The Blue Ghost lunar lander, managed by Texas company Firefly Aerospace, touched down Sunday morning on the moon's near side.

(See “How Artemis will land humans on the Moon” for more.) Technological and funding issues cloud exactly when new human footprints appear ... adapted from the 2018 Mars Insight mission ...

In this new era, the first footprint on the ... missions to the moon and Mars that will take weeks, months and even years, may prompt new standards for astronaut fitness. During these long ...

Until Athena’s cameras, as well as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, can return images ... s moon landing are about more than lunar exploration. The goal is to eventually get to Mars.

The images, which he posted ... depend on the rocket company to ferry astronauts to the lunar surface on a modified Starship for the Artemis III and IV moon missions under a $4.2 billion contract.

Were astronauts ... the moon – and uncrewed landers like Blue Ghost and Athena are considered vital in laying that groundwork – they'd then fuel up and prepare to continue onward to Mars.

Building such facilities off Earth could have a lot of benefits. Early projects are underway.

In a post on X, Musk also suggested that human landings on Mars could begin as early ... which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade. However, before those missions can take place ...