Moonbound Episode 1 | Charting the Course | NASA Artemis II Mission

Moonbound Episode 1 | Charting the Course | NASA Artemis II Mission

"Artemis II and its test flight around the Moon transformed plans and preparation into execution and exploration." The first episode of our NASA+ documentary series, "Moonbound," explores how NASA prepared to launch new systems and hardware for lunar exploration for the first time with crew.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the Artemis II mission. Our Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their nearly 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing unprecedented views of the far side of the Moon.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 22 minutes
Release Date: April 17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ReidWiseman #ChristinaKoch #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Launches High-precision Greenhouse Gas Detection Earth Satellite

China Launches High-precision Greenhouse Gas Detection Earth Satellite

A Chinese Long March-4C carrier rocket sent a satellite for high-precision greenhouse gas detection within planet Earth's atmosphere into the preset orbit on Friday, April 17, 2026. The rocket blasted off at 12:10 (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in northwest China.

The Earth is warmed by sunlight, causing its surface to radiate heat. This is then mostly absorbed by greenhouse gases. The five most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect occurs when heat-trapping gases in a planet's atmosphere prevent the planet from losing heat to space, raising its surface temperature.

The Long March 4 (LM-4) rocket family or Chang Zheng 4 (CZ-4) rocket family is an expendable launch system within the Long March series and is operated by the People's Republic of China. Three configurations currently exist: Long March 4A, Long March 4B, and Long March 4C.

Note: Long March-4C rocket cooling tiles are shed by design after liftoff when they are no longer needed.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in nortwestern China was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003. JSLC is now a home for many new Chinese commercial space launch firms.

Video Credit: CGTN

Duration: 30 seconds

Date: April 17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #China #中国 #RocketLaunch #LongMarch4CRocket #LongMarch4C #LM4C #CGWIC #JSLC #Climate #ClimateChange #GreenhouseGases #GHGs #GreenhouseEffect #GlobalHeating #Environment #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Super Heavy V3 Static Test Fire: Pre-Flight 12 | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Super Heavy V3 Static Test Fire: Pre-Flight 12 | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Update: Starship and Super Heavy continue preflight testing. This was the first 33-engine static fire test for Super Heavy V3. The Super Heavy reusable rocket booster is Starship's reusable first-stage.

As of October 13, 2025, the SpaceX Starship has been "launched 11 times with 6 successes and 5 failures." SpaceX has developed Starship with the intention of lowering launch costs using economies of scale. It aims to achieve this by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline and adapting it to a wide range of space missions.

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Duration: 20 seconds

Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipFlight12 #ReusableSpacecraft #SuperHeavy #SuperHeavyV3 #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS: View from Canary Islands

Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS: View from Canary Islands

Astrophotographer Marina Prol: "C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) Early morning on April 14th, we headed up to Ayagaures viewpoint, not too far from home in the south of Gran Canaria, to finally try and capture the comet of the moment after several failed early starts because of the clouds. These days it’s Dark Skies Week, so here’s one more reminder and a protest against excessive light pollution."

Discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey in September 2025, the comet is diving toward its closest approach to the sun (0.50 AU) on April 19, 2026, bringing it well inside the orbit of Venus. If current trends continue, the comet could brighten to magnitude +2, easily seen and photographed in the pre-dawn sky.

The comet's brightness will receive a further boost between April 24-25 when it passes almost directly between Earth and the Sun. The process is called "forward scattering." Sunlight passing through the comet's dusty atmosphere could be amplified 100-fold or more.

We will not be able to see the April 24 surge from Earth. The comet will be too close to the Sun. However, coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) will have a great view of what could briefly become a truly magnificent object.

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish region, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Morocco and the Western Sahara. Gran Canaria, also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands

Image Credit: Marina Prol
Location: Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spain)

Marina's website: https://www.marinaprol.com
Release date: April 14, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025R3Panstarrs #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #MarinaProl #Astrophotographers #GranCanaria #CanaryIslands #IslasCanarias #AtlanticOcean #Africa #Spain #España #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-21 Astronauts Complete 3rd Series of Spacewalks | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Astronauts Complete 3rd Series of Spacewalks | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-21 crew aboard China's orbiting Tiangong Space Station completed their mission's third series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) on April 17, 2026, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

The astronaut trio—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang—worked for roughly five and a half hours and completed their EVAs at 01:36 (Beijing Time), assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a team on Earth.

