the Moon, while hundreds of women gathered at the AeroWomen conference to prepare for space careers in an industry still taking shape.
As the week unfolds, all eyes will be on whether these parallel tracks—accelerating environmental pressures and emerging solutions—can converge into the systemic changes scientists say are necessary. Today’s stories suggest we’re living through a period when local innovation and global challenges are both intensifying, creating opportunities for breakthrough and breakdown in equal measure.
NASA named the astronauts who will launch on its Artemis 3 mission next year to test docking procedures in Earth orbit ahead of a planned moon landing in 2028.
The Artemis III crew poses for an official portrait (from left: Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio).
Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford
Taking another step toward one of the most complex human spaceflight missions in recent history, NASA on Tuesday provided new Artemis III details and announced the four prime crew members and a backup for the test flight. The mission will undertake a series of challenging tests in Earth orbit in 2027, essential for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.
During Artemis III, the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to low Earth orbit. After Orion systems checkouts, the spacecraft will, for the first time, demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX. This highly choreographed mission includes a dramatic multi-launch campaign of the world’s most powerful rockets, testing integrated hardware between Orion and the landers, including system interfaces, software, propulsion, and communications.
As part of Tuesday’s event, NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member. The crew will begin training immediately on Orion spacecraft systems, as well as assist in the development and operations of the test versions of Blue Origin and SpaceX landers.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Their achievements reignited global excitement for exploration, and now they pass the torch to the Artemis III team, Randy, Luca, Frank, and Andre. Artemis III will demonstrate the power of American innovation and international partnership as we test complex rendezvous and docking operations and advance the technologies that will one day carry us deeper into the solar system. This mission will require the most awe-inspiring coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history, drawing on the talent and capability of teams across government and the spaceflight community. The Artemis III astronauts, alongside ESA and our international partners, and the tens of thousands of the best and brightest across the agency and industry, are ushering in a new Golden Age of exploration carrying forward the hopes and dreams of the next generation just as the Apollo astronauts did for so many of us.”
This also is the first time an ESA astronaut has been assigned an Artemis mission.
“Artemis III will push the boundaries of spacecraft operations in orbit. Luca’s assignment as pilot reflects the depth of European expertise in human spaceflight and draws on his extensive operational experience in high-pressure situations,” said Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general. “At the same time, ESA’s European Service Module will once again provide the critical capabilities that power Orion, demonstrating Europe’s enduring role at the very heart of the Artemis program. The news out of Houston today is a powerful recognition of ESA’s role in enabling humanity’s return to the Moon – and a key advancement in our partnership with NASA. Europeans can take pride in being part of this exciting journey.”
Mission progress
NASA and its partners are making progress preparing for the test flight.
Engineers will connect the Orion crew module and service module this summer and integrate the spacecraft’s docking system, which will fly for the first time. Heat shield testing continues with individual blocks having undergone ultra-sonic inspections and installation onto the heat shield structure.
Rocket processing also is well underway. Technicians for SLS are integrating the engine section to the rest of the core stage ahead of installing the four RS-25 engines this summer. With all solid rocket booster segments now at NASA Kennedy and mobile launcher refurbishments on track, rocket stacking also is scheduled to begin this summer. NASA continues design and fabrication of a spacer that will replace the upper stage on Artemis III.
Blue Origin is developing a crewed lunar version of the company’s Blue Moon lander, while SpaceX is developing a crewed lunar lander version of the company’s Starship, with both companies building test articles for Artemis III. NASA is supporting both lander providers hands-on throughout design, development, testing, and evaluation, including sharing agency expertise and capabilities gained from previous missions.
In addition to status updates from NASA and both commercial partners, the agency discussed details during the event about the planned operations for Artemis III, which will support an increased mission cadence, ramp up production, and drive supply chain improvements for the Artemis program.
The Artemis III mission builds on the successful Artemis II flight completed in April and will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts, Americans, to Mars.
Artemis III includes launching the world’s most powerful rockets in short order. Blue Origin’s lander pathfinder, which is able to stay in orbit for multiple weeks, will launch first and await the crew. NASA will send the astronauts aboard Orion by SLS to orbit Earth, before rendezvousing in space with the company’s lander test article and spending about two days docked together for tests and technology demonstrations, including entering the lander.
After completing docked operations with Blue Origin, Orion will detach and await Starship. SpaceX’s Starship pathfinder will launch and meet up with Orion to spend about a day connected for checkouts and testing. After that, Orion and its crew will undock and return home, splashing safely down in the Pacific Ocean where a team from the U.S. Navy and NASA will recover the astronauts.
In total, the crew is expected to remain in space for about two weeks, with exact mission length to be determined in real-time based on launch, rendezvous, and docked operations.
