Human activity on the Moon, Selene for the ancient Greeks, constitutes one of the most significant chapters in scientific history. Between 1968 and 1972, the Apollo program, conducted by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), took twelve astronauts to the lunar surface, beginning with the Apollo 8 mission, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, and culminating with Apollo 17. These missions not only demonstrated humanity's technological capabilities but also provided crucial scientific data on lunar geology, the formation of the Earth-Moon system, and the history of the Solar System itself.
However, after 1972, human exploration of the Moon came to an end, marking the beginning of a hiatus that has now lasted more than five decades.
This prolonged interval reflected geopolitical changes, shifting economic priorities, and technological challenges. Nevertheless, fascination with Selene remained alive, both as a scientific destination and as a strategic platform for future interplanetary missions. In the twenty-first century, with advances in technology and increasing international cooperation, NASA launched the Artemis program. With Artemis I and Artemis II now successfully completed, its objective is not only to return to the Moon, but also to establish a sustainable human presence there.

The Artemis I Mission: The Past
Conceived as the cornerstone of the Artemis Program, the Artemis I mission represented the first major integrated test of the systems designed to take humans back to the Moon. Launched on 16 November 2022 (Figure 1) aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the mission carried no astronauts. Instead, Orion flew with the instrumented mannequins Commander Moonikin Campos, Helga, and Zohar, equipped with sensors capable of recording the radiation and acceleration conditions to which future astronauts would be exposed in the space environment.
During a journey of approximately 25.5 days, Orion travelled more than 2.25 million kilometres, entered a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon (Figure 2), and reached a maximum distance of 432,210 kilometres from Earth, the greatest ever achieved by a spacecraft designed for human transport, before returning and splashing down safely in the Pacific Ocean on 11 December 2022.

Throughout the mission, Orion's heat shield, life-support systems, the propulsion system of the European Service Module (ESM) developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), and its long-range communication systems were thoroughly tested and validated. The critical re-entry phase, during which the capsule reached speeds close to 40,000 km/h and temperatures of up to 2,760°C on the surface of its heat shield, was successfully completed, confirming the robustness of the AVCOAT ablative coating, one of the most critical elements for ensuring the safety of future crews.
Although post-mission analyses identified slightly higher-than-expected erosion in some regions of the heat shield, these findings proved invaluable for improving the system before the first crewed flight.

From a scientific perspective, Artemis I provided a valuable dataset on the radiation environment in deep space, essential for protecting future crews. The dosimeters installed on the mannequins showed that astronauts will be exposed to significantly higher radiation doses than those experienced during missions in low Earth orbit, reinforcing the need for mitigation strategies already incorporated into the planning of subsequent Artemis missions.
More than a technological demonstration, Artemis I established the benchmark against which the entire Artemis Program would be evaluated, proving that a human return to the Moon was not only desirable but also technically feasible, thereby laying the foundations for the first crewed mission that would follow.

The Artemis II Mission: The Present
Building on the foundations established by Artemis I, the Artemis II mission was the second major step in the Artemis Program and the first with a crew on board. Conducted in April 2026 over approximately ten days, its central purpose was to validate, under real flight conditions, systems previously tested only in simulated or uncrewed environments: life support, navigation, communication, propulsion, and human performance in deep space. More than a journey around the Moon, Artemis II was a decisive and successful test of the viability of this new paradigm of human activity in space, delivering a rich set of physiological and operational data fundamental to the planning of subsequent missions.
The mission used the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to place the Orion spacecraft on a translunar trajectory (Figure 3). Named Integrity by the crew themselves, a name embodying the values of trust, respect, and humility that united the four astronauts and the thousands of professionals from many nations involved in the project, the spacecraft was powered by the European Service Module (ESM), developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with significant participation from Airbus Defence and Space.

This European module, equipped with 33 engines and four large solar arrays, functioned as the "heart" of the spacecraft, providing propulsion, electrical power, and life support throughout the journey, a concrete example of the international cooperation that distinguishes the Artemis Program. At the controls of Integrity was a crew composed of Reid Wiseman (Commander), Victor Glover (Pilot), Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen (Mission Specialists), a historic team that, for the first time, included a woman, an African American astronaut, and a Canadian representative on a mission beyond low Earth orbit (Figure 4).

