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NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX mission, which was one of 19 missions designated to be canceled by the current administration, received a last minute Congressional reprieve and infusion of $20 million for the next budget year. The spacecraft, which had returned a sample of the asteroid Bennu, had been repurposed after its flyby of Earth in 2023, to intercept the asteroid Apophis. The quarter-mile-wide (400-meter) asteroid will make a close approach to Earth in April 2029, passing within the orbit of geostationary satellites, which are positioned at a distance of roughly 22,000 miles (36,000 km).
Unfortunately, while the mission was reinstated, no money was allocated for science planning, instrument calibration, and spacecraft readiness (launched in 2016). There is also no guarantee that the Administration won’t withhold funding despite congressional approval.
NASA to Reopen Contract for Lunar Human Landing System
The ultimate goal of NASA’s Artemis program is to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. Using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft was sent into deep space (Artemis I) to test the performance of the booster and crew capsule in November 2022. In February 2026, the launch window opens for Artemis II, a crewed trip around the Moon and back. If successful, this could set up the Artemis III mission, a lunar landing, as soon as mid-2027. Without a landing vehicle, however, the Artemis program will grind to a halt.
NASA contracted with SpaceX for a Human Landing System (HLS) in April 2021. A recent evaluation by NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel is warning that delivery of SpaceX’s HLS could be years late. SpaceX is designing their HLS around their Starship vehicle, which has demonstrated suborbital flight, but is still in the testing phase. Landing on the Moon will require a next generation Starship to be launched into Earth’s orbit where it will rendezvous with a number of “tanker” Starships for refueling before it can travel to the Moon to meet up with the Orion spacecraft. Starship will then be used to transport the Orion astronauts down to the lunar surface and serve as a temporary habitat for exploration and, eventually, building a more permanent outpost. Despite impressive progress, the complexity of the HLS has raised questions and concerns from the Administration on SpaceX’s ability to support the Artemis schedule (and beat the Chinese to the Moon).
In response, Transportation Secretary and Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced that NASA would be reopening the HLS contract to other space companies (Blue Origin already has a contract to build a lander, but for later Artemis missions).
Predicted trajectory of 99942 Apophis on April 13, 2029, coming as close as 20,000 miles (32,000 km).
Image credit: NASA/JPL
SpaceX’s lunar version of Starship will need to refuel in Earth’s orbit, rendezvous with NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Gateway lunar space station (future) and land on the Moon’s uneven surface.
Credit: SpaceX
Last Minute Reprieve
Blue Origin has stated that it would attempt to land an uncrewed prototype of its HLS on the Moon’s south pole within the next year, but this vehicle is also early in the development phase.