NASA unveils Artemis III astronauts at Johnson Space Center in Houston

To the moon

The Artemis III astronauts have been announced. Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

NASA on Tuesday, June 9, revealed the crew for its Artemis III mission, the next step in the space agency's plan to eventually land astronauts on the moon.

The announcement came two months after Artemis II's record-breaking trip around the moon that surpassed the distance record of Apollo 13.

NASA's Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and the European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano won't fly to the moon or land on the surface. Instead, they’ll orbit Earth while practicing docking their Orion capsule with two lunar landers.

“To the Artemis III crew, we wish you Godspeed on the journey ahead,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to deliver the lunar landers. The two-week demo is targeted for 2027. Blue Origin suffered a recent setback when its massive rocket exploded during an engine-firing test on the launch pad in Florida, shaking nearby homes and illuminating the sky with an orange fireball.

NASA's Jeremy Parsons said the setback is a learning opportunity and that the space agency is confident Blue Origin's rocket will be ready in time.

NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the moon's surface for the first time since the 1970s. A recent revamp of the program announced by Isaacman aims to fast-track it similarly to the Apollo era, adding the upcoming spaceflight around Earth before eyeing a lunar landing in 2028.

“We are certainly humbled as a crew to be able to be your crew that executes this Artemis III mission in space,” said Bresnik, Artemis III commander.

Added Douglas, mission specialist: “My brain — it is going a mile a minute right now. But my heart, it is so warm. It is so full."

In May, NASA awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to four companies, including Blue Origin, to build landers, rovers and drones for a future moon base. Isaacman said the goal of the moon base is to lay the foundation for a Mars expedition.

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Artemis II is a history-making mission to the moon. Photo by NASA / Getty Images

Artemis II makes historic call to space station with help from Houston Mission Control

History in the making

Still aglow from their triumphant lunar flyby, the Artemis II astronauts made more history Tuesday, April 7: calling their friends aboard the International Space Station hundreds of thousands of miles away as they headed home from the moon.

It was the first moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. NASA's Apollo crews had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s, the last time humanity set sail for deep space.

"We have been waiting for this like you can’t imagine,” Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman called out.

For Christina Koch on Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the space station, it marked a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019 outside the orbiting lab.

Koch told her “astro-sister” that she'd hoped to meet up with her again in space “but I never thought it would be like this — it's amazing.”

“I'm so happy that we are back in space together,” Meir replied, “even if we are a few miles apart.”

Houston's Mission Control arranged the cosmic chitchat between the four lunar travelers and the space station's three NASA and one French residents.

Koch described being awe-struck by not just the beauty of Earth, “but how much blackness there was around it.”

“It just made it even more special. It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive,” she told the space station crew. “The specialness and preciousness of that really is emphasized” when viewing the home planet from the moon.

By late Tuesday afternoon, the Artemis II astronauts had beamed back more than 50 gigabytes' worth of pictures and other data from the previous day's lunar rendezvous, which set a new distance record for humanity. The highlight: an Earthset photo reminiscent of Apollo 8's Earthrise shot from 1968.

"While they are inspirational and, I think, allow all of us to really feel a little bit of what they were feeling, there's also a lot of science hidden inside of those images," said Mission Control's lead lunar scientist Kelsey Young. “The conversations and the science lessons learned are just beginning."

During a debriefing with Young, the astronauts recounted how they spotted a cascade of pinpricks of light on the lunar surface from impacting cosmic debris. The flashes lasted mere milliseconds and coincided by chance with Monday evening's total solar eclipse.

Young said it was too soon to know whether the crew witnessed an actual meteor shower or more random, run-of-the-mill micrometeoroid hits. Either way, there were “audible screams of delight” in the science operations center, she said.

Koch described being awe-struck by not just the beauty of Earth, “but how much blackness there was around it.”

“It just made it even more special. It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive,” she told the space station crew. “The specialness and preciousness of that really is emphasized” when viewing the home planet from the moon.

The first lunar explorers since Apollo 17 in 1972, Wiseman and his crew are aiming for a splashdown off the San Diego coast on Friday to wrap up the nearly 10-day test flight. The recovery ship USS John P. Murtha left port Tuesday for the target zone.

