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Universe Today • Matthew Williams

Artemis II crew returns home after record 10-day Moon flyby

NASA’s Artemis II crew returned home on April 10, 2026 after completing a record-breaking 10-day flight around the Moon. The mission concluded a first crewed return beyond low Earth orbit, following a free-return lunar trajectory that took the crew more than 400,000 km from Earth.

2026-04-15T13:08:31.218671-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Senators seek restoration of funding for NASA’s robotic Mars exploration amid warnings of “irreversible harm”

2026-04-15T11:24:39.959546-07:00

Universe Today

Nuclear-powered rovers proposed for Moon’s south-polar crater exploration

2026-04-14T18:53:26.299692-07:00

SpaceNews.com

White House orders NASA, Pentagon and DOE to develop space nuclear power systems for first launches as soon as 2028

2026-04-14T11:28:19.787759-07:00

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Universe Today

Artemis II crew returns home after record 10-day Moon flyby NASA’s Artemis II crew returned home on April 10, 2026 after completing a record-breaking 10-day flight around the Moon. The mission concluded a first crewed return beyond low Earth orbit, following a free-return lunar trajectory that took the crew more than 400,000 km from Earth.

2026-04-15T13:08:31.218671-07:00

Artemis II crew returns home after record 10-day Moon flyby

SpaceNews.com

Senators seek restoration of funding for NASA’s robotic Mars exploration amid warnings of “irreversible harm” Several U.S. senators are asking appropriators to increase funding for NASA’s robotic Mars exploration programs, warning that current budget levels could cause “irreversible harm” if not restored. The push echoes broader congressional concerns about NASA’s funding priorities as Mars planning timelines come under pressure.

2026-04-15T11:24:39.959546-07:00

Senators seek restoration of funding for NASA’s robotic Mars exploration amid warnings of “irreversible harm”

Universe Today

Four-legged rover autonomy and new Curiosity image-based findings: updated robotics and science targets for Mars European researchers tested semi-autonomous, four-legged rovers designed to carry only two instruments, positioning agility and autonomy to increase mission return with fewer onboard instructions. Separately, an Ohio University entomologist analyzing NASA Curiosity rover images says the data may show winged insect and predator-like life forms on Mars.

2026-04-15T10:15:11.335040-07:00

Four-legged rover autonomy and new Curiosity image-based findings: updated robotics and science targets for Mars

Universe Today

Nuclear-powered rovers proposed for Moon’s south-polar crater exploration Radioisotope Power Systems (RPSs)—nuclear reactors—would give lunar rovers the sustained power needed to operate effectively in and around the Moon’s southern polar craters, enabling exploration of these permanently shadowed regions.

2026-04-14T18:53:26.299692-07:00

Nuclear-powered rovers proposed for Moon’s south-polar crater exploration

Universe Today

Radar study reveals complex subsurface history near the Moon’s south pole—raising construction and landing-site risks A new radar-based investigation probes buried layers in one of the Moon’s most impact-battered regions, finding evidence of ancient impacts, frozen melt sheets, and billions of years of overlapping debris. The results suggest the geological environment underpinning south-pole outpost plans may be far more heterogeneous than expected.

2026-04-14T13:53:11.262768-07:00

Radar study reveals complex subsurface history near the Moon’s south pole—raising construction and landing-site risks

Payload

CLD companies push back on NASA’s assessment; NASA urges “prove we got it wrong” Companies behind CLD efforts are disputing NASA’s position after Isaacman said he wasn’t surprised they “didn’t like what we had to say,” adding they should “prove we got it wrong.” NASA’s response is to challenge critics to demonstrate why the agency’s conclusions are incorrect, raising pressure ahead of the next program steps.

2026-04-14T11:55:33.194432-07:00

CLD companies push back on NASA’s assessment; NASA urges “prove we got it wrong”

SpaceNews.com

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White House orders NASA, Pentagon and DOE to develop space nuclear power systems for first launches as soon as 2028 A White House policy released April 14 directs NASA, the Pentagon and the Department of Energy to develop space nuclear power systems with an earliest launch target of 2028. NASA’s goal is to field a nuclear-reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft capable of a Mars-bound mission by the end of 2028—widely viewed as highly ambitious.

2026-04-14T11:28:19.787759-07:00

White House orders NASA, Pentagon and DOE to develop space nuclear power systems for first launches as soon as 2028

Space.com

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Artemis 2 executes farthest-ever crew call with ISS at record Earth–Moon separation Artemis 2 astronauts conducted a farthest-ever crew call with the International Space Station during the mission’s record-breaking Earth–moon distance profile. The link underscores that voice/data relay and human communications remain viable at extreme lunar-range conditions as NASA progresses Orion and Artemis operations toward future deep-space missions.

2026-04-14T05:08:26.772918-07:00

Artemis 2 executes farthest-ever crew call with ISS at record Earth–Moon separation

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Space Exploration & Science Missions News

Artemis II crew returns home after record 10-day Moon flyby

Senators seek restoration of funding for NASA’s robotic Mars exploration amid warnings of “irreversible harm”

Nuclear-powered rovers proposed for Moon’s south-polar crater exploration

White House orders NASA, Pentagon and DOE to develop space nuclear power systems for first launches as soon as 2028

News Timeline