Latest news with #Artemis
Gizmodo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Senate Backs NASA's Legacy Moon Plan Over Musk's Protests
On Tuesday, July 1, the Senate breathed new life into NASA's floundering Artemis program by passing President Trump's budget reconciliation bill. If signed into law, the legislation would allocate an additional $6 billion to Artemis' current mission architecture. The new funds, which include support for additional Space Launch System (SLS) rockets, the Orion spacecraft, and a lunar space station called Gateway, represent a major win for legacy aerospace providers Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and L3 Harris Technologies' Aerojet Rocketdyne division. These companies have collectively received about $24 billion for SLS production to date. Critics of these technologies—including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman—have argued in favor of using newer, more cost-effective infrastructure instead. The Senate's decision rebukes such criticism and directly challenges the White House's own strategic vision for NASA. Trump's 'skinny' budget proposal, released in May, aims to slash $6 billion from NASA's budget for fiscal year 2026. Part of that reduction would come from overhauling the Artemis program's architecture. In addition to terminating the Gateway program, the proposal called for phasing out both the SLS and the Orion capsule—the spacecraft that would carry Artemis crews to the Moon—after the Artemis 3 mission and replacing them with commercial alternatives. On June 5, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, unveiled legislative directives for the Senate Republicans' budget reconciliation bill. In an effort to prioritize beating China to the Moon and Mars, the proposal dedicates nearly $10 billion in additional funding to enable future Mars missions, maintain the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030, and support Artemis's existing infrastructure. Of that $10 billion, $2.6 billion would go toward fully funding Gateway, $4.1 billion would support SLS, and $20 million would go to the development of Orion. The bill also dedicates $700 million to a new Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, underscoring Congress's focus on a Moon-to-Mars strategy. By passing this bill, the Senate effectively reversed course on the plan that Trump's 2026 budget proposal laid out for NASA. If Trump signs the bill into law, it could escalate the ongoing conflict between him and Musk. Their falling out began after Trump withdrew Isaacman's NASA Administrator nomination at the end of May. Like Musk, Isaacman has criticized aspects of the Artemis program's key infrastructure. During his Senate confirmation hearings, he admitted that Orion and SLS were the fastest way to beat China to the Moon but stated that SLS's expendability and high per-launch cost made it unsustainable for frequent lunar operations or future Mars missions. Musk has been particularly vocal in his criticism of SLS, arguing that reusable rockets—like those made by SpaceX—would be far more cost-effective over the long term. He has also taken aim at the Artemis missions themselves, claiming that they are a 'distraction' from Mars objectives. Trump's 2026 budget proposal, drafted while Musk served as a senior advisor to the President, heavily reflected the SpaceX executive's position on NASA's Moon-to-Mars program—and served to benefit his company. If signed, the budget reconciliation bill would upend this plan, giving Musk one more reason to hate it. He's been banging his fists on the table for weeks, calling the legislation a 'disgusting abomination.' Musk's criticisms sparked an online feud with Trump that played out over the course of several days via their respective social media platforms, X and Truth Social. The massive tax and spending budget bill is now returning to the House for a final vote. As Congress closes in on Trump's July 4 deadline to present him with a final version for signing, the future of NASA's lunar program hangs in the balance. The agency has faced unprecedented uncertainty since Trump took office in January. If he signs this bill into law, it could, at least, get one of NASA's flagship programs back on track.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Another blow for Elon Musk after Trump gives $10b to his worst nightmare
