Experts have been hopeful, but say the agency’s lunar aspirations are largely at the whims of two billionaires, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Almost forgotten now, the mission circled the Earth for 10 days, performing a series of tests with the lunar lander. What it lacked in glory it made up for in technological contributions.

Artemis III is the third in a series of missions that gets humans closer to returning to the surface of the moon.

NASA’s Artemis program has little room for error if it is to land astronauts on the moon by the end of 2028, but Blue Origin could be out of commission for at least a year.

Russian astronauts prepared to make repairs on Friday morning, but after an hour and a half, officials decided no urgent action was needed.

NASA is working on a streamlined management approach for a nuclear electric propulsion demonstration mission the agency wants to launch in two and a half years.

The post NASA working to streamline development of nuclear electric propulsion demo mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

Jeff Bezos was gaining ground on Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink. Thursday’s rocket explosion on a launchpad creates a major setback.

Jeff Bezos was gaining ground on Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink. Thursday’s rocket explosion on a launchpad creates a major setback.

A rocket built by the Jeff Bezos-owned space company, Blue Origin, blew up during a test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The rocket, built by the Jeff Bezos-owned space company, was to carry 48 satellites into space. Blue Origin reported on social media that “all personnel have been accounted for.”