A former Redstone Arsenal flight surgeon who went on to set a U.S. record in space will now help lead NASA’s next major step toward returning humans to the Moon.
NASA announced Tuesday that astronaut Frank Rubio has been selected as a mission specialist for Artemis III, a landmark mission scheduled for 2027 that will test critical technologies needed for future lunar landings and long-term exploration.
Rubio, who has strong ties to Huntsville through his work at Redstone Arsenal, will join Commander Randy Bresnik, Pilot Luca Parmitano and Mission Specialist Andre Douglas on the four-person crew.
The mission represents another major milestone in NASA’s Artemis program and comes just three years after Rubio completed a record-breaking 371-day stay aboard the International Space Station, the longest single-duration spaceflight ever completed by an American astronaut.
Before joining NASA, Rubio served as a clinic supervisor and executive medicine provider at Redstone Arsenal, where he worked as a flight surgeon supporting military aviation operations. He has remained connected to Huntsville in the years since, including returning to North Alabama to share lessons from his historic spaceflight with students and researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville last year.
“Today we take another bold step in humanity’s return to the Moon,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in announcing the crew. “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.”
Unlike earlier Artemis missions focused on lunar flybys and crewed lunar-orbit operations, Artemis III will serve as a complex orbital test mission designed to validate systems needed for future lunar surface missions.
The crew will launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center. Once in low Earth orbit, Orion will conduct a series of rendezvous and docking demonstrations with test versions of lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
NASA officials described the mission as one of the most complicated human spaceflight operations ever attempted, involving multiple launches, spacecraft dockings and integrated testing of hardware, software, communications and propulsion systems.
The mission is expected to last about two weeks.
Rubio brings significant spaceflight experience to the crew. A U.S. Army physician and aviator, he launched to the International Space Station in September 2022 and returned in September 2023 after spending 371 consecutive days in orbit.
His selection gives Huntsville another direct connection to the Artemis program, much of which is managed through NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Marshall oversees development of the Space Launch System rocket that will carry the Artemis III crew into space and plays a central role in many of the technologies being developed for future lunar exploration.
NASA said the Artemis III crew will begin training immediately as preparations continue for the 2027 mission.
If successful, the mission will pave the way for Artemis IV, currently planned for 2028 and expected to become the first crewed mission to the Moon’s south polar region.
