NASA has named the astronauts who will fly the next Artemis mission, a test flight in low Earth orbit where Orion will attempt to dock with two lunar lander prototypes.

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NASA’s next mission in its effort to return humans to the moon will be led by an all-male crew. Three of them have extensive experience in space, while the other was a backup on Artemis II.

Experts have been hopeful, but say the agency’s lunar aspirations are largely at the whims of two billionaires, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Almost forgotten now, the mission circled the Earth for 10 days, performing a series of tests with the lunar lander. What it lacked in glory it made up for in technological contributions.

The agency will announce the crew of Artemis III on Tuesday. But will the mission be ready to fly in 2027?

Artemis III is the third in a series of missions that gets humans closer to returning to the surface of the moon.

NASA’s Artemis program has little room for error if it is to land astronauts on the moon by the end of 2028, but Blue Origin could be out of commission for at least a year.

The agency will announce the crew of Artemis III on Tuesday. But will the mission be ready to fly in 2027?