On Friday, June 28, 2024, technicians lifted NASA’s Orion spacecraft into space using a 30-ton crane. NASA/Radislav Sinyak This is the spacecraft that NASA will launch to the moon. For the first time since 1972, four astronauts will orbit Earth’s natural satellite. The Orion spacecraft, which will be used for the space agency’s Artemis 2 … Read more
NASA has selected astronaut Andre Douglas as a backup crew member for the agency’s Artemis II test flight, the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign. Douglas will train with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. If a NASA astronaut is unable to participate … Read more
WASHINGTON — While NASA is pushing ahead with a crewed moon landing during the Artemis 3 mission in September 2026, the agency’s own analysis estimates there is a nearly one-in-three chance that the lander will be at least a year and a half late. That review grew out of a confirmation review for the Human … Read more
NASA has its sights set on the moon, with the goal of sending astronauts back to the lunar surface by 2026 and establishing a long-term presence there by 2030. But the moon isn’t exactly a habitable place for humans. Cosmic rays from distant stars and galaxies and solar energetic particles from the Sun bombard the … Read more
GOLDEN, Colo. – A hot topic for lunar researchers is whether water ice is an easily accessible resource at the moon’s south pole, as experts have long believed. The search for exploitable water ice is a high priority on NASA’s Artemis agenda as the agency strives for a sustainable human presence on the moon. Moon … Read more
In 2026, NASA plans to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972. Times have changed, as evidenced by new rockets, spacecraft and spacesuits. In preparation for the Artemis 3 moon landing mission, two astronauts put on the new spacesuits from Axiom Space at the end of April and tested for the … Read more
NASA is about to unveil a major milestone in its ambitious Artemis program with the rollout of the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. This event, scheduled for mid-July, will take place at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the towering 210-foot core stage is mounted. After deployment, the core … Read more
A US Senate committee heard from the head of NASA what the nature of a development mission means: sometimes you have to wait. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, while aware of what he calls a “space race” with China to establish a sustainable presence on the moon, said Thursday (May 23) that he will only commit … Read more
WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Bill Nelson defended the cost and schedule of the agency’s Artemis moon exploration effort, even as officials hinted at the possibility of changes in an upcoming mission. At a hearing on May 23, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), chair of the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and … Read more
39 The two elements that will form the initial Gateway capabilities for NASA’s Artemis campaign are preparing for system installations this year and next as the space agency reviews progress to set a new launch date. The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Module (HALO) are being built on different continents … Read more