An annual safety report to NASA has both praise for the agency and also underscores a number of cautionary woes, including the space agency’s undertaking of the Artemis back-to-the-moon with humans campaign. The annual report from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) has been released. The report observes that NASA has made impressive progress. Challenges … Read more
If lunar tectonic activity is more prevalent than thought, the landing gear design for the tall Starship HLS may need to be broader and more stable. Credit: NASA More than 3 billion years ago, when the Moon’s volcanic mare (the dark lunar “seas”) were formed, the Moon was rife with tectonic activity and moonquakes that … Read more
NASA’s first two crewed Artemis moon missions have been pushed back to 2026 and 2027, respectively, and the move could have big ramifications for the agency’s Artemis program and competition with China for leadership in space. Artemis 2, which will send a crew of three Americans and a Canadian astronaut around the moon, was due … Read more
As this illustration of the Apollo VIII command module reentering Earth shows, heat shields protect the crew capsule from high temperatures. Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center Off the coast of Baja California in December 2022, sun sparkled over the rippling sea as waves sloshed around the USS Portland dock ship. Navy officials on the deck … Read more
WASHINGTON — Panama and Austria signed the Artemis Accords Dec. 11 as the document, outlining principles for responsible space exploration, hit a milestone of 50 signatories. In separate ceremonies at NASA Headquarters, Panama’s and Austria’s ambassadors to the United States signed the Accords. The document, which the United States and seven other nations initially signed … Read more
We’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the first crewed moon mission since the Apollo era lift off. NASA announced today (Dec. 5) that it’s delaying the planned launch of Artemis 2, a flight that will send four people around the moon and back, from September 2025 to April 2026. And Artemis 3, … Read more