Randy Bresnik

Randy “Komrade” Bresnik came to NASA after a career built around high-performance aviation and operational leadership. A retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel, he flew the F/A-18, graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and logged more than 7,000 hours across 95 types of aircraft, rotorcraft and gliders.

NASA selected Bresnik as an astronaut in 2004. He first flew on space shuttle Atlantis during STS-129, then returned to orbit aboard Soyuz MS-05 in 2017. During that mission he served as a flight engineer for Expedition 52 and commander of Expedition 53. He has completed five spacewalks and has also led demanding analogue missions underwater and underground.

Before his Artemis III assignment, Bresnik oversaw exploration work for the Astronaut Office—helping shape the spacecraft, systems and operations crews will use beyond low Earth orbit.