Learn more about Artemis III crew members
This will be the third mission to space for Bresnik, having launched aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station in 2009. He later flew on the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the space station, serving as a flight engineer for the station’s Expedition 52 and commander of Expedition 53. A California native, he graduated from The Citadel with a degree in mathematics and was selected by NASA in the 2004 astronaut candidate class. A retired U.S. Marine colonel, he has logged more than 7,000 hours in 95 types of aircraft and is a fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Since 2018, he has served as assistant to the chief of the Astronaut Office for exploration, overseeing the development and testing of the spacecraft and systems that will operate during Artemis missions.
Artemis III also will be the third spaceflight for Parmitano. Selected by ESA as an astronaut in 2009, he first served as a flight engineer on the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) first long-duration mission to the space station, launching on a Soyuz from Baikonur in 2013. He returned to the orbital laboratory in 2019 aboard Soyuz MS-13 for his second mission, during which he served as commander of Expedition 61, becoming the third European, and the first Italian, to command the station. Parmitano earned a bachelor’s degree in political sciences from the University of Naples Federico II and a master’s degree in experimental flight test engineering from the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse, France. A graduate of the Italian Air Force Academy, he became a test pilot in 2007 and was promoted to colonel in 2019. He has logged more than 2,000 flight hours across 40 types of aircraft.
Rubio is making his second trip to space. He launched aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft from Baikonur to the space station on Sept. 21, 2022, and returned on Sept. 27, 2023, breaking the record for the longest single-duration spaceflight by an American astronaut with 371 days in orbit. Rubio was selected by NASA in the 2017 astronaut candidate class. A Florida native, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1998, earned a doctor of medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2010, and has served for more than 28 years in the U.S. Army as an aviator, a physician, and an astronaut.
The mission is Douglas’ first spaceflight. Selected by NASA in the 2021 astronaut candidate class, he previously served as a backup and closeout crew member for the agency’s Artemis II mission. A Virginia native, Douglas earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and four postgraduate degrees from various institutions, including a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University. During his time in the Coast Guard, he conducted search and rescue, maritime salvage, and drug interdiction operations. Additionally, his time at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory involved designing and testing multidomain autonomous vehicles, space exploration systems, and numerous undersea warfare platforms.
Serving as a backup crew member, Hines will train alongside Bresnik, Parmitano, Rubio, and Douglas. Should a primary crew member be unable to participate in the mission, he would join the Artemis III crew. Hines previously served as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station. Selected by NASA in the 2017 astronaut candidate class, he served as a research pilot at the agency’s Johnson Space Center prior to his selection. He is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force with more than 27 years of service as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and test pilot.
As part of the Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
The Artemis III crew poses for an official portrait (from left: Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio).
Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford
Taking another step toward one of the most complex human spaceflight missions in recent history, NASA on Tuesday provided new Artemis III details and announced the four prime crew members and a backup for the test flight. The mission will undertake a series of challenging tests in Earth orbit in 2027, essential for Artemis IV, the first planned crewed mission to the lunar South Pole in 2028.
During Artemis III, the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft and its crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to low Earth orbit. After Orion systems checkouts, the spacecraft will, for the first time, demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities with test versions from one, or both, American commercial human landing systems in development by Blue Origin and SpaceX. This highly choreographed mission includes a dramatic multi-launch campaign of the world’s most powerful rockets, testing integrated hardware between Orion and the landers, including system interfaces, software, propulsion, and communications.
As part of Tuesday’s event, NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as a backup crew member. The crew will begin training immediately on Orion spacecraft systems, as well as assist in the development and operations of the test versions of Blue Origin and SpaceX landers.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon, building on the extraordinary foundation laid by the Artemis II astronauts,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Their achievements reignited global excitement for exploration, and now they pass the torch to the Artemis III team, Randy, Luca, Frank, and Andre. Artemis III will demonstrate the power of American innovation and international partnership as we test complex rendezvous and docking operations and advance the technologies that will one day carry us deeper into the solar system. This mission will require the most awe-inspiring coordination of heavy-lift rocket launches in history, drawing on the talent and capability of teams across government and the spaceflight community. The Artemis III astronauts, alongside ESA and our international partners, and the tens of thousands of the best and brightest across the agency and industry, are ushering in a new Golden Age of exploration carrying forward the hopes and dreams of the next generation just as the Apollo astronauts did for so many of us.”
This also is the first time an ESA astronaut has been assigned an Artemis mission.
“Artemis III will push the boundaries of spacecraft operations in orbit. Luca’s assignment as pilot reflects the depth of European expertise in human spaceflight and draws on his extensive operational experience in high-pressure situations,” said Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general. “At the same time, ESA’s European Service Module will once again provide the critical capabilities that power Orion, demonstrating Europe’s enduring role at the very heart of the Artemis program. The news out of Houston today is a powerful recognition of ESA’s role in enabling humanity’s return to the Moon – and a key advancement in our partnership with NASA. Europeans can take pride in being part of this exciting journey.”
