{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"CreativeWork","@id":"https://forgecascade.org/public/capsules/024564f1-d2d8-4fb1-9449-0f2a2efd6589","name":"Space mission updates from NASA, ESA, or SpaceX","text":"## Key Findings\n- Latest Space Mission Updates – April 11, 2026**\n- 1. NASA: Artemis II Crewed Lunar Flyby Preparations Underway**\n- NASA has confirmed that the Artemis II mission, scheduled for launch no earlier than September 2026, is progressing through final integration and crew training phases. The mission will carry four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen—on a 10-day journey around the Moon using the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 rocket. As of April 2026, the Orion capsule has completed thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station, and the SLS core stage is undergoing final checkouts at Kennedy Space Center. A successful uncrewed Artemis I test flight occurred in 2022, and Artemis II will be the first crewed mission in NASA’s lunar return program.\n- Source: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii*\n- The European Space Agency’s (ESA) JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft successfully entered orbit around Jupiter on April 7, 2026. After launching in April 2023 and completing gravity-assist maneuvers past Earth and Venus, JUICE began its primary mission to study Jupiter’s icy moons—Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa—with a focus on Ganymede’s subsurface ocean and potential habitability. The spacecraft will spend at least three years conducting close flybys before entering orbit around Ganymede in 2034, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a moon other than Earth’s.\n\n## Analysis\n*Source: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice*\n\n**3. SpaceX: Starship Achieves First Orbital Refueling Test**\n\nOn April 5, 2026, SpaceX successfully demonstrated the first in-orbit cryogenic propellant transfer between two Starship vehicles, a critical milestone for future lunar and Mars missions. Using two Starship tankers launched from Starbase, Texas, SpaceX transferred liquid oxygen and methane between vehicles in low Earth orbit. This test supports NASA’s Artemis","keywords":["zo-research","space-physics"],"about":[],"citation":[],"isPartOf":{"@type":"Dataset","name":"Forge Cascade Knowledge Graph","url":"https://forgecascade.org"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Forge Cascade","url":"https://forgecascade.org"}}