NASA's Artemis initiative for human lunar exploration could see its inaugural crewed flight launch soon, potentially as early as April 1, while the organization shifts priorities for sustaining a presence on the moon. The agency has unveiled significant adjustments to its lunar landing strategy for the years ahead, notably suspending the development of the Gateway orbital outpost. Further details on this revised lunar strategy and other noteworthy scientific developments from the past week follow below.
Following recent revisions to the Artemis framework just weeks ago, NASA has introduced further modifications to its efforts aimed at returning humans to the lunar surface. In a key development, the agency is discontinuing the Gateway initiative, envisioned as the inaugural lunar-orbiting space station through an international partnership. This outpost was designed to facilitate both surface explorations and ventures into deeper space. Signs of its potential cancellation emerged last May in budget proposals from the Trump administration, which targeted Gateway for elimination. Now, NASA has formally placed it on hold, redirecting resources toward a $20 billion surface base on the moon.
"NASA remains dedicated to accomplishing extraordinary feats, including a return to the moon by the conclusion of President Trump’s tenure, the construction of a lunar outpost, the creation of a lasting human foothold, and the steps required to secure U.S. dominance in space," stated NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman during the agency's Ignition event on Tuesday.
NASA outlines the lunar base strategy in three stages: initially deploying rovers and scientific tools via the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) using private contractors; then developing partially habitable facilities on the surface with astronaut involvement and partnerships from other space entities; and ultimately installing robust structures for extended habitation, incorporating the Italian Space Agency's Multi-purpose Habitats and the Canadian Space Agency's Lunar Utility Vehicle. The plan targets regular crewed lunar missions every six months starting after the Artemis V flight, scheduled for 2028.
A new paper in The Astronomical Journal reports the initial documented instance of a comet undergoing a reversal in its rotational direction. Data collected at intervals during 2017 revealed that comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák began slowing its rotation after a near-solar encounter, only to accelerate again by year's end. Utilizing NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, measurements in May 2017 indicated a rotation cycle of 46 to 60 hours, whereas subsequent Hubble Space Telescope observations detected a period of only 14 hours, per NASA. Scientists attribute this to solar heat triggering the sublimation of the comet's ice, which expelled gases asymmetrically from its body.
"Gas jets erupting from the surface function similarly to miniature rockets," explained lead researcher David Jewitt from the University of California, Los Angeles, in a press release. "When these jets are not uniformly placed, they can significantly alter the spin of a comet, particularly a compact one." Jewitt likened the effect to applying force against a spinning playground carousel to decelerate and invert its motion.
Originating from the Kuiper Belt, comet 41P orbits the inner solar system every 5.4 years. Its nucleus measures roughly 0.6 miles across, and recent analysis shows declining activity, suggesting surface alterations. Although it has followed this path for approximately 1,500 years, it now seems to be undergoing swift changes, with the rotational shifts potentially leading to structural disruptions and signaling its impending breakup. "This core is likely to disintegrate in the near future," Jewitt predicted.
This week, NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency shared captivating visuals of Saturn, offering enhanced views of the gas giant's dynamic atmospheric features. Captured in 2024 by the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope, the photos highlight tempests, layered cloud formations, the planet's distinctive ribbon-like jet stream, and various other phenomena.