NASA is shooting for the moon. A guide to the Artemis II mission
It's humanity's first flight to the moon since 1972.
Space Exploration
Mar 31, 2026
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Page 2: Research news on Astrodynamics
Astrodynamics is the research area concerned with the modeling, analysis, and control of the motion of natural and artificial bodies in space under the influence of gravitational and non-gravitational forces. It encompasses orbital mechanics, trajectory design and optimization, mission analysis, attitude–orbit coupling, and perturbation theory for multi-body environments. The field integrates celestial mechanics, numerical methods, optimal control, and spacecraft propulsion modeling to enable precise prediction and adjustment of trajectories for applications such as orbit insertion, station-keeping, interplanetary transfers, formation flying, and proximity operations, often requiring high-fidelity dynamical models and robust estimation techniques for navigation and guidance.
NASA begins the countdown for humanity's first launch to the moon in 53 years
NASA began the countdown Monday for humanity's first launch to the moon in 53 years.
Space Exploration
Mar 31, 2026
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84
Hera aces a massive engine burn on its way to Didymos
In September 2022, humanity crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid—on purpose. The objective of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was to see if we could intentionally modify the orbit of Dimorphos, the small moonlet ...
Space Exploration
Mar 30, 2026
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Apollo vs. Artemis: What to know about NASA's return to the moon
NASA's Apollo moonshots are a tough act to follow, even after all this time.
Space Exploration
Mar 30, 2026
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NASA's Artemis II mission will take an astronaut crew around the Moon: The long road to launch
NASA is once again shooting for the moon, for the first time since the 1970s. As soon as April 2026, NASA will launch its Artemis II mission, using the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket to send a crewed spacecraft, called ...
Space Exploration
Mar 26, 2026
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187
Limiting space junk's threat by predicting its mess in the Earth-moon neighborhood
Debris from moonbound spacecraft has left craters on the lunar surface since the U.S. Apollo missions. But the moon is not used to being surrounded by debris. With an expected resurgence in lunar missions in the coming years, ...
Space Exploration
Mar 26, 2026
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22
Artemis 2 Moon mission: a primer
NASA's Artemis 2 lunar mission is set to be the first crewed flyby of the moon in more than half a century, and could launch as soon as April 1.
Space Exploration
Mar 25, 2026
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NASA's DART test for planetary defense proved it can shift an asteroid's solar orbit
Four years ago, NASA purposely smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid to see if they could deflect it—a test to prove humanity could protect Earth from threatening space rocks.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 7, 2026
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How to weigh a killer asteroid at 22 kilometers per second
Estimating a mass for a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) is perhaps the single most important thing to understand about it, after its trajectory. Actually doing so isn't easy though, as the mass for objects in the tens ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 2, 2026
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25
SpaceX launch to feature rare booster landing in Bahamas
It will be business as usual for SpaceX when it tries to send up a rocket from the Space Coast Thursday night, but not so much for when the rocket comes back down.
Space Exploration
Feb 20, 2026
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