The foundation is set at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launching crewed missions aboard the agency’s larger and more powerful SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B rocket in support of Artemis IV and future missions. On May 9, 2024, teams with NASA’s EGS (Exploration Ground Systems) Program and contractor Bechtel National Inc. transferred … Read more
The Moon (left), Saturn, and Jupiter (lower right; Saturn is above and to the left of Jupiter) were seen in the sky above the Washington Memorial on Dec. 17, 2020. At the time, Saturn and Jupiter were nearing each other in the sky, culminating in a “great conjunction” on Dec. 21, where they appeared a … Read more
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will build a moonquake detector for astronauts to deploy on the Moon in 2026 during the Artemis III mission, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years. NASA selected the instrument, the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) … Read more
As the Moon blotted out the Sun to viewers across the United States during the April 8 solar eclipse, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured an image from some 223,000 miles away of the highly anticipated celestial event. There are three cameras that comprise the LRO camera (LROC) suite: two Narrow Angle Cameras (NAC) and … Read more
NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), which has been circling and studying the Moon for 15 years, captured several images of Korea Aerospace Research Institute’s Danuri lunar orbiter last month. The two spacecraft, traveling in nearly parallel orbits, zipped past each other in opposite directions between March 5 and 6, 2024. LRO’s narrow angle camera (one … Read more
NASA’s VIPER – short for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover – now stands taller and more capable than ever. And that’s thanks to its mast. VIPER’s mast, and the suite of instruments affixed to it, looks a lot like the rover’s “neck” and “head.” The mast instruments are designed to help the team of rover drivers … Read more
NASA has chosen the first science instruments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III. Once installed near the lunar South Pole, the three instruments will collect valuable scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, which … Read more
Lunar scientist Casey Honniball conducts lunar observations and field work near volcanoes to investigate how astronauts could use instruments during moonwalks. Name: Casey HonniballTitle: Lunar scientistOrganization: Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 698) What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help … Read more
Construction and testing are complete on the CADRE rovers, which will map the lunar surface together as a tech demo to show the promise of multirobot missions. A trio of small rovers that will explore the Moon in sync with one another are rolling toward launch. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California … Read more
On Feb. 22, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, completed a seven-day journey to lunar orbit and softly landed near crater Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon at 6:24 p.m. EST. On Feb. 24, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft passed over the landing site at an altitude of about 56 miles … Read more