A few days ago, I reported that the Artemis III crew had been selected and were gearing up for intense training ahead of their 2027 mission.
To this eye, the qualifications of this team seemed…outstanding,especially as this mission will be validating docking and crew transfer with newly developed commercial lunar landers.
Commander Randy “Komrade” Bresnik: Former Marine fighter pilot and TOPGUN graduate; spent 149 days in space across a 2009 shuttle mission and a 2017 ISS expedition.
Pilot Luca Parmitano: European Space Agency astronaut; Italian Air Force test pilot and first Italian commander of the ISS.
Mission Specialist Douglas: Test engineer and Coast Guard Reserve commander; Artemis III will be his first spaceflight after serving as backup crew on Artemis II.
Mission Specialist Frank Rubio: Army Black Hawk pilot and family physician; set a U.S. record with 371 consecutive days aboard the ISS (2022–2023).
However, according to influencers and media-wokeists, the crew lacked one essential element for this mission: A uterus.
When NASA’s Artemis III mission launches next year, the crew won’t include any women — a revelation that sparked controversy after the agency on Tuesday announced the four astronauts selected for the flight.“Not a single woman flying on Artemis III is an insane choice,” Alexandra Doten, a space influencer who goes by Astro Alexandra, posted on X on Tuesday.
Because a womb is what’s most important to this mission.
NASA Chief Jared Isaacman quickly quashed this inanity.
Isaacman said that some astronauts may not have been selected for the Artemis III flight because they are already on tap for expeditions to the International Space Station or because their training and skill sets make them more suitable for future Artemis missions, during which astronauts are expected to land on the moon.“The Astronaut Office assigns the crew that gives the mission the best chance of meeting its objectives, taking into account many factors, including the background and expertise of the astronauts, such as test pilot experience, development work on specific programs, and availability,” he said.
However, wokeits and DEI cultists continued to whine.
Rather than alleviating frustrations, the post seems to have initiated a brand-new wave of backlash. One comment reads, “‘I have friends who are women, so I like get how it feels’. Signed, NASA man.” Another says, “@nasa has launched 44 all-male crews and 0 all-female crews. We never have to doubt whether a man will get a spot on the crew, but we never know if a woman will get one.”Yet another commenter said, “So what I’m reading is that we have incredibly qualified women, we just didn’t pick them for this mission?” There were a few more lighthearted jabs at the statement as well, including one comment reading, “A swing and an artemiss.”
It turns out that because this particular team will be helping develop the lunar landers that will eventually be used as part of the Artemis program, their piloting and military skills were essential. NASA’s Bob Hines, a past SpaceX pilot and ISS astronaut, is the backup for Artemis III and stresses the test-nature of the 2027 mission.
While Hines did not get into specifics about crew qualifications, Artemis 3 is heavily a test-piloting mission as the astronauts may be meeting with both SpaceX and Blue Origin moon landers to get the machines ready for the real deal. That may be why all four Artemis 3 astronauts are drawn from the military, with considerable flying experience between them.
Artemis III is not a social experiment but a high-risk, high-precision test mission meant to push hardware, procedures, and human performance to their limits. The priority is not optics; it is execution.
NASA selected a crew with deep test pilot experience, operational discipline, and mission-specific readiness because failure is not an abstract concept in spaceflight, rather it is a potential catastrophe that can result in the death of the astronauts and a severe setback to the American space program. Those demanding demographic box-checking over demonstrated capability are, quite simply, arguing for the wrong metric at the worst possible time.
If Artemis is to succeed and if our nation intends to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving space race—then competence must remain the standard. Everything else is secondary.
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