Category Archives: Orion

Tuesday / 21 October 2025

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Moon Olympics as Overarching Concept

Olympic-class spirit would be appropriate in any discussion of a 2nd Moon race, fostering sports-like excellence in a mode of international friendship during competition; challenges of complexity arise for all, whether SpaceX with a multi-stage system, Blue Origin announcing a new robotic cargo Moon lander prior to its Mark 1, SLS and Orion moving toward launch, or China now test-firing its human-rated long March 10 twice; since People’s Republic of China 2013 Chang’E-3 landing, China has shared Moon rocks / research internationally

Image Credits: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now, CCTV, NASA, CNSA

Friday / 3 October 2025

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Europe Moves Forward with International Collaboration on Moon Missions for Exploration, Monitoring, Mining

Airbus (Netherlands / France, with German / USA / China / Canada offices) supplies European Service Module for Artemis II Orion spacecraft, providing life-support, avionics, solar power, propulsion; ESA Argonaut lunar lander planned to launch NET 2031; Blue Origin (USA / Luxembourg) teams with Luxembourg government / ESRIC / GOMSpace to create Oasis-1 orbiter to map water ice / H3 / rare minierals, before sending Blue Alchemist mining rig; Space Applications Services (Belgium) designing 300kg rover; ispace Europe awaits ESA approval for MAGPIE 30kg rover to analyze subsurface geology, hydrogen forms, et al

Image Credits: Airbus, Blue Origin, NASA

Friday / 22 August 2025

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Artemis 2 Lunar Flyby Set to Make History Taking 1st Woman to Moon NLT April 2026 (NET Feb 2026)

Christina Koch—1st woman to Moon vicinity—on epic fly-by alongside Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen in Orion spacecraft as soon as 6 months from now; all are training rigorously, mastering simulators, suit-ups, life-support, spash-downs; global unity shines, with Hansen from Canada and European Service Module of Orion built in Germany with components from 10 countries to provide propulsion, power, thermal control and life support via 33 thrusters, 4 solar arrays, 11 km of wiring and 8600 kg of fuel just loaded, ready to perform trans-lunar injection burn to send Orion around the Moon after ~US$4B SLS launch, with Artemis 3 mid-2027 to set boots on the Moon of 1st woman

Image Credits: NASA  

Tuesday / 19 August 2025

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Artemis II On-Track for Lunar Flyby NET April 2026

Artemis II Mission 4 astronauts practicing night launch scenario, Christina Koch and Victor Glover (pictured), Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, walking to craft, as well as emergency evacuation from pad; NASA Marshall in Huntsville “Rocket City” shipping to Florida the Orion stage adapter, 1.5 meters by 5.5 meters tall, built there, to be stacked on SLS rocket to connect to Orion craft; adapter will carry 4, and up to 17, CubeSats; 25 finalists from 10 countries are in the running for Moon Mascot plush toy zero-gravity indicator to be created by NASA, including one of Artemis herself

Image Credits:  NASA, NASA/Freelancer/collectSPACE.com, Derek Lacey/Axios

Friday / 1 August 2025

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Artemis II Astronauts Focused on the Importance of Mission

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen on Artemis 2 mission around Moon NET April 2026; “We absolutely have the team … [to] make Artemis 2 a success,” said Wiseman; Glover expresses full confidence in Orion spacecraft, “entry and heat shields … parachutes”; “A true American success story: heat shield technology,” Hansen added, reducing ~2,760°C reentry temp to ~24°C inside; Koch said, “We have to keep asking hard questions”; they are focused on proving to the world that NASA and USA are capable of returning humans to the Moon; China is committed to landing people on Moon in 2020s

Image Credits: NASA, Canadian Space Agency; Pictured CW from upper L: Wiseman, Commander; Glover, Pilot; Koch, Specialist; Hansen, Specialist

Tuesday / 20 May 2025

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JAXA Chief Offers Technology Partnership to Keep NASA Moon Missions On-Track

 JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa offers response to NASA budget proposal cutting ~6% of current US$24.8B, although not human exploration portion, says Japan has high-precision Moon landing technology, lunar rover, resupply capabilities and lunar water data to offer Artemis missions; emphasizes lunar Gateway or similar infrastructure needed, could include JAXA human habitation module created with ESA; SLS / Orion are 140% over budget at US$23B, cost US$4B per launch, had been planned to deploy Gateway; NASA budget proposal for FY 2026 beginning Oct 2025 earmarks over $7 billion for lunar exploration, introduces $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs

Credits: JAXA

Tuesday / 22 April 2025

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Now One Year Out: Artemis 2 Human Mission to Moon

Artemis 2 lunar flyby 10-day mission set for Apr 2026, though NASA is working for Feb; Will be first human Moon mission in 54 years, and will occur in 2026 – the 250th observation of USA Declaration of Independence; Orion solar panels now installed, SLS upper stage connected to interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS), return trajectory adapted to de-stress heat shield; ICPS will fire to reach HEO of 185×74,000km, where manual piloting mode and other systems are tested for 93.5 hours; Orion will make TLI burn to reach 7,400km beyond Moon far side ~370,000km from Earth before Earth-Moon gravity pulls craft back, entering atmosphere at 40,000kph, enduring heat ~2,760°C before splashdown

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 25 March 2025

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Artemis 2: On-Track to Bring Humans Closer to the Moon than We’ve Been in More Than 50 Years

NASA Astronauts Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen are training meticulously for a million-km, 10-day Moon flyby in Orion spacecraft, 1st crewed flight of the Artemis campaign, Artemis II; set to launch NET April 2026 via Space Launch System (SLS), Orion is now at Kennedy Space Center; also there, SLS now has its 64-meter core stage — largest component of the rocket — joined with stacked solid rocket boosters; crew are testing Orion life support, communications and navigation systems and speaking with its engineers

Credits: CSA, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 March 2024

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Artemis Human Return to the Moon Progressing as CLPS Robotic Exploration Continues

NASA plan to achieve crewed lunar landing in 21st century, perhaps NLT 4 July 2026, advanced by SpaceX Starship IFT-3 achieving 106km altitude, 5,750 km/h velocity and cryogenic propellant transfer tech demo before breaking up 65km above Indian Ocean – booster landing and successful atmospheric reentry are goals for IFT 4; Lockheed Martin / Airbus Orion spacecraft undergoing 8 months of testing at Neil Armstrong Test Facility; Blue Origin projecting NET 2025 launch of Blue Moon MK1, which does not require in-space refueling; Intuitive Machines preparing to carry 3 JPL CADRE rovers and US$41.6M µNova hopper to Reiner Gamma Q4 2024; Astrobotic anticipating schedule challenge for Griffin mission to deliver VIPER to Nobile Crater currently set for 2024

Credits: SpaceX, NASA / JPL-Caltech / Jordan Salkin

Friday / 7 April 2023

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Artemis 2 Crew Set to Be First Astronauts to Reach Moon in Modern Era, Travel Further from Earth than Any Previous Mission

Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Hammock Koch & Jeremy Hansen are training intensively for 10-day lunar flyby Artemis 2 mission launching to multiple-burn trans lunar injection NET Nov 2024; Luna flyby will take crew 7,400 km past Moon, setting record for distance currently held by Apollo 13 (1970), which flew 254 km from lunar far side; Koch, Glover and Hansen to be first woman, person of color and non-USA citizen (respectively) to fly past LEO, cross Van Allen Belts and flyby Moon

Credits: NASA