All posts tagged: space exploration

Astronauts are ready to return to the moon on Artemis II mission

Astronauts are ready to return to the moon on Artemis II mission

Published by skeptic

The Artemis II astronauts and Space Launch System rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty Images Four astronauts are preparing to see the moon as it has never been seen before. NASA’s Artemis II mission, which could launch as soon as 1 April, will send astronauts looping around the moon for the first time since 1972, taking in areas of the far side that no human eyes have ever gazed at. In the original plan, Artemis II was meant to fly in 2019, but a variety of delays meant that its precursor, Artemis I, didn’t get off the ground until 2022. Artemis I, an uncrewed mission around the moon, was the last time the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion crew capsule flew. Its successor will repeat a similar flight, this time with four crew members onboard: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch from NASA and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency. A “wet dress rehearsal” in February revealed issues with the spacecraft – primarily small fuel leaks – that forced NASA …

NASA outlines phased Moon base strategy

NASA outlines phased Moon base strategy

Published by skeptic

A new NASA roadmap links lunar infrastructure, commercial partnerships, and nuclear propulsion to long-term exploration goals. A sweeping set of policy and programme updates from NASA signals a structural shift in how the United States plans to operate in space over the coming decade. Announced during a recent agency-wide briefing, the changes align with the current administration’s National Space Policy and place the development of a sustained Moon base at the centre of future exploration strategy. The plan reconfigures existing lunar missions, expands the role of private industry, and introduces new approaches to maintaining a continuous human presence both in orbit and on the Moon. It also advances long-discussed ambitions around nuclear propulsion and deep space infrastructure. Artemis programme refocused toward sustained lunar operations NASA’s updated roadmap builds on prior adjustments to its Artemis programme, the flagship initiative for returning astronauts to the Moon. The agency has standardised its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket configuration and added an additional mission ahead of a planned crewed lunar landing later this decade. Under the revised sequencing, Artemis …

Goonhilly Earth Station tracks Artemis II mission to the Moon

Goonhilly Earth Station tracks Artemis II mission to the Moon

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Goonhilly Earth Station is set to play a role in NASA’s historic Artemis II mission by passively tracking the Orion spacecraft as it orbits the Moon and returns to Earth. As the Artemis programme prepares to return humans to lunar orbit for the first time in over 50 years, Goonhilly will participate in the tracking of the Orion spacecraft as it launches through space. By tracking activity at the world’s first commercial deep-space ground station, based in Cornwall, the UK is demonstrating its capability to support deep-space missions from British soil. Goonhilly’s leading role in NASA Artemis missions In 2022, Goonhilly Earth Station provided critical communication and tracking support for NASA’s Artemis I.  Utilising its 32-metre GHY-6 antenna and expert teams, the facility tracked the mission’s uncrewed Orion spacecraft and communicated with six of the CubeSats launched on the mission. For Artemis II, tracking will focus on the crewed Orion spacecraft as it journeys beyond low Earth orbit, flying around the Moon, and returning to Earth – marking humanity’s first crewed lunar mission in over half …

Astronomers identify 45 Earth-like planets in habitable zones

Astronomers identify 45 Earth-like planets in habitable zones

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Astronomers have narrowed the search for extraterrestrial life by identifying a focused group of Earth-like planets that may offer the most favourable conditions for habitability. Drawing on updated stellar data and planetary records, researchers have compiled a catalogue of rocky exoplanets located within habitable zones – regions around stars where liquid water could potentially exist. The study highlights 45 planets as the strongest candidates for supporting life, out of more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets discovered to date. A further subset of 24 planets falls within a more restrictive definition of habitability, offering a refined framework for future observation and analysis. Defining the habitable zone The concept of the habitable zone remains central to the search for life beyond Earth. It refers to the orbital region around a star where temperatures are neither too extreme for liquid water to persist on a planet’s surface. Water, widely considered essential for life as we know it, makes this zone a primary target for astronomers. Using updated measurements from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission alongside data from the …

How plasma propulsion facilitates science and exploration at NASA

How plasma propulsion facilitates science and exploration at NASA

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The Innovation Platform Editor Georgie Purcell spoke with NASA’s John W Dankanich to find out how the space agency is using plasma propulsion to improve its missions. Plasma propulsion is an advanced form of electric space propulsion that uses electric and magnetic fields to ionise a propellant into plasma – a charged gas of electrons and ions – which is then accelerated to extremely high velocities, far exceeding chemical rockets. This solution offers a range of benefits for space missions, including increased efficiency and reduced costs. NASA has utilised plasma technologies for a variety of activities and missions in its history and is continuing to do so in an effort to optimise efficiency, cost effectiveness, and capability. To learn more about the role of plasma propulsion within NASA’s work, Georgie Purcell spoke with John W Dankanich, In-Space Transportation Systems Capability Lead at NASA. Can you identify some of the key uses of plasma propulsion within NASA’s missions? Plasma propulsion, or what we generally refer to as ‘electric propulsion’ (EP), encompasses a diverse set of propulsion …