It sets the stage for next year's Artemis III, a lunar lander docking demo in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will follow in 2028 with two astronauts attempting to land near the lunar south pole.

As for the Orion capsule’s pesky potty, Mission Control assured the astronauts that no maintenance was required Tuesday. The toilet has been on-and-off limits to the crew ever since last week’s launch, prompting them to rely on a backup bag-and-funnel system for urinating.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told the crew following the lunar flyby Monday night: “We definitely have to fix some of the plumbing” ahead of the next Artemis mission. Engineers suspect a clogged filter in the overboard flushing system.

Aside from the toilet and other relatively minor matters, the mission has gone well, Isaacman noted at a news conference Tuesday, “but I'll breathe easier when we get through reentry and everybody's under chutes and in the water.”

Commander Reid Wiseman of the Artemis II mission. Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA revamps Artemis moon landing program by modeling it after Apollo

To the moon

NASA is revamping its Artemis moon exploration program to make it more like the fast-paced Apollo program half a century ago, adding an extra practice flight before attempting a high-risk lunar landing with a crew in two years.

The overhaul in the flight lineup came just days after NASA’s new moon rocket returned to its hangar for more repairs, and a safety panel warned the space agency to scale back its overly ambitious goals for humanity’s first lunar landing since 1972.

Artemis II, a lunar fly-around by four astronauts, is off until at least April because of rocket problems.

The follow-up mission, Artemis III, had been targeting a landing near the moon’s south pole by another pair of astronauts in about three years. But with long gaps between flights and concern growing over the readiness of a lunar lander and moonwalking suits, NASA’s new administrator Jared Isaacman announced that mission would instead focus on launching a lunar lander into orbit around Earth in 2027 for docking practice by astronauts flying in an Orion capsule.

The new plan calls for a moon landing — potentially even two moon landings — by astronauts in 2028.

“Everybody agrees. This is the only way forward,” Isaacman said.

The hydrogen fuel leaks and helium flow problems that struck the Space Launch System rocket on the pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in February also plagued the first Artemis test flight without a crew in 2022.

Another three-year gap was looming between Artemis II and the moon landing by astronauts as originally envisioned, Isaacman said.

Isaacman stressed that “it should be incredibly obvious” that three years between flights is unacceptable. He'd like to get it down to one year or even less.

Isaacman, a tech billionaire who bought his own trips to orbit and performed the world’s first private spacewalk, took the helm at NASA in December.

During NASA’s storied Apollo program, he said, astronauts’ first flight to the moon was followed by two more missions before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. What's more, he added, the Apollo moonshots followed one another in quick succession, just as the earlier Projects Mercury and Gemini had rapid flight rates, sometimes coming just a few months apart.

Twenty-four Apollo astronauts flew to the moon from 1968 through 1972, with 12 of them landing.

“No one at NASA forgot their history books. They knew how to do this," Isaacman said. “Now we're putting it in action.”

To pick up the pace and reduce risk, NASA will standardize its Space Launch System rockets moving forward, Isaacman said. These are the massive rockets that will launch astronauts to the moon aboard Orion capsules. At the same time, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are speeding up their work on the landers needed to get the astronauts from lunar orbit down to the surface.

Isaacman said next year will see an Orion crew rendezvousing in orbit around Earth with SpaceX's Starship, Blue Origin's Blue Moon or both landers. It's similar to the methodical approach that worked so well during Apollo in the late 1960s, he noted. Apollo 8, astronauts' first flight to the moon, was followed by two more missions before Armstrong and Aldrin aimed for the lunar surface.

“We should be getting back to basics and doing what we know works,” he said.

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel recommended that NASA revise its objectives for Artemis III “given the demanding mission goals.” It’s urgent the space agency do that, the panel said, if the United States hopes to safely return astronauts to the moon. Isaacman said the revised Artemis flight plan addresses the panel's concerns and is supported by industry and the Trump administration.

Mario Romero is an engineer for Intuitive Machines and a former Navy SEAL. He credits his successes in STEM to second—and third—chances. Photo via LinkedIn

Intuitive Machines engineer talks STEM, innovation, and second chances

Innovator Interview

Mario Romero is an assembly, integration, and test engineer at the innovative Houston aerospace company Intuitive Machines. He previously served as a Navy SEAL and an EVA Flight Simulator Specialist at NASA.

