As humans prepare to build long-term bases on theMoon and eventually onMars, most attention naturally focuses on rockets, habitats, and life-support systems. Yet some of the most valuable partners in creating sustainable worlds beyond Earth may be among the smallest creatures we know: insects. Though they cannot play any ecological role aboard the International Space Station, they may become essential to agriculture and recycling in future off-world settlements.

• Exploration
• Moon
• Tom Mueller
• Impulse Space

SpaceX Employee No. 1 wants to take his company to the Moon… not Mars

Seth KurkowskiOct 15 2025 - 12:30 pm PT

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Tom Mueller, SpaceX Employee Number 1 and founder/CEO of Impulse Space, laid out his plan to bring reliable and multi-ton landing capabilities to the Moon. This would differ from his former employer’s mission of focusing on Mars and viewing the Moon only as a distraction.

The race to return humans to theMoon is not just about planting a flag. At stake is something less visible but far more consequential: who sets the rules, builds the infrastructure, and defines the operating playbook for the next era of space exploration. And the answer could ripple far beyond the Moon, shaping how – and how soon – humans reach Mars. 

Austin, Texas’ ICON is quietly transforming how humanity builds – on Earth and beyond. The construction technology company, known for its innovative 3D‑printed homes, has begun applying its expertise to space. Its advanced robotic systems and signature material, Lavacrete, are being adapted to construct off‑world habitats and infrastructure using local planetary materials.

iSpace will soon be making its next lunar landing attempt after itsHakuto-R lander took the long way to arrive at the Moon. The lander completed a major milestone this week by entering the Moon’s orbit after a long, multi-month trip.

Boosters, stacked. Core Stage, stacked. Launch Vehicle Stage Adaptor, stacked. NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team has now stacked Artemis 2’s upper stage. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is SLS’s second stage. It will carry Artemis 2’s crew into high Earth orbit. Once finished, the stage will be jettisoned and used for a docking test with Orion. After this, Orion will fire its AJ-10 rocket engine. Sending it on a journey around the moon and back to Earth. The mission is presently set for February 2026.

Apple TV’sFor All Mankind original series portrayed an alternative timeline of our own: what if the Soviets made it to theMoon first? That simple question, with storytelling rooted in actual science, was supposed to have fun at a time that could have been, but might have actually precluded a real-world reality.

Last week,Jared Isaacman sat in front of his first Congressional hearing in what is expected to be his new career asNASA Administrator. On Wednesday, Isaacman sat in front of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for his confirmation hearing, answering any questions the Senators wished before they voted on giving him the job or not. Here are five things we could expect from potential Administrator Isaacman if he is confirmed.

The Artemis Program political drama continues asJared Isaacman, nominee forNASA Administrator, shares his support for returning to theMoon to build up the capabilities to get toMars. This sounds very similar to NASA’s already-established Moon-to-Mars program, which has been the main talking point over the last eight years when asked about going to Mars. However, this goes against what has been publicly stated about the direction of the nation’s space program.

Early Friday morning, if you were brave enough to stay up late or wake up early to see it, theMoon passed through Earth’s shadow, turning the surface a reddish-orange tint. This is known as a lunar eclipse or “blood moon.” These happen about as often as solar eclipses but can cover much larger parts of the Earth, so when is the next one?

In case you’re going to be up late tonight, you might want to take a chance to look up at theMoon as it will be turning colors, to red! Tonight will be a rare moment to witness a total lunar eclipse. While not as rare as a solar eclipse, it is still not something you see often.

TheEuropean Space Agency has officially entered the lunar exploration race with the development of Argonaut, a next-generation lunar lander designed to transport cargo, scientific instruments, and technology to theMoon. This marks a major milestone in Europe’s space ambitions and its role in international lunar exploration efforts. 

Last month, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocketlaunched a small commercial lunar lander toward the Moon. Among its payloads is a retroreflector designed to enable precise measurements of the distance to Earth’s nearest celestial body while also testing Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

Early Wednesday morning,SpaceX launched two commercial lunar landers on a singleFalcon 9 rocket from Florida. Both landers will now coast their way to theMoon over the next month or more, with hopefully one taking the crown for the first soft landing on the Moon.

As we wind down launches for 2024, we’re looking at what is to come in 2025. January looks to be a rather exciting time if you’re aMoon fan, as three companies will be starting their journey for their shot to land on the Moon, hopefully softly.

Lunar Outpost, established in 2017 and headquartered in Arvada, Colorado, specializes in space robotics, lunar surface mobility, and space resources. The company is developing a range of advanced robotic systems, including the Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) rover series, designed for exploration and resource utilization on the Moon, as well as terrestrial applications.

• Artemis
• Moon
• ILRS
• UN

Space Renaissance International urges U.N. Flag on the Moon

Space Explored StaffDec 2 2024 - 10:33 am PT

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This is a press released shared to Space Explored but written by the company/agency in question, not the Space Explored team. It has been slightly edited for better reading.

Hong Kong – Adriano V. Autino, CEO and Founder of Space Renaissance International (SRI), announced a bold initiative at the Aerospace Innovation Research Summit (AIR Summit) organized by the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and “OASA”. He urged theArtemis and International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) coalitions to plant a United Nations flag on the Moon alongside their respective national flags. This gesture would signify a united human presence as our species returns to the Earth’s natural satellite after more than 50 years since theApollo missions. This emblematic act underscores that the Moon, and space in general, is the common heritage of all humankind, not any one nation.

• Artemis
• NASA
• Moon
• Firefly
• CLPS

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 1 to the Moon Readies for Launch

Space Explored StaffNov 29 2024 - 7:13 pm PT

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This is a press released shared to Space Explored but written by the company/agency in question, not the Space Explored team. It has been slightly edited for better reading.

CEDAR PARK, Texas, Nov. 25, 2024 – Firefly Aerospace, the leader in end-to-end responsive space services, today announced it successfully completed environmental testing on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander ahead of its first mission to the Moon supporting NASA’sCommercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Firefly is now preparing to ship the lander to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in mid-December for launch on a SpaceXFalcon 9 rocket during a six-day window that opens no earlier than mid-January 2025.

This week, a significant event is unfolding as leading figures in space architecturegather in Milan. The aim is to formally establish space architecture as a discipline. Interest in space-related architecture has been growing rapidly in recent years, as developments in off-Earth construction methods, zero-gravity design, and academic programs dedicated to this field have gained traction. 

Researchers Lorenzo Bruzzone and Leonardo Carrer, from the University of Trento in Italy, haveidentified evidence of a significant lunar cave by reanalyzing data from advanced radar technology collected more than a decade ago. Located in Mare Tranquillitatis, the region of theApollo 11 landing, this discovery reveals critical insights into theMoon‘s subsurface structure. 

Announced late Friday evening here in the US, the dearMoon mission to launch a team of artists and athletes around the Moon is no more. Its creator canceled the mission due to no near-term schedule certainty.