The trajectory followed the free-return trajectory, in which the Moon's orbital dynamics guarantee a safe return to Earth even in the event of a propulsion failure, the same strategy that safeguarded the most critical Apollo missions. After launching from the Kennedy Space Center on 1 April 2026, Orion completed its translunar injection on the second day and continued towards the Moon. On 6 April, it reached a record distance of 248,655 miles from Earth, surpassing the historic mark set by Apollo 13. On the same day, the crew also observed a spectacular solar eclipse (Figure 5). During the fly-by of the far side of the Moon, the astronauts experienced approximately three hours of communications blackout, a period used for autonomous observations, unprecedented photographic records of the Orientale Basin and Pierazzo Crater, and observations of unexpected shades of green and brown, suggesting mineralogical variations within the lunar crust.

In parallel, the crew conducted pioneering human health experiments, including ARCHeR, the immune biomarker protocol, Standard Measures, and AVATAR (organ chips derived from the crew members themselves). These investigations collected valuable data on sleep, stress, immunity, the microbiome, and the effects of cosmic radiation on living human tissues, information that will be crucial for planning future missions to Mars.
The mission culminated in splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on 10 April 2026, approximately 200 kilometres off the coast of San Diego. Atmospheric re-entry, performed at speeds exceeding 11 km/s and temperatures approaching 3,000°C, confirmed the robustness of Integrity's heat shield. Specialist teams from the United States Navy, operating from the recovery ship USS John P. Murtha, safely recovered the four astronauts, who emerged emotional and in excellent health. Hours later, after being transferred to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, they began the protocols for readaptation to Earth's gravity and the technical and scientific debriefing, bringing to a highly successful conclusion the first human flight beyond low Earth orbit in more than five decades.

The Artemis III and IV Missions: The Future
​Artemis II proved that humans can safely travel beyond Earth's atmosphere, while Artemis III (Figure 6) will have an equally crucial, yet distinct, mission. Scheduled for mid-2027 in low Earth orbit, it will be the first operational docking test between the Orion spacecraft and commercial lunar landing systems: SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon.
This demonstration mission is of extraordinary operational complexity. The Space Launch System (SLS) will launch Orion with four astronauts, using a structural spacer in place of the upper propulsion stage, while the commercial lunar vehicles will reach orbit through separate launches. The astronauts will spend longer aboard Orion than during Artemis II, validate Orion's docking system for the first time, and may also enter one of the lunar landing vehicles. In the words of Jeremy Parsons, Acting Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA's Moon to Mars Program, "Artemis III is one of the most complex missions ever undertaken by NASA," because the success of the subsequent lunar landing depends upon it.

With the docking systems validated by Artemis III, the path opens for the most anticipated stage of the programme: Artemis IV, scheduled for early 2028, which will mark the first human landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. Four astronauts will travel to lunar orbit aboard Orion. There, two of them will transfer to the commercial Human Landing System (HLS) and descend to the vicinity of the lunar south pole, a region never explored in situ, where uncrewed probes have identified evidence of water in permanently shadowed craters.
​The lunar south pole is of particular scientific interest because permanently shadowed craters are believed to contain water ice, a resource that could support future human exploration by providing drinking water, oxygen, and rocket propellant.
Over the course of approximately one week, the crew will conduct spacewalks using Axiom Space's advanced AxEMU spacesuits, collect unprecedented geological samples, and deploy scientific instruments on the surface, including DUSTER (DUst and plaSma environmenT survEyoR), which will characterise the dust and plasma environment around one of the nine candidate landing regions identified by NASA near the lunar south pole. The mission will also mark the historic moment when the first woman and the first non-white astronaut set foot on the Moon.
More than a return, Artemis IV will lay the foundations for a sustainable human presence on the Moon and represent the first concrete step on a journey that will eventually take humans to Mars.

Synthesis
The Artemis Program, encompassing Artemis I, II, III, IV and the missions that will follow, inaugurates a new era of human activity in space, demonstrating the viability of crewed missions beyond Earth's orbit after more than fifty years. Its achievements will be crucial to the success of the next stages of the Artemis Program, particularly Artemis III, which aims to enable humanity's return to the lunar surface. In addition, the programme establishes the technological and operational foundations required to build a sustainable presence on the Moon and, ultimately, to support future missions to Mars.
The public and inspirational impact of the missions, especially Artemis II, has also been remarkable. Millions of people around the world followed the first crewed flight beyond low Earth orbit in more than fifty years through television, the internet, and social media, rekindling a collective fascination with space and inspiring a new generation of students interested in science, engineering, and exploration.
The Artemis Program represents a remarkable synthesis of tradition and innovation in humanity's exploration of the cosmos. As the heir to the Apollo legacy, it goes beyond merely repeating history by embracing new technologies, unprecedented international cooperation, and ambitious scientific objectives. More than journeys to the Moon, these missions represent a full-scale rehearsal for the expansion of human presence beyond Earth.
May the deities whose names these missions bear, Apollo, Artemis, and Selene, herald not only new chapters in humanity's exploration of space, but also a renewed appreciation of the importance of caring for Earth (Figure 7), our shared home, whose shades of blue continue to cradle every known form of life.