Intuitive Machines landed its IM-2 mission on the moon last month, before calling an early end of mission. The company reported that its lunar lander was on its side, preventing it from completing the mission as planned.

Still, the IM-2 mission landed closer to the lunar South Pole than any previous lander, according to NASA. And the company still has plenty of innovative projects in the works.

The company secured about $2.5 million from NASA to study challenges related to carrying cargo on the company’s lunar lander and hauling cargo on the moon. The lander will be used for NASA’s Artemis missions to the moon and eventually to Mars.

“Someone has to do it; in fact, the more the merrier,” Romero says on being part of an innovative culture.

“Competition forces innovation, and if I can be selfish for a moment, I think it’s of particular importance for Intuitive Machines because my extremely capable team is more than worthy of having their place stamped in history. We, as a species, have to strive to become a multiplanetary species. Incidentally, part of the trickle-down effect of innovation often leads to spin-off technology that in some way benefits humanity here on Earth.”

Last year, Romero was awarded the key to the city from his hometown of Vineland, New Jersey, and made it a point in his speech to give kids a chance to succeed in the future.

“I am the product of many chances, secondary, tertiary, and more, given to me,” Romero says. “Many of these were admittedly entirely undeserving. I look back now and recognize that those teachers, judges, police, etc. might have all seen something in me that I couldn’t then see in myself. … This is precisely why I often emphasize giving kids multiple chances. Kids are kids, and you can never fully know how you’re inspiring them in the moment, nor how the chances that you give them will affect the trajectory of their lives.”

Texas is expected to represent nearly 10 percent of future STEM opportunities in the nation, and nine of the 20 biggest employers in Texas are STEM-related.

As STEM has become increasingly popular in high schools and at the university level, and the aerospace industry continues to innovate, it is possible that many young future innovators may take the same path a young Romero did.

“I think it’s natural that when new leaps are made in the STEM fields, and in the aerospace realm at large, the youth in general become galvanized by it,” Romero says.

“It’s exciting and reinvigorating to understand that humanity is on the cusp of the next great adventure. As fantastic and essential as this is, I want to emphasize the importance of the arts as well. It has an important place and an important role to play in our evolution, so I personally don’t limit youthful interest to STEM alone. There are fantastic works of art awaiting us, in all their variety, that will come as a result of the efforts and innovation.”

Launched from South Texas, SpaceX's Starship survived for around 50 minutes before losing contact and landing in the Indian Ocean. Photo via SpaceX/Twitter

SpaceX's mega rocket launch from Texas base provides mixed results

50-minute flight

SpaceX came close to completing an hourlong test flight of its mega rocket on its third try Thursday, but the spacecraft was lost as it descended back to Earth.

The company said it lost contact with Starship as it neared its goal, a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The first-stage booster also ended up in pieces, breaking apart much earlier in the flight over the Gulf of Mexico after launching from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border.

“The ship has been lost. So no splashdown today,” said SpaceX’s Dan Huot. “But again, it’s incredible to see how much further we got this time around.”

Two test flights last year both ended in explosions minutes after liftoff. By surviving for close to 50 minutes this time, Thursday's effort was considered a win by not only SpaceX's Elon Musk, but NASA as well as Starship soared higher and farther than ever before. The space agency is counting on Starship to land its astronauts on the moon in another few years.

The nearly 400-foot (121-meter) Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, headed out over the Gulf of Mexico after liftoff Thursday morning, flying east. Spectators crowded the nearby beaches in South Padre Island and Mexico.

A few minutes later, the booster separated seamlessly from the spaceship, but broke apart 1,500 feet (462 meters) above the gulf, instead of plummeting into the water intact. By then, the spacecraft was well to the east and continuing upward, with no people or satellites on board.

Starship reached an altitude of about 145 miles (233 kilometers) as it coasted across the Atlantic and South Africa, before approaching the Indian Ocean. But 49 minutes into the flight — with just 15 minutes remaining — all contact was lost and the spacecraft presumably broke apart.

