Artemis

Meet the astronauts preparing to travel farther from Earth than any human before

6:00am September 28, 2024

This time next year, NASA plans to send its first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years. NPR visited the facility to find out how astronauts are preparing for this high stakes exploration.

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NASA astronaut Victor Glover will be making his second flight to space as the pilot of the Artemis II mission.

Science

A child's dream to 'drive' a space shuttle propels him toward a historic NASA mission

5:00am February 27, 2024

by Scott Neuman

Navy Capt. Victor Glover, who spent nearly six months aboard the International Space Station, will be among four astronauts to venture back to the moon for the first time since 1972.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 15, 2024. The rocket is carrying Intuitive Machines' lunar lander on its way to the moon, with a planned Feb. 22 touchdown.

Science

In latest lunar landing trial, Intuitive Machines hopes to get U.S. back to the moon

5:01am February 19, 2024

by Emma Bowman

If successful, the uncrewed spacecraft would be the first U.S. lunar landing in more than 50 years, and would mean one giant leap for the commercial space sector.

This combination of photos shows, from left, astronauts Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman.

These are the 4 astronauts who'll take a trip around the moon next year

5:42pm April 03, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

The group will fly on NASA's Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon for the first time 50 years and establish a long-term presence there.

Orion's maximum distance from Earth was achieved on flight day 13, when it was 268,563 miles away. That's farther than any other spacecraft built for people--but only mannequins were on board.

Science

50 years since the last Apollo astronauts went to the moon, NASA is finally going back

3:54pm December 07, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

December 7, 1972 was the launch of the final mission in NASA's Apollo moon program. Fifty years later, NASA finally seems poised to return people to the lunar surface.

NASA's new moon rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. This launch is the first flight test of the Artemis program.

Science

After a night of uncertainty, NASA's Artemis moon rocket takes to the skies

9:41am November 16, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA's Artemis moon rocket has finally launched after months of setbacks, from fuel leaks to hurricanes. If successful, the mission signals a big step toward returning humans to the moon.

The Artemis 1 moon rocket and the Orion spacecraft are sitting poised on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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NASA's Artemis moon rocket is just hours from launch. Here's where to watch

8:33pm November 15, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The space agency has been trying for months to send its giant moon rocket on its first test flight. The goal is to send a crew capsule, with no astronauts on board, around the moon and back.

NASA's Artemis I moon rocket sits at Launch Pad Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in June.

Science

The launch of NASA's giant moon rocket is delayed after an issue with its engine

9:55am August 29, 2022

by Scott Neuman

The space agency's long-awaited Artemis I mission will have to wait until at least Friday, after a problem with one of the SLS rocket's engines was discovered.

Astronaut Charlie M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity at the Descartes landing site.

Science

NASA is set to return to the moon. Here are 4 reasons to go back

7:01am August 28, 2022

by Scott Neuman

NASA's Apollo missions already sent astronauts to the moon from 1969 to 1972. But scientists say there's still lots of good science to do there. The moon also could be an ideal stepping stone to Mars.

The NASA Artemis 1 rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard moves slowly on an 11 hour journey to a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

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NASA's Artemis 1 moon rocket reaches the launch pad

7:28am March 18, 2022

by Brendan Byrne

NASA's Artemis 1 rocket, the Space Launch System, reached the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B on Friday. The successor to the Apollo program could one day send humans back to the moon.