President Donald Trump is just one stroke of a pen away from handing another major blow to Elon Musk 's plans for space exploration. On Tuesday, the US Senate passed its version of the 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' a massive piece of spending and tax cut legislation, which also set aside $10 billion for NASA's Artemis program. Artemis aims to return humans to the moon and establish a permanent US presence there by the end of the decade. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has been a vocal opponent of continued funding for missions to the moon, repeatedly lobbying for the Trump Administration and NASA to focus on colonizing Mars. If signed into law by Trump, the allotment to NASA would primarily go to pay for the Space Launch System (SLS), which utilizes single-use rockets to send the Artemis vehicles to the moon. The SLS rockets completely fly in the face of Musk's vision for space travel, as his company mainly relies on reusable rockets during crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Before their very public falling out in May, it seemed as though Musk had convinced the president to phase out SLS rockets, with Trump proposing to slash NASA's budget and replace the SLS after Artemis' third planned mission in 2027. However, the new Republican-led megabill has reprioritized the moon missions and left Musk's dream of a crewed mission to Mars out on the White House lawn. Musk, the former head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, has blasted both the use of billion-dollar, single-use rockets and the president's controversial spending bill as a waste of taxpayer money. 'Fundamental issue with SLS is that it's not reusable, which means that a billion-dollar rocket is blown up every launch!' the billionaire wrote on X in 2020. On June 3, Musk called the Big, Beautiful Bill a 'disgusting abomination' and urged Americans to contact their representatives to oppose it, citing how it would leave the US budget with more 'crushing' debt. Later that month, he described the Senate's draft of the spending bill as 'utterly insane and destructive' and 'political suicide' for the Republican Party. Musk also claimed that Trump signing the bill would destroy millions of jobs and harm industries of the future while favoring outdated ones. Despite his ongoing objections, the Big, Beautiful Bill will pay for the increasingly expensive disposable rockets, which NASA's Inspector General estimated will now cost as much as $2.5 billion per use. Through the 2025 fiscal year, NASA has already spent $93 billion on the Artemis program, with most of that money going towards the rockets, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, and a 'Human Landing System' so the astronauts can reach the moon's surface. Since the start of the Artemis program in 2019, only the unmanned Artemis I test flight in 2022 has reached space. The next mission, Artemis II, is scheduled for 2026, with Artemis III to follow in 2027. NASA has not conducted a manned moon mission since 1972. However, the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' has allocated $10 billion in new funding for NASA's Artemis program Roughly $2.6 billion of the funds would be allocated to the Lunar Gateway, a planned space station that will orbit the moon and help sustain NASA's future Artemis missions. Approximately, $20 million will go to the Orion spacecraft, specifically for building the fourth crew capsule for Artemis IV in 2028 and future lunar missions after that. If Trump signs this current version of the spending bill, he'll also be reviving a program he and Musk previously looked to kill before their friendship unraveled. The new funding includes $700 million for a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, which would support Martian core sample return missions. That project has already cost NASA billions as the agency has aimed to bring rock samples collected by the Martian rovers back to Earth to be studied. However, Trump's May 1 spending proposal for NASA slashed $6 billion from their budget, which would have paid for that research. Following the Senate's passage of the bill, that money is back in NASA's pockets. Another $1.25 billion would go to operating costs on the ISS, money that was also slashed by the president and Musk earlier this year. It's not all bad news for Musk, however, as SpaceX is still slated to receive $325 million to build a spacecraft that will help de-orbit the ISS by the end of the decade. The decommissioning of the ISS has been another of Musk's major talking points when it comes to space exploration. The head of SpaceX has even called for the de-orbiting mission to be moved up to 2027, citing safety concerns raised by a former physicist and engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In June 2024, NASA awarded SpaceX a $843 million contract to build the deorbit vehicle, or USDV, that will be used to safely guide the ISS into the Pacific Ocean by 2030. The funding for continued ISS operations runs through 2029, essentially ending Musk's dream of bringing down the station earlier. Decommissioning the ISS ahead of schedule would not have been that simple anyway, and would require an agreement from all the space station's partners, not just the approval of President Trump.