At that point, it was 40 miles (65 kilometers) high and traveling around 16,000 mph (25,700 kph).

SpaceX's Elon Musk had just congratulated his team a little earlier. “SpaceX has come a long way,” he said via X, formerly called Twitter. The rocket company was founded exactly 22 years ago Thursday.

NASA watched with keen interest: The space agency needs Starship to succeed in order to land astronauts on the moon in the next two or so years. This new crop of moonwalkers — the first since last century’s Apollo program — will descend to the lunar surface in a Starship after transferring from NASA's Orion capsule in lunar orbit.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson quickly congratulated SpaceX on what he called a successful test flight as part of the space agency's Artemis moon-landing program.

The stainless steel, bullet-shaped spacecraft launched atop a first-stage booster known as the Super Heavy. Both the booster and the spacecraft are designed to be reusable, although they were never meant to be salvaged Thursday.

On Starship’s inaugural launch last April, several of the booster’s 33 methane-fueled engines failed and the booster did not separate from the spacecraft, causing the entire vehicle to explode and crash into the gulf four minutes after liftoff.

SpaceX managed to double the length of the flight during November’s trial run. While all 33 engines fired and the booster peeled away as planned, the flight ended in a pair of explosions, first the booster and then the spacecraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration reviewed all the corrections made to Starship, before signing off on Thursday’s launch. The FAA said after the flight that it would again investigate what happened. As during the second flight, all 33 booster engines performed well during ascent, according to SpaceX.

Initially, SpaceX plans to use the mammoth rockets to launch the company’s Starlink internet satellites, as well as other spacecraft. Test pilots would follow to orbit, before the company flies wealthy clients around the moon and back. Musk considers the moon a stepping stone to Mars, his ultimate quest.

NASA is insisting that an empty Starship land successfully on the moon, before future moonwalkers climb aboard. The space agency is targeting the end of 2026 for the first moon landing crew under the Artemis program, named after the mythological twin sister of Apollo.

After an August 29 scrub, the Artemis I mission is set to launch. Photo by Ben Smegelsky/NASA via NASA Flickr

Houston readies for historic return to moon with new NASA launch date

GO FOR LAUNCH

Houstonians who are eagerly anticipating America’s historic return to the moon now have a new date. Artemis I will now launch on Saturday, September 3, with a two-hour window beginning at 1:17 pm, NASA announced late Tuesday, August 30.

Viewers can tune into the livestream of the rocket and spacecraft at the launch pad on the NASA Kennedy YouTube channel. Additionally, live coverage of events can be found on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

This comes after the initial August 29 launch was scrubbed. At that time, teams were not able to chill down the four RS-25 engines to necessary temperatures. Teams also caught and quickly managed a hydrogen leak on one of the rocket’s components.

NASA reports that teams are currently addressing and testing both issues in advance of the Saturday launch. Another important component for flight windows — weather — is currently favorable. Meteorologists with the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45 forecast favorable weather conditions for Saturday. Though some rain showers are expected, they are predicted to be sporadic during the launch window, per NASA.

As space fans are aware, Artemis I is the first flight test of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System rocket (dubbed SLS), and the ground systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond,” NASA notes in a news release. “The mission will demonstrate the performance of the SLS rocket and test Orion’s capabilities over the course of about six weeks as it travels about 40,000 miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth.”

Given the gravity of the launch, NASA planned considerable fanfare for the broadcast, including celebrity appearances by Jack Black, Chris Evans, and Keke Palmer, as well as a special performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock. A planned musical performance featured “America the Beautiful” by The Philadelphia Orchestra and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Representatives from Johnson Space Center had not received an update on the Saturday broadcast program when contacted on Wednesday, August 31.

Houston and lunar missions have been inextricably tied since NASA’s first launches. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy boldly declared that America would go to the moon before the end of the decade in front of a packed Rice University football stadium.

On July 20, 1969 – a commitment to the late President Kennedy’s directive — Apollo 11 marked its arrival to the lunar surface with a statement heard around the globe from Commander Neil Armstrong, who would take mankind’s first steps on the surface: “Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed.”