The trio completed the installation of a space debris protection device for the space station, and extravehicular equipment and facility inspections, among other tasks. Zhang Lu, the commander of the Shenzhou-21 mission, and Wu Fei conducted the spacewalk and returned to the Wentian lab module safely, according to the CMSA.

Zhang Lu has so far carried out seven EVAs, making him one of the Chinese astronauts with the most spacewalks to date.

Since completing their second series of EVAs on March 16, the Shenzhou-21 astronauts have steadily advanced experiments in areas such as space life sciences, human research, and microgravity physical science. They have carried out in-orbit environmental monitoring, equipment inspection and maintenance, and supply management. The crew has also completed a full-system pressure emergency drill, emergency life-support training, and preparations for extravehicular activities.

The three astronauts have been in orbit for more than five months and remain in good working and living condition.

To further validate technologies related to long-term human habitation in orbit and to maximize the comprehensive benefits of using the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft as an emergency launch vehicle to resupply the space station, it has been decided, after careful evaluation and assessment, that the crew's stay in orbit will be extended by approximately one month.

During the upcoming phase of their space journey, the crew will continue to conduct scientific experiments and technical tests, and will also celebrate the Space Day of China, marked annually on April 24, and the International Workers' Day on May 1 while in orbit.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - 2nd spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞)  Flight Engineer - 1st spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - 1st spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: April 17, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #EVA #Spacewalks #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceLaboratory #CNSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Mrugen Patel: Moon Mission Control's Orion Evaluation Room | NASA Artemis II

Mrugen Patel: Moon Mission Control's Orion Evaluation Room | NASA Artemis II

"To be here and experience this mission unfold in real time and be part of this team—I'm just living my dream right now.”

In Mission Control’s Orion Mission Evaluation Room inside NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mrugen Patel supported Orion’s passive thermal control system, watching real‑time spacecraft data to ensure the crew and hardware remained within safe temperatures throughout the Artemis II mission.

Credit: NASA 
Producers: Rad Sinyak, Erika Peters 
Editor: Nicole Rose 
Duration: 1 minute, 23 seconds
Release Date: April 16, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #CrewedMissions #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #MissionControl #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Commander Reid Wiseman Gives Thanks | NASA Artemis II Moon Mission

Commander Reid Wiseman Gives Thanks | NASA Artemis II Moon Mission

"We launched as friends, and we came back as best friends." 

 —Artemis II commander and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman

Listen to Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman thanking the world during a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. The Moon crew discussed their flyby mission around the Moon.

Watch the full 1-hour news conference here: 
https://www.youtube.com/live/_43Ei9eQVww?si=XZT9E1E8qM7b2Pjj&t=228

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the Artemis II mission. Our Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing unprecedented views of the far side of the Moon.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

The Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds
Date: April 16, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ReidWiseman #ChristinaKoch #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Astronaut Christina Koch Describes Positive Impacts | NASA Artemis II Mission

Astronaut Christina Koch Describes Positive Impacts | NASA Artemis II Mission

“The difference now is, when we come before you now, we’ve done this together. We took your hearts with us, and your hearts lifted our hearts.”

—NASA astronaut and Artemis II Mission specialist Christina Koch

Listen to NASA astronaut Christina Koch from the Artemis II Moon crew during a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, April 16, 2026, where the astronauts discuss their flyby mission around the Moon.

Watch the full 1-hour news conference here: 
https://www.youtube.com/live/_43Ei9eQVww?si=XZT9E1E8qM7b2Pjj&t=228

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the Artemis II mission. Our Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing unprecedented views of the far side of the Moon.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

The Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 1 minute, 37 seconds
Date: April 16, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Crew Shares Spaceflight Highlights | NASA Artemis II Moon Mission News Conference

Crew Shares Spaceflight Highlights | NASA Artemis II Moon Mission News Conference

Listen to sample comments from the Artemis II crew during a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, April 16, 2026, where the astronauts discuss their flyby mission around the Moon.