Mission progress
NASA and its partners are making progress preparing for the test flight.
Engineers will connect the Orion crew module and service module this summer and integrate the spacecraft’s docking system, which will fly for the first time. Heat shield testing continues with individual blocks having undergone ultra-sonic inspections and installation onto the heat shield structure.
Rocket processing also is well underway. Technicians for SLS are integrating the engine section to the rest of the core stage ahead of installing the four RS-25 engines this summer. With all solid rocket booster segments now at NASA Kennedy and mobile launcher refurbishments on track, rocket stacking also is scheduled to begin this summer. NASA continues design and fabrication of a spacer that will replace the upper stage on Artemis III.
Blue Origin is developing a crewed lunar version of the company’s Blue Moon lander, while SpaceX is developing a crewed lunar lander version of the company’s Starship, with both companies building test articles for Artemis III. NASA is supporting both lander providers hands-on throughout design, development, testing, and evaluation, including sharing agency expertise and capabilities gained from previous missions.
In addition to status updates from NASA and both commercial partners, the agency discussed details during the event about the planned operations for Artemis III, which will support an increased mission cadence, ramp up production, and drive supply chain improvements for the Artemis program.
The Artemis III mission builds on the successful Artemis II flight completed in April and will help the agency prepare to send the first astronauts, Americans, to Mars.
Artemis III includes launching the world’s most powerful rockets in short order. Blue Origin’s lander pathfinder, which is able to stay in orbit for multiple weeks, will launch first and await the crew. NASA will send the astronauts aboard Orion by SLS to orbit Earth, before rendezvousing in space with the company’s lander test article and spending about two days docked together for tests and technology demonstrations, including entering the lander.
After completing docked operations with Blue Origin, Orion will detach and await Starship. SpaceX’s Starship pathfinder will launch and meet up with Orion to spend about a day connected for checkouts and testing. After that, Orion and its crew will undock and return home, splashing safely down in the Pacific Ocean where a team from the U.S. Navy and NASA will recover the astronauts.
In total, the crew is expected to remain in space for about two weeks, with exact mission length to be determined in real-time based on launch, rendezvous, and docked operations.
Learn more about Artemis III crew members
This will be the third mission to space for Bresnik, having launched aboard space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station in 2009. He later flew on the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the space station, serving as a flight engineer for the station’s Expedition 52 and commander of Expedition 53. A California native, he graduated from The Citadel with a degree in mathematics and was selected by NASA in the 2004 astronaut candidate class. A retired U.S. Marine colonel, he has logged more than 7,000 hours in 95 types of aircraft and is a fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Since 2018, he has served as assistant to the chief of the Astronaut Office for exploration, overseeing the development and testing of the spacecraft and systems that will operate during Artemis missions.
Artemis III also will be the third spaceflight for Parmitano. Selected by ESA as an astronaut in 2009, he first served as a flight engineer on the Italian Space Agency’s (ASI) first long-duration mission to the space station, launching on a Soyuz from Baikonur in 2013. He returned to the orbital laboratory in 2019 aboard Soyuz MS-13 for his second mission, during which he served as commander of Expedition 61, becoming the third European, and the first Italian, to command the station. Parmitano earned a bachelor’s degree in political sciences from the University of Naples Federico II and a master’s degree in experimental flight test engineering from the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse, France. A graduate of the Italian Air Force Academy, he became a test pilot in 2007 and was promoted to colonel in 2019. He has logged more than 2,000 flight hours across 40 types of aircraft.
Rubio is making his second trip to space. He launched aboard the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft from Baikonur to the space station on Sept. 21, 2022, and returned on Sept. 27, 2023, breaking the record for the longest single-duration spaceflight by an American astronaut with 371 days in orbit. Rubio was selected by NASA in the 2017 astronaut candidate class. A Florida native, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1998, earned a doctor of medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2010, and has served for more than 28 years in the U.S. Army as an aviator, a physician, and an astronaut.
The mission is Douglas’ first spaceflight. Selected by NASA in the 2021 astronaut candidate class, he previously served as a backup and closeout crew member for the agency’s Artemis II mission. A Virginia native, Douglas earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and four postgraduate degrees from various institutions, including a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University. During his time in the Coast Guard, he conducted search and rescue, maritime salvage, and drug interdiction operations. Additionally, his time at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory involved designing and testing multidomain autonomous vehicles, space exploration systems, and numerous undersea warfare platforms.
Serving as a backup crew member, Hines will train alongside Bresnik, Parmitano, Rubio, and Douglas. Should a primary crew member be unable to participate in the mission, he would join the Artemis III crew. Hines previously served as pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station. Selected by NASA in the 2017 astronaut candidate class, he served as a research pilot at the agency’s Johnson Space Center prior to his selection. He is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force with more than 27 years of service as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and test pilot.