Why Yuri Gagarin wasn’t the first in space – and who beat him to it

Why Yuri Gagarin wasn’t the first in space – and who beat him to it

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Were these the first people to reach space? Heritage Image Partnership Ltd /Alamy If you were to take off from Earth on a clear day – the kind you want for a launch – you’d see the sky change colours before your eyes. It would shine a bright blue outside your window, becoming deeper as you climbed into the thinning air of the upper atmosphere. At some point, the blue would disappear entirely, and the black of outer space would surround your capsule. None of this seems controversial today. Everyone knows that the blue day sky is an optical effect caused by sunlight’s interaction with the atmosphere. Astronauts have gone up to see for themselves, returning with descriptions of the darkness of space. But this wasn’t always the case. So, who was the first person to experience this? You might instinctively say Yuri Gagarin, as he is often known as the first man in space. But was he? The first thing we have to consider is where space starts. And that really depends on what …

Artemis II mission sets stage for lunar return and beyond

Artemis II mission sets stage for lunar return and beyond

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As NASA prepares for the launch of the Artemis II crewed lunar spaceflight mission, Christophe Bosquillon and Giuseppe Reibaldi from the Moon Village Association discuss the implications that a successful human return to the Moon could have for lunar exploration and beyond. With the January 2026 North American winter storm, NASA had to delay a key fuelling test for the Artemis II mission. Between hydrogen leaks at the early February wet dress rehearsal, and later issues with the flow of helium to the rocket upper stage, forcing a rollback, NASA had to postpone the rocket launch twice, first to early March, then to early April. Administrator Jared Isaacman provided details on X. When Artemis II eventually takes off, this will mark a pivotal moment in human spaceflight. While safety of the crew is paramount, Artemis II’s ‘success’ will be measured beyond their safe return. There will be implications for other missions, including outside of the Artemis program, in no small part considering the importance of international collaboration. What is the Artemis program? The Artemis program …

Chang’e-6 moon samples reveal strong ground for lunar base

Chang’e-6 moon samples reveal strong ground for lunar base

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Digital analysis of unprecedented lunar material suggests tougher regolith could shape plans for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). When China’s Chang’e-6 mission delivered material from the far side of the Moon to Earth in mid-2024, planetary scientists knew they were looking at something historic. For the first time, researchers could examine soil collected from the Moon’s permanently hidden hemisphere. Now, a team led by scientists at Beihang University has published the first detailed, non-destructive physical analysis of those samples, offering new insight into how the terrain could affect plans for a future lunar base. Their findings suggest that far-side lunar soil may be mechanically stronger and more interlocked than material previously studied from the near side – a difference that could influence engineering strategies for the proposed ILRS. A first look at far-side material from Chang’e-6 The samples returned by Chang’e-6 originated in the Moon’s South Pole–Aitken basin, a vast impact structure on the far side that differs geologically from the areas explored during NASA’s Apollo missions and China’s earlier Chang’e-5 mission. Because the …

NASA increases Artemis programme missions

NASA increases Artemis programme missions

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As part of the Golden Age of exploration and discovery, NASA is increasing the cadence of missions under the Artemis programme. Expanding the Artemis programme is set to achieve the national objective of returning American astronauts to the Moon and establishing an enduring presence. The expansions include standardising vehicle configuration, adding an additional mission in 2027, and conducting at least one surface landing each year thereafter. Artemis IV: A new mission for 2028 As teams prepare to launch Artemis II in the weeks ahead, the Artemis III mission, now scheduled for 2027, will be designed to test systems and operational capabilities in low Earth orbit to prepare for an Artemis IV landing in 2028. This new mission will endeavour to include a rendezvous and docking with one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, in-space tests of the docked vehicles, integrated checkout of life support, communications, and propulsion systems, as well as tests of the new Extravehicular Activity (xEVA) suits. NASA will further define this test flight after completing detailed reviews with its industry partners. A growing …

NASA’s Artemis moon exploration programme is getting a major makeover

NASA’s Artemis moon exploration programme is getting a major makeover

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NASA’s Space Launch System has had a tricky start NASA/Cory Huston NASA is shaking up the plan for its Artemis moon missions. In a press conference on 27 February, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman announced significant changes to the agency’s plans to send humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo programme ended in 1972. The Artemis II mission is slated to launch in the next few months, but has had a pair of difficult practice runs. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket kept springing leaks when fuel was being pumped in and it ended up being rolled back from the launchpad for analysis and repairs. The last time SLS was launched was in 2022. Artemis II is a mission to send astronauts in a loop around the moon, in preparation to send a crew to land on the lunar surface with Artemis III. That plan has changed now: Artemis III will no longer be a landing mission, but one to test the Orion crew capsule’s ability to dock with a lander in …