Artemis II moved into another critical phase of its return journey as the crew began Flight Day 8 with a focus on testing systems and preparing for reentry. Aboard the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, the four astronauts woke to music and a message from the Canadian Space Agency. At the start of the day, they […]
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station spoke with the Artemis II crew on April 8 following their lunar flyby, marking a rare ship-to-ship exchange between deep space and low Earth orbit. The Artemis II crew is returning to Earth after circling the Moon, while Expedition 74 astronauts continued biomedical research and mission training aboard the […]
NASA’s Artemis II crew began their return journey to Earth on April 7 after completing a historic lunar flyby a day earlier. The crew, traveling aboard the Orion spacecraft about 236,000 miles from Earth, exited the Moon’s gravitational influence and initiated return procedures. The mission includes a call with International Space Station astronauts, scientific debriefs, […]
An international team of scientists reported on April 7, 2026, that water on the Moon likely accumulated gradually over billions of years rather than from a single event. The study, published in Nature Astronomy, points to permanently shadowed craters near the lunar south pole as the most likely reservoirs of ice. Using data from NASA […]
The four astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission woke up to a milestone few humans have experienced. Less than 19,000 miles from the Moon, they began final preparations for a lunar flyby that will mark humanity’s return to deep space after more than five decades. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy […]
Astronauts aboard Artemis II completed a 41-minute manual piloting test of the Orion spacecraft on Flight Day 4, taking turns controlling the vehicle in deep space. The demonstration, carried out tested thruster modes and maneuvering capabilities as the crew also reviewed targets for an upcoming lunar flyby. The mission continues on a stable trajectory toward […]
The crew of Artemis II moved into preparation mode on April 6 as their spacecraft, Orion spacecraft, continued its trajectory toward a lunar flyby. The outbound trajectory correction burn was canceled after flight controllers confirmed the spacecraft remained on course. Astronauts focused on cabin readiness, medical drills, and system checks as the mission passed its […]
NASA confirmed on April 4 that Artemis II’s first planned trajectory correction burn was canceled after Orion remained on its precise path to the Moon. The crew, traveling toward a scheduled lunar flyby on April 6, continues operations without the need for immediate adjustments. Mission controllers in Houston determined the spacecraft’s trajectory required no correction […]
NASA’s Artemis II crew began Flight Day 3 on April 4 after departing Earth’s orbit earlier in the mission, preparing for their first trajectory correction burn as Orion heads toward the Moon. The four astronauts, currently nearly 100,000 miles from Earth, are also training for lunar observations scheduled during a flyby on April 6. The […]
Astronomers studying the exoplanet TOI-5205 b have found unexpected atmospheric properties that challenge existing models of planet formation. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers observed the Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a small red dwarf star and detected unusually low heavy-element content. The findings, published this week, suggest new mechanisms may shape how giant planets form […]
Astronomers in Japan have identified a new phase in early star formation, where young protostars release magnetic energy and form large gas rings. The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, used observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile to examine a stellar nursery in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. Researchers say the findings […]
NASA confirmed the Artemis II crew resolved a toilet system fault aboard the Orion spacecraft on April 2 while in Earth orbit. The issue, first detected as a blinking fault light on April 1, was addressed through coordinated troubleshooting with mission control in Houston. The fix comes ahead of a scheduled perigee raise burn, a […]
NASA confirmed the Artemis II crew completed the apogee raise burn on April 2, increasing Orion’s orbital high point. The mission now transitions toward a proximity operations demonstration that will test manual spacecraft control near another object. Engineers continue to monitor a minor onboard system issue as the crew prepares for the next phase. The […]
NASA confirmed the Artemis II crew completed a perigee raise maneuver on April 2, refining Orion’s orbit around Earth. A brief communications loss occurred shortly after the burn but was quickly resolved with no reported impact on crew safety. The agency will hold a press conference from Kennedy Space Center as the mission prepares for […]
Astronauts aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission completed a key proximity operations test on April 2 while orbiting Earth. The maneuver involved controlled movements around a detached rocket stage to evaluate spacecraft handling. With CubeSat deployments ahead and a minor onboard system issue under review, the crew is now preparing for a perigee raise burn to […]
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched four astronauts on April 2 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the Artemis II mission. The crew is set for a 10-day test flight around the Moon, marking the first human lunar flyby since the Apollo era. The mission aims to validate spacecraft systems and pave the […]
An international team led by Peking University confirmed the mass of a rogue planet for the first time using a rare alignment of telescopes in May 2024. The object, detected through microlensing, was found to be about the mass of Saturn, confirming it as a true planet. The findings, published in Science in January 2026, […]
Surely, you might think, we can just agree that one Earth time zone can be used for “Moon time”? Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), for example. How hard can it be? Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, for several reasons. Here on Earth, timekeeping is easy to take for granted: we divide our world into 24 time zones, […]
British design and architecture powerhouse Foster + Partners has unveiled a striking new vision for off-Earth living: a 165-foot (50-meter) 3D-printed lunar skyscraper, engineered specifically for deployment at the Moon’s South Pole. Developed in collaboration with NASA and advanced manufacturing firm Branch Technology, the project signals a bold leap toward permanent human presence beyond Earth—and […]
The mission’s first two samples of regolith – broken rock and dust – could help scientists better understand the Red Planet and engineers prepare for future missions there. NASA’s Perseverance rover snagged two new samples from the Martian surface on Dec. 2 and 6. But unlike the 15 rock cores collected to date, these newest […]