WASHINGTON: With Artemis II successfully completing its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/artemis-2-extraordinary-views-of-home-as-astronauts-head-towards-moon" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">historic lunar mission</a>&nbsp;on Friday, NASA is banking on billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk for the next step: landing astronauts on the Moon. The Apollo program &ndash; which sent the first and only humans to the Moon&#39;s surface between 1969 and 1972 &ndash; was designed so that only two astronauts could land on the lunar surface for a maximum of a few days. More than 50 years later, American ambitions and expertise have grown, with NASA hoping to send four people on a mission lasting several weeks and eventually building a lunar base. For the second phase of its mission, the space agency is looking to commercial landers designed by Musk&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/nasa-to-bring-spacex-crew11-back-early-over-medical-concern" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">SpaceX</a>&nbsp;and Bezos&#39;s Blue Origin to get its astronauts on the Moon. After Artemis II&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/artemis-ii-astronauts-descend-into-earths-atmosphere-in-critical-heat-shield-test" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">splashed down in the Pacific Ocean</a>&nbsp;on Friday after its record-breaking journey, NASA officials urged all hands on deck for a crewed landing in 2028. &quot;We need all of industry to work and come along with us, and they need to accept that challenge and come with us and really start the production lines that are going to be required in order to achieve that goal,&quot; Lori Glaze, the acting associate NASA administrator, told a press conference. The Apollo program relied on a single rocket, the Saturn V, which carried both the lunar lander and the capsule carrying the astronauts. NASA has opted for two separate systems for Artemis: the first to launch the Orion spacecraft carrying the crew from Earth, and another to launch the lunar lander, which will be privately contracted. &#39;Camping trip&#39; The decision was driven by the technical limitations of the Apollo program, Kent Chojnacki, a senior NASA official in charge of lunar lander development, told AFP. &quot;It was very not expandable to long-term exploration and long-term stays,&quot; he explained. Although spectacular, the Apollo missions were like &quot;camping trips,&quot; said Jack Kiraly, director of government relations at the Planetary Society, which encourages space exploration. The systems NASA is looking at now are &quot;huge compared to Apollo,&quot; said Chojnacki, noting that the new lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX are two to seven times larger than before. The space agency is also drawing from external partners, such as the European companies that built the propulsion module for Orion. The new approach opens access to more equipment and resources, but also significantly complicates operations. To send these giant spacecrafts to the Moon, the private space exploration companies will need to master in-flight refueling, a complex maneuver that has not yet been fully tested. After the lunar lander is launched, additional rockets will be needed to deliver the fuel required for the journey to the Moon, some 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) from Earth. &#39;Lose the Moon&#39; Given this risky undertaking and the numerous delays &ndash; particularly those experienced by SpaceX that was supposed to have its lander ready first &ndash; pressure has mounted in recent months. &quot;We are once again about to lose the Moon,&quot; three former NASA officials warned in an article in SpaceNews last September. China, which is hoping to send humans to the Moon by 2030, has been making progress as well, raising fears in the Trump administration that the United States could get left behind. With that in mind, NASA raised the possibility last fall of reopening the contract awarded to SpaceX and using Blue Origin&#39;s lunar lander first, sending shockwaves through the rival companies. Both firms announced they were realigning their strategies to prioritize the lunar project &ndash; and keep their lucrative contracts with NASA. But concerns remain, particularly regarding the feasibility of in-orbit refueling. &quot;We do have a plan,&quot; Chojnacki said, noting that NASA has a back-up plan in case of failure. The timeline is also up in the air. NASA says it plans to test an in-orbit rendezvous between the spacecraft and one or two lunar landers in 2027, and carry out a crewed lunar landing in 2028. Before that, companies will need to test in-orbit refueling and send an unmanned lunar lander to the Moon to demonstrate its safety. That all needs to happen within the next two years. &quot;It feels like a very small amount of time,&quot; said Clayton Swope of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

This handout picture released by NASA on April 10, 2026 and taken on April 6, 2026 shows an image of Earthset captured by the Artemis II crew as they pass behind the Moon’s far side. (AFP)

Artificial Intelligence

NASA is turning to SpaceX and Blue Origin for upcoming Artemis Moon landings after Artemis II, aiming for a 2028 crewed landing while relying on commercial lunar landers and new technology development.

After Artemis II, NASA looks to SpaceX, Blue Origin for moon landings

HOUSTON: As Artemis 2 astronauts forged ahead Friday on their lunar mission, NASA released initial images taken from inside the Orion spacecraft, including a full portrait of Earth featuring its deep blue oceans and billowing clouds. After a flurry of high-stakes activity including a dramatic blast-off and an engine firing that catapulted them on their historic trajectory to circle the Moon, the four astronauts aboard were able to catch their breath, even as they continued to perform a variety of equipment checks and tests. &quot;There has been a tremendous amount of disbelief for me, it&#39;s just so extraordinary,&quot; said Canadian Jeremy Hansen during a Q&amp;A session with press late Thursday. &quot;I really like it up here,&quot; said Hansen, on his first ever journey to space. &quot;The views are extraordinary.&quot; &quot;It&#39;s really fun to be floating around&quot; in zero gravity, he added. &quot;It just makes me feel like a little kid.&quot; Hansen is on the crew with Americans Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman. They are due to loop around the Moon early next week &ndash; a feat not accomplished in more than 50 years. NASA official Lakiesha Hawkins praised the photographs taken by commander Wiseman, calling them &quot;amazing&quot; during a briefing Friday. &quot;We continue to learn all about our spacecraft as we operate it in deep space with crew for the first time,&quot; Hawkins said. &quot;It&#39;s important to remind ourselves of that as we learn a little bit more day by day. &#39;Great spirits&#39; Friday&#39;s to-do list includes a CPR demonstration and medical kit checks, the US space agency said, as well as preparation for the scientific observations they&#39;ll need to document when they are closest to the Moon on day six of their journey. NASA officials reported Friday that all systems were performing well, and that the astronauts were in &quot;great spirits&quot; and had spoken to their families. The next major milestone of the approximately 10-day journey is expected overnight Sunday into Monday, at which point the astronauts will enter the &quot;lunar sphere of influence&quot; &ndash; when the Moon&#39;s gravity will have stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth&#39;s. If all proceeds smoothly, as Orion whips around the Moon the astronauts could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before. &quot;There is nothing normal about this,&quot; said mission commander Wiseman late Thursday. &quot;Sending four humans 250,000 miles away is a Herculean effort, and we are now just realizing the gravity of that.&quot; The Artemis 2 mission is part of a longer-term plan to repeatedly return to the Moon, with the goal of establishing a permanent lunar base that will offer a platform for further exploration.

This handout picture provided by NASA shows Earth as seen through the Orion spacecraft’s window, photographed by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander of Artemis II, on April 2, 2026, after completing the translunar injection burn. (AFP)

Artemis 2 astronauts, including Canada's Jeremy Hansen, share stunning Earth views from Orion spacecraft en route to loop the Moon—first crewed flyby in more than five decades. 

Articles tagged with "lunar base"

After Artemis II, NASA looks to SpaceX, Blue Origin for moon landings

Artemis 2: 'Extraordinary' views of home as astronauts head towards Moon