https://cislunar.news/ 2026-03-25T12:03:25.571Z Infrastructure journalism covering the emerging Earth-Moon economy Cislunar News cislunar-article-gateway-ppe-halo-launch-delayed-2025 2026-03-24T18:07:13.849Z 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z

NASA's Gateway lunar space station faces another major delay, with the launch of its first two modules—the Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost—now pushed to 2027. The setback stems from integration complexities, supply chain issues, and challenges developing humanity's first autonomous deep-space station. This delay cascades through the Artemis program, potentially pushing the first crewed Gateway assembly mission to 2028.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-viper-rover-mission-status-update-2026 2026-03-23T18:00:00.000Z 2026-03-23T00:00:00.000Z

NASA's VIPER rover will spend 100 days exploring the Moon's permanently shadowed craters, where temperatures reach -230°C, to map water ice deposits at the lunar south pole. This SUV-sized rover represents the first ground-truth mission to confirm whether enough water ice exists to support permanent human lunar settlements and future space exploration. UPDATE: In September 2025, NASA awarded Blue Origin a $190M CLPS task order to deliver VIPER aboard the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, targeting a late-2027 lunar south pole landing.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-space-nuclear-power-bottleneck-lunar-infrastructure-2026 2026-03-19T18:07:24.202Z 2026-03-19T00:00:00.000Z

Despite sixty years of nuclear reactor knowledge and mature fission power concepts from companies like Lockheed Martin, the United States has no vacuum-capable test facility for integrated reactor-lander systems, no nuclear payload integration capability at Kennedy Space Center, and no modern demonstration complex for space fission hardware. NASA's Fission Surface Power program is paused pending the White House response to its December 2025 executive order on space nuclear power. Administrator Isaacman promises action by 2028, but the 2030 lunar reactor target requires infrastructure that takes years to build—and construction hasn't started.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-spacex-starship-orbital-refueling-test-2026 2026-03-17T18:11:11.881Z 2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z

SpaceX successfully completed its first orbital propellant transfer test, moving cryogenic liquid oxygen between two connected vehicles in space—a milestone never achieved at scale before. This breakthrough validates the keystone technology for lunar missions, as Starship requires orbital refueling to carry enough fuel for Moon landings. The test demonstrated critical capabilities including fluid management in microgravity and thermal control systems.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lunar-gateway-deep-space-station 2026-03-12T18:11:00.852Z 2026-03-12T00:00:00.000Z

NASA's Lunar Gateway, humanity's first deep space station, will orbit the Moon starting in 2027 as a staging point for lunar missions and Mars exploration technology testing. Built through international partnership, the modular outpost will operate in a unique fuel-efficient orbit between 1,500-70,000 km from the Moon. The project reached a major milestone with the HALO crew module arriving in Arizona for final preparation before launch on SpX Falcon Heavy.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-japan-jaxa-lunar-lander-funding-2026 2026-03-11T18:07:23.719Z 2026-03-11T00:00:00.000Z

Japan has secured government funding to develop an independent reusable lunar lander that can service Gateway missions and deliver cargo to the Moon's surface. Building on the success of January 2024's SLIM precision landing demonstration, the new vehicle will give Japan autonomous lunar access while maintaining its position as a key Artemis program partner. The strategic investment strengthens Japan's space capabilities amid growing competition from China's lunar initiatives.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lunar-propellant-depots-explained 2026-03-10T01:17:13.906Z 2026-03-10T01:17:13.906Z

Propellant depots — fuel storage stations positioned in cislunar space — could transform the economics of lunar missions by letting spacecraft refuel mid-journey rather than launching fully loaded from Earth. This explainer covers the physics driving depot design, the competing orbit location options from LEO to EML-1 to NRHO, the hard technical challenge of storing cryogenic propellants in space for months without losing them to boiloff, and the companies actively developing the technology. The connection to lunar ISRU and the long-term vision of a Moon-sourced propellant economy is also explored.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-china-lunar-base-progress-2026 2026-03-10T22:52:01.960Z 2026-03-10T00:00:00.000Z

China has selected a site for its International Lunar Research Station at the lunar south pole, with construction beginning in 2028 through the Chang'e 8 mission. The surface-based facility, developed with Russia and eight other partner nations, offers an alternative to America's Artemis program and positions China for a crewed lunar landing by 2030. This represents China's methodical progression toward permanent lunar presence following successful sample return missions.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-artemis-accords-explained 2026-03-09T18:14:21.125Z 2026-03-09T00:00:00.000Z

