ContentLora: Space exploration and astronomyNew and updated Space exploration and astronomy pages on ContentLora.https://contentlora.com/enArtemis programhttps://contentlora.com/wiki/artemis-program/https://contentlora.com/wiki/artemis-program/NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the Moon. Artemis II flew in April 2026; the first landing is now planned for Artemis IV in 2028.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceChang'e lunar program (China)https://contentlora.com/wiki/chang-e-program/https://contentlora.com/wiki/chang-e-program/China's Chang'e programme has orbited, landed on and returned samples from the Moon, including the far side. Chang'e-7 slipped from 2026 to later.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceCommercial space stationshttps://contentlora.com/wiki/commercial-space-stations/https://contentlora.com/wiki/commercial-space-stations/Private stations from Vast, Axiom, Starlab and others aim to replace the ISS around 2030. Their schedules, NASA's role and the open questions.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST)https://contentlora.com/wiki/james-webb-space-telescope/https://contentlora.com/wiki/james-webb-space-telescope/Webb is NASA, ESA and CSA's 6.5-meter infrared space telescope at L2. What it is, what it has found, and the debates it has started.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceMars Sample Returnhttps://contentlora.com/wiki/mars-sample-return/https://contentlora.com/wiki/mars-sample-return/Mars Sample Return was the NASA-ESA plan to bring Perseverance's rock cores to Earth. Congress declined to fund it in 2026; China's Tianwen-3 is next.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceNancy Grace Roman Space Telescopehttps://contentlora.com/wiki/nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope/https://contentlora.com/wiki/nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope/Roman is NASA's wide-field infrared survey telescope, launched August 30, 2026, to study dark energy and take a census of exoplanets.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceSpaceX Starshiphttps://contentlora.com/wiki/spacex-starship/https://contentlora.com/wiki/spacex-starship/Starship is SpaceX's fully reusable super-heavy rocket and NASA's planned Moon lander. It reached orbit for the first time in September 2026.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceVera C. Rubin Observatoryhttps://contentlora.com/wiki/vera-c-rubin-observatory/https://contentlora.com/wiki/vera-c-rubin-observatory/Rubin Observatory in Chile began its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time in mid-2026, imaging the southern sky every few nights.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWikispace-explorationspacescienceSpace exploration tracker: milestones, launches and discoverieshttps://contentlora.com/events/space-exploration-tracker/https://contentlora.com/events/space-exploration-tracker/A dated log of milestones in space exploration and astronomy, 2024 to 2026: Artemis, Starship, Roman, Rubin, Mars samples, China, India, Europe and exoplanets.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTDevelopingspace-explorationspacescienceSigns of life beyond Earth: how strong is the evidence?https://contentlora.com/analysis/life-beyond-earth-evidence-debate/https://contentlora.com/analysis/life-beyond-earth-evidence-debate/K2-18 b and the Cheyava Falls rock on Mars produced the strongest claimed hints of life yet. What the data show, what critics say and what would settle it.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAnalysisspace-explorationspacescienceMoon race or science? The fight over NASA's prioritieshttps://contentlora.com/analysis/nasa-priorities-debate/https://contentlora.com/analysis/nasa-priorities-debate/The White House twice proposed cutting NASA science by nearly half while protecting Artemis. Congress pushed back. What is at stake as of October 2026.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAnalysisspace-explorationspacepolicyHow exoplanets are found, and how we look for signs of lifehttps://contentlora.com/explain/how-exoplanets-are-found/https://contentlora.com/explain/how-exoplanets-are-found/Transits, wobbles, microlensing and direct imaging: how astronomers have found more than 6,000 exoplanets, and how they read alien atmospheres.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExplainerspace-explorationspacescienceHow rockets reach orbit, and why reusability mattershttps://contentlora.com/explain/how-rockets-reach-orbit/https://contentlora.com/explain/how-rockets-reach-orbit/Why getting to orbit is hard: orbital speed, the rocket equation, staging and why reusable boosters like Falcon and Starship change the economics.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExplainerspace-explorationspacescienceHow space telescopes work, and what Webb, Roman and Rubin each dohttps://contentlora.com/explain/how-space-telescopes-work/https://contentlora.com/explain/how-space-telescopes-work/Why astronomers put telescopes in space or on mountaintops, why infrared matters, and how Webb, Roman and Rubin divide up the sky as of 2026.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExplainerspace-explorationspacescienceSpace exploration and astronomy in 2026: a crash coursehttps://contentlora.com/explain/space-exploration/https://contentlora.com/explain/space-exploration/A sourced crash course on space in 2026: Artemis and the Moon race, Starship, Mars samples, Webb, Roman, Rubin, exoplanets and the budget fight.Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTExplainerspace-explorationspacescience