Do not scratch your eyes: the Moon is slowly shrinking, causing quakes on its surface that complicate NASA’s plans for landing Artemis 3, the first Artemis mission that will make a crewed landing on the Moon, and more ambitious missions geared towards maintaining a prolonged human lunar presence.
Elon Musk recently revealed that the explosion of the Starship’s upper stage this past November during its second test flight was caused by a propellant dump gone wrong. Despite this setback, the incident will not impact the megarocket’s upcoming scheduled flight in February, according to the SpaceX CEO.
Tragically, Astrobotic’s lander will not be able to pull off a soft landing on the lunar surface. However, Peregrine continues on its trajectory to the Moon, and as a small consolation, its onboard payloads have successfully powered on.
NASA, along with a suite of international and private partners, has big plans to build a small space station. Called Lunar Gateway, the proposed outpost will support missions at and around the Moon and provide a unique platform for conducting science. Here’s what you should know about the upcoming space station and…
The Peregrine lander has less than a day to live, and the company behind the spacecraft may have figured out why its mission was doomed shortly after its launch.
NASA is dealing with a host of safety and technical issues related to the spacecraft that will fly astronauts to the Moon, forcing it to postpone two Artemis missions as it tries to resolve a number of logistical challenges.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is contributing to the lunar outpost that will be built around the Moon, building the Gateway’s airlock module in a sign that the gulf country will be more involved in NASA’s Artemis program.
Update: January 8, 10:41 a.m. ET: Vulcan Centaur took off right on schedule, successfully blasting off from the Cape Canaveral launch pad and delivering Peregrine on its historic mission to the Moon.
