As part of its Artemis program, NASA is collaborating with American businesses to create the human landing devices that will securely transport humans from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back.

NASA is collaborating with SpaceX to build the company’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) for Artemis III, the first crewed lunar landing in more than 50 years. In lunar orbit, Starship HLS would dock with NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Two Artemis crew members will then transition from Orion to Starship and descend to the surface, according to recently revised artist’s conceptual renders. Before returning in Starship to Orion, which is waiting in lunar orbit, the astronauts will gather samples, conduct scientific experiments, and examine the Moon’s environment there. SpaceX will conduct an uncrewed landing demonstration mission on the Moon before the crewed Artemis III mission.

In order to achieve a more comprehensive set of requirements for Artemis IV, NASA is also collaborating with SpaceX to further the development of the company’s Starship lander. These specifications include docking with the agency’s Gateway lunar space station for human transfers and putting greater mass on the moon.

In the artist’s idea, SpaceX’s Starship HLS is shown completing a braking burn before landing on the Moon, with two Raptor engines blazing. In order to lower the lander’s velocity before its final drop to the lunar surface, the burn will take place once Starship HLS leaves low lunar orbit.

NASA will learn how to live and work away from home, explore more of the Moon than ever before, and get ready for future human exploration of Mars with Artemis. NASA’s deep space exploration is built on its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, as well as its human landing system, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and upcoming rovers.

Researchers claim that recently analyzed data from a Chinese investigator on Mars supports the body of evidence showing the planet originally had a massive ocean.

Zhurong is the name of the rover, or exploring vehicle. In 2021, it made its surface landing on Mars. Utopia Planitia is the region where the rover has been functioning. The American space organization NASA says that this region is a sizable plain in the northern hemisphere of Mars.

The scientists integrated information from Zhurong’s equipment with observations from spacecraft and satellites circling Mars. Geological elements that suggested an ancient ocean coastline were found in Utopia Planitia, according to the team’s studies.

Several characteristics, according to the experts, suggested that there was a sizable ocean on Mars billions of years ago. The troughs and channels found on the surface could have been created by water flowing across Mars.

Mud volcanoes, which most likely erupted in regions where there had been water or ice, may have produced them, according to earlier studies that looked at data on comparable surface features.

According to the researchers, the data indicates that both shallow and deep ocean conditions were probably present in the region. The results of a recent study were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study was primarily written by Bo Wu. At Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he works as a planetary scientist. According to Wu, “We estimate the flooding of the Utopia Planitia on Mars was approximately 3.68 billion years ago. The ocean surface was likely frozen in a geologically short period.”

On Mars, the hunt for water is closely related to the hunt for potential life. The planet might have once hosted microbial life if there is evidence of a former ocean.

Previous research indicates that Mars formerly had a sizable northern ocean. In 2022, one such study was published. Satellite photos of the Martian surface served as the basis for that study. Detailed maps of the planet’s northern hemisphere were created by combining the pictures. Analyzing the maps revealed indications of coastlines that were previously part of a vast ocean.

Evidence from a different study that was published in August suggested that Mars might have a sizable ocean located far below the surface. NASA’s InSight Lander served as the basis for that proof.

In May 2021, the Zhurong rover from China started gathering data. It ceased operations almost a year later, with mission planners stating that dust and sand probably had an impact on the power system. The rover nevertheless outlived its three-month mission.

According to the researchers, the data indicates that the ocean appears to have vanished approximately 3.42 billion years ago.

According to research co-writer Sergey Krasilnikov, the water that most likely filled the Martian ocean was “heavily silted.” At Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he works as a planetary scientist. Water-borne silt is a mixture of clay and sand that eventually settles on land.

Krasilnikov went on to say that the planet “…probably had a thick, warm atmosphere” when the Martian ocean would have been active.” “Microbial life was much more likely at that time,” he stated.

The latest discoveries do “provide further evidence to support the theory of a Martian ocean,” according to Wu of Hong Kong Polytechnic.

The study does “not claim that our findings definitively prove” that there was an ocean on Mars, he told the French news agency AFP. According to him, such evidence would probably necessitate a further trip to return items from Mars to Earth for additional analysis.

At sundown, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a payload so secret that no details of the mission have been revealed, and the original designation has been changed.

While SpaceX refers to the mission as “TD7,” all regulatory documents and U.S. government organizations, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the Space Force, refer to the payload as “Optus-X.” During SpaceX’s broadcast, the commentator pointed out that it was a communications satellite.

On Sunday, November 17, at 5:28 p.m. EST (2228 UTC), the spacecraft lifted out from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

At sundown, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a payload so secret that no details of the mission have been revealed, and the original designation has been changed.

While SpaceX refers to the mission as “TD7,” all regulatory documents and U.S. government organizations, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the Space Force, refer to the payload as “Optus-X.” During SpaceX’s broadcast, the commentator pointed out that it was a communications satellite.

On Sunday, November 17, at 5:28 p.m. EST (2228 UTC), the spacecraft lifted out from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.