Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a pre-launch test. Blue Origin said all personnel are safe and accounted for following the “anomaly.” Although the company’s launchpad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center was severely damaged, Blue Origin says the New Glenn rocket will launch again before the end of the year. Planetary Society Science Editor Asa Stahl explains what this could mean for lunar exploration. Image credit: Blue Origin.
NASA’s MAVEN mission is over. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter has been studying the Martian atmosphere for more than 11 years, a decade longer than its primary, one-year mission. NASA lost contact with the spacecraft on Dec. 6, 2025, and recently determined that the mission was not recoverable.
NASA plans to announce the Artemis III crew on June 9. Scheduled to launch in mid-2027, Artemis III will send a four-person crew to test docking operations in Earth orbit ahead of a Moon landing on Artemis IV. The announcement will stream on NASA+ and on the agency’s YouTube channel.