The Artemis Accords establish the first international legal framework for commercial lunar activities, signed by over 50 nations to govern Moon exploration and resource extraction. These voluntary agreements create "safety zones" for exclusive mining rights while requiring peaceful cooperation, emergency assistance, and transparent operations as humanity prepares to return to the Moon.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-nasa-force-talent-initiative-2026 2026-03-09T01:04:55.906Z 2026-03-08T00:00:00.000Z

NASA Force is a term-based hiring initiative that brings private-sector technical talent into the agency for approximately two-year stints. Announced jointly with OPM Director Scott Kupor on March 3, 2026, the program targets aerospace engineers, software developers, and systems integration specialists. It is designed to rebuild technical competencies lost when roughly 4,000 NASA civil servants departed in early 2025, and to staff the accelerated Artemis launch cadence aimed at landing astronauts on the Moon by 2028.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-sls-centaur-5-upper-stage-contract-2026 2026-03-07T01:06:26.163Z 2026-03-07T01:06:25.860Z

NASA has confirmed United Launch Alliance's Centaur 5 as the sole-source upper stage for the Space Launch System starting with Artemis 4, ending Boeing's troubled Exploration Upper Stage program after 12 years and nearly $2.8 billion. The decision, disclosed in contract documents published Friday, trades payload capacity to the Moon for schedule certainty and cost control.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-firefly-blue-ghost-lander-test-2026 2026-03-06T19:07:18.066Z 2026-03-06T00:00:00.000Z

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully completed thermal vacuum testing, moving closer to its mid-2026 mission to deliver NASA payloads to the Moon's Mare Crisium region. The commercial lander represents a new generation of smaller, cost-effective vehicles designed for frequent lunar missions. If successful, Blue Ghost will join the first wave of commercial spacecraft to achieve soft lunar landings.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-senate-nasa-authorization-artemis-march-2026 2026-03-05T01:05:49.770Z 2026-03-05T01:05:49.101Z

The Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously on March 4 to advance a NASA authorization bill that codifies a permanent lunar base directive, extends the ISS to 2032, restructures the Artemis flight manifest, and cancels the Exploration Upper Stage. The same day, NASA confirmed engineers had fixed the helium flow problem that forced an Artemis 2 rollback, keeping an April 2026 launch attempt on schedule.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-ussf-cislunar-domain-awareness-network-2026 2026-03-05T19:05:40.269Z 2026-03-05T00:00:00.000Z

The U.S. Space Force is dramatically expanding its space surveillance capabilities to monitor the vast cislunar region between Earth and the Moon—covering an area 1,000 times larger than current operations. The new Cislunar Domain Awareness Network will use upgraded ground telescopes, space-based sensors, and AI-driven data fusion to track increasing military and civilian traffic in this strategically important domain.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-esa-esprit-module-delivery-schedule-2026 2026-03-04T19:05:41.722Z 2026-03-04T00:00:00.000Z

The European Space Agency's ESPRIT module, designed to provide fuel storage, advanced communications, and a crew observation cupola for NASA's Gateway lunar station, remains on schedule for 2027 delivery. This critical European contribution will enable Gateway's full operational capability as a deep-space refueling hub and communications relay between Earth and lunar surface operations.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-2026-03-02-artemis-overhaul-new-roadmap 2026-03-03T01:06:02.854Z 2026-03-03T01:06:02.305Z

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the Artemis lunar program on February 27, 2026, restructuring Artemis III into an Earth-orbit docking test with commercial landers before any crewed moon landing is attempted. The agency now targets two crewed lunar surface missions in 2028 and aims to sustain a cadence of one flight per year, while the Artemis 2 rocket sits in the VAB recovering from a helium pressurization fault that pushed its launch to no earlier than April 1.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-blue-origin-blue-moon-lander-test-campaign-2026 2026-03-03T19:05:53.578Z 2026-03-03T00:00:00.000Z

Blue Origin has launched an intensive drop test campaign for its Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander, part of the company's $3.4 billion NASA contract to provide an alternative to SpaceX's Starship for Artemis missions. The tests validate critical systems including landing gear performance, hazard detection sensors, and structural integrity before the lander attempts its first Moon landing mission, targeted for commercial service by 2028.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-spacex-moonbase-alpha-pivot-20260301 2026-03-02T01:08:27.564Z 2026-03-02T01:00:00.000Z