Watch the full 1-hour news conference here: 
https://www.youtube.com/live/_43Ei9eQVww?si=XZT9E1E8qM7b2Pjj&t=228

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10, 2026, concluding the Artemis II mission. Our Artemis II crew accomplished many milestones on their 10-day mission, surpassing the Apollo 13 record for farthest crewed spaceflight and capturing unprecedented views of the far side of the Moon.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

The Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 3 minutes
Date: April 16, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy—A Milky Way Neighbor: View from Chile

The Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy—A Milky Way Neighbor: View from Chile

This image of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) was not taken with a telescope. It was captured using a camera and a wide-aperture telephoto lens. It was taken by Petr Horálek, a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. Petr captured this special image for almost four hours during a night spent under clear skies on Cerro Pachón in Chile. 

Distance from Earth: ~200,000 light-years

The Small Magellanic Cloud and Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are the largest of the over sixty satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. Satellite galaxies orbit around a host galaxy and are usually smaller than their host galaxy. The SMC was once even a satellite galaxy of the LMC. Unlike most of the other satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, the SMC is actively forming stars at a rapid pace, a process revealed by the blue light in this image. 

Cerro Pachón is a mountain in the foothills of Chile’s Andes range. Northern Chile offers examples of the clearest, driest, and darkest skies in the world. These conditions create ample opportunities for astrophotography and for addressing important questions about the Universe. 

The summit of Cerro Pachón is home to several telescopes operated by National Science Foundation NOIRLab including the SOAR Telescope, a part of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab; Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, funded in part by the NSF; and NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the NSF and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE/SC).

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The country shared borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south.

Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava)
Release Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #DwarfGalaxies #IrregularGalaxies #TucanaConstellation #Universe #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Astrophotographer #PetrHorálek #Astrophotography #CerroPachón #Chile #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS: View from Colorado

Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS: View from Colorado

Discovered by the Pan-STARRS survey in September 2025, the comet is diving toward its closest approach to the sun (0.50 AU) on April 19, 2026, bringing it well inside the orbit of Venus. If current trends continue, the comet could brighten to magnitude +2, easily seen and photographed in the pre-dawn sky.

The comet's brightness will receive a further boost between April 24-25 when it passes almost directly between Earth and the Sun. The process is called "forward scattering." Sunlight passing through the comet's dusty atmosphere could be amplified 100-fold or more.

We will not be able to see the April 24 surge from Earth. The comet will be too close to the Sun. However, coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) will have a great view of what could briefly become a truly magnificent object.

Colorado is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, and Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the Southeast.

Image Credit: Ismael Rodriguez 
Location:  Colorado City, Colorado, United States

Image Details: TeleVue 127is refractor at F5.2 and ZWO 2600MC camera. 13 minutes exposure (10 sec subs)
Ismail's website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/198992694@N04/

Text Credit: Spaceweather[dot]com
Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025R3Panstarrs #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #ColoradoCity #Colorado #UnitedStates #IsmaelRodriguez #Astrophotographers #STEM #Education

Qingzhou Commercial Cargo Spacecraft Test Vehicle | China Space Station

Qingzhou Commercial Cargo Spacecraft Test Vehicle | China Space Station

The team for China's newly launched Qingzhou cargo spacecraft test vehicle released the first batch of scientific and engineering results on April 15, 2026. The test flight focused on key technology verification, low-cost design and exploration, and expanded missions, successfully achieving all its objectives and laying a solid foundation for the development of the formal Qingzhou cargo spacecraft, according to the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IAMCAS).

The test vehicle was launched into orbit on March 30, 2026, aboard a Lijian-2 Y1 carrier rocket. Developed by the IAMCAS, the vehicle, with a total mass of 4.2 tons, carries one ton of scientific payloads, and has a three-year in-orbit operational life.

Since its launch, this vehicle has completed flight control tests and actively raised its orbit to 600 km, officially entering its long-term operational phase, where it is conducting key platform technology verification, stability tests and extended mission trials.

"The Qingzhou cargo spacecraft involved many key technologies in its development. Many of these technologies have been directly verified in space, which better ensures the reliability of the R and D of our formal spacecraft," said Chang Liang, chief designer of Qingzhou cargo spacecraft.

This test flight has not only provided critical data for the development of the formal Qingzhou cargo spacecraft and explored new models for efficient and reliable development, but has also opened viable paths for low-cost, commercial space operations and cooperation.

The Qingzhou cargo spacecraft will continue to undergo iterative optimization, striving to build a reliable bridge for cargo transport between Earth and space, promoting high-quality development of China's commercial space sector, the IAMCAS said.

