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...
The three astronauts currently stationed on China’s Tiangong space station will extend their stay by around a month, state broadcaster CCTV said on Friday. The crew lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on October 31 on board the Shenzhou-21 vessel and were expected to return to Earth at the end of this month after a standard six-month mission. In November, a crack was discovered in a window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, forcing the space station’s previous crew to extend their...
The crew held its first press conference since splashing down from their historic 10-day trip.
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.
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...
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?
India and the second Space Age offers a comprehensive survey of the challenges and opportunities ahead.
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,...
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...