Category Archives: NASA

Friday / 30 January 2026

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Artemis 2 Communications Enhanced by Volunteers Worldwide

With Space Launch System rocket / Orion spacecraft on Launch Pad 39B, NASA announces 34 participants globally to assist in Artemis 2 Moon mission communications; selected under Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program, it includes: Intuitive Machines and 12 other companies in USA, UK, Spain, Norway, Cameroon, Japan, New Zealand, Italy, Netherlands; CSA-ASC; German Aerospace Center (DLR); 4 individuals in USA / Canada; academia in Japan, Canada, Switzerland, USA; 7 amateur radio / non-profits in France, Argentina, Germany, Netherlands, USA; 4 radio antennas are on the Orion capsule, 2 on the European Service Module, and a laser communications device is on the Crew Module Adapter connecting them

Image Credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech, United Launch Alliance

Tuesday / 27 January 2026

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Artemis 2 Wet Dress Rehearsal Next, NET 2 February

Space Launch System with Orion spacecraft atop it, ~5,000,000kg of hardware, stands on Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, awaiting Wet Dress Rehearsal fueling with cryogenic propellants and practice countdown NET 2 February; 3 NASA Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen in day 4 of medical quarantine; Orion carries artifacts: Wright Brothers’ plane piece, American flag and its 50 stars from 1st and last Space Shuttle missions; NASA Administrator Isaacman acknowledges “a momentous step forward for human spaceflight . . . humans farther from Earth than ever before”

Image Credits: NASA / Keegan Barber, NASA / Robert Markowitz

Tuesday / 20 January 2026

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Buzz Aldrin Begins 97th Trip Around the Sun

Having worked on our Moon, Buzz Aldrin is one of 4 living multi-world humans; Pilot of the first Moon landing, Aldrin may get to see the first woman walk there; pioneer of the spacecraft cycler concept, he envisions large “hotel” spacecraft in repeating elliptical Sun orbit intersecting Earth and Mars orbits, using minimal fuel, accessed by “taxi” vehicles, for 5-month interplanetary trip; co-author of 2 SciFi books with ET characters, appreciates Trappist-1 seven-world star system and its ET-life possibility; non-fiction books include autobiographies, for children, and co-written with Leonard David

Image Credits: NASA

Friday / 16 January 2026

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4 Artemis Astronauts Inspire Next Generation with 1st Human Lunar Exploration in 21st Century

In monumental fusion of engineering and initiative, 5,000,000kg NASA Artemis II stack travels 6.4km to Pad 39B Saturday 17 January, taking up to 12 hours, crew Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen, with Isaacman, answer media questions 09:00 EST, all streaming live; marks transition from terrestrial assembly to lunar readiness; beyond technical validation of Space Launch System / Orion spacecraft, mission promises a new “Earthrise” moment, human-eye sight of lunar poles and Mare Orientale for first time; more than a flyby, a profound scientific / aspirational reawakening, reflecting 4.5B years of solar history, inspiring a new generation to explore the Solar System

Image Credits: AmericaSpace / Alan Walters, NASA during Artemis I, NASA / Gregory Manchess, Northrop Grumman – crew and booster, NASA / Anders-Lovell

Tuesday / 13 January 2026

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Caves May Give Opening to Establishment of Moon Base

Lunar lava tubes may assist in fulfilling order to NASA to establish “initial element of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030” as these caves shelter from radiation, meteorites, temperatures, CMEs; data from LRO evidences cave with stable temp of 17°C extending >60m from base of pit in Mare Tranquillitatis, although cave could extend many km; inflatable module inside would obviate sealing / pressurizing; proposed cave exploration by China, ESA, ispace includes tethered probe or robots: swarms, legged, flying; China taikonaut Ye Guangfu leads cave team for 5 nights at 8°C with psychology / emergency aspects after ESA cave training

Image Credits: CNSA, NASA

Friday / 9 January 2026

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Artemis Human Landings Anticipated with Preparatory FLIP, then FLEX Rovers

