The project will involve a spacecraft docking demonstration in Earth's orbit in 2027.
The Artemis III crew will not fly to the moon or land on the surface.
Instead, they will practice docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.
The mission will test landers from Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for the first time in space.
The test of key systems will take place before a planned moon landing in 2028.
The NASA astronauts in the Artemis III crew have been named as commander Randy Bresnik, and mission specialists Andre Douglas and Frank Rubio.
The pilot will be European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano from Italy.
Norm Knight, NASA flight operations director, told a ceremony in Houston: "I am excited to welcome you as the next crew in the Artemis journey to successfully return to the moon, this time to stay.
"This mission will be one of the most complex that NASA has undertaken and we are counting on your courage and your dedication in fulfilling this critical role."
He added: "It also underscores the importance of both international and commercial collaboration. This crew is comprised of astronauts from NASA and ESA and they will train together to develop their expertise in multiple spacecraft from our commercial partners."
The planned new mission comes after a crewed flight around the moon and back earlier this year.
And it will be another key test for NASA ahead of Artemis IV, planned for 2028 which will be the US space agency's first moon landing since 1972.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
While the UK is set to experience unsettled weather with a mix of sunshine and rain showers until Friday, conditions are set to take a sharp turn at the weekend.
Temperatures are set to rise above the seasonal average, which is around 21C (69.8F) for southern England, according to Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud, and could hit the 30C barrier and possibly break it.
Follow - see weather forecast around UK
It comes after the end of last month saw record-breaking temperatures across the UK, with 25 and 26 May both reported as the hottest ever May days consecutively, with a respective 34.8C (94.64F) and 35.1C (95.18F) recorded.
May 26 became the hottest day in May on record for both England and Wales, with 35.1C measured at Kew Gardens and 32.9C at Cardiff Bute Park.
Mr Stroud said: "We're looking at temperatures climbing into the weekend, particularly on Saturday and Sunday, so feeling much warmer than recent days, with temperatures quite widely above average, especially across the south come Saturday, and even more so on Sunday."
The south and southeast of England are set to experience the highest temperatures over the weekend, with Mr Stroud suggesting that temperatures will be heading comfortably into the high 20s, with "definitely a chance" of breaking 30C (86F).
"More so on Monday," he added, before saying "there is always the potential for hitting heatwave criteria again" while stressing uncertainty about longer range forecasts.
The meteorologist explained that the change in the weather is due to a change in the jet stream, which is currently running across the UK and driving unsettled Atlantic weather fronts across the country.
See more from Sky News:
World Cup ref blocked from US
Video of Belfast knife attack
Higher pressure will start to build from the south at the end of this week, he added, bringing noticeably sunnier and generally more settled weather.
In the meantime, the UK is set for "brighter intervals and frequent showers" throughout Wednesday, and "more widespread wet and windy weather" is likely for Thursday.
Clifton George, 45, killed Annabel Rook, 46, in a fit of rage at their home in Stoke Newington, north London on the night of 16 June last year after she told him she was ending their 10-year relationship.
He punched and throttled her before arming himself with a kitchen knife and stabbing her repeatedly.
After the killing, George started a fire in the basement, causing a gas canister explosion which ripped through the house.
At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Constable KC sentenced George to life in prison and ordered that he serve at least 23 years in prison before becoming eligible for release.
He said George, who had worked as an electrician on major projects such as Crossrail and the Northern line extension, could be friendly and fun, but he had "another troubling side to your character".
"An overwhelming picture has emerged of your rage, anger and volatility", said the judge, noting that George had a "pronounced temper" which could be sparked by trivial matters and "perceived slights".
Of Ms Rook, the judge said a picture of her "shone brightly" through the testimonies of friends and family as someone who was "kind, attentive, funny and altruistically motivated, and someone whose instinct was to support, to listen, and to improve the lives of others".
Read more from Sky News:
Girl, 14, arrested after three injured in school knife attack
Six arrested over Epsom Derby day fight
He rejected George's claim at trial that he had been provoked by Ms Rook pushing him, which the judge said would have been "completely out of character".
"She feared you, she feared your wrath," he said.
"In your rage and fury, you brutally stabbed Annabel to death."
He added that even after the murder and explosion, George "remained fixated on your self-absorbed belief that Annabel had betrayed you".
