Lunar Gateway

NASA is dealing with a host of safety and technical issues related to the spacecraft that will fly astronauts to the Moon, forcing it to postpone two Artemis missions as it tries to resolve a number of logistical challenges.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonDuring a press conference on Tuesday, NASA announced that it is now targeting September 2025 for the launch of its Artemis 2 mission (which was originally scheduled for November 2024) and subsequently delaying a crewed landing on the Moon to September 2026…

An artist’s depiction of the Lunar Gateway (left) and airlock (right).Illustration: NASAThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) is contributing to the lunar outpost that will be built around the Moon, building the Gateway’s airlock module in a sign that the gulf country will be more involved in NASA’s Artemis program.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThis week, NASA and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced a collaboration whereby the UAE will provide the Crew and Science Airlock module for the Gateway…

Ahead of NASA’s long-awaited return to crewed Moon landings, the space agency is testing an elevator that will carry astronauts from their spacecraft to the lunar surface. If all goes as planned, this elevator will be ready for the Artemis 3 and 4 missions, ambitiously set for 2025 and 2028.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonTwo NASA astronauts took part in a recent demonstration of a sub-scale mock-up elevator for SpaceX’s Starship human landing system. The system is being designed and built by SpaceX as a…

Four astronauts are getting ready to travel to the Moon and back for NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, and the space agency is making sure that the crew is well-prepared in case things go wrong during the 10-day journey through space.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThe Artemis 2 crew is undergoing emergency training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, practicing procedures on how to exit the Orion spacecraft. This week, NASA released a video of the astronauts sliding down from an Orion mockup in order to learn…

Fresh footprints on the Moon aren’t likely to happen in 2025 as NASA hoped. A new report warns of significant delays to the Artemis 3 mission, the result of two key contractors—SpaceX and Axiom Space—not being able to deliver the goods on time. “Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police” | AI UnlockedThe latest Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, published November 30, highlights major hurdles in the development of key components for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission, including SpaceX’s lunar lander and Axiom Space’s…

Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) are embarking on a pioneering venture to construct the first permanent human outpost on the Moon, a critical component of NASA’s Artemis program.Like It or Not, Your Doctor Will Use AI | AI UnlockedNASA’s Gemini and Apollo missions, and the Cold War space race in general, understandably expanded the horizons of science fiction writers, who began to portray futures in which the Moon wasn’t just a celestial body to visit but a place to inhabit. This vision, as vividly…

Nearly a year after an uncrewed Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, NASA anticipates it still needs a few more months to resolve a lingering issue with the capsule’s heat shield before a crew can ride on board.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonDuring a recent meeting, NASA officials revealed that the space agency would not proceed with the launch of the Artemis 2 mission until it understood the problem with the heat shield and made changes, SpaceNews reported. NASA is still studying the performance of the…

The crew modules for NASA’s Artemis 2, 3 and 4 missions are currently stationed next to one another at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the three spacecraft undergoing different stages of production for their upcoming launch dates. China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonNASA recently shared a group photo of its Orion crew capsules inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, revealing the spacecraft trio coming together ahead of humanity’s return to the Moon.The Artemis 2…

NASA has asked two of its commercial partners to develop spacesuit designs for different tasks than the ones initially assigned to them, with the space agency looking to have backup options should any issues arise in the future.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonAxiom Space and Collins Aerospace were awarded task orders under existing contracts with NASA, each worth $5 million, the space agency announced on Monday. Axiom Space will develop its spacesuit design so that it can also be used in low Earth orbit, while…

After more than 50 years, NASA’s pending return to the Moon could encompass more than just leaving footprints on its surface, as it could entail efforts to mine the Moon for resources—an initiative that could start early next decade.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonNASA wants to send a drill rig to the Moon next month and then establish large-scale lunar regolith mining by 2032, using a pilot processing plant to potentially extract resources such as water, iron,and rare metals, Reuters reported based on recent…