06/10/2026
Samohi Graduate Named Commander Of NASA's Next Artemis Mission
Santa Monica High School graduate Randy Bresnik '85 is a member of the Samohi Hall of Fame and will lead the next major Artemis test flight as NASA prepares for future Moon missions. Randy has already completed two space missions.
SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica High School graduate Randy Bresnik has been selected to command NASA's Artemis III mission, the space agency announced Tuesday.
Bresnik, a veteran astronaut who considers Santa Monica his hometown, graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1985 before attending The Citadel and serving as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and test pilot, according to his NASA bio.
NASA named Bresnik commander of the Artemis III crew, which also includes European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot and NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio as mission specialists.
The Artemis program is NASA's effort to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually establish a long-term human presence there as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars.
Artemis III is scheduled to serve as a complex test flight in Earth orbit. Planned for 2027, the mission will demonstrate how NASA's Orion spacecraft can rendezvous and dock with lunar landing systems being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The Artemis III crew poses for an official portrait. From left: Andre Douglas, Luca Parmitano, Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio. (NASA/Bill Stafford)