Why Artemis Matters
Beyond its remarkable engineering achievements, Artemis is also transforming our understanding of human health in deep space. Each mission generates invaluable knowledge on radiation exposure, physiological adaptation, behavioural performance, and operational medicine, helping prepare astronauts not only for sustained exploration of the Moon but ultimately for human missions to Mars.
For the aerospace medicine community, Artemis represents one of the most important research opportunities since the Apollo era. The programme is advancing our understanding of how humans can live and work safely beyond Earth while driving innovations with potential benefits for healthcare on our own planet. As the Artemis missions continue, they will not only shape the future of space exploration but also deepen our understanding of the remarkable adaptability of the human body and mind.

That tension is exactly what motivated our recent study, published in Acta Astronautica. Rather than asking only what additive manufacturing can technically do, we asked a broader and perhaps more important question: what actually enables or constrains its adoption within spacecraft organisations?

​In many public discussions, additive manufacturing is framed as an inevitable next step for aerospace and space production. But in reality, the transition is more complex. Space is a high-stakes sector. Components must meet extremely demanding standards, qualification processes are rigorous, and the cost of failure is exceptionally high. Under these conditions, even highly promising technologies face barriers that go beyond engineering performance.

​Our study explores these barriers and drivers in a structured way. It shows that implementation depends on the interaction of three broad dimensions: technological characteristics, organisational readiness, and environmental pressures. In other words, even when additive manufacturing offers clear technical advantages, adoption may stall if organisations do not yet have the right skills, culture, processes, validation pathways, or strategic alignment to support it. Likewise, external pressures such as supply-chain demands, industrial competition, regulatory expectations, and ecosystem maturity also shape whether AM moves from experimentation to routine use.

This matters because it shifts the conversation. The question is no longer simply whether additive manufacturing is useful for spacecraft production, but how it can be usable, scalable and trusted. This approach highlights that adoption is also about organisational capability, industrial context, and the ability to connect technical potential with the realities of spacecraft development. In that sense, the challenge is not only to improve additive manufacturing, but also to understand what space-sector requirements need to be met for additive manufacturing to become part of everyday practice in the space sector.

​This is perhaps the key message of our work. If additive manufacturing is to truly “lift off” in spacecraft production, the challenge is not only to improve the technology, but also to prepare the organisations that will use it. The future of space manufacturing will not be shaped by technical capability alone. It will be shaped by the alignment between innovation potential and the organisational capacity to absorb, validate and deploy it.

​And that may be where the real transformation begins.

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet this week, you will have seen that NASA is bringing the Crew-11 astronauts back from the International Space Station early due to a “medical issue.”
No great details given due to privacy rights, so no name, no diagnosis, and no great drama. Nonetheless, this lack of detail always leads to worry, much speculation and many clickbait headlines to boost page visitor numbers. But to be honest, this event holds no great mystery, it’s nothing weird, in fact, it’s probably overdue!

When we think of space exploration, we generally think of it as something heroic - big rockets, brave astronauts floating around and amazing photos of our planet Earth. What we don’t really talk about is that space is quietly hostile to the human body, not in an exploding spacesuit sci-fi drama sort of way, but in a slow, grinding, biological manner.
The simple fact is that microgravity messes with almost everything:

• Bones start leaking calcium.
• Muscles shrink.
• Blood moves around your body differently.
• Immune system gets confused.
• Eyes can change shape.
• Hearts can alter and not work in the usual way.
• Even old viruses that you had as a child can spark back into life again.

​Astronauts are not ‘ill’ in space in the usual sense, but they are also not ‘normal’ anymore. Instead, their bodies are constantly adapting and compensating for the lack of gravity, and slowly using up their safety margins.

NASA has not revealed exactly what happened to the Crew-11 astronaut who needed to come home and they probably never will. However, the important part really isn’t the specific symptom. The important part is that someone’s body crossed a line where Earth became safer than orbit. This is less about a mission failure and more about highlighting the reality of long-duration spaceflight.
The ISS has been permanently occupied for more than 25 years. In that time, astronauts have had all kinds of health issues up there, even if they were rarely described that way, for example:

• Heart rhythm changes.
• Kidney stones.
• Vision problems.
• Blood clots.
• Immune system crashes.
• People fainting and being unable to stand up when they come home.

