#artemis

A new paper argues that standard Earth-based material flammability tests are not enough for lunar missions, where gravity, airflow, and smoldering behavior could change how fires ignite and spread.

With Artemis II back on Earth, NASA is shifting from proving it can send astronauts around the Moon again to the harder task of landing crews and building a longer-term lunar presence

NASA’s Artemis II crew has splashed down safely after a 10-day mission around the moon, closing a major test flight and setting up the next phase of the agency’s return-to-the-moon campaign.

With Orion and the rocket performing well on Artemis II, NASA’s biggest open question is whether its commercial moon landers can be simplified and accelerated without breaking the wider mission design.

NASA’s Artemis 2 launched on April 1, 2026, carrying four astronauts on a free-return mission around the moon and marking humanity’s first trip beyond Earth orbit in more than 50 years.

NASA has started the formal countdown for Artemis 2, with mission managers reporting no major issues ahead of the planned April 1 launch window.

NASA and NOAA are working to protect Artemis astronauts from dangerous solar storms, a reminder that returning humans to the Moon means operating beyond the relative shelter of Earth’s magnetosphere.

NASA has named 10 participating scientists to help design and support lunar surface science for Artemis missions, strengthening the agency’s push to turn crewed Moon landings into a sustained research campaign.

NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a $180.4 million CLPS contract to carry seven science and technology payloads to the Moon’s South Pole region in 2030, extending the agency’s push to use commercial landers to prepare,

NASA has selected 14 university teams as finalists in the 2026 RASC-AL competition, tasking students from MIT, Texas A&M, Dartmouth, and others with designing the communications, power, and sample-return systems that will support human life on the Moon and Mars.

NASA's Office of Inspector General has found the agency's Artemis Human Landing System risk tracking is incomplete and schedule assumptions overly optimistic, recommending tighter SpaceX safety oversight.

NASA has declared Artemis 2 ready for another launch attempt after resolving SLS and Orion hardware issues, setting the stage for the first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17 in 1972.

A NASA inspector general report reveals a worsening disagreement between NASA and SpaceX over whether astronauts need manual controls on the lunar lander.

NASA's Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration project has successfully completed a major test of technology designed to extract oxygen from lunar soil. The breakthrough brings the space agency closer to producing breathable air and rocket fuel from resources found on the Moon's surface.