Artemis

Even as a triumphant moon flyby primes agency for a 2028 landing, Trump’s proposed budget cuts cast pall on US space programThe astronauts on board Artemis II were “almost poets”, Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, declared on Friday, referring to their inspiring words as they swung above the lunar surface.They were, he said, “ambassadors for humanity” as they became the first humans to travel to the moon and return safely to Earth since 1972, on a mission that broke a distance record. Continue reading...

The four astronauts are set to touch down on Earth and conclude the 10-day mission after completing moon flybyThe number of human beings who have travelled to the moon and returned safely to Earth will grow to 28 on Friday night when Nasa’s Orion capsule containing four Artemis II astronauts will glide gently to a Pacific Ocean splashdown beneath three giant parachutes.The scheduled 5.07pm PT landing (1.07am BST Saturday) off the coast of San Diego will mark the end of a 10-day lunar odyssey that made the three Americans and one Canadian the first people to travel beyond lower Earth orbit since the final mission of the Apollo program in December 1972. Continue reading...

Astronauts prepare for re-entry several miles off coast of southern California after 10-day lunar fly-by missionThe crew of Artemis II is set to return to earth on Friday following its historic 10-day lunar flyby mission, and Nasa leaders have described the precise logistics needed to get them home.The return will see the Orion capsule traveling at nearly 24,000mph before making a final splashdown several miles off the coast of San Diego. The operation requires multiple teams and careful coordination to safely extract the crew from the spacecraft. Continue reading...

• The Artemis II crew completes its historic lunar flyby mission, with crew members returning to Earth on April 10 after traveling farther from Earth than any humans in decades. • During the mission, the crew captured unprecedented photographs of Earth passing behind the Moon and observed portions of the lunar surface never previously seen by human eyes. • The mission marks a major milestone in NASA's Artemis program, re-inspiring public interest in space exploration through iconic imagery showing Earth's perspective from unprecedented distances.

Nasa astronauts begin journey home having collected eagerly awaited images of impact craters and ridgesNasa’s Artemis II astronauts have described the powerful emotion felt when soaring over the moon as they photographed impact craters, cracks and ridges and began their long journey home.Among the eagerly awaited images captured by the crew, who worked in pairs at the Orion capsule windows, are those of the Earth rising from behind the moon, a solar eclipse and parts of the 590-mile (950km) wide Orientale impact basin that have never been observed with the naked eye. Continue reading...

Astronauts had a call with the US president from space after setting record for the farthest-traveled humans from EarthThe crew of Artemis II phoned home from the moon on Monday night after their record-breaking day, to find Donald Trump musing about how he had saved the US space agency Nasa from closing down and telling the astronauts how much they deserved the honor of the president seeking their autographs.The intermittently uncomfortable 12-minute Earth to space call, facilitated by Nasa administrator and Trump acolyte Jared Isaacman, featured a lengthy period of silence, several references by the president about his friendship with the retired Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, and how “America is the hottest country in the world right now”. Continue reading...

• NASA's Artemis II mission surpassed the Apollo 13 record on April 6, 2026, at 1:57 p.m. EDT, reaching beyond 248,655 miles (400,171 km) from Earth as the Orion capsule 'Integrity' looped around the moon's far side. • The mission will peak at 252,760 miles (406,777 km), breaking the prior record by 4,100 miles (6,600 km) during its six-hour lunar flyby, marking the first crewed deep-space mission since Apollo. • This milestone validates life-support systems, navigation, and thermal protection for humans, paving the way for sustained lunar presence under the US Artemis program.