Nasa Moon Mission

Artemis II astronauts return with splashdown to end record-breaking voyage

Artemis II's astronauts returned from the moon with a dramatic splashdown in the Pacific on Friday to close out humanity's first lunar voyage in more than a half-century. It was a triumphant homecoming for the crew of four whose record-breaking lunar flyby revealed not only swaths of the moon's far side never seen before by human eyes but a total solar eclipse. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen hit the atmosphere travelling Mach 33 or 33 times the speed of sound a blistering blur not seen since NASA's Apollo moonshots of the 1960s and 1970s. Their Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, made the plunge on automatic pilot. The tension in Mission Control mounted as the capsule became engulfed in red-hot plasma during peak heating and entered a planned communication blackout. All eyes were on the capsule's life-protecting heat shield that had to withstand thousands of degrees during reentry. On the spacecraft's only other test flight

Amit Kshatriya: The Indian-American scientist behind US' moon mission

From admiring rocket launches as a child growing up in Houston to steering the operations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Indian-American scientist Amit Kshatriya has had a stellar innings at the space agency that has set on a mission to land astronauts on the moon. As NASA's Associate Administrator, Wisconsin-born Kshatriya serves as the highest-ranking civil servant at the agency and as a senior advisor to Administrator Jared Isaacman. Kshatriya leads the agency's 10 centre directors, as well as the mission directorate associate administrators at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He also acts as the agency's Chief Operating Officer. Born to first-generation Indian immigrant parents, Kshatriya holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, and a Master of Arts in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. He was born in Brookfield, Wisconsin, but considers Katy, a suburb of Housto

Artemis II crew reaches 'halfway' mark in return journey to Earth: Nasa

Drawing ever closer to Earth, the Artemis II astronauts tidied up their lunar cruiser for the upcoming "fireball" return and reflected on their historic journey around the moon, describing it as surreal and profound. As the next-to-last day of their flight dawned Thursday, humanity's first lunar explorers in more than half a century were less than 150,000 miles (240,000 kilometres) from home with the odometer clicking down. "We have to get back. There's so much data that you've seen already, but all the good stuff is coming back with us. There are so many more pictures, so many more stories," said pilot Victor Glover, adding that "riding a fireball through the atmosphere is profound as well." Being cut off from all of humanity for nearly an hour while behind the moon was especially "surreal", according to commander Reid Wiseman. "There's a lot that our brains have to process ... and it is a true gift," Wiseman said late Wednesday during the crew's first news conference since before

Artemis II explained: Inside NASA’s first crewed Moon mission in 54 years

NASA’s Artemis II mission has launched, sending four astronauts around the Moon for the first time since 1972. Here’s what makes this mission historic, what went wrong after liftoff

Artemis II astronauts follow Apollo, name lunar features after loved ones

Lunar love knows no bounds. Now hurtling home from the moon, the Artemis II astronauts took a poignant page from Apollo 8 earlier this week, proposing deeply personal names for a pair of lunar craters. Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew asked permission to name one small, fresh crater after their capsule called Integrity and another after his late wife, Carroll. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen made the request right before Monday's lunar fly-around. Wiseman was too emotional to talk. Carroll Wiseman, a neonatal nurse, died of cancer in 2020. "Just for me personally, that was kind of the pinnacle moment of the mission for me," Wiseman said from space Wednesday night. During Apollo 8 in 1968, astronaut Jim Lovell bestowed his wife's name upon a prominent lunar peak: Mount Marilyn. It was humanity's first trip to the moon and she anxiously awaited his return back home in Houston. The three Americans and one Canadian of Artemis II are the first lunar visitors since Apollo 17 closed

Artemis II crew make call to space station as they head home from moon

Still aglow from their triumphant lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts put in a call to their friends aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday as they headed home from the moon. It was the first moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. NASA's Apollo crews had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s, the last time humanity set sail for deep space. For Christina Koch on Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the space station, it marked a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019 outside the orbiting lab. Houston's Mission Control arranged the cosmic chitchat between the four lunar travellers and the space station's three NASA and one French residents. As Tuesday dawned, Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman continued to beam back pictures of the previous day's lunar rendezvous, which set a new distance record for humanity. The highlight: an Earthset photo reminisc

Modern-day pioneers, you've inspired world: Trump speaks to Artemis II crew

Praising US tech prowess, Trump said that travelling to the moon would become more prevalent and hinted towards the future trip to Mars

Nasa's Artemis II crew heads back to Earth after record trip around Moon

At their nearest distance to the moon, the Artemis II's Lockheed Martin Corp.-built Orion capsule came within an estimated 4,067 miles of the lunar surface, according to calculations by Nasa

Artemis II crew begins seven hour flyby of Moon, observes far-side parts

The crew is working in shifts as they make the necessary observations set by the Nasa's science team

Artemis II set to surpass Apollo 13 distance record in lunar flyby

The Artemis II astronauts are already the champions of a fresh new era of lunar exploration. Now it's time to set a new distance record. Launched last week on humanity's first trip to the moon since 1972, the three Americans and one Canadian are chasing after Apollo 13's maximum range from Earth. That will make them our planet's farthest emissaries as they swing around the moon without stopping on Monday and then hightail it back home. Their roughly six-hour lunar flyby promises views of the moon's far side that were too dark or too difficult to see by the 24 Apollo astronauts who preceded them. A total solar eclipse also awaits them as the moon blocks the sun, exposing snippets of shimmering corona. "We'll get eyes on the moon, kind of map it out and then continue to go back in force," said flight director Judd Frieling. The goal is a moon base replete with landers, rovers, drones and habitats. A look at Artemis II's up-close and personal brush with another world - our constant ..