Elon Musk announced on February 8, 2026, that SpaceX had already pivoted from Mars to building a Moon city, citing faster iteration speed. The announcement was followed by SpaceX's acquisition of xAI, an FCC filing for a million-satellite orbital data center constellation, and a blueprint for a lunar mass driver that would manufacture and launch AI satellites from the Moon's surface. The move aligns commercial AI demand with the US government's lunar security imperatives in a way that could accelerate cislunar development faster than any previous roadmap.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-spacex-company-profile-cislunar 2026-03-02T19:04:46.105Z 2026-03-02T00:00:00.000Z

SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System represents the most ambitious lunar lander ever contracted by NASA, capable of delivering 100 metric tons to the lunar surface. With contracts for both Artemis III and Artemis IV, SpaceX is positioning Starship as the backbone of America's return to the Moon.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-isru-mining-moon-water-oxygen 2026-03-01T19:06:34.548Z 2026-03-01T19:06:34.548Z

Revolutionary mining technology could transform the Moon into a self-sustaining outpost by extracting water ice from shadowed polar craters and oxygen from lunar soil. With an estimated 600 million metric tons of water ice available and oxygen comprising 43% of lunar regolith, these resources could eliminate the million-dollar-per-kilogram cost of launching materials from Earth for deep space missions.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-artemis-architecture-overhaul-2026-02-28 2026-03-01T01:05:57.861Z 2026-03-01T01:05:57.861Z

NASA has overhauled the entire Artemis lunar program, inserting a new 2027 test mission, cancelling the Block 1B rocket upgrade, and pushing the first lunar landing to 2028. At the same time, teams are working an aggressive three-week schedule to repair the Artemis 2 upper stage and preserve an early April launch window.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-spacex-starship-hls-29-billion-gamble 2026-02-28T19:06:18.316Z 2026-02-28T00:00:00.000Z

NASA's $2.9 billion bet on SpaceX's unproven Starship as the Artemis lunar lander was the largest and most controversial Moon contract in history. Despite technical risks including orbital refueling and autonomous precision landing of the 50-meter vehicle, recent test flights show the ambitious gamble may be paying off as humans prepare to return to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lunar-communications-relay-contract-2026 2026-02-24T19:00:00.000Z 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z

NASA has awarded contracts to three companies to develop lunar communications relay satellite systems that will provide continuous coverage for Artemis missions and robotic operations. The satellites will solve critical communication gaps at the lunar south pole, where terrain blocks direct Earth contact up to 50% of the time, creating safety risks for crews. These commercial relay networks will enable voice, video, navigation services, and emergency communications for sustained lunar operations.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-rocket-lab-company-profile-cislunar 2026-02-18T13:19:15.507Z 2026-02-18T00:00:00.000Z

Rocket Lab has evolved from a small-lift launch startup into a vertically integrated space systems company with proven cislunar capability. Its Photon bus delivered NASA's CAPSTONE to lunar orbit in 2022, and the upcoming Neutron rocket will extend its reach into medium-lift. With $445M in 2025 revenue and profitability, Rocket Lab is a rare profitable player in commercial space.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-welcome-to-cislunar-news 2026-02-16T23:22:30.392Z 2026-02-16T00:00:00.000Z

Cislunar News is a brand new publication from RuneStone Media dedicated to covering the space between Earth and the Moon. As the cislunar economy accelerates with Artemis, Gateway, SpaceX's lunar pivot, and a wave of commercial activity, we're here to be your go-to source for every development.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-spacex-moon-pivot-the-strategic-case-for-lunar-first 2026-02-16T23:54:51.968Z 2026-02-16T00:00:00.000Z

In a dramatic strategic reversal, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX has shifted its primary focus from Mars colonization to building a 'self-growing city' on the Moon. Coming just 13 months after dismissing the Moon as 'a distraction,' the pivot aligns with NASA's Artemis program, a Trump executive order demanding a permanent lunar outpost by 2030, and SpaceX's own acquisition of xAI and plans for orbital data centers — revealing a unified grand strategy that could reshape the entire cislunar economy.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-what-is-cislunar-space 2026-02-16T23:20:49.568Z 2026-02-13T00:00:00.000Z

