Italian Astronaut Luca Parmitano Selected for First ESA Artemis Crew Slot Due to Test Pilot Background
By
Andrew Parsonson
Summary
ESA assigned Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano to its first Artemis crew slot, bypassing a November 2025 announcement that Germany would get the opportunity. Parmitano's test pilot experience was the decisive factor in the selection, which stems from a 2020 ESA-NASA agreement providing three European flight opportunities on Artemis missions in exchange for ESA's contributions to the Orion capsule and Gateway space station.
Source
bskyItalian Astronaut Luca Parmitano Selected for First ESA Artemis Crew Slot Due to Test Pilot Backgroundeuropeanspaceflight.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledThe European Space Agency's decision to assign Luca Parmitano to its first Artemis crew slot marked a departure from a November 2025 announcement that the opportunity would go to Germany
the Italian astronaut's test pilot background proving decisive
In October 2020, ESA and NASA signed an agreement that would provide three flight opportunities for European astronauts aboard Artemis missions in exchange for ESA's contributions to the Orion crew capsule and the Gateway space station
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