Watch live here as NASA announces crew of Artemis III mission today

• NASA will soon announce the four astronauts selected for the Artemis III mission.
• Targeted for 2027, Artemis III is the second crewed mission under the agency's moon program.
• The mission will test in-orbit docking with commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin.
• A live announcement of the crew will be streamed on NASA+ and YouTube.

NASA will soon announce the names of the four astronauts who in 2027 are due to fly on the next mission under the space agency's Artemis moon campaign.

The announcement will be the latest development following the success of the Artemis II mission in April, which sent four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon without landing. The third mission under NASA's multibillion-dollar Artemis program, Artemis III aims to build on that mission with a test flight of its own.

While Artemis II was the first major test of both the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft with humans aboard, Artemis III will serve as a demonstration of in-orbit docking capabilities with up to two commercial lunar landers. Both Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are developing those lunar landers, which would be responsible for ferrying astronauts in lunar orbit to and from the moon's surface beginning as early as 2028 with Artemis IV.

Here's how to watch NASA's reveals of the Artemis III crew live.

NASA to announce Artemis III crew

NASA plans to announce the astronauts selected for Artemis III, the next mission under its moon campaign. The space agency will also provide an update on its Artemis lunar program, NASA said in a May 26 press release.

When, how to watch NASA coverage today

NASA will provide live coverage of the announcement beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, June 9.

The livestream will be available on the agency's free NASA+ streaming service, as well as its YouTube channel.

What is the Artemis III mission?

Targeted for 2027, Artemis III will be the third mission under NASA's new lunar program and the second with a crew.

Similar to Artemis II, which went off in April without a hitch, the mission will serve as a vital test flight before NASA attempts to land astronauts on the moon's surface as early as 2028 for the first time since 1972. The primary objective during Artemis III is for astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft to meet and dock in Earth orbit with one or both commercial lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.

The astronauts will hitch a ride to space in NASA's Orion spacecraft atop the agency's towering Space Launch System rocket. The commercial landers SpaceX’s Starship human landing system and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 would reach orbit via separate rocket launches, with SpaceX using its Starship Super Heavy booster, and Blue Origin using its New Glenn.

NASA has not yet decided whether any of the astronauts on the Artemis III crew would enter either lander after docking operations are successfully demonstrated, the agency said in a May 13 press release.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]