Nasa on Ask Sendai

NASA Awards Contracts for Mars Advanced Surface Mobility Technology

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:45:13 +0000

NASA has selected seven companies for contract awards under the Mars Exploration Program’s Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration, or STRIDE, initiative to advance next-generation commercial robotic surface mobility for future Mars exploration. The STRIDE awards will support the development of innovative robotic mobility systems that may enable future Mars missions to access more challenging terrain, travel greater distances, and investigate scientifically valuable regions that are difficult to reach with current mobility systems.

Astrobotic, Firefly, Intuitive Machines win more NASA moon lander missions

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 21:54:27 +0000

Photo by Smithsonian on Unsplash

The contracts are part ⁠of a "phase one" effort by NASA chief Jared Isaacman to quickly send more robotic missions to the lunar surface as the agency races with China to establish a long-term presence on the moon involving more difficult endeavors, such as landing humans there and building a moon base. "Phase one, getting reliably to the surface — this is core part of that," NASA's moon base chief Carlos García-Galán said on Tuesday during a talk with Isaacman hosted by the space agency.

NASA Awards More Moon Base Science, Previews New Opportunities

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:06:05 +0000

NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three companies to land four new missions on the Moon in late 2028 as part of the agency’s Moon Base Program. Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines will deliver NASA science payloads to the lunar surface as the agency builds the first outpost on another celestial world.

Source: nasa.gov

ISS National Lab drives breakthrough technology in orbit

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 21:08:28 +0000

Photo by Norbert Kowalczyk on Unsplash

Low Earth orbit, extending up to 2,000 kilometers above Earth’s surface, remains one of the most dynamic frontiers for applied research. At roughly 250 miles altitude, the International Space Station operates as both a scientific outpost and a proving ground for technologies that can reshape industries on Earth. Leveraging microgravity, exposure to extreme environmental conditions, and an unparalleled vantage point, the ISS National Laboratory sponsors projects that address complex engineering and scientific challenges while accelerating commercial innovation.

NASA prepares to launch daring rescue to save aging telescope from falling to Earth

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 20:08:27 +0000

NASA hired startup Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe's biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in the Pacific's Marshall Islands aboard an airplane-launched Pegasus rocket. Liftoff could occur as early as Tuesday.

NASA extends its commercial partnerships to Mars

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 19:08:24 +0000

Photo by Javier Miranda on Unsplash

Recently, NASA extended the idea of private-public partnerships to Mars. The space agency has struck a deal with Relativity Space to send an orbital probe to the Red Planet, with a launch date no earlier than 2028. The probe is named Aeolus, named after the divine keeper of the winds in Greek mythology. In keeping with that name, NASA is providing four instruments for the probe that will send “the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds.” The understanding derived about weather on Mars will be of great help to future crewed missions.

NASA OIG Does Cleanup On All The Artemis Changes

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 09:59:20 +0000

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Keith’s note: NASA OIG just issued an interim memo NASA’s Management of Programs and Projects after Mission Termination—Canceled or Repurposed Artemis Campaign Systems. No formal findings / recommendations since the Ignition and other efforts to rescope the Artemis Program have changed everything around.

Source: nasawatch.com

NASA Faces Impending Decisions for Replacing International Space Station with Commercial Stations

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 08:59:19 +0000

Photo by Martin Banov on Unsplash

NASA is working with 6 commercial companies on developing space stations that NASA and other customers could use in low-Earth orbit. NASA needs to decide by next year whether a commercial station will be ready to replace the ISS before its planned retirement in 2030, or whether it should make other plans like extending the ISS's life.

NASA’s Plans for Replacing the Aging International Space Station

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 01:16:31 +0000

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

When your car gets old, you may face the decision of whether to spend money repairing it or replacing it. NASA is facing a similar dilemma with the aging International Space Station. Within the next year, NASA must choose whether to make repairs and updates that would extend the life of the Space Station or to replace it with a commercial outpost.

NASA's canceled Artemis hardware contracts reached $5.9 billion, audit finds

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 21:48:29 +0000

NASA announced a major shakeup to its Artemis plans earlier this year at its "Ignition Day" event, restructuring its mission goals in order to streamline the return of astronauts to the lunar surface and simplify the architecture needed to get them there. Most notably, the program's first crewed moon landing was shifted from Artemis 3 to Artemis 4, and upgraded variations of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket were abandoned for a single uniform design. The Gateway space station planned for lunar orbit was also canceled in favor of a stronger focus on establishing a base on the moon's surface.

NASA Rover Finds Most Complex Organic Chemistry Ever Detected on Mars. But Can It Reveal Whether Life Ever Existed There?

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 16:30:44 +0000

NASA’s Perseverance rover has reported the most robust organic chemistry detection yet inside Mars’s Jezero Crater, adding another layer to what is becoming one of the most scientifically compelling sample collections ever assembled on another world.

Source: zmescience.com

NASA's aging infrastructure can't handle Artemis launches without $1 billion in upgrades, watchdog warns

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:10:00 +0000

A new report from NASA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) warns that launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia are approaching capacity as demand accelerates across the agency and the private sector. Support infrastructure — such as roads, electricity, and gas and fuel pipelines that laid the foundation for KSC's network of launch pads built to support the Apollo program in the 1960s — are being increasingly stretched by the demands of NASA's Artemis missions, SpaceX, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and other users.

13 years and $500 million for a stage adapter? Report justifies NASA cancellations.

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 18:58:50 +0000

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

Three months ago, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the space agency was making a major pivot from building a space station in lunar orbit to a base on the surface. This “Ignition” event followed an earlier announcement in which NASA also said it was ending development of a new upper stage for its Space Launch System rocket.

A space telescope is falling out of space. This is NASA's daring plan to save it.

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:50:27 +0000

Photo by Luiz Rogério Nunes on Unsplash

NASA's Swift space observatory is falling out of orbit. A commercial company just built a spacecraft in 9 months to save it, but will the daring mission work?

Source: space.com

NASA’s Experimental Fabrication Branch Fuels Aircraft Innovation

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:50:27 +0000

At NASA, innovation begins well before an aircraft takes flight. The Experimental Fabrication Branch at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, transforms engineering concepts into mission‑ready hardware for research aircraft and technology development. This capability helps the agency deliver advancements that benefit the public by improving aviation safety, efficiency, and sustainability.

Source: nasa.gov