And the Bayou City has (somewhat tiredly) been the source of a ubiquitous sentence — that is actually a paraphrasing — uttered by Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell: “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” The adjusted “Houston, we have a problem” declaration was later immortalized by Tom Hanks (as Lovell) in the blockbuster Apollo 13.

What will be the next iconic phrase sent back to Houston when NASA’s manned mission readies to land on Earth’s sole satellite? The countdown is on.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Abbott assembles expert team to help lure U.S. Space Academy to Texas

space race

State Rep. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood has been tapped to lead a new team that will promote Texas as the future home of the U.S. Space Academy.

Bonnen, a neurosurgeon, chairs Houston Physicians’ Hospital and the powerful Texas House Appropriations Committee. His House district is close to NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed the seven-member team. Last month, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the Presidential Commission on the U.S. Space Academy. Commission members, who held their first meeting this month, will recommend a permanent location for the academy.

Texas officials are pushing a site near Johnson Space Center to host the academy. Alabama, Colorado and Florida are among Texas’ competitors.

In a joint statement, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, both of Texas, issued a statement backing the state’s bid for the academy. Cruz lives in Houston. Babbin lives in Woodville, about 55 miles south of Beaumont.

“America’s space program is built across the country, but Texas is where the pieces come together,” the lawmakers said. “We are ready to lead the next generation of space pioneers and look forward to showing why Texas is the right home for the U.S. Space Academy.”

The academy’s curriculum will include technical education, leadership development and public service components. Graduates will be set up for careers in the U.S. military, civil service, and aerospace sectors.

The Abbott-appointed team will work with the Texas Space Commission to prepare the state’s proposal for the academy.

In addition to Bonnen, team members with ties to Houston include:

  • Robert Ambrose, who grew up in Houston. He worked at Johnson Space Center before becoming associate director of the Texas A&M Space Institute.
  • Former NASA astronaut Nancy Curry-Gregg, director of the Texas A&M Space Institute. She earned a doctoral degree from the University of Houston and previously worked at Johnson Space Center.
  • Former NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, senior vice president of Houston-based Intuitive Machines. The company builds spacecraft, delivers payloads to the moon and launches satellites.

“Texas is the home of America’s human spaceflight program,” Abbott said in a release. “No state can match what Texas brings to this mission.”

“NASA’s Johnson Space Center, world-class universities, a premier commercial space industry, major military installations, and an unmatched aerospace workforce give Texas every asset the United States Space Academy requires,” the governor added.

Houston university named No. 10 in nation and more top innovation news

Trending News

Editor's note: September sees a flurry of news for the innovation community, with one Houston university topping a nationwide ranking and one Houston-area NASA contractor poised to go public. Here are the five most-read Houston innovation headlines published September 1-15, 2026:

Houston university ranks No. 10 best in the U.S. in new 2027 report

Education ranking and review website Niche has released its 2027 rankings of the best colleges in the U.S., and Rice University leads as the No. 1 best university in Texas, and No. 10 best nationwide. Rice University ranked 10th in three national lists: Best Colleges in America, Top Private Universities, and Colleges with the Best Professors. Continue reading.

Houston-area NASA contractor plans Nasdaq IPO

Webster-based NASA contractor Rothe Development Inc. has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to go public. Rothe, a minority- and woman-owned business, hasn’t yet identified how many shares it will sell and how much money its IPO might raise. Rothe plans to offer Class B common stock on the Nasdaq exchange. Continue reading.

10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for September

The energy transition and AI will be the talk of this town this month, thanks to a packed calendar of Houston events. September brings the return of Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week and some of its signature anchor events, plus AI conferences and talks exploring how the technology is impacting everything from healthcare to leadership. Here’s what not to miss and how to register. Continue reading.

Amazon's robotaxi service Zoox rolls out in 'sprawling' Houston market

Amazon-owned robotaxi ride-hailing service Zoox is zooming into Houston in September, becoming the latest robotaxi operator jockeying for local riders. Initially, self-driving retrofitted SUVs with safety drivers on board will serve downtown Houston, centrally located tourist hotspots, and certain residential neighborhoods. The SUVs will test Houston roads before Zoox rolls out autonomous robotaxis here, the company says. Continue reading.

