High Stakes: U.S. – China Moon Plans Detailed
The United States and China have unveiled detailed roadmaps to return astronauts to the Moon, reigniting a 21st‑century space race. NASA officials say the new Artemis schedule aims for a crewed landing by 2029, while U.S. lawmakers are pushing additional funding to keep the timeline aggressive. Beijing, meanwhile, has outlined a 2028 robotic precursor mission followed by a crewed flight in the early 2030s. Both sides view lunar dominance as a strategic priority comparable to the Cold War era competition.
NASA’s Fiscal Year 2027: Thumbs Up…Thumbs Down?
The White House’s FY 2027 budget request proposes a 23% cut to NASA’s overall funding, slashing the agency’s budget to roughly $11 billion. Within that, the Science Mission Directorate would be reduced by 47%, dropping from $7.25 billion to about $3.9 billion. The Planetary...
Report: Trio of Science and Technology Trends – Orbital Debris Removal Flagged
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s latest report highlights orbital debris removal as one of three emerging science and technology trends poised to shape society over the next decade. It notes that more than 15,000 pieces of debris are currently tracked,...
National Geographic: Tour NASA’s New Ride to the Moon
NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft, is teaming with National Geographic to document the journey. The four astronauts will serve as photographers, videographers, and filmmakers, creating content for the magazine, social media, and a documentary....
Artemis II: Space Weather Forecasting, Monitoring the Sun’s Hazardous Conniptions
NASA’s Artemis II mission will carry astronauts beyond Earth’s magnetic shield on a ten‑day lunar flyby, the first human deep‑space flight since Apollo. A powerful solar flare captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on October 3, 2024 underscores the threat of space‑weather events....
Life: Here, There and Everywhere?
"Life Unearthed with Ariel Waldman" premieres on PBS on April 1, offering a sweeping look at Earth’s ecosystems from microscopic organisms to iconic megafauna. The series also ventures beyond our planet, probing the potential for life on icy moons such as...
Diary of the 12th Man on the Moon
Former Apollo 17 lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt has published a new chapter in his online “Diary of the 12th Man,” focusing on the origin of life. The section ties the geology of Taurus‑Littrow’s regolith to Earth’s water‑rich beginnings and references NASA’s...
Noted Test Pilot of SpaceShipOne, Michael Melvill, Passed on March 19
Mike Melvill, the first commercial astronaut and test pilot of SpaceShipOne, died on March 19. He piloted the historic September 29, 2004 flight and the follow‑up October 4 mission that secured the Ansari X Prize for Burt Rutan’s team. Those flights...
Helium-3 From the Moon: New U.S. Department of Energy Contract
Black Moon Energy Corp. has secured a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program to supply lunar Helium‑3, marking a pivotal step toward commercializing the isotope. The company plans to scale production within eight years and will conduct...
Artemis II Rollout Set, Crew Begins Quarantine
NASA plans to begin the Artemis II rollout at 8 p.m. EDT on March 19, moving the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B via crawler‑transporter 2. The four‑mile journey may take up to 12 hours, after...
China Space Station Spacewalk: New Tasks Completed
China’s Shenzhou‑21 crew completed a second seven‑hour EVA, installing a new space‑debris protection device on the Tiangong station. Astronauts Zhang Lu and Wu Fei performed the walk with assistance from the station’s robotic arm and fellow crew member Zhang Hongzhan. The mission also...
How To Build a Moon Base?
The United States and China are both racing to establish permanent, crewed lunar outposts, but their strategies diverge sharply. The U.S. is building on the Artemis program, leveraging commercial partners and the Lunar Gateway, while China is developing an International...
Space Travel: Gender Equality
NASA announced that its newest Astronaut Candidate Class is 60% female, marking the first time women outnumber men in a NASA cohort. The announcement coincided with International Women’s Day and underscores a broader shift toward gender parity in the space...
China Space Plane: What’s Up With Its Fourth Mission?
China’s reusable Shenlong space plane lifted off from Jiuquan on February 6 and is now on its fourth orbital mission, cruising at a 594 km circular orbit after thruster firings on February 9 and 12. The vehicle shows no evidence of deploying small...
Curiosity Mars Rover: Unnatural Pattern Investigation
NASA’s Curiosity rover’s ChemCam system autonomously flagged a patch of tiny, evenly spaced parallel lines on a Martian boxwork outcrop. The pattern, described as “unnatural,” prompted the rover to target the feature for high‑resolution imaging and laser spectroscopy. Researchers are...