As part of the Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Across the stories today, a common thread emerges: the growing tension between our rapidly expanding digital world and the natural systems struggling to sustain it. From AI data centers planned for drought-stricken regions to coal plants getting emergency extensions, we’re witnessing the collision between technological acceleration and environmental limits.
The numbers tell a stark story. Two-thirds of new AI data centers are slated for areas already grappling with water scarcity, while these facilities demand massive amounts of both electricity and cooling water. Meanwhile, Florida’s coal plant—scheduled for retirement as part of a clean energy transition—gets an emergency lifeline to keep the lights on. It’s a reminder that progress and pressure often arrive together, forcing difficult choices between immediate needs and long-term sustainability.
The day’s coverage points to growing momentum around accountability, particularly in how we fund and regulate resource-intensive industries. Australian lawmakers are pushing for fair taxation of AI infrastructure, determined not to repeat what they see as mistakes with gas exports. North Carolina legislators face their own paradox, crafting bills that simultaneously curb data center expansion while boosting fossil fuel development. These policy tensions reflect a broader reckoning: how do we harness technological progress without overwhelming the ecosystems that support us?
Yet signs of genuine environmental recovery punctuate today’s more challenging headlines. Water voles have returned to an English nature reserve after four decades, while marine protected areas now cover 10% of the world’s oceans—a significant milestone toward the 30% goal by 2030. In Sumatra’s hills, coffee farmers like Sri Atmiatun are proving that conservation and community prosperity can grow together, restoring forests while securing livelihoods through innovative social forestry programs.
Behind the numbers are real communities adapting in real time. Alaska’s fishing industry faces uncertainty as critical ocean monitoring systems face budget cuts, while Arizona’s San Carlos Lake sits closed indefinitely after drought and dam releases killed all fish life. These aren’t abstract environmental statistics—they’re disruptions to ways of life, forcing entire communities to reimagine their relationships with changing landscapes.
The financial flows reveal where power and priorities truly lie. The world’s largest banks poured a record $906 billion into fossil fuels despite climate commitments, an 8% increase that environmental researchers call “unfathomable.” Meanwhile, China launched the world’s first wind-powered underwater data center, signaling that sustainable technology infrastructure is possible when political will aligns with innovation.
Perhaps most troubling is what we’re losing while focused on these larger battles. Wildfire smoke has erased four years of air quality progress across the United States, while sea levels are now rising at twice the rate recorded just a decade ago. Scientists are racing to record forest sounds before wild spaces fall silent—a poignant reminder that some losses can’t be reversed.
The day’s stories also illuminate the gap between good intentions and effective action. Louisiana legislators unanimously approved expanding their wood pellet industry despite the bill’s sponsor admitting he knows little about the sector. FIFA appears unprepared for wildfire smoke threats at upcoming World Cup venues. These moments reveal how quickly environmental challenges can outpace institutional readiness.
As the week unfolds, all eyes will be on whether emerging solutions—from underwater data centers to marine protection expansions—can scale fast enough to match the magnitude of the challenges. The central question remains: can we innovate our way toward sustainability, or will the pace of environmental change force more fundamental reckonings with how we live and build in a resource-constrained world?
A troubling new study reveals that wildfires have dramatically reversed years of hard-won progress in cleaning up America’s air. Over the past decade, increasingly severe wildfire seasons have pushed ozone pollution levels so high that they’ve effectively erased approximately four years of air quality improvements across the United States.
The research shows that surface ozone levels—commonly known as smog—have steadily climbed from 2015 to 2024, with the most severe impacts hitting the Midwest and Western regions. This represents a significant setback for public health, as ground-level ozone is a major component of smog that can trigger respiratory problems, worsen asthma, and cause other serious health complications.
The irony is particularly stark given that stricter vehicle emissions standards implemented in the early 2000s had successfully reduced smog concentrations for years. These tailpipe regulations represented a major environmental victory, steadily cleaning the air that millions of Americans breathe daily. However, the longer, more intense fire seasons that have become the new normal are now overwhelming those gains.
The findings highlight a concerning climate feedback loop: as global temperatures rise, wildfire seasons become more severe and prolonged, releasing massive amounts of pollutants that degrade air quality. This creates a double burden for communities already grappling with the direct threats of fire while also facing the lingering health impacts of degraded air quality that can persist long after the flames are extinguished.
Third of world’s energy needs should come from electricity by 2035, says Murat Kurum, as priorities set out for this year’s UN climate summit
The world should aim to meet a third of its energy needs from electricity within a decade to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the host of the next UN climate summit has said.
While about a third of global electricity generation already comes from renewable sources, other energy-intensive sectors – chiefly transport, heating and industries – have lagged behind. Close to four-fifths of final energy still comes from fossil fuels, as a result.
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