Nilofer Ramji

In this episode, we meet the crew of Artemis III, four explorers who will test the spacecraft, demonstrate capabilities, and eventually train crews who will go on to perform these maneuvers at the moon.

Let's go for all humanity.

First up, we'll be talking to the commander of the mission and the pilot.

The commander of Artemis III is Randy Comrade Bresnik, a Marine Corps test pilot turned NASA astronaut.

He's logged 149 days in space across two missions, flown in both the space shuttle and Russian Soyuz, done five spacewalks totaling over 32 hours, and commanded the International Space Station on Expedition 53.

With over 7,000 flight hours in nearly 100 aircraft, including combat missions as an F-A-18 pilot, he blends raw experience with exceptional leadership.

A Citadel Military College math grad and University of Tennessee Aviation Systems master's, he's now shaping Artemis missions at NASA.

Before being selected as commander, he was serving as assistant to the chief of the astronaut office.

Next, our pilot, European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano, an Italian Air Force test pilot who has spent 367 days in space over two long-duration space station missions.

He's flown twice on the Russian Soyuz, conducted six spacewalks totaling 33 hours, and made history as the first Italian and third European to command the International Space Station during Expedition 61.

With over 2,000 flight hours across more than 40 aircraft, he blends technical skill with leadership.

A political science grad from the University of Naples, he also holds a master's in experimental flight test engineering.

Let's meet your Artemis III commander and pilot.

Well, first off, congratulations on your assignments.

This is incredibly exciting, but you have lots of work and training ahead.

So tell us a little bit how you were told you were assigned to the mission and what was it like when you found out?

So you all knew each other, but in this configuration as the Artemis III crew.

You had met, and how are you feeling right now?

That's phenomenal.

And I want to switch gears here and talk a little bit about before NASA.