March 30 - April 5, 2026 / Hawai`i Island, USA
Vol 45, Week 13: Lunar Broadcast Precursor — Terrestrial Edition
Artemis II to Show the Way, Closely Observe the Moon
Artemis II crewed lunar flyby, likely April 5 with April 1 launch, will travel beyond Apollo 13 distances and also restore something absent for 50+ years: human eyes directly observing the Moon from a “mere” 6,400-9,000 km. Flying aboard Orion, Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch of NASA and Jeremy Hansen of CSA-ASC will pass close enough above the surface to see subtle variations in color, brightness / albedo and surface texture in ways orbital instruments cannot. They will record images and write observations and descriptions, focusing on impact flashes and geological and terrain features near the lunar south pole. These human interpretations, integrating perception, context and judgment, will inform landing site selection for future missions. Simultaneously, Orion life-support systems, manual spacecraft control and reentry performance are evaluated. Hansen noted, every task “buys down risk” for the next crew. “We’re going to make sure that the flying qualities of the Orion spacecraft are suitable for the more complex missions,” said Glover. Wiseman realizes, “Mach 39 at entry … there’s risk in that.” Koch believes “The privilege of carrying everyone’s dreams with you into space also comes with a responsibility … to bring your best every day.” (Image Credits: NASA, NASA-Kelsey Young)
Comets from Near and Far; Possibility of Naked-Eye Viewing
Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) reaches perihelion April 4, coming within ~160,000,000 km of the Sun, where temperatures and solar radiation tremendously increase outgassing. If the nucleus, typically a few kilometers across, remains intact, the heating that drives outgassing can form a bright head / coma, and also a tail that can extend millions of kilometers while always pointing away from the Sun. However, structural failure is common; many comets fragment or disintegrate near perihelion. A similar case, Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS), will reach perihelion April 19 (21:00 UTC) at ~76,000,000 km. Both are likely first-time visitors from the distant Oort Cloud, a massive spherical shell of icy objects at the outermost boundary of the Sun’s gravitational influence. While unobserved directly due to its extreme distance, it is known as the source of long-period comets. Fewer than 10 such new comets are discovered annually with C/2026 A1 (MAPS) holding the record for being the furthest such comet from the Sun at time of its discovery (January 13, 2026). More than 3,800 comets have been cataloged. Short-period comets (under 200 years) such as Halley’s are likely from the Kuiper Belt. Long-period comets may take a million years to orbit the Sun. (Image Credits: NASA, ESA)
Humans in Space
☆ International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 74 seven-member crew continue to unload ~6,000 kg of food, fuel and other supplies from Progress 94 Roscosmos craft, while continuing health research, biology experiments and cleaning; biological samples were prepared and stowed at -80°C, drinking water was assessed for microbial growth. Astronauts are exercising 2 hours daily, whether on treadmill, bicycle or a resistive device to simulate weight-lifting. Roscosmos Cosmonauts disassembled the docking mechanism in the Poisk module, did general maintenance and data transfers.
☆ Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-21 three-member crew harvested a bountiful crop of cherry tomatoes after supporting growth of the plants for many weeks. They cleaned experiment chambers and filled them with new samples, and maintained motors of a sample handling mechanism and cleaned its windows. Crew also replaced the burner and a cover inside a combustion-science device, and put more experimental samples into a fluid-physics cabinet. Upcoming cultivation experiments are planned for wheat, carrots and a plant in the mustard / Brassica family.
◐ Lunar Enterprise News: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke to representatives of ~35 countries, announcing ~US$20B investment to build a Moon base by 2033, Artemis 3 lunar lander(s) in orbit by 2027, and Artemis 4 human Moon landing in 2028. Gateway is paused; 3 phases for Moon base: 1) support industry via CLPS rovers, instruments and technology, for mobility, power, communications, navigation, surface ops, science; 2) semi-habitable infrastructure / Astronaut ops on surface such as with JAXA pressurized rover; 3) affordable and sustained permanence such as with Italy’s habitation module.
Near-Earth Objects Close Approaches – Mon Mar 30: Apollo Asteroid 2026 FN1 (0.021 AU); Tue Mar 31: Aten Asteroid 2026 FJ (0.019 AU); Fri Apr 3: Aten Asteroid 2019 FQ1 (0.024 AU); Sat Apr 4: Apollo Asteroid 2023 DZ2 (0.006 AU)
First Woman FLIES to the Moon …
NET (no earlier than)
First Woman LANDS on the Moon …
Loading Moon data for your location...
Loading planet data...
Land your name on the Moon!
Have your name sent to the Moon for FREE on the ILO-1 lunar mission via Astrolab FLEX rover (NET 2027). You will automatically be signed up for our weekly Space Calendar.