Meta Ordered to Pay $567M Over Child Safety Violations in New Mexico 
FDA Pilot Program Eases Rules for Nicotine Pouch Makers 
SK Hynix, Samsung Lead Asian Chip Stock Selloff After Sandisk, Western Digital Outlook 
OpenAI Restricts Astra AI Over Cyberattack Risks 
SpaceX’s Starship Completes 11th Test Flight, Paving Way for Moon and Mars Missions 
China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030 
NASA Resumes Cygnus XL Cargo Docking with Space Station After Software Fix 
Tabletop particle accelerator could transform medicine and materials science 
Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment 
SMIC Shares Rally as Q2 Profit Surges 262% on Strong Chip Demand 
LG, Nvidia Expand AI Partnership With Humanoid Robots, AI Factories 
Is space worth the cost? Accounting experts say its value can’t be found in spreadsheets 
Alphabet Stock Slides as Google AI Pioneer Jeff Dean Exits to Launch Discovery Loop 
Cisco Forecasts Strong Fiscal 2027 Growth as AI Networking Demand Surges 
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates 
Google Pushes Gemini AI Overhaul as Sergey Brin Targets Model Supremacy 
Add as a preferred source on Google
NASA's Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanity's return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission will send the crew on a sweeping journey around the Moon and back, setting the stage for a future lunar surface landing later this decade.
The mission began with liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket NASA has ever launched. Shortly after launch, the Orion capsule separated from the rocket's upper stage and entered a highly elliptical Earth orbit. During the first two days, the crew will run thorough checkouts of critical onboard systems, including life support, propulsion, navigation, and communications, before venturing deeper into space.
Once those checks are cleared, Orion will execute a translunar injection burn, breaking free from Earth's orbit and charting a course toward the Moon. The multi-day coast through deep space will push the astronauts farther from Earth than any humans have ever traveled, while mission controllers carefully monitor navigation and communications performance throughout the journey.
The spacecraft will then swing behind the Moon on a free-return trajectory, a carefully calculated flight path that uses lunar gravity to naturally slingshot Orion back toward Earth without needing extra fuel. Following the flyby, the crew will spend several days conducting deep-space evaluations of power systems, thermal controls, and crew operations during the return trip.
Re-entry will be one of the mission's most technically demanding moments, with Orion plunging into the atmosphere at roughly 25,000 miles per hour. The high-energy descent will put the capsule's heat shield through a rigorous real-world test before the spacecraft splashes down in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams will be standing by to bring the crew safely home.
