Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman gazes out of an Orion spacecraft cabin window, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon. Image: NASA.
Taking time out to send Easter greetings down to Earth, the four Artemis 2 astronauts closed in on the moon Sunday, already seeing unexpected detail on the surface and giving scientists a taste of things to come during a pass over the lunar far side Monday evening.
On April 1st, 2026, the Artemis II mission launched from Earth, carrying its four-person crew on a journey that will take them around the Moon. Since then, mission control has performed the Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI), while the crew has been performing proximity operations, testing flight instruments, and troubleshooting the Orion's systems (including the zero-g toilet). They've also taken the time to snap some candid photos of Earth to show how far they've traveled.
The four Artemis 2 astronauts will see a solar eclipse from beyond the moon's far side on Monday evening (April 6), and they'll use the opportunity to make some science observations.
The on-again, off-again lunar loo allows astronauts to "go" at the moon like no one's gone before.
This offers us a glimpse of the discovery surge scientists expect to occur once full operations begin.
Plans are in place for the crew of Artemis 2 to try to replicate one of the most famous images ever taken from space — Apollo 8's shot of Earth rising over the moon's horizon.
NASA astronaut Victor Glover delivered an impromptu Easter message as his Artemis 2 Orion capsule sped toward the moon on Saturday (April 4).
Astronomers discovered dozens of stellar streams in the Milky Way using Gaia data, offering new clues about galaxy formation and dark matter.
Won't somebody please think of the children?
The theory of Panspermia holds that life is spread through the cosmos via asteroids, comets, and other objects. When the building blocks of life emerge on one planet, impacts can eject surface material into space, which then carries these seeds to other worlds. For decades, scientists have debated whether this could have occurred between Earth and Mars (in both directions). However, the recent controversy over the possible existence of microbial life in Venus' dense clouds has sparked discussions of interplanetary transfers between Venus, Earth, and Mars.
The astronauts on NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission reported a burning smell from their Orion spacecraft toilet overnight, but Mission Control isn't overly concerned. They are over halfway to the moon today.
On Episode 204 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik bring it to you from Houston, as the Artemis 2 mission continues.
'If you see the deep ones, the Tsyong, they're spirits sent to judge you.'
How would people react if an alien civilization actually made contact with us? Space.com talked to experts, who shared a variety of opinions about a possible real-life "disclosure day."
The iconic arcade shooter is 45 in 2026, but 'Defender' needs preserving if it's going to see 50.
NASA's Artemis 2 pilot Victor Glover was cleaning up after a workout when the cameras caught a bit more than expected. Mission Control's response was priceless.
The Artemis 2 astronauts are the first people to journey toward the moon since 1972. Why has it taken us more than half a century to go back?
In Dante's "Divine Comedy," Hell is described as an "Inferno" with nine concentric circles, the entrance of which has a sign that reads "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."For the planets of the Solar System, Venus is about as close to this description as one can get. On the surface, temperatures are hot enough to melt lead (464 °C; 872 °F), while the atmosphere is dense enough to crush a human skull (over 90 times Earth's atmospheric density). However, above the cloud deck, roughly 47-70 km (29–43 mi) above the surface, temperatures are stable, and the atmospheric pressure is roughly equivalent to Earth's.
NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission will get a maximum of 252,757 miles (406,773 kilometers) from Earth on April 6, breaking the mark set by Apollo 13 in April 1970.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket sits on Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral at sunset. This will be ULA’s fifth launch for the Amazon Leo broadband satellite constellation.
United Launch Alliance launched its latest Atlas 5 rocket, which carried a batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites to low Earth orbit. The mission was the largest and heaviest payload carried to orbit by an Atlas 5 rocket to date, according to ULA.
From the ground to low Earth orbit, the Artemis 2 launch became a shared moment across the planet and beyond.
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