February 2-8, 2026 / Hawai`i Island, USA
Vol 45, Week 5: Lunar Broadcast Precursor — Terrestrial Edition
Artemis 2: First Diverse Crew to the Moon
The NASA Artemis program marks a pivotal shift in space exploration, carrying the first woman, person of color and an Astronaut from outside USA on a lunar mission – expanding their spheres of influence and activity by many millions of times. This new era is symbolized by its name: in Greek mythology, Artemis is the goddess of the Moon and the twin sister of Apollo, providing a direct thematic bridge to those legacy missions. Artemis 2 circumlunar mission, launching NET February 8, Astronauts are Reid Wiseman (NASA, commander), Victor Glover (NASA, pilot), Christina Koch (NASA, mission specialist) and Jeremy Hansen (CSA-ASC, mission specialist). They are set to travel over 402,000 km from Earth, surpassing the ~400,000 km Apollo 13 record and nearly 1,000 times farther than the International Space Station at 415 km. Artemis 3 lunar landing targeted for mid-2027 will see a woman work on the Moon for the 1st time, ensuring that women are no longer just pioneers in orbit but central architects of the sustainable lunar domain. Signatories of the Artemis Accords have committed to sharing scientific data and developing space infrastructure that is widely compatible across different systems and jurisdictions. One overarching goal of the Artemis program is to explore the use of lunar resources to produce, food, fuel and building materials for further space exploration, including the entire Solar System in this 21st Century. (Image Credits: NASA, Thomas Crawford, SPC)
Humans Living, Learning and Preparing to Leap Farther into Space
This week may mark the first instance in history of humans simultaneously occupying low Earth orbit and conducting a circumlunar flight. The International Space Station operates with a reduced, 3-person crew following Crew-11 early return due to medical concerns. NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikayev maintain operations including fluid dynamics research, biological sampling and system checks until Crew-12 arrival. SpaceX Crew-12 to launch four Astronauts—Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, Andrey Fedyaev—to ISS no earlier than February 11 for six-month expedition duties. Boeing Starliner-1 to conduct an uncrewed ISS cargo test no earlier than April 2026, the third orbital mission using the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. On China Tiangong Space Station, Shenzhou-21 crew—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, Zhang Hongzhang—conducts microgravity biology experiments including virtual reality neuro studies, materials science investigations and station maintenance. This 3-person team supports data collection for future lunar missions, with next rotation Shenzhou-23 targeted for April 2026. Ongoing Tiangong rotations and ISS handovers build long-duration expertise for cislunar and Mars missions. ISRO Gaganyaan-1 uncrewed orbital test targets late March 2026, in preparation for the first human spaceflight from India. In 2026, Vast Haven-1 targets launch as the first standalone commercial space station. Sierra Space plans a LIFE inflatable prototype module for pathfinder testing toward Orbital Reef. (Image Credits: VAST)
Humans in Space
International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 74 operating with crew of 3 working in Kibo laboratory module for deployment / release of 6 CubeSats to LEO this week; continuing Earth photography with optical and multi-spectral cameras; planning for arrival of Crew-12 next week; ongoing maintenance includes servicing orbital plumbing hardware and testing communication systems inside Zvezda, cleaning and inspecting ventilation systems.
Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-21 three-member crew advancing a range of in-orbit activities this week including comprehensive emergency response drills and operational proficiency training to maintain crew readiness; inspections and system checks across the Tianhe core module and attached labs; overseeing preparations and monitoring for upcoming cargo and rotation missions while all crew members remain in good health after nearly 4 months in orbit.
Lunar Enterprise News: Artemis 2 Wet Dress Rehearsal Next, NET 2 February │ Artemis 2 Communications Enhanced by Volunteers Worldwide
Near-Earth Objects Close Approaches – Mon Feb 2: Aten Asteroid 2025 CD (0.057 AU); Wed Feb 4: Apollo Asteroid 2026 BY2 (0.025 AU); Thu Feb 5: Apollo Asteroid 2026 BM (0.0126 AU); Fri Feb 6: Apollo Asteroid 2026 BK4 (0.051 AU)
The First Woman FLYS to the Moon …
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First Women LAND on the Moon …
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