NASA is entering the tightest stretch yet before its first crewed lunar voyage of the Artemis era, with Artemis 2 now poised to fly astronauts around the moon roughly one month from now if final tests hold.

Advocates for space science research are concerned about job losses and cuts to funding at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

SLS and the Orion spacecraft are fully stacked together inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center. Once final tests are complete, the launch vehicle will be rolled out onto the pad at Launch Complex-39A, which should take about 10 hours.

WASHINGTON, DC—This week, NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, said he has “full confidence” in the space agency’s plans to use the existing heat shield to protect the Orion spacecraft during its upcoming lunar mission.

NASA's Artemis II mission, set to launch on Feb. 6, will send four astronauts farther from Earth than any human has traveled in decades

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville objected to a resolution condemning the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol during the certification of Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election, reports AL.com’s Patrick Darrington.

NASA’s Artemis II mission is fast approaching, with the launch window set to open in early February. The US space agency is now preparing its Space Launch System (SLS) for its second-ever launch, after Artemis I in November 2022. A new image shows special decal work on the launch vehicle’s solid rocket boosters.