NASA's Artemis II mission completes a critical engine burn, propelling the Orion spacecraft and its four-person crew out of Earth orbit toward the moon.

NASA's Artemis II crew launched on the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years, sending four astronauts around the moon aboard the Orion spacecraft.

A new NASA spacecraft has started tracking the particle streams that can make a massive solar flare dangerous while mapping the Sun’s shield. That pairing connects short-term storm warnings near Earth with the far boundary that helps block harsher radiation from deep space.

The Orion spacecraft will take four crew members and one commode around the moon and back as part of the Artemis II mission. In April 2025, National Geographic worked with NASA and filmed the astronauts at an Orion space capsule model in Houston.

Amid ongoing toilet trouble, the Artemis II astronauts reflected on the wonder of sailing through deep space to the moon.

The Pasadena lab plays a key role in data exchange and communications between four Artemis II astronauts and mission control. For many, the moon mission is the first time they’ll support a human space flight.

The mission, called Space Reactor 1 Freedom, will test advanced nuclear electric propulsion. Upon reaching Mars, the spacecraft would deploy helicopters to explore the planet from the air. This technology could also be used to power a future longterm base ...

On Wednesday, two days after their moon flyby, the crew of the Artemis II mission settled in for a day of preparation to return to Earth.