Apollo program

NASA is preparing Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. Coverage is examining why it took the United States more than five decades to send astronauts back, pointing to shifting political priorities, budget constraints and program delays. The mission is seen as a first step toward a longer-term lunar presence under the Artemis program.

Margaret Hamilton, the Paoli, Indiana native who led the development of the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo program, has died at the age of 90, according to a report in the Dubois County Herald. Hamilton's work was central to the success of the lunar landings, and the report has prompted renewed attention to her legacy in her home region and among space history communities.

Space enthusiasts are marking the anniversary of the death of James A. McDivitt, the NASA astronaut who commanded Gemini 4, the agency's first mission to include a spacewalk, and later commanded Apollo 9, the first crewed orbital flight of a lunar module. Tributes recall his central role in the Gemini and Apollo programs ahead of the Moon landing. McDivitt died in 2022.

NASA says it is moving forward with its next three Artemis missions — Artemis III, IV and V — the crewed lunar landing and subsequent station-building flights. The program remains under scrutiny over the timeline for the first crewed Moon landing since Apollo, as well as the performance of the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and commercial partners supplying lunar landers and spacesuits.

Chinese tech giant Baidu has launched an AI model that simulates real-world road environments to train and test its robotaxi systems. The move is part of Baidu's push into autonomous driving, allowing its Apollo Go self-driving vehicles to be developed against a wider range of traffic scenarios than real-world testing alone could provide.

NASA is channeling the pace of the Apollo era into plans to establish a base on the moon and land astronauts there within roughly two years. The push, widely reported across US outlets, marks an accelerated timeline for the Artemis program. Observers are watching whether the agency can meet the aggressive deadline given past schedule slips and funding questions.

NASA is accelerating plans to build a station on the Moon for astronauts, adopting a sense of urgency reminiscent of the Apollo program. The agency is pushing to establish a lasting human presence on the lunar surface as part of its broader Artemis-era exploration goals. Officials frame the effort as a return to the ambitious pace that carried the first crews to the Moon more than five decades ago.

A scientist working on NASA's Artemis III program has spoken to Wired about what to expect from the agency's next crewed lunar landing. The interview outlines the goals and preparations for the mission, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon's surface for the first time since Apollo, drawing attention to NASA's progress and challenges ahead.

Social Security's long-term funding shortfall is back in focus, with analysts arguing that no current Congress will act and that a future one will eventually have to reform the program. Comments from investment firm Apollo Global Management emphasize that delayed fixes only make the eventual changes harder, keeping the debate over retirement benefits and taxes alive among policymakers and economists.

A former astronaut says NASA's effort to return astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis program is more difficult than the Apollo era because it lacks comparable Cold War-level funding and urgency. The comments highlight concerns that budget constraints and shifting political priorities could slow the timeline for the crewed lunar missions.

James E. Webb is the subject of fresh attention, according to a brief news item from WV News. No details were provided about the reason. Webb, who served as NASA administrator from 1961 to 1968, is best known for leading the agency during the Apollo program and for the space telescope that bears his name.

SpaceX has joined a new Grok partnership program alongside investment firm Apollo and chipmaker Nvidia. The collaboration ties Elon Musk's space company closer to xAI's Grok AI ecosystem, with Nvidia's hardware expected to play a central role. The announcement drew attention because it links major players across space, finance and artificial intelligence in a single venture, raising questions about the scope and commercial aims of the alliance.

NASA's Artemis II mission is set to return astronauts to the vicinity of the Moon in 2026, ending a 53-year gap since the Apollo program's last crewed lunar flight in 1972. Commentary is focusing on the political, funding and technical reasons the human lunar program stalled for over five decades, and on what Artemis II means for future deep space exploration.

NASA's Artemis III mission plan calls for a roughly 14-day surface stay near the lunar south pole, with two dockings between the Orion spacecraft and the Starship Human Landing System. The mission aims to return astronauts to the Moon for the first time since Apollo, with crewed activities limited by Orion's capabilities.