NASA chief defends all-male Artemis 3 astronaut crew amid backlash: 'I don't think anyone should be reading into this'

The selectees, announced yesterday (June 9), were NASA's Randy Bresnik (commander), the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Luca Parmitano (pilot), and NASA mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio. NASA's Bob Hines, a past SpaceX pilot and ISS astronaut, is backup. All-male crews are a rarity these days. Out of the 37 active NASA astronauts, 15 are women, or around 40%. With the exception of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission in 2023 and the half-empty Crew-9 'rescue mission' in 2024, there has always been at least one woman on NASA missions to the International Space Station (ISS) since SpaceX began flying NASA crews to the ISS in 2021. 11 of the 15 active NASA female astronauts have flown to space in the past five years, according to a Space. com analysis. In the wake of NASA's announcement, several science communicators (such as Emily Calandrelli, who was a passenger on Blue Origin tourist rocket launch, as well as Camille Bergin, a space marketing professional posting on a personal account) have criticized the lack of women on the crew. Another commenter was Sian Proctor, who flew with NASA administrator Jared Isaacman aboard the Inspiration4 mission in 2021. "Your success will pave the way for the all-women Artemis 4 crew!" Proctor posted to Instagram. With regard to choosing the Artemis 3 astronauts, Isaacman praised NASA's Astronaut Office, as well as Norm Knight (who heads the agency's flight operations directorate that oversees astronaut training), for together choosing what he described as the best astronauts to complete the Artemis 3 mission. "I don't think anyone should be reading into this," Isaacman told reporters at a press gaggle following the crew announcement. "Our last astronaut candidate class was greater than 50% female. We'll assemble the best astronauts to undertake and complete the objectives." On Wednesday (June 10), Isaacman wrote a longer rationale on X in response to what he said was "reactions ranging from disappointment to outrage." The billionaire cited spaceflights he has paid for and commanded, noting he flew twice on SpaceX with crews that are 50% female (Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn). Bresnik is a past shuttle and ISS astronaut as well as NASA manager, Parmitano and Bresnik were commanders of the ISS, Rubio set a 371-day U. S. record on a single ISS spaceflight, and Douglas (on his first mission) was backup for Artemis 2. At least two of them overcame significant obstacles in space, as well: Parmitano survived water coming into his spacesuit during a 2013 spacewalk, and Rubio saw his six-month ISS mission unexpectedly double in 2022-23 after his first ride home was canceled due to a spacecraft coolant leak.