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SpaceNews.com • Jeff Foust

NASA lays out objectives for budget-funded Mars communications orbiter

NASA released objectives for a Mars communications orbiter to be procured with funds from last year’s budget reconciliation bill, specifying capability requirements, relay and navigation roles, and a procurement timeline intended to accelerate restoration and modernization of Mars communications infrastructure.

2026-03-01T16:32:37.761242-08:00

Ars Technica

NASA cancels SLS Block 1B and rewrites Artemis roadmap to target lunar landing by 2028

2026-03-01T12:55:19.577731-08:00

Ars Technica

NASA overhauls Artemis: cancels Boeing SLS upgrade, defers Artemis III and adds Earth‑orbit lander test

2026-02-27T07:12:58.610675-08:00

CNBC

NASA to fly first Black and first female astronauts on upcoming Artemis lunar mission

2026-02-28T05:11:27.816021-08:00

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Universe Today

Apollo Moon rocks force a rewrite of lunar history New analysis of Apollo lunar samples — the rocks twelve astronauts brought home fifty years ago — resolves a long-standing debate about the Moon's early history, showing that neither previous explanation was wholly correct and revealing a revised timeline and mechanism for lunar evolution.

2026-03-02T01:41:52.970139-08:00

Apollo Moon rocks force a rewrite of lunar history

SpaceNews.com

NASA lays out objectives for budget-funded Mars communications orbiter NASA released objectives for a Mars communications orbiter to be procured with funds from last year’s budget reconciliation bill, specifying capability requirements, relay and navigation roles, and a procurement timeline intended to accelerate restoration and modernization of Mars communications infrastructure.

2026-03-01T16:32:37.761242-08:00

NASA lays out objectives for budget-funded Mars communications orbiter

Ars Technica

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NASA cancels SLS Block 1B and rewrites Artemis roadmap to target lunar landing by 2028 NASA administrator Jared Isaacman has cancelled the SLS Block 1B and overhauled the Artemis roadmap to accelerate a crewed lunar landing by 2028. The revision aims to speed lunar return by pivoting architectures and schedules, with NASA keeping open the possibility of two landings in 2028.

2026-03-01T12:55:19.577731-08:00

NASA cancels SLS Block 1B and rewrites Artemis roadmap to target lunar landing by 2028

CNBC

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NASA to fly first Black and first female astronauts on upcoming Artemis lunar mission NASA will send the first Black and the first female astronauts to the Moon on an upcoming Artemis mission, marking the agency's first crewed lunar journey in more than 50 years. The personnel announcement is a historic milestone for NASA's return-to-Moon effort.

2026-02-28T05:11:27.816021-08:00

NASA to fly first Black and first female astronauts on upcoming Artemis lunar mission

Universe Today

JWST probes Uranus' ionosphere, maps vertical structure and detects faint auroras Uranus' extreme 97.8° axial tilt let JWST's NIRSpec probe the planet's ionosphere, producing the first vertical maps of its upper atmosphere and revealing faint auroral emissions. An international team used near‑infrared spectroscopy to resolve how temperature and charged‑particle densities change with altitude.

2026-02-27T09:17:01.621697-08:00

JWST probes Uranus' ionosphere, maps vertical structure and detects faint auroras

Ars Technica

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NASA overhauls Artemis: cancels Boeing SLS upgrade, defers Artemis III and adds Earth‑orbit lander test NASA announced a major revision to Artemis architecture: it is canceling a multibillion‑dollar Boeing upgrade to the SLS, adding a new Earth‑orbit lunar‑lander test mission, and deferring the previously planned Artemis III crewed lunar landing as the agency recalibrates schedule and risk.

2026-02-27T07:12:58.610675-08:00

NASA overhauls Artemis: cancels Boeing SLS upgrade, defers Artemis III and adds Earth‑orbit lander test

Space.com

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Study recommends delaying Artemis II lunar launch to late 2026 over solar superflare risk A new study warns elevated solar activity increases the chance of a solar "superflare" during Artemis II’s current launch window and recommends postponing the crewed lunar flyby until late 2026, saying forecasts indicate a later date would substantially lower radiation and operational risks.

2026-02-27T03:01:23.001193-08:00

Study recommends delaying Artemis II lunar launch to late 2026 over solar superflare risk

Universe Today

NASA's CaRD Demonstration Validates Carbothermal Oxygen Extraction from Lunar Regolith NASA's Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) has validated a process to extract oxygen from lunar regolith, completing a key technology step for in‑situ resource utilization. The result advances plans to produce propellant and life‑support consumables on the Moon and reduce logistics mass for sustained Artemis operations.

2026-02-26T16:14:41.214029-08:00

NASA's CaRD Demonstration Validates Carbothermal Oxygen Extraction from Lunar Regolith

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NASA lays out objectives for budget-funded Mars communications orbiter

NASA cancels SLS Block 1B and rewrites Artemis roadmap to target lunar landing by 2028

NASA overhauls Artemis: cancels Boeing SLS upgrade, defers Artemis III and adds Earth‑orbit lander test

NASA to fly first Black and first female astronauts on upcoming Artemis lunar mission

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