NASA

Artemis II astronauts brace for fiery return to Earth

The Artemis II crew, flying in their Orion capsule since launching from Florida last week, are due to splash down off the Southern California coast on Friday.

The NASA Artemis II crew, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover, embrace inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home following a flyby of the far side of the Moon on April 7, 2026.
NASA ASTRONAUT and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon April 2, 2026.

WATCH: Artemis makes lunar flyby as moon mission breaks record for human distance from earth

NASA's Artemis II mission to fly by the moon, comprising of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 1, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II mission takes off with four astronauts for historic lunar journey

General view of the moon on March 30, 2026

Countdown to a lunar comeback: NASA readies astronauts for Moon journey


NASA set for first crewed moon return in over half a century

The mission is the first crewed test flight in NASA's Artemis program, the flagship US effort to begin regular flights to the moon, at an estimated cost of at least $93 billion since 2012.

The sun is captured over Earth's horizon by a crew member aboard the International Space Station in this May 21, 2013 photo courtesy of NASA.

NASA charts course to a permanent lunar outpost and a nuclear‑propelled Mars vehicle

The updated exploration plan details surface habitat concepts, cargo and power infrastructure, and a nuclear thermal propulsion pathfinder for crewed deep-space transit.

Spacecraft transfer with rocket to the Moon to the launch pad.

NASA shakes up moon program with Artemis test mission before astronaut lunar landing

Planned for 2027, the new mission comes as the US aims to establish regular lunar missions, a long-awaited follow-up to its first moon missions in the Apollo program, which ended in 1972.

The countdown clock for the launch of NASA's Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is seen near the massive Vehicle Assembly building at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on February 20, 2026.

NASA may roll back Artemis II rocket after helium flow issue, March launch at risk

NASA said it is taking steps to roll back the Artemis II rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

 NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida (Illustrative).

'Unprofessional behavior': NASA report rips into astronaut-stranding Starliner mission

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman ripped into Boeing and agency leadership for their handling of the Starliner mission during a news conference timed with the release of the 300-page report.

A UNITED Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT), is launched on a mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US June 5, 2024.

Weizmann Institue, NASA discover Jupiter is smaller and flatter than previously believed

“This research helps us understand how planets form and evolve… by studying what’s happening inside Jupiter, we get closer to understanding how planets like ours came to be.”

A VIEW of Jupiter's moon Europa created from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990's, according to NASA, obtained by Reuters May 14, 2018.

Israeli Space Week highlights Israel’s growing role in space sector

“The space industry is not only an engine of economic growth and vital to our security - it is our bridge to the future,” Gila Gamliel, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, said.

Israeli scientists participate in an experiment simulating a mission to Mars, at the D-MARS Desert Mars Analog Ramon Station project of Israel's Space Agency, Ministry of Science, near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel

NASA on the brink of history: Rocket on its way to the moon – final preparations underway

NASA approaches the next phase of its deep space return program. Artemis 2 will be the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972 and will serve as a critical test for new technologies.

Spacecraft transfer with rocket to the Moon to the launch pad.

NASA returns ISS crew early for first time in history, due to 'serious medical condition'

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters that the decision was made to return the astronaut because the capability to diagnose and treat them properly is not available on the ISS.

ROSCOSMOS COSMONAUT Alexey Zubritskiy conducts a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS), October 16, 2025.

Jupiter's moon Europa less likely to hold life than previously thought, scientists discover

After modeling Europa's conditions, the researchers concluded that its rocky seafloor is likely mechanically too strong to allow for tectonic and volcanic activity.

A VIEW of Jupiter's moon Europa created from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990's, according to NASA, obtained by Reuters May 14, 2018.