The Artemis II crew, working closely with mission control in Houston, were able to restore the Orion spacecraft’s toilet to normal operations following the proximity operations demonstration. Ahead of the apogee raise burn on April 1, the Artemis II crew…

The February 2026 eruption at Piton de la Fournaise has lasted longer and produced a larger volume of lava than recent eruptions from this frequently active volcano.

The Artemis II crew successfully completed the proximity operations demonstration, concluding one of the mission’s early objectives and providing valuable data on how the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, performs during manual close‑range maneuvering around another spacecraft. Over the course of…

The apogee raise burn was successfully completed, continuing to fine tune the Orion spacecraft’s orbit around Earth. The ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion stage) ignited its RL10 engine for a precisely timed burn that increased the highest point of the spacecraft’s…

The perigee raise maneuver was successfully completed, refining the Orion spacecraft’s orbit around Earth. The interim cryogenic propulsion stage ignited its RL10 engine for a precisely timed burn that increased the lowest point of the spacecraft’s orbit. Shortly after the…

Spurred by American ingenuity, astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission are in flight, preparing for the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s…

Emmanuel Boss, Ph.D., University of Maine For 50 days during the 2026 Austral summer (January to March), the PlanktoSpace team of 18 scientists, crew members, and passengers set sail on a unique mission. Our expedition traveled 7,200 miles across the Southern Ocean aboard the Perseverance, a sailing vessel owned by a…

Robotics training and human research were the primary duties for the Expedition 74 crew aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The orbital residents rounded out their shift with spacesuit work, cargo operations, and Earth observations.

Live updates for launch of NASA’s Artemis II test flight will be published on this page. NASA’s launch broadcast coverage is airing on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube. All times are Eastern. 6:59 p.m. The Orion spacecraft’s SAWs (solar arrays wings) have fully deployed, completing…

Strong winds in March 2026 carried Saharan dust across northwestern Africa and toward the Canary Islands, reducing visibility and prompting alerts.

Medical tests and microbiology topped the research schedule for the Expedition 74 crew aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday. The seven crewmates also worked on spacesuits, cargo operations, and life support maintenance.

As the Artemis II countdown moves steadily toward liftoff no earlier than 6:24 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, April 1, launch teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida continue completing a sequence of highly choreographed steps to ready the SLS (Space…

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir took this photo of an Artemis program patch floating in the International Space Station’s cupola. She posted it on X on March 30, 2026, with the following caption: “Our work on the @Space_Station has provided the…

In two recent studies, researchers used Landsat data to fill key gaps in our knowledge of reservoir structure and dynamics.

Dry, warm, and windy conditions across the U.S. Great Plains led to extreme fire activity in March 2026.

The countdown for NASA’s Artemis II test flight is underway at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with members of the launch team arriving at their consoles inside the Rocco Petrone Launch Control Center. The onsite countdown clock started ticking down at 4:44 p.m. EDT to a…

Expedition 74 started the week training for the arrival of the next U.S. cargo mission and continuing to clean up after last week’s spacewalk. The orbital residents also practiced medical emergency procedures, unloaded supplies from a new Roscosmos resupply ship,…

From left to right, NASA astronauts Andre Douglas, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronauts Jenni Gibbons, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen pose for a photo before the Artemis II crew proceed to…

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 11:19 p.m. EDT on March 29. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.  Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar…

Ahead of call to stations at 4:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, and the countdown clock beginning at 4:44 p.m., engineers continue preparations toward the launch of the Artemis II mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency is…

A network of meltwater lakes and drainage channels made an Antarctic ice shelf known for its blue ice areas even bluer.

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are making final preparations toward beginning launch countdown activities for the Artemis II mission, set to launch as early as Wednesday, April 1. The weather forecast for launch day shows an 80%…

Listen to this audio excerpt from Erik Richards, Near Space Network Mission Manager: For Erik Richards, supporting NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon and back is the culmination of a career spent helping spacecraft communicate with Earth.  Like many kids who grew up at…

NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines of Houston, $180.4 million to deliver NASA-funded science and technology to the lunar surface as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis program. This lunar delivery, which includes seven payloads…

The four astronauts set to fly around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II test flight arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Friday, March 27. NASA continues to target as soon as Wednesday, April 1, for launch within…