"Our whole team is now intensively carrying out the work to put the formal spacecraft into production. It is mainly to form a matching tandem with the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, one larger, one smaller, to provide cargo service support for China's space station," said Shu Rong, chief commander of Qingzhou cargo spacecraft.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: April 16, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #QingzhouCargoSpacecraft #TestFlight #CommercialSpace #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #Taikonauts #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceLaboratory #CAS #CNSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Capturing Details of The Moon and The Beauty of Earth | NASA Artemis II Mission

Capturing Details of The Moon and The Beauty of Earth | NASA Artemis II Mission

As the Artemis II crew came close to passing behind the Moon and experiencing a planned loss of signal, they captured this image of a crescent Earth. Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc—except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over muted blue in the Australia and Oceania region. 

The Artemis II Mission wrapped up a historic seven-hour lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and capturing images of the lunar far side. During their nearly 10-day mission, the crew completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth and 4,067 miles above the lunar surface at their closest approach. 

The first crewed test flight of NASA’s Artemis program lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), April 1, 2026, carrying the first astronauts to travel to the Moon in more than half a century.

Artemis II splashed down at 8:07 p.m. April 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Following splashdown and recovery, the four crew members underwent post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore and boarding an aircraft bound for Houston. Upon arrival, the crew was welcomed by and reunited with their families, friends, and agency workforce.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Image Credit: NASA
Date: April 6, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #CrescentEarth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #ReidWiseman #VictorGlover #JeremyHansen #CSA #Canada #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight | NASA Armstrong

NASA’s Quiet Supersonic X-59 Completes First Wheels-Up Flight | NASA Armstrong

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft is on display in its sleek configuration following its first wheels-up flight on April 3, 2026, from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The transition marks a key milestone for the Quesst mission and an important step in the aircraft’s test campaign, which aims to enable quiet commercial supersonic flight over land.

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.”

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst mission, visit www.nasa.gov/quesst

Video Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
Duration: 43 seconds
Release Date: April 15, 2026

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #SupersonicAircraft #X59 #Sonicbooms #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #CommercialAviation #Science #Physics #Engineering #AerospaceResearch #AeronauticalResearch #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Edwards #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Artemis Moon Program: How to Recover a Spacecraft | Johnson Space Center

NASA's Artemis Moon Program: How to Recover a Spacecraft | Johnson Space Center

At the end of the Artemis II mission around the Moon, the Orion spacecraft and its crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, where a joint NASA and U.S. Navy team was ready to recover both the astronauts and the capsule. Lili Villarreal is the Artemis II Landing and Recovery Director at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and she explains the process.

After splashdown, the recovery team secured Orion, opened the side hatch, and assisted the crew out of the spacecraft. The astronauts were then airlifted by helicopter to the Navy recovery ship, and Orion was brought into the ship’s well deck for transport back to shore. It was a complex operation that ensured the safe return of both the crew and the capsule after their historic mission.

This is how to recover a spacecraft.

Artemis II splashed down at 8:07 p.m. April 10, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Following splashdown and recovery, the four crew members underwent post-mission medical evaluations before returning to shore and boarding an aircraft bound for Houston. Upon arrival, the crew was welcomed by and reunited with their families, friends, and agency workforce.

Under Artemis, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about NASA's Artemis II Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Get ready for NASA's Artemis III Mission:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Writer: Erika Peters
Editor: Phil Sexton
Producers: Rad Sinyak, Erika Peters
Duration: 4 minutes, 27 seconds
Release Date: April 15, 2026

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NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2026 Recap | NASA Marshall

NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2026 Recap | NASA Marshall

From the Artemis II mission finish line to ours! 🏁 

April 10-11, 2026, 42 student teams from across the world competed in NASA's 2026 Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) in Huntsville, Alabama. These teams navigated challenging obstacles and performed complex tasks with their human-powered or remote-controlled rovers.

NASA's Human Exploration Rover Challenge is a hands-on, research-based, engineering activity that is preparing the next generation of STEM students to reach for the stars!

Learn more about NASA's HERC at nasa.gov/herc

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center: 
https://www.nasa.gov/marshall/

Video Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Duration: 2 minutes, 21 seconds
Release Date: April 13, 2026  

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