Tag: Moon
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How NASA plans to melt the Moon—and build on Mars
In June a four-person crew will enter a hangar at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and spend one year inside a 3D-printed building. Made of a slurry that—before it dried—looked like neatly laid lines of soft-serve ice cream, Mars Dune Alpha has crew quarters, shared living space, and dedicated areas for administering medical…
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Blue Origin-led team wins $3.4B contract for NASA’s second lunar landing system
An artist’s conception shows the integrated design for the Blue Moon lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) An industry team led by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has won a $3.4 billion NASA contract to provide a second type of landing system for crewed as well as uncrewed lunar landings. The decision announced today settles a…
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NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat mission ends before entering orbit around moon
This screenshot from NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System 3D visualization tool shows Lunar Flashlight making its close approach with Earth late on May 16. The CubeSat was expected to pass about 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers) from our planet’s surface over Brazil’s east coast on May 17.Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s small Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, sent to…
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Japanese company says commercial spacecraft crashed on moon landing attempt
Executives from ispace (lower left) watch animation of the Hakuto-R landing sequence Tuesday in Tokyo. Credit: ispace A small spacecraft attempting to become the first privately-funded probe to accomplish a controlled landing on the moon likely fell to the lunar surface after running out of fuel Tuesday, according to the Japanese company ispace, which managed…
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Japanese company aims to become first company to land on the moon Tuesday
The Hakuto-R lunar lander captured this view of Earthrise from an altitude of about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface. Credit: ispace The Japanese company ispace could become the first commercial firm to achieve a controlled landing on the moon Tuesday, when its privately-funded unpiloted Hakuto-R lander attempts to touch down inside a…
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Aerojet Rocketdyne wins $67M contract for Orion thrusters built in Seattle area
An artist’s conception shows the Orion spacecraft’s main engine firing during a lunar flyby, surrounded by eight of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Redmond-built auxiliary engines. (NASA Illustration) Aerojet Rocketdyne says it’s received a $67 million contract award from Lockheed Martin to provide propulsion systems for the Orion spacecraft that’ll carry astronauts to the moon during three missions…
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How SpaceX’s Starship stacks up to other rockets
Artist’s illustration of the Starship and Super Heavy booster in flight. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX’s Starship is set to propel itself into the record books today on its maiden flight, becoming the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever launched by humankind into space, topping a role call of famous and history-making heavy-lift launch vehicles including…
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Artemis 2 commander chats with Spaceflight Now
Reid Wiseman, a veteran U.S. Navy test pilot and former chief of NASA’s astronaut corps, will lead the four-person crew assigned to the Artemis 2 mission to carry people to the vicinity of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. In a joint interview with Spaceflight Now and Space.com, Wiseman…
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NASA names crew for first human mission to the moon in more than 50 years
NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left), Victor Glover (top), Reid Wiseman (bottom), and Jeremy Hansen (right) pose for an Artemis 2 crew portrait in training versions of the Orion launch and enter pressure suits. Credit: NASA NASA announced Monday that former U.S. Navy fighter pilots Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover, veteran space station astronaut Christina Koch,…
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NASA set to announce crew of Artemis 2 moon mission
A cadre of NASA astronauts walks toward the Space Launch System moon rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida before launch of the Artemis 1 test flight last year. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarcel NASA will unveil the four crew members Monday who will fly around the moon on the first piloted flight of the agency’s Orion…