lunar
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Space & Cosmos
NASA’s micromission Lunar Trailblazer will take macroscopic measurements of the lunar surface in 2025
NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission is scheduled to return astronauts to the moon by as early as April 2026. The last time astronauts were on the moon was the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Artemis II will utilize NASA’s Space Launch System. This is an extremely powerful rocket that enables manned space exploration beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The four-person crew will…
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Space & Cosmos
New commercial Artemis lunar probe undergoes testing at NASA
From left to right: Astrolab’s FLEX, Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER, and Lunar Outpost’s Lunar Terrain Explorer Eagle at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, astronauts will land on the moon and use a new generation of spacesuits and probes to live, work, and do science in the moon’s south polar region, expanding the reach of…
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Science
NASA prepares to test lunar terrain probe
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins takes Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot Harrison “Jack” Schmidt aboard NASA’s rover prototype at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/James Blair When astronauts return to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, they will benefit from having a human-rated, unpressurized LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle), allowing them to explore more of the Moon’s surface. This…
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Space & Cosmos
NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services to Study the Stars from the Moon with MoonLITE
Diagram showing the MoonLITE setup on the lunar surface. The mission will begin with the lander being delivered by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Landing Services (1), followed by deployment of over 100 meters (328 ft) of fiber umbilical cable (2), and the siderostat station (3). Once instrument calibration is complete, science operations will begin. Credit: van Belle et al. (2024) Optical…
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Space & Cosmos
NASA’s Artemis II crew uses Icelandic terrain for lunar training
NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch stands in the stark landscape of Iceland during a geology field training course. Photo by NASA/Robert Markowitz Black and grey sediment stretches as far as the eye can see. Huge boulders lie on the bare ground. Humans look almost miniature against the band of shadowy mountains. At first glance, it seems…
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