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Launch Details Target launch: April 1, 2026 at 6:24 p.m. EDT 2-hour launch window Backup opportunities through April 6 Mission Overview First crewed Artemis mission Crew: 4 astronauts (NASA + Canadian Space Agency) Duration: ~10 days Mission: Fly around the Moon and return Systems Being Tested Orion spacecraft with humans onboard Life support systems and deep space capabilities Prepares for future Moon missions

Sometimes progress is slow. Nothing exemplifies this more than the crawler-transporter that is used to transport rockets from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to launchpads out at Kennedy Space Center. It’s not surprising that the crawler makes for an incredible mental health metaphor as it encompasses the principles of stability, balance, and safety. We may not always see the progress in the moment, but with each steady step, we are getting closer to where we are meant

“Every mission to the stars begins long before the launch. It begins the moment someone dares to look up.” “Where Wonder Begins”  Part of the Human in Human Spaceflight  series 11 x 14 in Pen and ink on mixed media paper Following an event at the Orlando Science Center and inspired by the Space for Art Exhibit, I created this piece above.  The exhibit was especially curated and presented by the Space for Art Foundation and Space for a Better World. The exhibit beautifully bl

Artemis II marks humanity’s return to deep space with a crew onboard for the first time since 1972. While often discussed as a systems test, the mission carries a robust scientific agenda focused on one critical variable: humans. From crew health and performance to real-time lunar observations, Artemis II uses human data to shape how future missions will safely and effectively explore beyond the Moon. This mission is not just about going farther. It is about understanding how

A giant balloon carries NASA’s ASTHROS telescope to the edge of space, revealing how stars shape galaxies and how new worlds begin.

On our visit to Mount Wilson Observatory, we met a celebrity of sorts. The final stop of the tour was the telescope Edwin Hubble used. Hubble, as in the man the Hubble Space Telescope was named after. Standing inside the dome and looking through the same instrument he once worked with made time feel suspended. My mind kept circling the idea that some of humanity’s greatest discoveries about the universe were made right there, in that very room. Hubble’s most famous contributi

CRS-21 delivered some of the most innovative science to the International Space Station, from brain organoids and beating heart cells to microbial mapping and asteroid biomining. Each experiment brings us closer to understanding how life adapts beyond Earth.

60-inch Telescope at Mt. Wilson Observatory-September 2025 Sometimes the part of you with the greatest potential is the one that has been waiting the longest to be understood.   If you drive up the winding mountain road through the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, California, you eventually reach the Mount Wilson Observatory. Founded in 1904 by George Ellery Hale and supported by the Carnegie Institution, the site became one of the most influential observatories of th

On September 24, 2025, at 7:30 a.m. EST, NASA successfully launched the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The mission marks a major step forward in heliophysics, expanding our understanding of the solar system’s boundary and the forces that shape it.

If successful, ADSEP-PIL-11 could lead to better cancer drugs and demonstrate the unique value of the ISS for biotechnology. Just like other space experiments, what we learn in orbit has the potential to benefit people all over the planet.  

Cygnus CRS-2 NG-23 launch heading to the International Space Station with the GULBI experiment in the payload. In space, clean water is...

Explore some of the science in the payload heading to the ISS on the NG-23 launch. Growing the Future of Electronics in Space

A Falcon 9 booster rests at Port Canaveral after multiple launches and recoveries, awaiting refurbishment for its next mission. A...

Sometimes, the biggest ideas come from the simplest acts. Like an astronaut pausing between experiments to paint with the first set of...

Milky Way over the Big Island, Hawai'i Thank you for your interest in this Analog Astronaut Research project. You can view the abstract...

Analog Astronaut looks up at The Milky Way from Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii Disclaimer:  These articles are written by a licensed mental...

Falcon 9 booster from the Crew-11 launch landing at Landing Zone 1 (LZ!) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. When we watch a rocket...

Image of the Sun taken on July 16, 2025 from Central Florida using a Seestar S50 telescope. On the morning of July 16 around 8:30 AM in Central Florida, I took this photo of the Sun. The sunspots have been particularly active lately due to the Sun being in solar maximum, making the surface look vibrant. What solar maximum means is that the Sun is at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle.  The sunspots are abundant and highly active.  It also means that solar flares and coron

‘Tis the season for globular clusters! With a clear sky last night, I couldn’t resist imaging a few. What started as one target turned into a full-on globular cluster marathon… a “Globulathon,” if you will. I captured M92, M53, M3, M12, and M13, each a brilliant swarm of ancient stars. Now here’s where it gets interesting: what do these stellar formations have to do with mental health? As it turns out, more than you might think. They echo the mind in some surprising and mea

Perseverance rover successfully launched on July 30, 2020, aboard the Atlas V 541 rocket, initiating its 7-month interplanetary cruise to Mars for surface exploration, sample collection, and astrobiology research. I’m sure we can all think of someone in our lives who you’d describe as being perseverant. This person has an incredible determination to achieve, despite difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. It’s the quality of persisting in a course of action, even when fac