Launching NET July 2026 via 63,800kg-capacity Falcon Heavy, under NASA-CLPS US$322M award, Astrobotic Griffin-1 lander with 625kg capacity targets Nobile Crater, ~85°S, 53°E; primary payload Venturi Astrolab 500kg FLIP rover testing hyper-deformable tires, telerobotic mobility, thermal resilience, dust mitigation for larger FLEX vehicle; ~1,000kg-capacity FLEX launches in HLS lander NET 2027 on 200,000kg-capacity Starship Super-Heavy; FLIP rover is critical pathfinder for sustainable lunar infrastructure, carrying Interlune instrument seeking H3 / water ice, as well as 40-micron-thin nickel disks with millions of images of human endeavors, and Space Age Publishing Company weekly Space Calendar and Moon Messages

Image Credits: Astrobotic, Astrolab, Arch Mission Foundation

Holiday / New Year Edition
Wednesday – Monday
24 Dec 2025 – 5 Jan 2026

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Upcoming Artemis 2 Mission Reflects Apollo 8 Mission

Artemis 2 expects to take humans farther than any has yet traveled, >390,000 km, with 1st woman and 1st from outside USA, launching NET 5 Feb; Apollo 8 is recognized for being 1st to bring humans beyond Earth orbit, traveling 377,349 km away; Artemis 2 Astronauts will be absent communication with Earth ~45 minutes during Moon far side flight, learning from Apollo 8 Astronauts who experienced this 10 times in 20 orbits; ~1/4 of Earth humans saw television broadcast before Trans Earth Injection 25 December 1968, presaging Artemis 2 laser-based Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System “O2O” with 4K ultra-HD video livestream

Image Credits: NASA, Artemis 2 mission patch (L), Apollo 8 silver token (R)

Friday / 19 December 2025

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Astrobotic Clavius-S to Assist Lunar Surface and Cislunar Safety

Astrobotic of Pittsburgh PA, USA receives NASA funds for Small Business Innovation Research in development of night-surviving Clavius-S Moon-surface sensor to monitor objects in Low Lunar Orbit (LLO); Astrobotic to provide data as a service to government / companies; surface sensors to be integrated with multiple landers and Clavius orbiting sensors; surface unwanted light / reflection / glare is reduced / eliminated for enhanced tracking of LLO craft, including non-transmitting ones; 1 of 225 employees, Astrobotic Chief Research Scientist Andrew Horchler describes Clavius-S insights protecting critical Moon missions such as Artemis; NASA also awards ~US$600K of potential $4M for Astrobotic development by September 2027 of LiDAR-based dark-side navigation for safe / precise landings

Image Credits: Astrobotic Technology Inc., NASA

Tuesday / 16 December 2025

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Intuitive Machines Forges Ahead with US$4.82B Lunar Relay Network

Intuitive Machines (“IM”, Nasdaq “LUNR”), Houston TX, collaborates with Telespazio / Leonardo / Thales Alenia of ESA lunar communication / navigation program for interoperable infrastructures, secures NASA Near Space Network contract of up to US$4.82B for 5-satellite solar-powered constellation in lunar orbit, providing constant Moon South Pole connectivity via high-speed data relay; $150M initially, IM sells usage minutes to NASA, $1M / year projected; 1st satellite via IM-3 2026, all 5 by 2027 with 2 via IM-4; IM acquires KinetX for $30M to forward mission; Alphabet spinoff Aalyria also working on lunar connectivity

Image Credits: Intuitive Machines, Leonardo / Telespazio

Friday / 12 December 2025

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NGLR-1 Elevates Lunar Laser Ranging for Artemis Precision Navigation

Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector-1 (NGLR-1) at Mare Crisium since 2 Mar 2025 via Firefly Blue Ghost Lander is target for Earth-based lasers, enables one-millimeter-precise Moon distance; expected to operate for 50+ years, is in 17x13x12cm housing; Grasse, Wettzell and Apache Point Observatories send laser beams for reflection; NGLR-1 precision achieves >17x improvement over retroreflectors placed by Apollo Astronauts, benefits Artemis Missions via enhanced navigation for safe landings, ISRU / habitat siting; NGLR-1 development at University of Maryland with physicist Doug Currie, who also led Apollo retroreflector creation; planned are retroreflector set-ups via Artemis 3 near Moon South Pole and CLPS to non-polar location, with 3 together providing unprecedented data

Image Credits: (L-R) Doug Currie at McDonald Observatory, Doug Currie today (John T Consoli), NGLR-1 by Currie, Buzz Aldrin with Apollo retroreflector courtesy Doug Currie