Florida · Regional Lead · 2026-10-23
NASA details Earth-orbit rehearsals before next crewed Moon landing
Artemis III is planned for 2027, with four astronauts testing Orion alongside two commercial lander vehicles before a targeted 2028 lunar return.
NASA outlined its Artemis III flight plan on October 23 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The planned 2027 mission would launch Orion from Kennedy and keep four astronauts in Earth orbit for roughly two weeks, rather than take them to the lunar surface.
The crew would first meet a Blue Origin lander test vehicle. Astronauts would enter its cabin to evaluate conditions, controls and life-support equipment. Orion would later dock with a SpaceX Starship test vehicle, but the crew would remain outside Starship during that shorter demonstration.
Three spacecraft launched separately make timing and coordination central to the mission. Engineers intend to examine guidance, communications, software and docking performance before relying on similar capabilities much farther from Earth. Additional time could support suit evaluations and scientific experiments.
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Environment · 2026-10-28
Governments form international group on nature-credit finance
An October 28 Commission report describes a cooperation initiative launched the previous day at biodiversity talks in Armenia.
The European Commission reported October 28 that an international group would coordinate work on credits intended to finance nature protection. Commissioner Jessika Roswall launched the initiative October 27 at the COP17 biodiversity meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, at an event co-hosted with France and Peru.
The group is an informal government-led platform rather than a newly established mandatory trading system. Participants include European countries and governments from other regions, including Canada, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. Its purpose is to develop support and cooperation around biodiversity finance.
Read articleScience · 2026-10-28
Lucy reaches Trojan asteroid region ahead of 2027 encounter
NASA’s October 28 update describes a new stage in the spacecraft’s journey; its first Trojan flyby remains scheduled for August 2027.
NASA reported October 28 that Lucy had entered the region occupied by Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids after traveling more than 2.2 billion miles. Launched in October 2021, it is approaching the population ahead of Jupiter in its solar orbit.
There is no sharp physical boundary marking this region. Engineers establish Lucy’s position through radio tracking and images of background stars. The spacecraft and its instruments continue operating as expected despite diminishing sunlight and lower temperatures farther from the Sun.
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