Artemis program

Under a blistering Louisiana sun, the Artemis II core stage left the Michoud Assembly Facility this morning in New Orleans. This is the core of the massive SLS rocket that will take four astronauts to orbit the Moon for the first time in over 50 years.

An internal NASA analysis has surfaced with concerning estimates as the agency advances toward a crewed lunar landing during the Artemis 3 mission, currently set for no earlier than September 2026. The analysis indicated a nearly one-in-three chance the lander, being developed by SpaceX, may be delayed by at least a year and a half.

The Canadian Space Agency has awarded MDA Space a $1 billion contract for the next phases of the Canadarm3 program. This robotic system is integral to NASA’s Gateway, a space station that will circle the Moon to support the Artemis program.

Over the last few weeks NASA has announced a plethora of partnerships and contracts for lunar rovers that astronauts will eventually use on future Artemis missions. Those rovers will of course need a ride to the Moon, which will come in the like of cargo variants of NASA’s HLS landers, Starship and Blue Moon.

Intuitive Machines has been awarded $30 million by NASA to conduct a services feasibility assessment for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle, LTV, the first phase of developing a crewed rover for human exploration of the Moon’s surface. This contract marks the company’s first foray into human spaceflight operations, underpinning its role in NASA’s ambitious $4.6 billion LTV services project.

After NASA returns humans to the Moon during the Artemis 3 mission, the agency plans to begin assembling the first space station in lunar orbit. Part of the Artemis 4 mission, the goal is to deliver a critical component to the Lunar Gateway and begin enabling sustainable exploration of the Moon while serving as a stepping stone for future crewed missions to Mars.

NASA has unveiled the first set of scientific instruments selected for deployment by astronauts on the Moon’s surface during the Artemis 3 mission. This endeavor aims to enhance our understanding of the Moon, aiding preparations for future crewed missions to Mars. 

NASA’s Lunar Gateway program represents a pivotal initiative under the agency’s leadership, aimed at facilitating sustainable human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars. This program is characterized by its emphasis on international and commercial partnerships, establishing a strategic outpost orbiting Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor to support scientific research, lunar surface expeditions, and deeper space ventures.

Thursday morning SpaceX will be attempting its third Starship test launch. This has the biggest hope of being a 100% successful flight but how do you watch it? Here are the details below.

Over the last few weeks we’ve been following the travels of Intuitive Machine‘s IM-1 mission. The first of its kind lander made several firsts, the biggest being bringing the commercial market to the lunar surface for the first time. While the mission has ended for now, there’s a lot to talk about good old Odysseus.

On Valentines Day SpaceX showed us its love for lifting rockets off into space with a double header from both LC-39A and SLC-40. The two launches, roughly eight hours apart, were for Intuitive Machines‘ Nova-C lunar lander and a classified payload for the US Space Force.

This month was expected to be a big one for lunar exploration with two new landers attempting soft landings on the Moon‘s surface. However, once again, landing on the Moon seems to be the next major hurdle for anyone, even the United States.

NASA announced in a stacked press conference that the agency is delaying its much anticipated Artemis 2 mission over safety concerns with the Lockheed Martin Orion spacecraft. Now slated for a September 2025 launch date, the delay also extends to Artemis 3 which is planned to liftoff one year after Artemis 2.

At a meeting of the National Space Council in Washington, DC, Vice President Kamala Harris announced an international astronaut will land on the Moon through Artemis before the end of the decade.

According to NASA, Starship‘s third flight test will feature a major demonstration needed for the overall success of landing humans on the Moon with the Artemis program. In a meeting, slides showed Starship Flight 3 being the first mission to demonstrate in-orbit propellent transfer. However, the schedule is still up in the air.

Most likely outdated renders of SpaceX’s Starship rocket in its Human Landing System configuration show a much more refined design that could show where the company is heading. Although their authenticity is not 100% confirmed yet.

Early Friday morning, Astrobotic’s first lunar lander departed its offices in Pittsburgh for a drive down to Florida to be integrated onto the Atlas V for launch as soon as December. A flight the company has been waiting to do for years.

Blue Origin Friday unveiled its Mk1 version of its Blue Moon lander that holds a contract with NASA for crewed Artemis missions. Mk1 is capable of delivering three-metric tons of cargo to anywhere on the lunar surface. However, it is only cable of landing cargo and science payloads, and is not reusable.

Between the increasing need and decreasing budgets, NASA’s Deep Space Network is running into constraints during big missions like Artemis 1. DSN’s director is concerned the lack of funding to expand deep space communications and the continued requirement to drop everything for these missions will harm NASA’s other science missions.

NASA’s Artemis program is slated to land astronauts on the Moon by the end of 2025, but SpaceX’s hurdles with its lunar lander technology could potentially push the much-anticipated mission into 2026, warns a Senior NASA manager.