​Most of it is explained away in polite language like “out of an abundance of caution” or for “operational reasons”, but this time, Crew-11 has said the quiet part out loud.

​Early space missions were short, just days or weeks. You could grit your teeth and push through, and before you knew it you were returning to Earth again. Nowadays, astronauts live on the ISS for six months, and sometimes longer. That turns spaceflight into something very different. It’s no longer a short sprint but more of a long-distance race, with slow exposure to an environment for which the human body was never designed. Astronauts these days are less like explorers and more like participants in long medical experiments, and sometimes experiments can end early.

InnovaSpace Director, Thais Russomano, is a doctor who specialised in space medicine and human physiology, and she will often say that space doesn’t suddenly break you. Rather, it slowly begins to nudge every single body system away from where it is accustomed to being. Most of the time, the body copes and adapts, but sometimes, it doesn’t. So, if NASA says someone needs to come home for medical reasons, it isn’t a mystery. It should be taken as a reminder that although human bodies are incredible, they still come with limits.

Fortunately for Crew-11, being on the ISS means they could come home relatively easily. But what of a Moon crew - maybe not - and a Mars crew - definitely not. There is no quick splashdown from deep space. This story perhaps reflects not so much on one astronaut on one mission, but sharply highlights where we are on a bigger journey.
​We are leaving the era of “Can humans survive in space?” and entering a new era of “Just how long can humans survive in space?”

InnovaSpace Team comment: Last week, we shared a post about the many ways people can contribute to space exploration—without ever wearing a spacesuit. This week, we’re delighted to feature a reflection from our friend and colleague Lukasz Wilczynski, founder of the European Space Foundation and creator of the European Rover Challenge.
Łukasz recently spent a week at the University of Oxford, participating in a high-level programme of The Karman Project and Oxford Space Initiative with future leaders of the global space community. His words below speak for themselves—rich in insight, humour, and a deep belief in space as a tool for positive change.

FINAL THOUGHTS
At InnovaSpace, we echo Łukasz’s sentiment: space is not a remote, elite pursuit - it’s woven into the fabric of our daily lives and our global future. It shapes how we live, how we connect, and how we look at the future.
Whether you're an engineer, artist, teacher, policymaker, or simply have a curious mind—there’s a role for you in space.
Want to get involved? Start by visiting events like the European Rover Challenge or following space organisations online.
Join in the conversation because space needs all of us!

A review of original article - Building Robots For “Zero Mass” Space Exploration - written by Jacek Krywko (8th Feb 2024), published on the ARS Technica website

​The idea of exploring space without lugging around tons of gear sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi flick, but guess what? It might just be closer than we think! This article dives into the wild world of "Zero Mass" space exploration, where scientists are ditching the heavy payloads and instead relying on super-intelligent robots and nifty building materials.
 
Think about it: sending stuff into space costs a fortune. Like a serious fortune. But what if we could cut down on all that weight and send up a bunch of self-replicating robots armed with super cool building blocks? That's the dream these NASA and Stanford folks are chasing.

​They're talking about using materials that can rebuild themselves, which is mind-blowing. It's like something out of a sci-fi novel from way back in the day. And get this - they're not just dreaming about it. They've built a bunch of these little building blocks called "voxels" and tested them out. These things are crazy vital but weigh next to nothing. So you can pack a bunch of them in your backpack and build whatever you need on the fly - like a shelter, a bridge, or even a boat!
 
And here's the kicker - they're not just building stuff on their own. They've got these robots doing all the heavy lifting. These robots are like little construction workers, piecing together structures autonomously. It's like watching a futuristic version of a construction site!

​But it's not all just for show. They're thinking about using this tech to build towers on the Moon! Yeah, you heard that right. Towers on the freaking Moon! It's all about maximizing sunlight and getting the best communication signals. And with this tech, they reckon they can pull it off.
 
So, while we might not be hopping on spaceships and jetting off to distant planets just yet, it seems like we're getting closer every day. Who knows, maybe one day we'll all be living in moon towers built by robots. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

'Life' is the most dynamic entity known to humanity and is central to our existence. In this, 'Space Sciences' is one of the most multi-disciplinary fields of human endeavour. Therefore, to celebrate the interdependence between 'Life' and 'Space', we, as a group of space enthusiasts, initiated a non-profit community named "Life- To & Beyond" or "L-T&B" on the 8th of February, 2022.

