NASA has published a new image from preparations for Artemis III, showing NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Published by NASA on 15 September 2026, the image shows the two astronauts viewing progress on solid rocket booster integration in High Bay 3.

The visit took place on 2 September and marked the first visit to Kennedy Space Center by the entire Artemis III crew and backup crew members.

NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio and Bob Hines joined Bresnik and Parmitano.

The Vehicle Assembly Building is one of the iconic facilities of the American space programme. Used since the Apollo era to integrate launch vehicles, it also plays a central role in Artemis.

High Bay 3 is being used for integration work involving the Space Launch System, the heavy-lift rocket used for crewed Artemis launches.

The solid rocket boosters provide a major share of the thrust required during the first minutes after launch. Their integration is one of the most visible stages of vehicle preparation.

There is, however, an important change from the way Artemis III was described in earlier years.

In its September 2026 update, NASA says Artemis III will launch four crew members aboard Orion to carry out a series of objectives in low Earth orbit designed to demonstrate critical systems needed for future lunar landings, beginning with Artemis IV.

The article should therefore not describe Artemis III as the mission that will land astronauts on the Moon under the older mission architecture.

The Artemis programme has evolved as NASA reassessed its architecture, schedule and technical risks.

Orion remains the crew transport spacecraft, while the Space Launch System is the programme’s heavy-lift launch vehicle.

Luca Parmitano’s participation also highlights Artemis’s international character. ESA contributes to the programme, including through Orion’s European Service Module.

The newly published photograph does not show a launch or a final rehearsal. It documents a visit by the crew and backup team to review progress on integration work.

For the public, however, the images provide a direct view of a phase in which the mission is moving from planning towards hardware preparation.

Artemis follows Apollo in America’s human lunar exploration effort, but its architecture is different and includes international cooperation and commercial systems.

NASA intends the Artemis III demonstrations to reduce risk for later missions. Under the agency’s current description, its low-Earth-orbit objectives will demonstrate critical systems needed for future lunar landings.

That gives the mission a technology-validation role before the next stage of the programme.

Kennedy Space Center remains the launch site, and the Vehicle Assembly Building is where major components are integrated before the launch vehicle is transported to the pad.

NASA should not be presented as guaranteeing a precise launch date unless the official source used for publication provides one. Spaceflight schedules can change as a result of testing and safety requirements.

The new image is significant because it documents the physical state of preparations: boosters are being integrated in the same building where Saturn V rockets were assembled more than half a century ago.

Artemis III therefore represents both continuity with America’s historic space infrastructure and a transition towards a new exploration architecture.

In the coming months, each integration and testing milestone will matter in determining when the mission can be declared ready to fly.

For now, NASA’s newly published image provides a concrete update: the crew and backup members have visited Kennedy, while mission hardware continues to be prepared inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Image: NASA/Kim Shiflett, public domain. Randy Bresnik and Luca Parmitano in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building, 2 September 2026. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Artemis III Crew Visits NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building | NASA.