NASA chief defends Artemis III mission crew, made up only of men

Artemis III crew. In order, from left to right, Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas.
Nasa
The head of NASA, Jared Isaacman, defended this Wednesday (10) the composition of the crew of the third mission of the Artemis program, which seeks to take human beings back to the Moon, made up exclusively of men.
The announcement of a 100% male crew generated questions and criticism about possible political interference, since, since his return to the House White, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to eliminate initiatives related to diversity and inclusion.
Isaacman stressed on social media that crew selection "is not linked to political decisions."
"The Astronaut Office designates the crew that offers the mission the best chance of meeting its objectives," he said, adding that factors such as astronaut profile, experience and availability are taken into consideration.
The third phase of the Artemis III program will consist of testing the Orion spacecraft and carrying out rendezvous and docking maneuvers with lunar landing modules. It will not include a trip to the Moon.
The crew announced on Tuesday includes American astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio, as well as Italian Luca Parmitano, the first European to participate in an Artemis mission.
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NASA has promised to take a woman and a black person to the Moon.
Last year, however, NASA removed references to this commitment and, more broadly, diversity from some of its internet pages. This does not necessarily mean that the promise has been abandoned, but it is no longer explicitly mentioned.
Isaacman stated that those who raise this concern may not be familiar with the way crews are organized and recalled that there are already astronauts in specific training for the Moon who would be better suited for future landing missions.

Source: G1