Before astronauts return to the lunar surface, NASA will first conduct one of the most ambitious and complex test missions in the agency’s history. Launching in 2027, Artemis III will send NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano aboard the Orion spacecraft into low Earth orbit […]
Category: Space Launch System (SLS)
I Am Artemis: Allison Mjoen
As the supercooled propellant flowed into the core stage, and NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket roared to life, Allison Mjoen and her family watched with awe and pride. Mjoen, NASA’s operations manager for the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems program, helped shape the systems and ground operations that will one day send humans back to […]
I Am Artemis: Allison Mjoen
As the supercooled propellant flowed into the core stage, and NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket roared to life, Allison Mjoen and her family watched with awe and pride. Mjoen, NASA’s operations manager for the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems program, helped shape the systems and ground operations that will one day send humans back to […]
Rigorous Analysis Confirms NASA’s Artemis II Heat Shield Performance
NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts around the Moon and brought them safely back to Earth, laying a foundation for crewed flights to the Moon’s surface. Additional engineering data analysis of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield confirmed initial data showing the heat shield performed as expected. In particular, NASA measured whether the thermal protection […]
I Am Artemis: Elkin Norena
Listen to this audio excerpt from Elkin Norena, resident management officer, NASA’s Space Launch System Program: NASA’s Elkin Norena has helped the agency launch more than a dozen space shuttle missions – that’s more than a dozen crews to low Earth orbit and more than a dozen historic missions. They were missions that helped build […]
I Am Artemis: Elkin Norena
Listen to this audio excerpt from Elkin Norena, resident management officer, NASA’s Space Launch System Program: NASA’s Elkin Norena has helped the agency launch more than a dozen space shuttle missions – that’s more than a dozen crews to low Earth orbit and more than a dozen historic missions. They were missions that helped build […]
I Am Artemis: Elkin Norena
Listen to this audio excerpt from Elkin Norena, resident management officer, NASA’s Space Launch System Program: NASA’s Elkin Norena has helped the agency launch more than a dozen space shuttle missions – that’s more than a dozen crews to low Earth orbit and more than a dozen historic missions. They were missions that helped build […]
NASA Seeks Interest for Artemis Mission CubeSats
Organizations interested in launching CubeSats on future Artemis missions should respond to NASA’s request for information (RFI) by Monday, June 1, for initial consideration. “The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and the Artemis missions provide great opportunities for teams to conduct important, science and technology investigations that contribute to the expansion of human space exploration,” said […]
NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans
NASA is moving quickly to define next year’s Artemis III mission in Earth orbit, a crewed flight that will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between the agency’s Orion spacecraft and commercial landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. Since a February announcement adding an Artemis mission ahead of crewed landing missions to the Moon’s South Pole region, […]
Artemis III Moon Rocket Core Stage on the Move
Teams move the core stage, or largest section, of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis III mission into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this photo from April 27, 2026. The SLS core stage traveled 900 miles on the Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the stage is manufactured, to complete […]