Space Exploration

A hydraulic pin failure on the launch tower arm forced SpaceX to scrub the first Starship V3 test flight at T-40 seconds, with a second attempt targeting 6:30 p.m. EDT on May 22.

A new Nature study identifies a continental-shelf-like band wrapping the Martian northern hemisphere, suggesting a stable ocean once covered roughly a third of the planet's surface.

NASA's Artemis II crew returned to Earth on April 10 after the first crewed lunar voyage since 1972. A post-mission news conference is set for April 16, and the Artemis III core stage will roll out April 20.

Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace, and Blue Origin are each preparing lunar lander missions for 2026 under NASA's CLPS program, marking an unprecedented year for commercial deep-space exploration.

The SLS rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center at 6:24 p.m. EDT on April 1, carrying a crew of four on a 10-day lunar flyby mission.

Four astronauts reached Florida on March 27 ahead of an April 1 launch that will send humans beyond Earth orbit for the first time since Apollo 17.

NASA's Ignition initiative pauses the Lunar Gateway to redirect $20 billion over seven years toward building a permanent moon base, while repurposing Gateway hardware into SR-1 Freedom, a nuclear-powered spacecraft that will carry Ingenuity-class helicopters to Mars before the end of 2028.

NASA's Perseverance rover gains autonomous navigation and AI-planned driving while the ESCAPADE twin spacecraft head for Mars orbit, but Congress's cancellation of Mars Sample Return hands the prize of returning Martian rocks to China's Tianwen-3 mission.

Artemis III becomes an orbital test flight in 2027 as NASA restructures its lunar program to reduce risk and increase launch cadence.