Moon

SpaceX is aiming to carry out the first orbital flight test of its Starship rocket, the most powerful launch vehicle ever built. The attempt is a major milestone in the company's effort to develop a fully reusable spacecraft for missions to the Moon and Mars. Space watchers are closely tracking launch preparations and awaiting confirmation of a liftoff date.

NASA has announced a roughly $20 billion strategy to establish a long-term base on the Moon. The plan, reported by ABC News, outlines how the agency intends to build sustained human presence on the lunar surface as part of its broader Artemis-era exploration goals. The announcement is drawing attention for its scale and cost, with observers weighing what the moon base would mean for future deep-space missions and the budget priorities that would fund it.

SpaceX is preparing for the next flight of its Starship rocket, a mission the company says could make history. The launch is being streamed live, with coverage from outlets including USA Today. Starship is central to SpaceX's plans for deep space travel, and each test flight draws wide attention as the company works toward orbit and eventual missions to the Moon and Mars.

Chinese AI startup Moonshot is reportedly seeking access to additional Nvidia Blackwell chips, according to a report circulating this week. The news comes just a week after a Trump administration official flagged an export control breach involving Nvidia's advanced chips. The development highlights continuing tensions over US restrictions on selling cutting-edge semiconductors to Chinese companies, a dispute that has become a central flashpoint in the technology rivalry between Washington and Beijing.

SpaceX's Starship Flight 14 is set to be its most ambitious test flight yet, with the mission profile now revealed in a new update from NASASpaceflight. The flight is expected to push the rocket further than previous tests as SpaceX continues its rapid iteration program. Space enthusiasts are closely following each Starship launch, given its central role in NASA's Artemis moon plans and Mars ambitions.

New coverage highlights research calculating that the Moon's estimated one billion tons of water, while seemingly vast, would supply a single city for only around a century. The finding puts the scale of lunar water reserves in perspective as space agencies plan crewed lunar bases and consider whether ice at the Moon's poles could support long-term human presence or be turned into rocket fuel.

New research suggests icy moons in the outer solar system could retain their subsurface oceans even if they are shattered by large impacts, with fragments potentially holding on to liquid water. The finding has implications for the search for life, as it widens the range of places where habitable conditions might survive dramatic collisions and reassembling events over billions of years.

The core stage rocket for NASA's upcoming Artemis III mission has arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The delivery marks a key step in preparing for the crewed lunar landing mission, and coverage is highlighting progress on NASA's effort to return astronauts to the moon. Observers are watching hardware milestones closely given past schedule delays for the Artemis programme.