Tag: Artemis
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‘Moon joy!’ Artemis 2’s crew sets a distance record, documents lunar far side and heads back toward Earth
NASA’s Artemis 2 crew captured an iconic “Earthset” picture, showing Earth dipping beneath the lunar horizon. (NASA Photo) Four astronauts today became the first humans to make a trip around the moon since the Apollo era — and added new pages to history books for the Artemis era. The Artemis 2 crew reached a maximum distance of…
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Trump Proposes 23% NASA Budget Cut During Artemis Moon Mission
Will Trump’s 23% NASA Budget Cut Kill the Artemis Program? President Trump released a fiscal year 2027 budget blueprint calling for a 23% cut to NASA’s $24 billion budget—a $5.5 billion reduction—just two days after the agency launched four astronauts on humanity’s first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years. The timing underscores the political…
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‘Let’s go!’ NASA launches humanity’s first moon voyage in nearly 54 years
NASA’s Space Launch System rises from its Florida launch pad, sending the Artemis 2 crew into orbit. (NASA via YouTube) After years of postponements and close to $100 billion in spending, NASA has launched the first mission to send astronauts around the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The 10-day Artemis 2 mission began today…
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Artemis II returns humanity to the Moon with launch on Wednesday evening
At 23:35 UTC on Dec. 16, 1972, the Apollo 17 command module, America, successfully completed its trans-Earth injection burn, sending it and its crew of NASA astronauts Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, and Ronald Evans on a return trajectory back to Earth. The moment marked the final time a crewed Apollo spacecraft was in orbit around…
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Milestone moon mission is getting a push from Pacific Northwest tech
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Brent Urke, program manager for L3Harris’ facility in Redmond, Wash., check out a model of the Orion spaceship that’s due to take four astronauts around the moon as early as this week. Cantwell is pointing to the model’s set of eight R-4D thrusters. An actual R-4D thruster, manufactured in Redmond,…
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America’s Rocket Factory comes Full Circle with Artemis
As NASA prepares for its long-awaited return of crewed launches beyond low Earth orbit with Artemis II, the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans has served as America’s premier rocket factory for more than six decades, spanning three major eras of human spaceflight. See Also Artemis Section L2 Artemis Click here to Join L2…
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NASA outlines ambitious $20 billion plan for moon base
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman speaks during an event where NASA is outlining how the agency is executing President Donald J. Trump’s National Space Policy and accelerating preparations for America’s return to the surface of the Moon by 2028, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. During the event…
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NASA outlines Moon Base plans, pivots on Gateway
In a major shift announced during its “Ignition” event this week, NASA unveiled a detailed roadmap for establishing the first sustained crewed outpost on the lunar surface. The plan effectively pauses the long-planned Lunar Gateway orbiting station and redirects its resources toward infrastructure that supports long-term presence on the Moon itself. The announcement marks a…
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SLS enters pad flow ahead of historic Artemis II mission
NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at Launch Pad 39B after an approximately 10-hour journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. Crawler Transporter 2 (CT-2) carried the Moon rocket and its Mobile Launcher-1 (ML-1) back to the historic launch site after a slightly…
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NASA Administrator teases further Artemis program updates in one-on-one interview
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (right) speaks with Spaceflight Now Reporter Will Robinson-Smith (left) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to discuss the Artemis program and other agency initiatives. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now NASA has it’s sights set on launching the Artemis 2 mission no earlier than April 1. The determination came following the conclusion of a…