Latest news with #VictorGlover
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA Goes Live on Twitch: Design Artemis II Moon Mascot
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will host a live Twitch event to highlight the ongoing Moon Mascot Challenge, which invites the public to design a zero gravity indicator for the agency's Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. Viewers will have the opportunity to provide real-time input to an artist who will create an example of a zero gravity indicator during the livestream. Zero gravity indicators are small, plush items carried aboard spacecraft to provide a visual indication of when the crew reaches space. The event will begin at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 13, on the agency's official Twitch channel: The contest invites global creators of all ages to submit design ideas for a zero gravity indicator that will fly aboard the agency's Artemis II test flight, the first crewed mission under NASA's Artemis campaign. Up to 25 finalists, including entries from a K-12 student division, will be selected. The Artemis II crew will choose one design that NASA's Thermal Blanket Lab will fabricate to fly alongside the crew in the Orion spacecraft. During this Twitch event, NASA experts will discuss the Moon Mascot Challenge while the artist incorporates live audience feedback into a sample design. Although the design example will not be eligible for the contest, it will demonstrate how challenge participants can develop their own zero gravity indicator designs. The example will be shared on the @NASAArtemis social media accounts following the Twitch event. The Artemis II test flight will take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back. The mission is another step toward missions on the lunar surface to help the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars. To learn more about NASA's missions, visit: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NASA
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA just got the Orion spacecraft that will fly astronauts around the moon on Artemis 2 in 2026
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis 2 astronaut mission was officially handed over to NASA for launch processing on May 1, 2025. | Credit: Lockheed Martin The next spacecraft to fly humans around the moon has been delivered to the only space agency on Earth to ever successfully fly astronauts to our nearest celestial neighbor. Orion, the capsule that will carry the Artemis 2 astronauts on a mission around the moon and back, has been officially handed over to NASA. The agency took possession of Orion from the spacecraft's main contractor, Lockheed Martin, on Thursday (May 1), according to a statement from the company. Now, Orion will be transported to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. It will undergo final tests and processing ahead of incorporation with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send the spacecraft and its crew into orbit. SLS is currently being stacked inside NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC, which will the last stop for both the rocket and Orion before rolling out to the launch pad. SLS's interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) was transported to the VAB on April 15, NASA said in a post last month. In addition to validating Orion's development tests and checkouts, Lockheed Martin was responsible for upgrading the life support and other systems essential to operate the capsule with a crew aboard, including audio communications, an exercise machine and the spacecraft's launch abort system. Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch in early 2026. It will fly NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a free return trajectory aboard Orion. Their mission will fly them out of Earth orbit toward the moon, which Orion will slingshot around and then come back home. "The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis 2 is a major step forward in our nation's efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence," Kirk Shireman, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Human Space Exploration, said in the statement. RELATED STORIES: — NASA continues stacking its giant Artemis 2 SLS moon rocket (photos) — 'We're pushing the limits:' Artemis 2 backup astronaut on 2025 round-the-moon mission (exclusive) — Astronauts won't walk on the moon until 2026 after NASA delays next 2 Artemis missions As its name suggests, Artemis 2 will be the second mission of the Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent outpost on the moon as a springboard toward a crewed mission to Mars. Artemis 1 successfully sent an uncrewed Orion to lunar orbit and back in late 2022. NASA is currently targeting 2027 for the launch of Artemis 3, which will be the first mission to land astronauts on the moon since 1972. Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 had been expected to launch this year and next, respectively, but damage to Orion's heat shield during atmospheric entry at the end of Artemis 1 forced NASA to delay each by more than a year.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's Artemis 2 moon rocket gets 2nd stage even as Trump tries to scrap Space Launch System (photos)
