Artemis III Training

**Lea Cheshire** (0:00)
Houston We Have a Podcast. Welcome to the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center, episode 434, Artemis III Training. I'm Lea Cheshire, and I'll be your host today.
On this podcast, we bring in the experts, scientists, engineers, and astronauts all to let you know what's going on in the world of human spaceflight and more. On June 9th, 2026, we officially announced the crew of Artemis III, NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, and Andre Douglas, and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, with NASA's Bob Hines as their backup. The very next morning, these crew members reported for the start of their training. That training is managed by none other than their CTO, or Chief Training Officer, Debbie O'Connell. As Chief Training Officer, it's Debbie's job to help plan, develop, and implement the crew's training and simulations that prepare them for the entire mission. From launch to docking with commercial lunar landers, deorbit, and splashdown back on Earth. We spoke with her about what it takes to ensure the crew is ready for each milestone and moment, both expected and unexpected, that they'll encounter on one of NASA's most challenging missions yet. Let's dive in.
Hi, Debbie, thank you so much for joining us today on Houston We Have a Podcast.

**Debbie O'Connell** (1:30)
Yeah, I'm excited to be here.

**Lea Cheshire** (1:33)
Well, I want to talk about Artemis III, obviously, you are the Chief Training Officer. But before we get into what you're doing right now, tell me about the beginning, tell me about you. Did you always know you wanted to work at NASA? How did that come to be?

**Debbie O'Connell** (1:47)
Yes, so no, actually, I didn't.
I didn't know what I wanted to be at all growing up. I was one of those kids that anything sounded awesome. I couldn't decide on what I wanted to be.
So I did go into engineering. I nailed that down in high school, like I'll be an engineer. NASA wasn't even on my radar until a recruiter came. And I didn't believe it was a real job. Of course, I applied. It was ecstatic. Telling my mom, she didn't believe me, you're going to go trade astronauts, no way. But it's a dream job. Absolutely.

**Lea Cheshire** (2:23)
Were you in college when you met a recruiter?

**Debbie O'Connell** (2:25)
Yes. Okay.

**Lea Cheshire** (2:27)
Where did you go to school?

**Debbie O'Connell** (2:28)
Embry-Riddle, down in Florida.

**Lea Cheshire** (2:30)
And you got your aerospace engineer degree?

**Debbie O'Connell** (2:34)
Love of airplanes. That's how I got there.
Even that didn't start as a kid. My dad would drag me to air shows instead of vacations. It was always hot. Not something I enjoyed until I got older. And then just the powerfulness of an airplane and the engine, and going farther, faster, exploring. Of course, that intrigued me. So it's not a surprise that I love my job here, because it definitely relates.

**Lea Cheshire** (3:05)
That is so cool. I agree. I didn't grow up with a lot of exposure to aircraft, but now being so close to Ellington Field, and my husband works there, I am constantly in awe of the G38s, the WB57, the engines, how they have outfitted the WB57 or the G5, or whatever mission that they're coming up with next. So totally love the fascination with airplanes.
So if you were recruited when you were in college, this has been your only job here at NASA?

**Debbie O'Connell** (3:30)
Yeah. My only like full-time job, of course. Yes.
Been here for about 15 years.

**Lea Cheshire** (3:38)
Okay, nice. Yeah, same here. Came right out of college, never left.
It's been 11 years. So tell me more about what you did prior to becoming the Artemis III CTO.

**Debbie O'Connell** (3:50)
I was an ethos, environmental and thermal operating system, flight controller when I started. So I trained the emergency system, the thermal system, the ECLS, environmental control and life support systems. And I spent about 10 years of my time doing that before I came over to CTO. And I got to do some really cool projects. So I got to be part of DM1, DM2, the first the first Dragon missions, and drafting up all the procedures for those.
And then when I jumped over to CTO, they let me do Starliner work. So I got to work on some really cool vehicles before I jumped over to Orion.

**Lea Cheshire** (4:33)
And so your time as ethos was obviously for the International Space Station, right?

**Debbie O'Connell** (4:36)
Yes, for the International Space Station.

**Lea Cheshire** (4:38)
You are getting really smart in a lot of different spacecraft.

**Debbie O'Connell** (4:41)