After successfully completing descent orbit insertion at 4:33 a.m. CST Thursday, Intuitive Machines flight controllers are gathering data and checking the lander’s landing systems for accuracy ahead of landing on the lunar surface for its IM-2 mission. The updated landing time is 11:30 a.m. CST. As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative...
Vein scans and muscle stimulation were the primary research activities aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday to learn how to keep crews healthy in space. The Expedition 72 crewmates also continued preparing for an upcoming crew departure while unpacking a cargo craft.
On March 3, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission successfully entered into lunar orbit carrying the next suite of NASA instruments and technology demonstrations one step closer to the Moon. The lander aims to complete 39 lunar orbits before beginning descent to the landing site at Mons Mouton near the Moon’s South Pole region. NASA’s PRIME-1 suite...
Shortly after landing on the Moon March 2, Firefly Aerospace and NASA teams kicked off surface operations for the science and technology instruments on the company’s Blue Ghost lunar lander. Firefly also captured the lunar sunrise and a video during descent and landing. All NASA instruments onboard continue to be healthy and several payloads have...
Crew departure preparations and cargo unloading topped the scheduled for the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The orbital residents also kept up their human research activities ensuring crews stay healthy while living in space.
Metal 3D printing and cardiovascular health kicked off the research schedule at the beginning of the week for the Expedition 72 crew. Crew arrival preparations are also underway at the International Space Station as a new cargo craft is being unloaded.
Carrying a suite of NASA science and technology payloads to the Moon, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down on the lunar surface at 3:34 a.m. EST on Sunday. Throughout Blue Ghost’s mission, the agency’s scientific instruments aim to test and demonstrate lunar subsurface drilling technology, regolith sample collection capabilities, global navigation satellite system...
Powered Descent Initiation has begun. During this 9-minute braking burn, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander is fully autonomous, using D’Souza Guidance — a model similar to the guidance used during the Apollo Moon missions — to position itself above the target landing site and pitch over from a horizontal to a vertical orientation. This critical...
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost is now on its way down to the surface of the Moon. The lander successfully performed a descent orbit insertion burn, which initiates the descent sequence and places the vehicle on the trajectory to its landing site on the Moon’s Mare Crisium. Following this burn, Blue Ghost began a 50-min coast...
After launching Jan. 15 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander is preparing to land on the Moon at 3:34 a.m. EST near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin located in the northeast quadrant of the Moon’s near side. Watch now on...