Tag: Artemis
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NASA awards robotic lunar landing contract to Masten Space Systems
Masten’s XL-1 lunar lander will deliver science and technology payloads to the moon’s south pole in 2022.Credit: Masten Space Systems NASA has awarded Masten Space Systems, a small company based in Mojave, California, a $75.9 million contract to deliver nine science and technology instruments to the moon’s south pole in 2022 with its XL-1 robotic…
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In parallel with rocket development, Firefly launches lunar lander initiative
Artist’s illustration of Firefly’s Genesis moon lander. Credit: Firefly Aerospace A souped-up version of the Israeli Beresheet moon lander built in Texas could be ready to carry NASA science and technology payloads to the lunar surface before the end of 2022, according to officials from Firefly Aerospace. Firefly’s Genesis lander is one of several major…
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Back in Florida, Orion capsule nears readiness for Artemis test flight
NASA’s Orion spacecraft, perched on top of its European-built service module, is pictured inside an environmental test chamber at Plum Brook Station in Ohio. Credit: NASA/GRC/Marvin Smith The Orion spacecraft slated to fly around the moon on an unpiloted mission next year has arrived back at the Kennedy Space Center following an environmental test campaign…
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NASA picks SpaceX to deliver cargo to Gateway station in lunar orbit
Illustration of the SpaceX Dragon XL as it is deployed from the Falcon Heavy’s second stage in high Earth orbit on its way to the Gateway in lunar orbit. Credit: SpaceX NASA has selected SpaceX to deliver supplies to the planned Gateway mini-space station in lunar orbit using a new version of the Dragon cargo…
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NASA decides against using Gateway for 2024 lunar landing
As NASA organizes a push to return a human presence to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, the agency has made critical changes to the plan that would enable a crewed lunar landing to occur no later than 2024. One of these modifications involved the Lunar Gateway, a modular space station…
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Facing pandemic, NASA shutters rocket factory, halts SLS and Orion testing
The core stage for NASA’s first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket was hoisted into a vertical test stand in January at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Credit: NASA NASA announced Thursday that work on the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket and Orion crew capsule at facilities in Louisiana and Mississippi is being halted due…
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NASA no longer counting on Gateway for 2024 moon landing
Artist’s concept of the Gateway mini-space station near the moon. Credit: NASA NASA is modifying plans to send astronauts back to the moon in 2024 by taking the Gateway — a mini-space station to be assembled in lunar orbit — out of the critical path in favor of a simplified architecture, according to the agency’s…
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NASA inspector general says SLS moon rocket costs continue to climb
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist’s concept of the Space Launch System Block 1 variant. Credit: NASA The powerful Space Launch System rocket being built for NASA’s Artemis moon program by Boeing, using solid-propellant boosters from Northrop Grumman and main engines from Aerojet Rocketdyne, will have cost more than $18 billion by the…
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NASA picks Rocket Lab to launch lunar CubeSat mission
File photo of a Rocket Lab Electron booster lifting off from New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab / Sam Toms and Simon Moffatt NASA announced Friday that Rocket Lab will launch a 55-pound (25-kilogram) CubeSat from Wallops Island, Virginia, toward the moon in early 2021 on a demonstration mission to test lunar navigation techniques and scout…
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Wanted: Moon and Mars explorers … NASA starts the recruiting process for next wave of astronauts
NASA says it’ll take applications for its next class of astronauts between March 2 and 31 — the first step in what’s expected to be a yearlong selection process. To start the process, would-be spacefliers should click into USAJobs.com next month. For the first time in NASA history, applicants will be required to fill out…