| In this week’s newsletter, meet the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, Mission 2 crew as they prepare to conclude their mission; explore the commercial lunar terrain vehicles and robotic rovers being developed to help build humanity’s first lunar outpost; and learn about NASA’s Space Reactor-1 Freedom, humanity’s first fission-powered spacecraft designed for travel beyond Earth orbit. Plus, more stories you might have missed. |
| HUMANS IN SPACE 365 Days on “Mars” |
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| After a year inside a simulated Mars habitat, the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, Mission 2 crew is preparing to complete its 365-day journey. Crew members Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery, and James Spicer entered their 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat on Oct. 19, 2025, and have operated as though they were on the Red Planet, growing crops, managing limited resources, navigating communication delays, and conducting suited extravehicular activities on a simulated Martian surface. The crew will exit the habitat on Saturday, Oct. 31, marking the conclusion of the yearlong mission simulation. Live coverage begins at 3 p.m. EDT. HOW TO WATCH |
 | HUMANS IN SPACE CHAPEA Mission 2 In the latest episode of Houston We Have a Podcast, the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA, Mission 2 crew share final reflections on their simulated Mars mission. LISTEN |
| HUMANS IN SPACE Artemis Updates During a briefing on Friday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other agency leaders shared the agency’s path forward for returning Americans to the lunar surface in 2028. The update included details about the Artemis III mission, which will send four astronauts to low Earth orbit next year to test critical systems that will pave the way for Artemis IV, the mission expected to return astronauts to the Moon’s surface and advance NASA’s long-term exploration goals. WATCH |  |
 SCIENCE Voyage Beyond Earth’s Orbit Destined for Mars and beyond, NASA’s Space Reactor-1 (SR-1) Freedom will be humanity’s first fission-powered spacecraft to travel beyond Earth’s orbit. The mission will demonstrate nuclear electric propulsion in deep space while advancing a critical technology: the spacecraft’s nuclear power module. Scheduled to launch in late 2028, SR-1 Freedom will deliver the SkyFall science mission, which will deploy three Mars helicopters derived from the Ingenuity design. Together, they will gather scientific data, assess potential exploration zones, and help identify possible water resources on the Martian surface. LEARN MORE |  SCIENCE Future of Flight on Mars NASA is advancing the future of flight on Mars, developing helicopter technologies that could fly higher and farther while conducting science on the Red Planet. Researchers recently tested roamx-021, a newly developed blade cross-section, or airfoil, that promises to significantly boost aerodynamic performance on Mars, using advanced simulations and algorithms tuned to Mars conditions, pointing researchers toward a thinner, asymmetrical shape. LEARN MORE |
| More NASA News |
 | With a successful Mars gravity assist behind it, NASA’s Psyche spacecraft has fired up its thrusters and is accelerating toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. When it arrives in 2029, the spacecraft will enter orbit around the asteroid, which scientists believe may be the partial core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of an early planet. |
 | On Tuesday, NASA released a Moon Base update, offering a closer look at the commercial lunar terrain vehicles and robotic rovers being developed to provide the mobility needed to build humanity’s first lunar outpost. Data gathered during these early missions will help shape the future mobility systems and infrastructure astronauts will need to live and work on the Moon. |
 | Humans are exerting increasing influence over how water moves through lakes, rivers, soil, and the subsurface, and a new NASA study shows where those effects are greatest. Using more than two decades of satellite measurements of subtle changes in Earth’s gravity, the researchers sharpened the picture of how — and why — terrestrial water storage has changed. |
| Do You Know? |
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| This week, NASA’s Mars Odyssey reaches a new milestone: the spacecraft, the longest-lived mission at any planet other than Earth, has now been orbiting Mars for 25 years! Its original goals were to look for signs of water, map surface materials, and determine radiation levels on Mars. Having completed those objectives, in recent years, it has monitored changes on the Martian surface and played an important role in helping us communicate with the landers and rovers on Mars. |
| Find out the answer in next week’s NASA newsletter! |
 | Last week, we asked which Apollo mission included a spacecraft named “Spider.” The answer? Apollo 9. Launched in March 1969, Apollo 9 was the first crewed mission to test the Apollo Lunar Module in space. NASA astronauts James McDivitt, David Scott, and Russell Schweickart named the lunar module “Spider” because of its long-legged, spider-like appearance. They called the Command Module “Gumdrop” in part because of its shape and partly because its blue protective wrapping on the factory floor reminded them of the candy. |
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