Why us?
​
Life- To implies Astrobiology, i.e. the scientific study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the cosmos, and Life- Beyond implies Space-Allied Studies, i.e. humanity's current efforts to move beyond our planet and simultaneously conserve its novelty. Thus, as our name implies, we aspire to figure out more about Life and Space, which, in turn, are the two sides of the same coin, known as the 'Universe'.

Our Vision and Mission:

We, the members of team L-T&B, firmly believe that 'to explore is to be Human', and so, we rejoice 'Life' as a 'Cosmic Phenomenon' by attempting to:
• Figure out the chronicle of our past (i.e. from the big bang and even beyond to conscious life on earth);
• Work on our present (i.e. our current efforts to move beyond our planet and at the very same time conserve its unique richness); and 
• Create a glorious future for humans (i.e. our ultimate fate in the universe).

Furthermore, we have the vision to generate awareness and create an impact in every community and country in the world by creating local or accessible opportunities for learning and research concerning Space sciences and STEAM fields with a special focus on Astrobiology and Space-Allied Studies
(i.e., Space Pharmacy, Space Biotechnology, Analog missions, Space robotics, space architecture, etc.).
To turn our vision into a reality, we vow to engage in Research, Communication, and Outreach concerning our focus areas. Additionally, to spice up our enterprise, we work towards bringing about an intra-, inter-, multi-, and trans-disciplinary approach in whatever we do, including making quality education and research opportunities (and facilities) available to all. To fuel this initiative, we have taken the onerous on us to share information about events and opportunities related to space sciences with all.
​

In this week that saw the world celebrate International Women's Day, the InnovaSpace team welcome news about the work of Dr Lucia Hartmann & Jasmin Mittag, with a new concept for the shape of future space travel and a desire to promote equality - an ethos we fully support!

​The first spacecraft in a V-shape is not only a symbol for more diversity in space, but also state-of-the-art and thus more sustainable. The “Vulva Spaceship” designed by “WBF Aeronautics” represents inclusivity, varying from the traditional shapes. Thus, the project adds another dimension to the representation of humanity in space and is communicating to the world that anyone has a place in the universe, regardless of physical characteristics.

Dr. Lucia Hartmann, Head of “WBF Aeronautics” and inventor of the “Vulva Spaceship” reports from her research: “The spaceship’s shape is surprisingly aerodynamic, creating way less drag when the vehicle punches through the Earth’s atmosphere. Due to this optimized V-shape, it guarantees maximum fuel efficiency with an exterior made of reinforced carbon which enables it to withstand the most extreme temperatures.” “WBF Aeronautics” wants to inspire space travel to be open to modern forms and to realise equal opportunities across the universe.

“WBF Aeronautics” is a collaboration between Dr. Lucia Hartmann and her team and “Wer braucht Feminismus?” (WBF). Dr. Lucia Hartmann started her research work about spaceships and discovered that a spaceship varying from traditional shapes, would be more aerodynamic and create less drag, thus being more sustainable.

She reached out to us for the purpose of a collaboration and for us to do the media work as there is much more to it than just the scientific aspect. On the one hand, the topic is sensitive, but on the other hand, it also holds great opportunities. The symbol of a Spaceship in a V-shape represents more diversity in space. The project adds another dimension to the representation of humanity in space. 

We believe that equality even has a place in space. It’s time for new symbols in the universe. 
​

The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is scheduled to complete its first space station in the next two years. With its Tiangong, Chinese Space Station (CSS), China has also raised many questions on how its capabilities are comparable and competitive with the International Space Station (ISS) also due to be decommissioned by 2024. The space race is on, and the CSS is a landmark of independent human flight capability that is just the beginning for China.

In the past ten years of research and development of space technology, China has enjoyed various opportunities to be a superpower in outer space. Steady economic growth rate and increase of its GPD enabling government funding are some of them. It has also developed its own national space technology with spacecraft launching capabilities, and its space activities are in accordance with the current international legal framework.
On October 16, 2021, three Chinese Astronauts in the Shenzhou mission entered the Tiangong for a six month stay, its longest mission in history. China has launched 12 spacecraft, plus the Tiangong 1, and the Tiangong 2 Space Laboratory. The country has trained and sent 11 astronauts to outer space 14 times and returned them safely to Earth. The design life expectancy of the 5-module station is 10 years with possibility of extension.