NASA has selected Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano for the mission Artemis 3 in 2027 — making him the first ESA astronaut in this program.
The mission Artemis 3 launches in 2027, but it will not fly to the Moon. Instead, in Earth orbit, it will test how the "Orion" spacecraft can dock with a lunar lander. Only on later missions are people to land on the Moon again. Four astronauts will be on this flight: three Americans and, with Parmitano, one European.
For Luca Parmitano, this is a big step. He is 49 years old, comes from Italy, and has already been to space twice. With Artemis 3, he will become the first ESA astronaut in the NASA lunar program. NASA announced the Artemis program in 2017. Originally, a Moon landing was supposed to take place as early as 2024, but the plan was postponed several times.