NASA announces Artemis III crew: Who are the 4 astronauts taking us a step closer to our mission to Mars?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Yahoo News

NASA announced on Tuesday the group of astronauts who will crew the Artemis III mission as part of the space agency's broader program to return humans to the surface of the moon — and eventually journey to Mars.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed that the following four astronauts have been assigned to the test flight: mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, commander Randy Bresnik and pilot Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency.

The backup crew member is Bob Hines, who most recently served as the pilot of NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the ISS.

"While Artemis II was all about moon joy, Artemis III will be all about Earth joy," Nicky Fox, NASA's head of science, said during Tuesday's announcement at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/nasa-announces-artemis-iii-crew-who-are-the-4-astronauts-taking-us-a-step-closer-to-our-mission-to-mars-164136763.html

[QueerDuck]

1. What an incredible waste of money. Send robots and rovers... not humans.

This is just the vanity of humanity (to borrow a phrase).

[electric_blue68]

2. Respectfully Disagree! Probes, and Robots do Not Express, the Wonderment, Awe, Mystery that having Human Eyewitnesses...

do.
Hearing their experiences, personally, I think, is powerful.

Have you ever heard of The Overview Effect?
I don't often quote from The Google AI; but this put it well. (My underline)

The Overview Effect is a profound cognitive shift reported by astronauts when viewing Earth from orbit or the moon. It is characterized by an overwhelming sense of awe, a deep connection to humanity, and the sudden realization that national borders and political divisions are entirely artificial and fragile.Coined in 1987 by space philosopher Frank White, this phenomenon highlights several core realizations:
Vanishing Borders: Observers notice that Earth has no visible geopolitical lines or boundaries from space; it appears as a single, unified, and interconnected living system.Fragility of Life: The planet's atmosphere appears as a paper-thin, delicate line protecting all known life from the harsh vacuum of space.
Shift in Identity: Astronauts frequently return home with a broader, "global consciousness," prioritizing environmental protection and worldwide human cooperation over localized concerns.
_______________________________
Frank White coined this term after interviewing astronauts, and found this a reoccuing experience.

Humans right there in the place (moon, Mars) especially Mars since it'll be a totally new experience will convey these things beyond what our mechanisms will relay.

We had Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." People also think the photos, and astronauts experiences also increased environmental concerns.

The Association of Spece Explorers
Any astronauts from around the that have flown one orbit above the Karman Line (where Space begins above Earth's atmosphere)

Mission: Promotes international cooperation, space science and engineering education, and environmental awareness.

[QueerDuck]

3. Actually... we continue to gain high-quality scientific data from probes and robotic missions...

Actually... we continue to gain high-quality scientific data from probes and robotic missions that operate in environments impossible for humans to endure. Robotic explorers do not require sleep, food, oxygen, or the complex, heavy life-support systems needed to protect humans from radiation and extreme weather. Consequently, our current rovers have provided consistent, long-term observations that no human team could match in terms of duration or scope.

We do not need to send people, philosophers or poets into space just so they can provide personal testimony of the "wonders of the universe." That awe and wonder can be experienced by anyone from Earth through the high-resolution imagery and scientific data streaming back to us.

Sending humans to Mars (or to the moon) is an incredibly expensive and resource-intensive endeavor. A single human mission would be significantly shorter, exponentially riskier, and would cost orders of magnitude more than a fleet of robotic missions. When we evaluate the scientific return on investment, robotic exploration remains a far more efficient trade-off.

"The Overview Effect" is an interesting psychological phenomenon, but it is an internal, subjective experience for the individual astronaut. While I do not doubt the sincerity of their feelings... such a thing is simply a personal benefit, not a scientific justification for the massive expenditure required to put humans on Mars.

We should not fund multi-billion-dollar interplanetary missions based on the hope of providing a romanticized transformative psychological experience for a handful of individuals, especially when the same 'perspective' on the fragility of our planet can be (and has been!) achieved by those who have never left Earth, simply by engaging with the imagery and data provided by our robotic missions.

[thought crime]

4. The announcement included a stage performance by astronauts

It looked rehearsed and very artificial - like something you would see from SpaceX. Is this a Reality Show?