HUMANS IN SPACE

HUMANS IN SPACE NEWS

HUMANS IN SPACE NEWS

NASA’s Moon Base User’s Guide

NASA has released its Moon Base plans, a very, very ambitious three-part program comprising 81 launches, 73 lunar landings, and the delivery of 214,000 kg of payload to the lunar surface. Quoting from the User’s Guide: “NASA is embarking on the most ambitious space project in recent history: building a Moon Base. Located in the lunar South Pole region, this long-term effort will strengthen American leadership in space, usher in scientific discoveries, and serve as the proving ground for crewed Mars missions — and NASA will not undertake this endeavor alone. This program will be built alongside our commercial innovators and international partners, whose contributions will be essential to achieving an enduring presence on the lunar surface.” For more on this remarkable development, see: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/moon-base-architecture-users-guide.pdf.

China is Looking to Duplicate Artemis II’s feat in 2027

“On the heels of NASA's Artemis II mission, China is likely to send taikonauts on a mission around the Moon in 2027, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says.

“China has not officially announced a crewed mission around the Moon but has spoken of landing taikonauts on its surface by 2030. NASA is aiming to land astronauts near the lunar South Pole in early 2028 as part of the Artemis IV mission.

“China and the U.S. are in a race to land on the lunar surface and establish a Moon base, Isaacman said here in Washington at the AIAA ASCEND 2026 space conference.

“’The next time the world tunes in to watch astronauts fly around the Moon, which will be likely sometime in 2027, they will be taikonauts, and America will no longer be the exclusive power to send humans into the lunar environment,” he says.”

For more on this topic, see: https://aviationweek.com/space/space-exploration/nasa-china-likely-send-crewed-mission-around-moon-2027.

NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture

In addition to NASA’s push for a lunar base, NASA is also working on plans to use the Moon as a springboard to sending astronauts to Mars. Find out more about the Moon to Mars Architecture here: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-architecture-update-for-publication.pdf?emrc=69c95fac8735e. These are exciting times, indeed!

HUMANS IN SPACE FYI

Robots and Lava Tubes

Any human presence on the lunar surface will have to contend with very harsh temperature swings, (micro) meteor impacts, and radiation exposure. One protection strategy formerly confined to the realm of science fiction would be to utilize nature-made shelters, lava tubes. However, if you have ever explored terrestrial lava tubes, like those at northern California’s Lava Beds National Monument, you know that exploring them can be strenuous and difficult. “To tackle these challenges, a European research consortium that includes the Space Robotics Laboratory at the University of Malaga has developed a new mission concept focused on exploring lava tunnels. The work was recently published in the journal Science Robotics. The concept centers on three different types of robots that can work together autonomously to explore and map these harsh underground spaces.” For more information on this interesting project, see: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260201231259.htm.

Space Debris Follow-Ups

A previous Item of the Week about Arthur C. Clarke and Geosynchronous Orbits, had a section about the growing danger of Space Debris. Famed Space author, Leonard David, has a new space.com piece on the debris topic that may be of interest to you. See: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/space-debris-led-to-an-orbital-emergency-in-2025-will-anything-change.

I ran across another orbital debris-related piece, this one in the Cardinal News, in Virginia. It’s by Jack Kennedy (not the senator from Louisiana), whose background includes graduation from the University of North Dakota’s Space Studies program, a former employer of mine. His piece is entitled, “The next Nobel: Why the U.S. must lead space diplomacy.” You can find it here: https://cardinalnews.org/2025/09/03/the-next-nobel-why-the-u-s-must-lead-space-diplomacy.

A similar interesting piece, by Tanner Stening, can be found on the Northeast Global News page, here: https://news.northeastern.edu/2025/03/11/space-leadership-united-states.

But Wait, There’s More info on mitigating the problem of space debris! It involves “a circular space economy, a model in which materials and equipment are created with reuse, repair, and recycling in mind. They also note that industries such as personal electronics and automotive manufacturing have already adopted similar ideas with considerable success.” See more about it at: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251203010211.htm.

Find Out More About Science on the ISS: Check out “Upward,” the “Official Magazine of the ISS National Lab,” here: https://www.issnationallab.org. It’s put out by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, in partnership with NASA. It has a lot of information about the ISS, including a really good education page.

Spudnik 1: Eat Your Heart Out, Mark Watney

Astronauts have precious little down time on the ISS, but astronaut Don Pettit found a way to relax that is whimsically significant. Watney famously turned to potato farming to survive in the feature film, The Martian, but Pettit did him one better. He actually did grow a potato on the ISS during his stint there ending a year ago. He successfully sprouted a purple potato in a plastic “containment” bag. The poor spud was a bit confused by free-fall conditions, and tried to grow roots and stems willy-nilly. For more information on Pettit’s Space Spud, see: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/the-martian-becomes-real-life-meet-spudnik-the-space-potato.

Why Go to Space? See how NASA answers here: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/why-go-to-space.

National Air and Space Museum On-line Exhibition on Human Spaceflight: Check out the UHC’s spaceflight artifacts at: https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/human-spaceflight!

Have You Ever Wondered about Living in Space? There’s a lot to consider when planning any long-term mission, but especially so when you are going to be in a totally hostile, resource-less environment! A number of issues arise, among them: how your body responds to long-term free-fall; how you would eat in Space, or even grow some of your own food; and more. You can find out much more about these topics at: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/living-in-space.

HUMANS IN SPACE LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION

See the latest from NASA at: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/humans-in-space

See NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate’s website: https://www.nasa.gov/exploration-systems-development-mission-directorate.

See NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate’s website: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/space-operations.

Pre-Apollo, from NASM: https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/apollo-to-the-moon/online/early-steps/humans-in-space.cfm

Who’s in Space NOW? See: https://www.worldspaceflight.com/bios/currentlyinspace.php

Space Travel’s Effect on the Human Body: https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace and https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happens-human-body-space-180958259

From Arizona State University: https://askanearthspacescientist.asu.edu/explore/humans-in-space. ATTENTION TEACHERS: Be sure to check out the “Teacher’s Toolbox” on this website.