Cislunar space—the 384,400-kilometer region between Earth and the Moon—is rapidly transforming from an empty frontier into humanity's next industrial zone. This area will soon host fuel depots, manufacturing facilities, research stations, and commercial operations worth tens of billions of dollars. Nations are competing to establish strategic presence in this critical space that will shape geopolitics for generations.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-nasa-ignition-moon-base-2030 2026-03-25T01:08:34.052Z 2026-03-25T01:08:34.052Z

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman presented the agency's Ignition agenda on March 24, 2026, outlining a three-phase plan to build a permanent, continuously crewed U.S. lunar base by 2030. The announcement includes CLPS 2.0 ($6B for 10+ years of lunar payload deliveries), a commercial human lunar transport RFI for high-tempo crew rotation, Lunar Terrain Vehicle contracts with Astrolab/Intuitive Machines/Lunar Outpost, and the suspension of the Lunar Gateway in its current form. NASA also announced the Space Reactor-1 Freedom nuclear spacecraft to Mars by 2028.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-astroscale-company-profile 2026-03-25T01:21:40.985Z 2026-03-24T12:00:00.000Z

Astroscale, founded by Nobu Okada in 2013, has raised over $500 million and gone public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to pursue active debris removal and satellite life extension. With ADRAS-J achieving the world's first approach to uncooperative debris and ELSA-M targeting multi-client constellation deorbit, the company is building the core infrastructure for a sustainable orbital environment.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lunanet-lunar-internet-navigation-explained 2026-03-24T01:19:12.477Z 2026-03-24T01:19:12.477Z

LunaNet is an open interoperability standard developed by NASA, ESA, and JAXA to provide communications relay, positioning/navigation/timing, and space environment monitoring services around the Moon. Using Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking protocols and a planned constellation of relay satellites in frozen elliptical orbits, LunaNet will provide near-continuous coverage of the lunar south pole — solving the fundamental problem that limits today's lunar missions to narrow communication windows with Earth.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-intuitive-machines-company-profile-cislunar 2026-03-22T18:00:00.000Z 2026-03-22T18:00:00.000Z

Intuitive Machines made history in February 2024 when its Odysseus lander became the first American spacecraft to land on the Moon in over 50 years. Despite tipping over on landing, the mission proved the viability of commercial lunar delivery and secured the company's position as a leader in the emerging cislunar economy.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-clps-2026-lunar-missions-roundup 2026-03-22T01:08:07.819Z 2026-03-22T04:00:00.000Z

NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program has four missions targeting the Moon in 2026, including Astrobotic's Griffin at the lunar south pole, Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 2 at the far side Gruithuisen Domes, Intuitive Machines IM-3 at the Reiner Gamma magnetic anomaly, and the Draper-ispace APEX 1.0 mission targeting Schrödinger Basin. Each mission carries science payloads directly supporting Artemis human landing planning, from precision terrain navigation data to far-side relay infrastructure and subsurface heat flow measurements.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-relativity-space-company-profile-cislunar 2026-03-21T18:07:50.692Z 2026-03-21T00:00:00.000Z

Relativity Space has raised $1.335 billion to revolutionize rocket manufacturing through 3D printing. After launching the first 3D-printed rocket (Terran 1) in 2023, the company is developing the heavy-lift, reusable Terran R with $1.2B+ in launch contracts. Its additive manufacturing technology has direct applications for in-space and lunar surface manufacturing.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lockheed-martin-company-profile-cislunar 2026-03-20T18:07:28.891Z 2026-03-20T18:07:28.891Z

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the only spacecraft currently capable of carrying astronauts beyond low Earth orbit. The defense giant also builds the Cislunar Transporter for Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander and is involved in multiple lunar surface system concepts.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-starship-tli-artemis-architecture-shift-march-2026 2026-03-21T01:06:46.894Z 2026-03-20T18:00:00.000Z

NASA internally approved a major Artemis architecture overhaul on March 19, 2026, expanding SpaceX Starship's role from lunar lander to full translunar transport. Starship will now dock with Orion in low Earth orbit and fire the TLI burn to send the crew to the Moon, a job previously assigned to the Boeing Space Launch System's upper stage. SLS is reduced to a low Earth orbit taxi. The first crewed lunar landing is now targeted for early 2028, with a second planned before year's end. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has called an industry summit for March 25 to finalize implementation details with SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-anduril-exoanalytic-cislunar-sda-2026 2026-03-20T01:07:37.277Z 2026-03-20T01:07:37.277Z