10 Houston billionaires land on Forbes' 2026 list of richest Americans

The richest billionaires in America have a collective worth of $8 trillion in 2026, a staggering $1.4 trillion increase since last year, says Forbes. American billionaires are so wealthy that it now takes an unprecedented $4.4 billion net worth to be considered one of the richest people in the country. And one local billionaire has regained the title as Houston's wealthiest resident. Oil tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand, 67, now reigns as the No. 1 richest Houstonian, the 9th richest Texan, and the 88th richest person in America for 2026. Continue reading.

Houston space companies take off with new tech, deals and contracts

space update

Space City has had a busy month.

Houston-based aerospace institutions Venus Aerospace, Axiom Space, and Aegis Aerospace have each recently announced advancements in their respective fields that include expansions and new contracts from U.S. and international government agencies.

Here’s the latest:

Venus launches new test stand

Earlier this month, Venus Aerospace added infrastructure to support the ongoing progress of its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine (RDRE) with the opening of its new propulsion test stand at the Houston Spaceport.

The Texas Space Commission's Space Exploration and Aeronautics Research Fund is funding the test stand, which is part of a larger effort from the state to increase investments in the aerospace economy. The ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 10 welcomed officials from Venus Aerospace, the Texas Space Commission, the Houston Spaceport, Houston business and local community leaders.

With the new stand, Venus will be able to test at higher thrust and for longer durations, which will allow the company to better replicate real-life conditions.

"Building and testing propulsion systems at this pace requires the right infrastructure around the technology," Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace, said in a news release. "We're grateful to the Texas Space Commission and the State of Texas for investing alongside companies like Venus. Public investment like this helps companies move faster and keeps critical aerospace capability growing here in Texas."

Venus closed a $91 million Series B in July and expanded its leadership team.

Axiom partners in Europe

Axiom Space has signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Space Agency for “sustained European access to low-Earth orbit (LEO)” following the retirement of the International Space Station, according to a news release from the company.

Under the agreement, Axiom and the ESA agreed to explore future astronaut missions on the ISS and Axiom Station, research, transportation and spacesuit partnerships. The organizations will explore using the ESA’s European Cargo Return service and potentially a future European crew vehicle to support operations at Axiom Station, the company's forthcoming commercial space station. The partnership could also involve Axiom's AxEMU spacesuit for orbital and lunar applications, according to the release.

“With the upcoming de-orbitation of the ISS, it is our duty to anticipate and prepare future solutions to ensure our access to low-Earth orbit,” Daniel Neuenschwander, director of human and robotic exploration at ESA, said in the release. “The two documents signed today underline both our commitment to safeguard our ability to pursue in-orbit science and to keep offering flight opportunities to our European astronaut corps, as well as the growing interest of international partners for our ongoing project to develop an autonomous European cargo vehicle.”

The announcement comes as Axiom has made several international moves this year. The company shared plans to establish Axiom Space Switzerland this summer and launched Axiom Space Japan in July.

"The path to a sustainable human presence in space runs through international collaboration — reliable supply chains, shared innovation, and partners who bring real capability," Jonathan Cirtain, CEO and President of Axiom Space, said in the release. "Europe's contributions to microgravity science and deep space technology make ESA exactly that kind of partner. This MoU strengthens our work together, and we look forward to ESA and its member states joining us as customers for future astronaut missions."

Aegis expands DoW deal

Webster, Texas-based Aegis Aerospace announced that it has won a new task order to continue supporting the U.S. Space Force’s Space Test Program.

The contract starts in October and covers designing, building, testing and operating Department of War payloads or equipment on NASA, government, and commercial launch vehicles and platforms. The contract was issued by the USSF Space Systems Command, Space Test Program under NASA Johnson Space Center’s Research, Engineering, and Mission Integration Services 2 (REMIS 2).

Currently, the company is working on three payload facilities on the ISS and has plans for two more in development.

“Aegis Aerospace is grateful to continue our exceptional payload integration support to the USSF and the STP to meet their critical mission objectives,” President Matt Ondler added in the release. “This work is more important than ever to maintain U.S. superiority in space. This new contract will take us beyond the current life of the ISS and see us integrate and test payloads on commercial space stations, free-flyers, and cislunar missions.”

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