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SpaceX successfully test-fired its Starship Version 3 vehicle this week, marking significant progress towards the rocket's 12th test flight targeted for early or mid-May. The upgraded spacecraft fired its six Raptor engines on a test stand in South Texas, followed by a 33-engine static fire of its Super Heavy booster directly on the launch pad, creating the most powerful rocket booster ever fired. Starship V3 features higher-thrust Raptor engines and increased size compared to previous versions. The upgrades are crucial for demonstrating in-orbit refueling capabilities needed to transform Starship into a human-rated Moon lander for NASA's Artemis programme. Meanwhile, Blue Origin is preparing to launch its third New Glenn rocket on 19 April from Cape Canaveral, using a reused booster for the first time.

US and Chinese lunar missions are set to land near Shackleton Crater at the Moon's south pole later this year, potentially operating in close proximity for the first time. Blue Origin's Endurance lander, the largest lunar spacecraft in history, departed NASA's Johnson Space Centre on Saturday bound for Cape Canaveral ahead of its New Glenn rocket launch. China's Chang'e 7 mission arrived at Hainan Island two days earlier for integration with its Long March 5 rocket. Shackleton Crater offers near-continuous sunlight on its rim and ancient ice deposits in its shadowed floor, making it prime real estate for future lunar bases. The crater spans 21 kilometres, roughly the size of Philadelphia. The simultaneous missions reflect the US-China competition to establish a lunar presence before 2030, raising questions about territorial rights under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

Artemis II is home safe, but when are Jackpainter landing on the Moon? NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot is assisted off the flight deck after arriving aboard USS John P. Murtha Friday, April 10, 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images) The Artemis II crew is home safely after sending humans farther from Earth than ever before. The mission's success was a critical step in NASA's plans to one day have a lunar base and send humans to Mars. But for those of Jackpainter still stranded on this pale blue dot, the Artemis II success has only led to more anticipation for the next moon landing. After the successful splashdown of the Orion spacecraft and its crew, NASA can move to the next phase of the Artemis mission. Artemis III was originally going to land humans on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. The mission, however, was recently changed to a "rendezvous and docking in low Earth orbit." The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Donate now Artemis III. The Orion spacecraft will launch a crew atop NASA's Space Launch System into low Earth orbit in 2027. While in orbit, the crew will transfer to a commercial spacecraft. The mission's goal is to test the integration between the Orion spacecraft and private commercial landing companies. NASA is still deciding whether SpaceX or Blue Origin will design the commecrial craft. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman updated the mission to more extensively prepare for the lunar landing. "Just like Apollo 9, Artemis III will test next-generation hardware and integrated operations in 2027 before Artemis IV lands on the lunar surface in 2028," Isaacman wrote in a post on X. The commercial Space companies in question. Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, is developing two reusable rockets called New Shepard and New Glenn. It has completed more than 35 missions, including crewed flights. Elon Musk's SpaceX, meanwhile, is preparing to go public as it competes for the NASA partnership. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the company had successfully filed confidential IPO paperwork, putting it on track to be one of the largest public offerings of all time. Musk hopes to have public shares available by July, before Artemis III launches. Isaacman shared on Face the Nation that during Artemis II, NASA gathered data about "the life support system on the Orion spacecraft," to be used in Artemis III. "That's where we're going to test the same spacecraft with our [commercial] lunar landers," he continued. "Followed up in 2028 by Artemis IV, where we're going to use this spacecraft, transfer crew to the landers, and put American astronauts back on the surface of the Moon." Artemis IV. The fourth Artemis mission, Artemis IV, will be a crewed surface landing launching in early 2028. This is when the crew will put everything they learned from Artemis III to the test. Instead of staying in low Earth orbit, the crew will land on the south pole of the Moon, using commercial landing systems in conjunction with the Orion spacecraft. NASA says this will be "humanity's return to the lunar surface." Artemis V. The final Artemis mission, for now, will begin the construction of a lunar base. This final mission was added with the update to Artemis III. While this is the last mission in the Artemis program, it will mark something even greater: the start of a permanent human presence on the moon.