Euronews
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
US greenlights billions for Moon missions despite Musk's opposition
The US Senate approved $10 billion (€8.5 billion) in additional funding for Moon missions that are not supported by billionaire Elon Musk. Almost half the earmarked funds for NASA in 2025, or $4.1 billion (€3.49 billion), will build two Space Launch Systems (SLS) rockets for Artemis IV and V missions because it is the 'only human-rated rocket available that can get humans to the Moon'. The Senate is also granting $2.6 billion (€2.21 billion) to the Gateway space station, the first international space station to be built around the Moon, which it says is 'critical for establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon.' Musk has said in the past that the Space Launch System(SLS) rockets 'make him sad,' because they're not reusable, insinuating that a 'billion dollar rocket is blown up every launch'. The SpaceX CEO has also said the International Space Station (ISS) should be deorbited in favour of future Mars missions. The move comes after a very public fallout between Musk and US President Donald Trump, who suggested the initial cuts to Artemis missions in the first draft of the budget review. The rest of the 2025 budget for NASA includes funding for a Mars sample return rover, the procurement of the Orion spacecraft used for the Artemis missions, five years' worth of missions at the ISS and improvements to various American space centres. Artemis, Gateway cuts could've hurt Europe The previous NASA budget request only allowed funding to continue for the upcoming Artemis II mission, set to launch in 2026, and Artemis III, the first flight to return humans to the surface of the Moon, set for 2027. However, the budget cuts funding for future Artemis missions, including Artemis IV. Ahead of the Senate vote, European experts warned Euronews Next that NASA cuts to the Artemis missions and other space programmes could have a detrimental effect. The European Space Agency (ESA) builds European Space Modules (ESMs) that provide electricity and oxygen to Orion, the spacecraft picked by NASA for the Artemis missions to the surface of the Moon. The ESA also contributes three key elements for Gateway. Experts previously told Euronews Next that if the Trump administration's budget were to be passed, Europe would lose 'guaranteed, sustained presence in cislunar space' if the Artemis missions were to be defunded. There would have also been shutdowns to key production lines on the space modules and the Gateway hardware, they said.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
St Albans Cathedral Peregrine Falcon chicks revealed as males
A trio of Peregrine Falcon chicks hatched on a cathedral roof have been revealed as all male during the ringing birds were born at a nesting platform on St Albans Cathedral after their parents' first set of eggs was crushed by a person in they have been ringed they can be tracked in the future, but the process also involved logging their weight and sex for the first bird-ringer and nest recorder Barry Trevis said: "We know from the webcam livestream that the parents have looked after the chicks well, so when we checked them over we saw that they were all in good condition." "We fitted a ring on each of their legs. One is a British Trust for Ornithology metal ring, a bit like a licence tag, the other is a larger ring which is coloured orange with black lettering which means we'll be able to track them in years to come," he added.A juvenile peregrine falcon, ringed at St Albans Cathedral last year, has been spotted at Port Meadow in Ellis, the engagement manager at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, said: "It's great to know what happens to the chicks once they become independent and leave the nest. "Thanks to the ringing process, we now know of sightings of two of them – their first chick, Artemis, was seen in Norfolk and now we have this fantastic news that one of last year's chicks looks to be making his territory in Oxfordshire." The nest at St Albans is livestreamed by cameras on the cathedral's April viewers watched as an unknown person stood on eggs which has been recently laid in the Police have not responded to a request for an update on the investigation, but have previously urged anybody with information related to the destroyed eggs to contact them. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Time of India
a day ago
- Science
- Time of India
Top 10 space missions to watch in 2025 and beyond: Exploring the Moon, Mars, and distant worlds
Space exploration is entering an exciting new era in 2025, with a remarkable lineup of missions poised to deepen our understanding of the Moon , Mars , and beyond. These missions, led by NASA , ISRO , ESA, JAXA , and private companies, will not only advance scientific knowledge but also pave the way for future human exploration and technological innovation. From crewed lunar orbits to robotic explorers on distant moons, here are the top 10 space missions to watch in the coming years. From lunar landers to interplanetary explorers: The most ambitious space missions ahead 1. Intuitive Machines IM-3 (PRISM) Launch Date: 2026 by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Destination: Moon Objective: Deliver scientific payloads and rovers to study lunar geology and test technologies for future Artemis missions. Overview: The IM-3 mission is a critical part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, designed to help establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon. It will carry advanced instruments to analyze the lunar surface, including rovers that can traverse and study the terrain. Beyond science, IM-3 will test new landing technologies and autonomous systems that will be essential for future crewed Artemis missions. Success here will build confidence in commercial partnerships supporting lunar exploration. 2. ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) Launch Date: December 2025 Destination: Mars Orbit Objective: Study Mars' plasma environment and magnetic fields to understand atmospheric loss. Overview: ESCAPADE consists of two small satellites, 'Blue' and 'Gold,' orbiting Mars at different altitudes to provide a detailed picture of how solar wind strips away the Martian atmosphere. This process is key to understanding why Mars lost much of its atmosphere and surface water, transforming from a potentially habitable planet to the cold desert we see today. The mission's data will improve models of planetary atmospheres and help assess Mars' past habitability. 3. NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) Launch Date: 2025 Destination: Earth Orbit Objective: Monitor Earth's surface changes with high precision to study natural disasters and environmental shifts. Overview: NISAR is a groundbreaking collaboration between NASA and ISRO, equipped with dual-frequency radar that can penetrate clouds and darkness to provide detailed maps of Earth's surface. It will track land deformation caused by earthquakes and volcanic activity, monitor deforestation, and measure ice sheet dynamics. This mission will provide timely data to improve disaster response and deepen understanding of climate change impacts, making it a vital tool for scientists and policymakers worldwide. 4. Artemis II Launch Date: April 2026 Destination: Lunar Orbit Objective: Conduct the first crewed mission of the Artemis program to test spacecraft systems in lunar orbit. Overview: Artemis II marks NASA's return to crewed lunar missions after decades. Four astronauts will orbit the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched by the powerful Space Launch System (SLS). This 10-day mission will test life support, navigation, and communication systems in the deep space environment, ensuring readiness for the subsequent Artemis III landing mission. Artemis II is a major step toward establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon. 5. Gaganyaan-2 Launch Date: 2025 (Test Flights) Destination: Low Earth Orbit Objective: Validate safety, life support, and avionics systems for India's first crewed spaceflight. Overview: Gaganyaan-2 is part of India's ambitious human spaceflight program. The uncrewed test flights will rigorously evaluate the spacecraft's critical systems, including environmental controls and emergency procedures. These tests are essential to ensure astronaut safety for the planned Gaganyaan-3 mission. Success will place India among the few nations capable of independently sending humans to space, marking a significant milestone in its space capabilities. 6. Dragonfly Launch Date: July 2028 Destination: Titan (Saturn's Moon) Objective: Explore Titan's organic-rich surface and study prebiotic chemistry. Overview: Dragonfly is a unique rotorcraft lander designed to fly across Titan's diverse and complex terrain. Titan's thick atmosphere and organic molecules make it one of the most intriguing places to study prebiotic chemistry and the potential for life beyond Earth. Dragonfly will analyze surface composition, weather patterns, and chemical processes, providing unprecedented insight into how life's building blocks might form in environments vastly different from Earth. 7. Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) Launch Date: September 2026 Destination: Phobos (Mars' Moon) Objective: Explore Mars' moons and return samples from Phobos to Earth. Overview: JAXA's MMX mission aims to solve the mystery of Mars' moons' origins by collecting and returning samples from Phobos. The mission will also conduct detailed observations of Deimos. Understanding whether these moons are captured asteroids or formed from Mars itself will shed light on the history of the Martian system and the early solar system. The sample return is a complex feat that will provide invaluable material for laboratory analysis on Earth. 8. Space Rider Launch Date: 2027 Destination: Low Earth Orbit Objective: Conduct reusable microgravity experiments in orbit. Overview: ESA's Space Rider is a reusable, autonomous spaceplane designed to carry payloads for scientific and technological experiments in microgravity. It will enable longer-duration studies on biological processes, materials science, and plant growth, helping researchers understand how space conditions affect various systems. Its reusability lowers costs and increases access to space for European researchers and industry. 9. SPHEREx Launch Date: April 2025 Destination: Earth Orbit Objective: Conduct an all-sky infrared survey to study galaxy evolution, cosmic inflation, and dark energy. Overview: SPHEREx will map the entire sky in infrared light, providing a treasure trove of data about the universe's structure and history. It will investigate the origins of galaxies, measure cosmic inflation's fingerprints, and explore the mysterious dark energy driving the universe's accelerated expansion. This mission promises to answer fundamental questions about the cosmos with a new level of precision. 10. VERITAS Launch Date: 2028 Destination: Venus Objective: Map Venus' surface geology to understand its tectonics and volcanic history. Overview: VERITAS will produce high-resolution maps of Venus' surface using radar to penetrate its thick clouds. By studying Venus' tectonic activity and volcanic processes, the mission seeks to explain why Venus evolved so differently from Earth despite their similar size and composition. VERITAS will also help assess Venus' potential for past habitability and provide context for comparative planetology. These missions represent the cutting edge of space exploration, combining human spaceflight, robotic explorers, and Earth observation to expand our knowledge of the solar system and our home planet. As they launch and unfold over the next decade, they will inspire new discoveries and redefine humanity's place in the cosmos.