Anduril Industries announced it will acquire ExoAnalytic Solutions on March 11, 2026, gaining ownership of over 400 ground-based optical telescopes that form the world's largest commercial space surveillance network. The deal roughly doubles Anduril's space division workforce and is designed to integrate ExoAnalytic's satellite and deep-space tracking data directly into Lattice, Anduril's flagship sensor fusion platform used by the U.S. Space Force. The acquisition arrives as the Pentagon formalizes a cislunar strategy and as increasing spacecraft activity between Earth and the Moon creates demand for persistent, high-fidelity awareness across a vast orbital volume that existing radar systems cannot adequately cover.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-artemis-ii-rollout-pad-march-2026 2026-03-19T01:08:32.546Z 2026-03-19T01:00:00.000Z

The Artemis II SLS/Orion stack began its second rollout to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center on March 19, 2026, targeting an April 1 launch. Crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen entered quarantine the same evening. The 10-day mission will carry the first humans to deep space and the Moon's vicinity since Apollo 17 in December 1972.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-artemis-ii-frr-cleared-april-launch-2026 2026-03-18T18:00:00.000Z 2026-03-18T18:00:00.000Z

NASA cleared Artemis II on March 12 and then replaced an FTS electrical harness that briefly pushed rollout from March 19 to NET March 20. Ground teams recovered and a final rollout decision is expected March 18. The April 1 launch window at 6:24 p.m. EDT remains intact. Updated with full launch window schedule, rollout logistics, trajectory details, and the downstream impact on Artemis III and the new LEO demonstration mission.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-astroport-astrolab-lunar-construction-rovers-2026 2026-03-18T01:09:48.862Z 2026-03-18T02:00:00.000Z

Astroport Space Technologies and Venturi Astrolab successfully demonstrated a robotic excavator attachment for the FLEX rover in March 2026, marking a key milestone in autonomous lunar construction. The partnership is developing an interchangeable toolkit of excavators, graders, and sievers to build landing pads, roads, and nuclear reactor foundations using the Moon's own regolith, with a 2030 presidential deadline driving an accelerated timeline.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-ispace-company-profile 2026-03-18T01:28:17.771Z 2026-03-18T00:00:00.000Z

ispace Inc. is Japan's leading commercial lunar transportation company, founded in 2010 by Takeshi Hakamada from the Google Lunar X Prize competition. The company has launched two HAKUTO-R landers, in 2022 and 2025, with both failing at the terminal descent phase. Despite the setbacks, ispace continues developing Mission 3 for 2026, backed by NASA CLPS partnerships through Draper Laboratory and a three-continent global presence. The company's long-term vision centers on using lunar water ice as propellant to power a cislunar economy by 2040.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lunar-south-pole-explained 2026-03-17T01:16:30.567Z 2026-03-17T01:16:30.567Z

The Moon's extremely low axial tilt of 1.54 degrees creates permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) in south polar craters where temperatures drop to 40 K and water ice has accumulated over billions of years. Shackleton Crater, at 21 km wide and centered exactly at 90°S, has an interior that is a permanent cold trap while its rim receives over 90% annual sunlight. NASA's LCROSS mission confirmed water ice in 2009, and estimates suggest 2-18 wt% H2O in PSR deposits. This water ice can be electrolyzed into hydrogen and oxygen rocket propellant, making the south pole a potential fuel depot for the entire solar system. NASA's Artemis III targets a 2028 crewed south pole landing, while China's Chang'e-7 launches in 2026 with a hopper probe to scout PSR ice, and China's ILRS program aims for a permanent crewed base by 2035.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-pwc-127b-lunar-economy-energy-infrastructure-2026 2026-03-16T01:08:40.627Z 2026-03-16T00:00:00.000Z

PwC's 2026 Lunar Market Assessment projects the global lunar economy could generate $127.3 billion in annual revenues by 2050, driven by five foundational pillars: mobility, communications, habitation, energy, and water. The report names energy as the primary bottleneck, since the 14-day lunar night makes solar power insufficient for sustained operations and nuclear power is the only scalable solution. NASA's concurrent Civil Space Shortfalls report independently identifies the same gaps, mapping 32 technology categories that must advance before a self-sustaining lunar economy is achievable.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-nasa-oig-hls-safety-report-march-2026 2026-03-14T01:06:51.468Z 2026-03-14T01:06:51.468Z