Ms Rook's father, retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, described George as "utterly selfish" while her mother Susanna Rook called him "a wicked, totally narcissistic, damaged person".
Delivering a victim impact statement in court, Mrs Rook held back tears as she paid tribute to her "optimistic, inclusive, and full of fun" daughter.
She added: "We do feel Clifton betrayed the trust we placed in him. We welcomed him into the family in every way we could.
"Bearing in mind his short fuse, particularly when in drink, we realise his inability to understand and address his own problems means he is, was, and will continue to be a dangerous man."
Ms Rook's sister Sophie told the court: "Without Annabel, there is less joy and less hope."
She said the murder has left the family dealing with the "painful question of whether we could have done more to help her escape".
Leon O'Leary, 41, and Connor Bishop, 24, were sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday, after violence broke out in the city following the student's murder.
Bishop and O'Leary pleaded guilty to violent disorder at the city's magistrates' court.
Footage shows O'Leary "walking casually" in the crowd in front of a police cordon, before picking up a smoke grenade from the ground and throwing it towards the police.
He also admitted and was sentenced for resisting a police officer and possession of an offensive weapon - a samurai sword in his bedroom.
When officers went to arrest him at his home in Basingstoke at 3.30am on 7 June, he adopted a "fighting stance" at the top of the stairs and threatened officers, who had to use pava spray to subdue him.
Meanwhile, Bishop was seen in footage carrying a yellow traffic cone which he threw towards officers.
In video shown to the court, the father was seen running with the cone, "pursuing officers for some time with it", prosecutor Siobhan Linsley told the court.
"Once it's thrown he then follows it again, picks it up again," she said.
He also admitted throwing a box of screws and puncing a wall.
He told officers in interview he was brought up Christian and "threw items to fit into the crowd", adding that he had drunk a small amount of beer "that made him more lairy".
Defending Bishop, Thomas Evans said: "He is perhaps an example of peer pressure and group thinking".
He said Bishop told him "I was just being a dick I wanted to fit in" and he was "very sorry" to anyone who was hurt.
Mr Evans said of Bishop and O'Leary: "They are not the instigators of this disorder, they are inevitable result of other individuals who seek to harness anger."
O'Leary was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for the three offences, and Bishop was jailed for two years and eight months.
It came after Vickrum Digwa was sentenced for the murder of 18-year-old Mr Nowak, and bodycam footage revealed how police had dealt with the case.
Digwa claimed he had been the victim of a racial attack and Mr Nowak was handcuffed by police who ignored his pleas that he could not breathe as he lay dying.
Two other men - 21-year-old Reece Robinson and Noah Etherington, 18 - also pleaded guilty to violent disorder on Friday. They were due to be sentenced this week.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
The bear was first seen on Saturday evening in a residential part of Utsunomiya, a city of half a million people, about 60 miles (100km) north of Tokyo.
The adult bear, which has an estimated weight of about 100kg (220lbs), was shot with a tranquilliser gun on Tuesday, loaded on to a cage on the back of a vehicle, and driven away.
The city has yet to decide what to do with the animal, an official said.
Sightings of the bear prompted the city to shut all of its 94 primary and middle schools this week as a precaution.
Authorities decided to keep schools closed on Wednesday due to a report of a possible second bear roaming the city, an official said.
The bear was seen about 500m from a middle school on Monday morning and near a university campus on Tuesday, causing the cancellation of all classes.
City officials used a drone to track the animal down after the sighting.
Bear attacks, including in urban areas, have increased in Japan, prompting the government to set up a task force this year to reduce casualties.
The country reported a record 238 victims in the 2025 fiscal year, including 13 deaths, according to the environment ministry.
Read more from Sky News:
Tsunami alert and 35 dead after earthquake hits the Philippines
Zelenskyy confirms Abramovich role as 'go-between' with Putin
Asiatic black bears are listed as a vulnerable species worldwide, but aided by a decline in hunting their numbers are estimated to have tripled in Japan since 2012.
When the bear was sighted on Tuesday in a residential area, police cars raced to the vicinity to block off the section of the city.
Police officers could be seen holding long sticks and metal shields.
Residents were told to stay indoors while the search remained under way.
Depending on where the animal is found, they will decide whether to tranquilise, shoot or trap it for release, the official said.
Experts say climate change has reduced supply of bears' natural food, such as acorns and beechnuts, while the depopulation of rural areas has emboldened them to seek food near human settlements.