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The ICPS is lowered onto SLS's stage adapter inside the VAB, May 1, 2025. | Credit: NASA The Artemis 2 megarocket set to launch NASA's next astronauts to the moon in 2026 is almost completely assembled. The giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket continues to grow inside the NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, stacked the rocket's second stage onto the launch vehicle Thursday (May 1). The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is responsible for carrying the Orion spacecraft and crew the rest of the way into orbit around the Earth, and then sending them on their way to the moon. This SLS rocket will launch the Artemis 2 mission, with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The quartet are flying the second installment of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent presence on the moon as a technology springboard to one day send humans to Mars. The next mission, Artemis 3, would then deliver astronauts to the moon with the help of a Starship lander in 2027. That could be the last SLS rocket to fly, though. The Trump administration proposed canceling the SLS and Orion program after Artemis 3 in its 2026 budget proposal on Friday (May 2). Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch sometime in early 2026 — more than three years after the launch of Artemis 1, in November 2022. Artemis 1 sent an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit on a mission that lasted about 25 days. Orion and crew won't enter lunar orbit for Artemis 2, but they will fly around the moon. Rather than enter orbit, the ICPS will steer Orion and the Artemis 2 crew out of Earth orbit into a free-return trajectory around the moon. This slingshots the spacecraft around the lunar far-side on a course directly back to Earth. Unexpected damage to Orion's heat shield caused by atmospheric reentry during Artemis 1 is to blame for the long wait time between Artemis 1 and Artemis 2. That damage delayed Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 by more than a year each. Artemis 3 is currently targeted for 2027, and will carry the first astronauts to land on the moon since the Apollo missions. Image 1 of 2 a large section of a rocket is hoisted in a factory Image 2 of 2 a large section of a rocket is hoisted in a factory RELATED STORIES: — NASA begins stacking SLS rocket for Artemis 2 moon mission (photos) — 'We're pushing the limits:' Artemis 2 backup astronaut on 2025 round-the-moon mission (exclusive) — Astronauts won't walk on the moon until 2026 after NASA delays next 2 Artemis missions The ICPS arrived at the VAB last month. Now, NASA has shared photos of the ICPS being stacked inside the VAB on X, showcasing the stage as it was hoisted from the warehouse floor and lowered into the SLS stage adapter. NASA also took deliver of Orion and its service module this week from the spacecraft's main contractor Lockheed Martin. Before it heads to the VAB for incorporation with SLS, Orion will be transferred KSC's Exploration Ground Systems for processing.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA takes possession of Orion for Artemis II moon mission
For the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, NASA officially has its hands on a spacecraft expected to fly humans to the moon. Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for the Orion space capsule, transferred possession of the Artemis II spacecraft Thursday to the agency's Exploration Ground Systems team base at Kennedy Space Center. Artemis II is slated to launch from KSC no later than April 2026, taking NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the moon — but not to the lunar surface. That launch date is one that's been repeatedly delayed after completion of the uncrewed Artemis I mission in late 2022. 'We want to achieve a pace of one flight a year. We're not there yet,' said Lockheed Martin's Kirk Shireman, head of its Orion program. 'We all know that the faster you fly, the faster you produce vehicles, the cheaper they are, the less cost there is to that and the more you keep the interest of the public.' Artemis II will be the third flight to space for Orion, which was originally part of the Constellation program started under President George W. Bush. It survived that program's demise and was incorporated into what became Artemis, designed to be launched atop the massive Space Launch System rocket for deep-space missions. Orion performed a short test trip to space in 2014 before flying on the Artemis I mission in 2022 that orbited the moon without crew. That flight brought Orion back to Earth at nearly 24,500 mph enduring temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Unexpected damage found on the heat shield's protective coating prompted an investigation that forced NASA to punt Artemis II further into the decade from its original timelines. As recent as late 2020 under President Trump's first administration, NASA was still holding to the lofty, although ultimately unrealistic goal of flying Artemis I in 2021, Artemis II in 2023 and Artemis III — which aimed to return humans to the lunar surface in 2024. Artemis I ended up flying one year later than planned. Damage to the mobile launcher from the 8.8 million pounds of thrust created by the SLS rocket in addition to Orion heat shield issues were prime factors in Artemis II slipping first into 2024, then 2025 and now not until early 2026. NASA had asked all of its partners in the Artemis program to see if they can exceed deadlines and get to flight as early as February while keeping Artemis III on NASA's calendar for summer 2027. Artemis III is reliant on SpaceX to develop a working version of its Starship rocket to act as the human landing system. 'We are working to even accelerate our work production for flights for Artemis 3, 4, 5 and beyond. NASA has been working with us and encouraging us to continue doing that,' Shireman said. 