Nasa astronauts on track to moon after Orion engine burn for lunar flyby

Known as the translunar injection burn, this step had little room for error in order to put Orion on the correct trajectory for the 10-day mission to lap the moon

Artemis II mission to open door for $127 billion lunar economy by 2050

NASA launches Artemis II mission sending four astronauts on a lunar flyby, marking return beyond low-Earth orbit and opening opportunities in a $127 billion lunar economy

Nasa's moon-bound astronauts reach stable orbit, begin Artemis II mission

Named after Apollo's twin, Artemis aims for a sustained human presence on the Moon; Nasa plans a $30-billion, decade-long effort to build a lunar base for astronauts to live and work

Artemis II crew arrives in Florida ahead of Nasa's historic moon mission

Nasa astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen flew on Friday to Nasa 's Kennedy Space Center in Northrop Grumman Corp

SpaceX edges out Boeing from dominant role in Nasa's moon mission

With the new proposal, SLS would no longer be used to boost Orion close to the moon, previously a key task for the rocket

Nasa clears Artemis moon rocket for April launch with four astronauts

NASA cleared its moon rocket on Thursday for an April launch with four astronauts after completing the latest round of repairs. The 322-foot rocket will roll out of the hangar and back to the pad next week at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, leading to a launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity's first trip to the moon in more than 50 years. The Artemis II crew should have blasted off on a lunar flyaround earlier this year, but fuel leaks and other problems with the Space Launch System rocket interfered. Although NASA managed to plug the hydrogen fuel leaks at the pad in February, a helium-flow issue forced the space agency to return the rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs, bumping the mission to April. The space agency has only a handful of days in early April to launch before standing down until April 30 into early May. Late last month NASA's new administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced a major overhaul of the Artemis programme. Dissatisfied wit

Nasa conducts second rocket fuelling test for Artemis moon mission

NASA took another crack at fuelling its giant moon rocket Thursday after leaks halted the initial dress rehearsal and delayed the first lunar trip by astronauts in more than half a century. For the second time this month, launch teams pumped more than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) of supercold fuel into the rocket atop its launch pad. They counted all the way down to the half-minute mark as planned, then turned back the clocks to run through the final 10 minutes again. NASA completed the test late at night and said there was minimal hydrogen leakage, well within safety limits. It was the most critical and challenging part of the two-day practice countdown. Engineers were analysing the data, with the outcome determining whether a March launch is possible for the Artemis II moon mission with four astronauts. In a positive sign, the US-Canadian crew prepared to enter a two-week quarantine period Friday to provide what NASA called flexibility within the March launch window. Thre

Nasa hit by fuel leak during final practice countdown of moon rocket

NASA ran into a leak while fueling its new moon rocket Monday in one final make-or-break test that will determine when astronauts can launch on a lunar fly-around. The launch team began loading the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket with super-cold hydrogen and oxygen at Kennedy Space Center at midday. More than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million liters) had to flow into the tanks and remain on board for several hours, mimicking the final stages of an actual countdown. But just a couple hours into the daylong operation, excessive hydrogen was detected near the bottom of the rocket. Hydrogen loading was temporarily halted, with just half of the core stage filled. The launch team scrambled to work around the problem using techniques developed during the only other Space Launch System rocket launch three years ago. That first test flight was plagued by hydrogen leaks before finally soaring. The crew, three Americans and one Canadian, monitored the critical dress rehearsal from nearly 1,000 miles ..

Nasa begins practice countdown for 1st moonshot with astronauts in 50 yrs

NASA began a two-day practice countdown Saturday leading up to the fuelling of its new moon rocket, a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts blast off on a lunar flyby. Already in quarantine to avoid germs, Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew will be the first people to launch to the moon since 1972. They will monitor the dress rehearsal from their Houston base before flying to Kennedy Space Center once the rocket is cleared for flight. The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket moved out to the pad two weeks ago. If Monday's fueling test goes well, NASA could try to launch within a week. Teams will fill the rocket's tank with more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel, stopping a half-minute short of when the engines would light. A bitter cold spell delayed the fueling demo, and the launch, by two days. Feb. 8 is now the earliest the rocket could blast off. Riding in the Orion capsule on top of the rocket, the U.S. and Canadian astronauts will hurtle aroun

Bezos' Blue Origin to halt space tourism flights to focus on moon mission

Blue Origin holds a $3.4 billion contract with Nasa to develop its Blue Moon lander, designed to shuttle astronauts to and from the moon, with a landing originally targeted for 2029