Bill Nelson

The Artemis 2 crew: Astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch.Photo: NASAThe next phase of NASA’s return-to-the-Moon program is underway, with the space agency naming the four-person Artemis 2 crew who will fly around the Moon and back.In 1972, NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt visited the Moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission. No human has been back since, but we now know the names of thefour astronauts who will finally revisit the lunar environment,…

NASA has unveiled the first spacesuits to be worn by astronauts on their journey to the Moon.A prototype of the spacesuit was revealed on Wednesday at Space Center Houston's Moon 2 Mars Festival, with a full fleet of training spacesuits to be delivered to NASA later this year.The new suit -- Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) -- has been designed and built by Axiom Space, a space services company, as part of a deal by the space agency.In 2022, NASA awarded Axiom a $228.5 million task order under a $1.26 billion…

Children using Microsoft-owned game-based learning platform Minecraft can now build and launch a rocket to the Moon like the real NASA Artemis team, the US space agency has said.Minecraft Artemis Missions was developed to engage students ages 8 and up in NASA's next chapter in human spaceflight and encourage them to see themselves as future astronauts or scientists."Just like the real NASA Artemis team working to return humans to the Moon, gamers in these new Minecraft worlds can build and launch a rocket, guide their…

Los Angeles, NASA and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have announced a collaboration to demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine in space, the key steps for sending the first crewed missions to Mars.NASA and DARPA will partner on the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) programme, Xinhua news agency reported.Using a nuclear thermal rocket allows for faster transit time, reducing risk for astronauts, according to NASA.Read AlsoReducing transit time is a key component for…

NASA is eyeing more efficient methods of propelling astronauts to Mars in the future. The United States plans to test a spacecraft engine powered by nuclear fission by 2027 as part of a long-term NASA effort to demonstrate more efficient methods of propelling astronauts to Mars in the future, the space agency's chief said Tuesday.NASA will partner with the U.S. military's research and development agency, DARPA, to develop a nuclear thermal propulsion engine and launch it to space "as soon as 2027," NASA administrator…

Artist’s conception of a spacecraft enabled by nuclear thermal propulsion.Illustration: NASATwo of the most forward-thinking agencies in the United States are joining forces to foster the development of advanced space propulsion. A fireside chat on the new collaboration is scheduled for Tuesday morning, and you can watch it live right here.The 2023 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum is officially underway in National Harbor, Maryland. The theme for this year’s confab is to “explore the…

San Francisco, NASA and SpaceX have set February 26 as the launch date for the Crew-6 mission, which will send four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month stay.The mission is NASA's sixth crew rotation flight.Crew-6 will send the SpaceX Dragon capsule Endeavour aloft atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in the US, according to a NASA blogpost.The mission will carry NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, as well as UAE (United Arab Emirates)…

NASA will invest $425 million over seven years in the "Sustainable Flight Demonstrator" (SFD) project while Boeing and its partners will spend an estimated $725 million. The US space agency NASA is teaming up with aviation giant Boeing to develop a next-generation commercial aircraft that emits less carbon.NASA, whose purview also includes aeronautical research, will invest $425 million over seven years in the "" (SFD) project while Boeing and its partners will spend an estimated $725 million. The goal is to produce…

NASA will invest $425 million to help Boeing develop a demonstrator aircraft for its Transonic Truss-Braced Wing design, which the space agency hopes will improve the fuel efficiency of commercial aviation.In a press conference yesterday, NASA officials said a flight test of the aircraft is planned for 2028.“It’s our goal that NASA’s partnership with Boeing to produce and test a full-scale demonstrator will help lead to future commercial airliners that are more fuel efficient, with benefits to the environment, the…

The US space agency and Japan have signed an agreement that builds on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the two nations.From low-Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond, Japan is one of NASA's most significant international partners."This latest framework agreement will allow us to further collaborate across our agencies' broad portfolios in exploration, science, and research," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.Read AlsoUS Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japan's Minister for Foreign…