'The direction we've been getting from NASA is, 'Hey, we've got to meet our dates, and it would be awesome if you could exceed, if you could do better than those dates,' and and that's the way we've been working.' He said a new issue that popped up late last year regarding Orion's batteries had teams projecting a final delivery at the end of May. 'I think we're extremely proud to have been not only able to hold, but accelerate that date,' he said noting Lockheed gained back nearly a month. 'That's pretty phenomenal in a complicated spacecraft.' Orion will eventually be stacked atop the SLS rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building, after which the completed rocket and spacecraft atop the mobile launcher could roll to Launch Pad 39-B before the end of the year for testing where NASA intends to keep it until launch. Shireman said he thinks NASA is happy with Lockheed's performance. 'It wasn't like everything was smooth sailing,' he said saying many issues were found and solved before they became a schedule threat. 'People have really been working hard and are probably more than a little fatigued. So they're going to take a breather here for 24, maybe 48 hours, and then we're going to hit it again for Artemis III.' Shireman said Lockheed has not had any signal from NASA to pull back from long-term plans with Artemis even though the future of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft could shift under new direction during the second Trump administration. The delays to Artemis, along with ballooning costs, has critics including billionaire Jared Isaacman, who was nominated to become the next NASA administrator and is awaiting a confirmation vote in the Senate. Isaacman has told senators he's on board with the plan through at least Artemis III, especially as the U.S. tries to compete with Chinese plans to land on the moon. But after achieving the lunar landing, the nation should look at commercial alternatives such as SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's New Glenn for achieving its lunar goals. Shireman continued to stump for the current plan to fly Orion atop SLS in the short term even though plans could change. 'You could launch an Orion on a New Glenn and you could create an architecture,' he said. 'But when you add new elements that don't exist and you haven't started working on them, that's where the time comes in. 'So that's why I believe, firmly believe, the quickest way to the moon — to put American boots back on the moon — is with SLS and Orion on Artemis III.' But he pitched the spacecraft to remain part of whatever the future of deep-space exploration becomes. 'Ultimately, we could pivot to something different,' Shireman said. 'We want to be part of putting Americans back on the moon and a sustainable lunar program. And if the administration wants to modify the architecture, we'll be happy to to work with them.'
The National
18-04-2025
- Science
- The National
Nasa rocket that will fly astronauts around Moon takes shape ahead of 2026 launch
A Nasa spacecraft that will carry four astronauts around the Moon in a historic mission next year is edging closer to lift-off. Several milestones have been achieved in recent weeks on the Space Launch System rocket, designed to launch vehicles into deep space, including the installation of a critical part. The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter links two main parts of the rocket and helps protect important flight computers and electronics when it blasts off into the skies. Engineers are preparing the rocket for Artemis II, a 10-day mission during which the four astronauts will orbit the Moon, on board the Orion spacecraft, after being launched from Florida early in 2026. 'The cone-shaped adapter connects the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, which will propel the Artemis II test flight around the Moon, to the SLS core stage,' Nasa said this week. 'During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. 'Up next, teams will stack the interim cryogenic propulsion stage onto the launch vehicle stage adapter.' Artemis II will mark the first time humans have travelled near the Moon since the last Apollo mission more than 50 years ago. Three American and one Canadian astronauts were selected for the mission. Reid Wiseman will serve as commander, Victor Glover will pilot the mission, while Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen will serve as mission specialists. The flight will build on the success of Artemis I, an uncrewed mission in 2022 that tested the same rocket and the Orion spacecraft. It lasted 25 days and showed that the rocket and capsule could safely travel to the Moon and back. But the Artemis programme has faced criticism in recent years, especially because of its high costs. Each SLS rocket launch reportedly costs $2 billion, and the entire programme is behind schedule. During Jared Isaacman's senate nomination hearing for the role of Nasa administrator, he said he supported continuing with the Artemis programme and using the SLS rocket to send astronauts to the Moon in the near future. 'I don't think [the SLS] is the long-term way to get to and from the Moon and to Mars with great frequency, but this is the plan we have now,' he said. The US wants American astronauts on the lunar surface before the end of this decade, as it faces growing competition from China, which is aiming to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and build a lunar base soon after. There is also a greater focus on Mars by the new Trump administration, aligning with billionaire Elon Musk long-standing campaign to send humans to the Red Planet. Nasa's Artemis III mission, which will land astronauts on the Moon, is currently scheduled for 2027.
