HOUSTON – For Randy Bresnik, being selected to command NASA’s Artemis III mission is more than another trip to space.
The veteran astronaut, who has called the Houston area home for more than two decades, says the mission represents a crucial step in humanity’s effort to venture beyond low Earth orbit and eventually send astronauts deeper into the solar system.
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“We are taking humanity and working to stop being a single-planet species,” Bresnik told KPRC 2 News after Tuesday’s crew announcement at Johnson Space Center.
NASA on Tuesday announced Bresnik will command Artemis III, a mission scheduled to launch in 2027 that will test systems needed for future lunar landings.
The crew includes Pilot Luca Parmitano and Mission Specialists Francisco “Frank” Rubio and Andre Douglas.
For Bresnik, Artemis III will mark his third spaceflight.
He first flew aboard space shuttle Atlantis during the STS-129 mission to the International Space Station in 2009. He later launched aboard Soyuz MS-05 and served as a flight engineer for Expedition 52 and commander of Expedition 53 aboard the space station.
The mission carries special significance because of its role in NASA’s broader Artemis campaign.
“This flight is essential to be able to have the moon landing the next time because we’re going to test out the two different landers,” Bresnik said. “We know that we are enabling the lunar landing on the next flight.”
Bresnik grew up in Santa Monica, California, and graduated from The Citadel in South Carolina. But after more than two decades in the Houston area, he said Space City is now home.
“This is where our children were born and raised,” Bresnik said. “This is Houston, Texas now. Clear Lake City.”
A retired U.S. Marine colonel, Bresnik has logged more than 7,000 flight 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 development and testing of spacecraft and systems that will be used during Artemis missions.
Bresnik said learning he had been selected for Artemis III came during a meeting with Chief Astronaut Scott Tingle several weeks ago.
“He says, ‘Look around. You’re the crew of Artemis III,’” Bresnik recalled. “It’s so neat to be able to be there with my crewmates and find out all at the same time.”
He said sharing the news with his family afterward was especially meaningful.
When Bresnik launched on his first spaceflight, one of his children was 3 years old and another had not yet been born. By the time Artemis III launches, one child will be in college and the other in high school.
“For them, they’ve seen from very young to child to young adult,” he said. “To see that through their eyes is going to be so awesome.”
Bresnik said he is already building camaraderie with his fellow crewmembers, describing the group as a “dream crew.”
“They are such solid, good people,” he said. “They are so technically sound. They have a great sense of humor. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
While future Artemis missions are expected to return astronauts to the lunar surface, Bresnik said he views Artemis III’s supporting role as equally important.
“Artemis II had to do their mission so that we could do ours,” he said. “We’ll have to do our mission so that Artemis IV can land.”
Every astronaut dreams of flying in space, Bresnik said, but missions that push exploration beyond low Earth orbit carry special significance.
“If we get to do something that gets us beyond low-Earth orbit and thinking farther out with ultimately the destination of Mars in mind, this is the place to be,” he said.
As someone who now considers Houston home, Bresnik said the Artemis program represents an opportunity to continue the city’s decades-long connection to human spaceflight.
“It is Space City,” he said. “It is our city, it’s our mission, and we lead.”
And when astronauts eventually touch down on the moon again, he said, one word will still connect the mission to Houston.
“They’re not going to say Minneapolis, tranquility base here,” Bresnik said. “It’s going to be Houston.”