#lunar exploration

A new space story frames oxygen extraction on the Moon as a necessary step before human life on Mars, reflecting a broader shift from short lunar visits toward long-term habitation.

NASA says three missions launching this year will begin scouting the moon for a future base near the lunar south pole, with phased development running into 2036.

NASA is seeking industry and research input on CubeSat opportunities tied to Artemis III, IV, and V, signaling that small secondary payloads will remain part of the agency’s lunar exploration architecture.

Paraguay has become the 67th signatory to the Artemis Accords, joining a recent surge of countries signing on as NASA pushes for broader international coordination in lunar exploration.

Ireland and Malta signed the Artemis Accords on May 4, expanding the NASA-backed framework for civil space cooperation and leaving Croatia as the only EU member state yet to join.

Jordan has become the 63rd nation to sign the Artemis Accords, joining NASA’s framework for civil space cooperation as the agency pushes to widen participation in its lunar program.

Latvia has signed the Artemis Accords, becoming the 62nd country in the framework and the third to join this year, in a move that expands the diplomatic coalition around NASA’s lunar exploration plans and future cooper

After splashing down off California, the Artemis II crew returned to Houston as NASA begins folding lessons from the first crewed mission in the program into future lunar plans.

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 2 crew entered the moon’s sphere of influence on April 6, a milestone that marks humanity’s return to lunar space more than five decades after the Apollo era.

NASA’s Artemis II mission has launched four astronauts on a lunar flyby, marking the first crewed journey around the moon in more than 50 years.

NASA has set April 1, 2026 as the target launch date for Artemis II, the first crewed flight around the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972, carrying four astronauts on a 10-day mission aboard the Orion spacecraft.

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.

New research identifies Rimae Bode on the lunar near side as the priority landing site for China's first crewed moon mission, calling it a 'geological museum' with five distinct terrain types.

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.