NASA's OIG audit IG-26-004, released March 10, 2026, examines the B Human Landing System program and finds schedule delays of roughly one year for both SpaceX Starship HLS and Blue Origin Blue Moon, gaps in crew survival planning including an unresolved elevator backup scenario for Starship, and no agency capability to rescue stranded crew from the lunar surface or NRHO. NASA concurred with all five OIG recommendations targeting mid-2026 implementation.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-blue-origin-company-profile-cislunar 2026-03-14T18:07:53.373Z 2026-03-14T00:00:00.000Z

Blue Origin won NASA's Sustaining Lunar Development contract in May 2023 to build the Blue Moon Mark 2 lander for Artemis V. With a national team including Lockheed Martin, Draper, and Boeing, Blue Origin is developing a hydrogen-fueled reusable lander capable of supporting 30-day lunar surface stays.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-firefly-aerospace-company-profile-cislunar 2026-03-13T18:06:03.957Z 2026-03-13T18:06:03.957Z

Firefly Aerospace rose from the ashes of bankruptcy to become a NASA CLPS provider with its Blue Ghost lunar lander. The Cedar Park, Texas company combines small-lift launch vehicles with lunar landing capabilities, making it one of the most versatile new space companies in the cislunar ecosystem.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-lunar-moon-base-2030-expandable-habitats 2026-03-13T01:09:07.099Z 2026-03-13T02:00:00.000Z

A White House executive order, a Senate authorization bill with explicit moon base language, and a new Voyager Technologies investment in Max Space's expandable habitat technology have aligned the U.S. lunar program around a 2030 permanent base deadline. The article examines site candidates (Shackleton Crater rim, Mons Mouton), the technology behind expandable habitats, and the four key capability gaps that stand between Artemis and sustained lunar presence.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-rocket-lab-company-profile 2026-03-11T01:21:56.000Z 2026-03-11T01:21:56.000Z

Rocket Lab was founded in Auckland in 2006 by Peter Beck and became the first private Southern Hemisphere company to reach space in 2009. The company's Electron rocket has since completed more than 75 orbital missions, making it the world's most prolific small-lift launch provider. Through five acquisitions between 2020 and 2025, Rocket Lab expanded into spacecraft systems and components, posting $445 million in revenue and its first profitable year in 2025. Its Neutron medium-lift rocket, currently in development, targets the constellation deployment market and positions the company as a direct competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-china-cz10a-mengzhou-booster-2026 2026-03-10T01:06:47.350Z 2026-03-10T04:00:00.000Z

China's Mengzhou crew capsule passed its in-flight abort test at maximum dynamic pressure on February 11, 2026, splashing down in the South China Sea and marking the capsule's third major milestone. The same flight demonstrated controlled sea recovery of the CZ-10A prototype booster. Now additional endurance tests are underway for Mengzhou, while the Linghangzhe catch ship prepares for a first cable-catch booster recovery attempt.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-starship-flight-12-preflight-march-2026 2026-03-08T01:04:50.922Z 2026-03-08T01:04:50.922Z

SpaceX's Ship 39 rolled to Starbase's Massey's test facility this week, placing Starship Flight 12 on a near-term launch schedule. The flight is expected to attempt the first full orbital insertion of a Starship upper stage and push orbital propellant transfer testing forward, both critical milestones for certifying the Starship HLS variant that will carry NASA astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis program. With Artemis IV's 2028 crewed lunar landing target in view, Flight 12's outcome will directly shape whether that date remains achievable.

Cislunar News cislunar-article-artemis-ii-rollback-icps-helium-2026 2026-03-07T19:04:45.375Z 2026-03-07T19:00:00.000Z

NASA's Artemis II mission has been dealt a significant setback after engineers discovered an interruption in helium flow within the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), the upper stage responsible for the trans-lunar injection burn that would send the crew toward the Moon. The fault, which also appeared during Artemis I in 2022, cannot be repaired at the launch pad and requires the full SLS stack to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The March 6 to 11 launch window is closed; the next opportunity opens April 1.

Cislunar News