Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this week's Editors' Picks, senior space editor Irene Klotz discusses sweeping changes made by NASA to its Artemis exploration initiative, which aims to return humans to the surface of the moon.
The changes unveiled repurpose hardware and partner contributions from the previously planned lunar-orbiting Gateway outpost to a base on the Moon.
Artemis II, the first crewed flight test of the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft, is being prepared for a launch attempt as early as April 1.
NASA envisions building the Moon base in three phases over the next 10 years, with each phase costing about $10 billion. The buildup includes increasingly more capable lunar surface and orbital assets requiring 24 launches between 2026-28; 26 launches between 2029-32; and 28 launches between 2033-36.
For this article and much more, subscribe to the magazine here: sub.aviationweek.com/aviation-week-space-technology-auto-subscribe?p=W5EPICKS
In this week's Editors' Picks, senior space editor Irene Klotz discusses sweeping changes made by NASA to its Artemis exploration initiative, which aims to return humans to the surface of the moon.
The changes unveiled repurpose hardware and partner contributions from the previously planned lunar-orbiting Gateway outpost to a base on the Moon.
Artemis II, the first crewed flight test of the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft, is being prepared for a launch attempt as early as April 1.
NASA envisions building the Moon base in three phases over the next 10 years, with each phase costing about $10 billion. The buildup includes increasingly more capable lunar surface and orbital assets requiring 24 launches between 2026-28; 26 launches between 2029-32; and 28 launches between 2033-36.
For this article and much more, subscribe to the magazine here: sub.aviationweek.com/aviation-week-space-technology-auto-subscribe?p=W5EPICKS
