China has confirmed plans to expand its space station, potentially more than doubling in size to meet growing scientific demand and expand international cooperation. The Tiangong and the International Space Station (ISS) are the only space stations operating in low Earth orbit. The ISS, led by Nasa and built with contributions from 15 countries, is the biggest structure in space and has been a laboratory for more than 3,000 experiments. Nasa plans to retire the ISS in early 2031, using a...
For years, Nasa funded a dream called SpiderFab – a spider-like robot that would crawl through orbit, weaving solar power stations and giant antennas from spools of carbon fibre – creating structures too large for any rocket to carry whole. Although SpiderFab never ended up in space, scientists from the Shenyang Institute of Automation in northern China say they have built the key technologies to reach a similar goal. The team first made the building blocks from a carbon-fibre composite, shaping...
A US move to freeze the Lunar Gateway orbiting space station could render Japan’s new technologies redundant – but its space agency is expected to be diplomatic in its response. The gateway project was initially planned as an installation that would orbit the moon as part of the United States’ Artemis programme, which recently made headlines for a record-breaking journey that went deeper into space than anyone had ever flown before. Artemis’ aim is to return astronauts to the moon’s surface for...
Reid Wiseman’s two daughters were in Nasa’s mission control room for the naming of the “Carroll” crater in honour of the commander’s late wife.
The crew held its first press conference since splashing down from their historic 10-day trip.
Still marvelling over their moon mission, the Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home on Saturday from hundreds who took part in Nasa’s lunar comeback that set a record for deep space travel. The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego where they splashed down just offshore the evening before. After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, the astronauts took the hangar stage, surrounded by...
The four astronauts flew around the Moon in a nine-day voyage that took them further from Earth than any humans in history.
NASA's Artemis II astronauts were seen being helped across the deck of a US navy recovery ship.
Scientists from NASA have hailed the Artemis II mission to send astronauts around the moon as a ‘fantastic feat’.
Four astronauts splashed down in the Pacific after a nine-day voyage that took them further from Earth than any humans.
The mission unveils lunar mysteries, treats astronauts to a solar eclipse and sets records around the moon.
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts have returned to Earth after completing the first crewed lunar mission in 53 years.
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts have safely splashed down on Earth, completing a landmark mission.
The mission was almost flawless but there are considerable obstacles ahead before a Moon landing.
Artemis II crew landed in the Pacific Ocean under parachutes after a high-speed re-entry that tested its heat shield.
The four Artemis II astronauts, returning from the world’s first crewed moon voyage in over half a century, hurtled back towards Earth on Friday as they prepared their Orion spacecraft for the final phase of their descent and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California. On Friday afternoon, the autonomously piloted Orion crew capsule executed one last eight-second firing of its jet thrusters to fine-tune the flight course, a critical manoeuvre to ensure a safe return. Nasa’s...
NASA’s Artemis II astronauts are preparing for re-entry
The Orion spacecraft will make its return to Earth at 00:07 GMT, splashing down off the San Diego coast.
The four astronauts said they were returning to Earth with "so many more pictures, so many more stories".
The BBC’s Science Editor Rebecca Morelle has spoken to the Artemis II crew ahead of their likely splashdown on Saturday.
New NASA 'Earthset' photo from Artemis II echoes Apollo 8’s iconic 'Earthrise' in historic lunar flyby.
The Artemis II astronauts snapped a stunning shot of Earthset – the moment when the Earth dips below the moon’s horizon – on their long journey back home on Tuesday after wrapping up a historic lunar fly-by. Nasa released the photo of Earth dropping below the rugged lunar edge in a deliberate nod to the iconic Earthrise image taken by an Apollo 8 astronaut in 1968. That shot 57 years ago helped capture the public’s imagination when it was taken by US astronaut Bill Anders during the first space...
The Artemis II mission has been near flawless to date, but has the test flight shown Nasa is ready to send humans to the lunar surface?
The first two images show an 'Earthrise' and the solar eclipse the astronauts viewed.
Four astronauts from NASA’s Artemis II mission have broken the record for the farthest human travel from Earth.
Mission's four astronauts break record set in 1970 by Apollo 13, which flew 400,171km from the planet.
A Nasa crew of four astronauts will fly by the moon on Monday at the closest distance they will get to the lunar surface during their mission and the nearest any human has got to the moon in more than 50 years. The historic moment is set to occur just after 7pm New York time on Monday, part of a several hours-long fly-by where the astronauts will snap images of the moon’s far side – a vantage that is never seen from Earth. The close approach is the pinnacle moment of Nasa’s Artemis II mission,...
Artemis II is expected to break the record for the farthest distance humans have travelled from Earth.
As the astronauts pass behind the Moon they will experience a moment of silence and solitude as communication with the Earth is blocked.
Crew nears moon on historic flyby and sends back striking images of Earth.
The story behind the beautiful pictures beamed back to Earth from the Artemis II astronauts.
Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts. On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again. The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where Nasa’s Apollo programme left off. “The Earth is quite small, and...
The U.S. has cast the programme to return American astronauts to the moon as part of a race against China, but Beijing views its mission differently
Astronauts on the Artemis II mission are on the third day of their journey around the far side of the Moon.
The U.S. has cast the programme to return American astronauts to the moon as part of a race against China, but Beijing views its mission differently
Recalling past human landings on the moon, Dr. Narayanan said the Artemis programme is a step towards repeating the feat
NASA has unveiled the first images of Earth taken by Artemis II astronauts as they head towards the moon.
They are sipping smoothies, snapping phone pics, dealing with crashed email and fixing broken toilets: astronauts, they are just like us. The four crew members zipping through space towards the moon are carrying out a mission unlike any before it, but they are also still muddling on through life’s mundanities – all while they float around together in a square footage equivalent to two minivans. Mission specialist Christina Koch, the first woman to venture into deep space, said preparing for the...
The crew were about 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometres) from Earth and were quickly closing in on the moon.
The snap was taken aboard the Orion capsule by its commander, Reid Wiseman, as the crew head towards the Moon.
The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. Nasa released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1½ days into the first astronaut moon shot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds As of midmorning on Friday, Wiseman and his crew...
The crew will not land on the Moon on this current mission, though Nasa is preparing for a potential lunar landing by 2028.
The Orion capsule has successfully propelled itself out of Earth’s orbit on its mission to the moon.
The mission's last, big push on its lunar journey takes humans out of the Earth's orbit for the first time since 1972.
Nasa gave the four Artemis astronauts circling Earth the green light on Thursday to head for the moon and carry out the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 years. Nasa Flight Director Jeff Radigan told the astronauts the mission management team had approved firing up the engine of their Orion capsule to send the spacecraft on a trajectory towards the moon. The 5 min and 49 second burn is scheduled to take place at 7.49pm Eastern Time and send the astronauts out of Earth orbit to begin the...
The US is aiming to be the first country to land humans on the lunar surface again by 2028 - so what's this mission for?
The Artemis II crew are now hurtling around the Earth's orbit, carrying out final tests and checks before they head towards the Moon.
After delays and technical issues, the first crewed Moon mission in 50 years finally took off from Florida and is now in Earth's orbit.