Thursday, March 19, 2026

Beyond Artemis 2 for NASA | DNA components on an asteroid? | Aurora alert for US states

Beyond Artemis 2: NASA's 'more achievable' path to the moon | Space Quiz! What famous equation ponders where the aliens are? | Get your Star Trek fix for 79% off 2 months of Paramount+
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March 18, 2026
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The Launchpad
 
Beyond Artemis 2: NASA's 'more achievable' path to the moon
Beyond Artemis 2: NASA's 'more achievable' path to the moon
(NASA)
Happy Wednesday, Space Fans! We're starting off the day with the big question: What's beyond Artemis 2? NASA wants a moon exploration program that lasts. Here's what that could mean for astronauts, the United States and its partners.

But that's not all! NASA may set a new Artemis 2 rollout date, scientists find DNA ingredients on an asteroid and Dune 3 just got a trailer. Check it all out below.
 
Destination: moon?
 
Space Quiz! What famous equation ponders where the aliens are?
Find the answer HERE!
VoteThe Last Equation
VoteThe Da Vinci Code
VoteThe Drake Equation
VoteThe E.T. Equation
 
 
 
 
 
Space deal of the day
 
Get your Star Trek fix for 79% off 2 months of Paramount+
Get your Star Trek fix for 79% off 2 months of Paramount+
(Paramount)
If you missed Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, or need to catch up on all things Trek for its 60th anniversary, this Paramount+ deal will beam it all into your living room at a bargain even a Ferengi could love.
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Set phasers to deal
 
 
 
 
Artemis 2: NASA's next moonshot
 
Could Artemis 2 roll out early?
Artemis II: the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B, on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
(Orlando Sentinel/Getty Images)
NASA initially planned to roll its Artemis 2 moon rocket out on March 19. Then delayed it back to March 20. But now, maybe it rolls out on March 19 again? Whatever the date, this overview shows where things are.
 
Rollout when?
 
 
 
 
Skywatching
 
Northern lights may be visible in 16 states
The Aurora Borealis lights up the night sky over Monroe, Wisconsin, on November 11, 2025, during one of the strongest solar storms in decades. The geomagnetic event pushes the northern lights deep into the continental United States, with vibrant pink, red, and green hues illuminating rural farmsteads and open fields across the Midwest. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NurPhoto/Getty Images)
Yesterday we mentioned the chance of a geomagnetic storm supercharging the northern lights. It does appear that things may be heating up, at least across the northern U.S. states. Here's what we know.
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Aurora boom or bust?
 
 
 
 
Spaceflight
 
Watch a long-awaited spacewalk
Watch a long-awaited spacewalk
(NASA)
As you read this, two NASA astronauts are floating in spacesuits outside the International Space Station to work on its solar wings. Here's how to watch the spacewalk action live and what they're doing.
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Live from SPACE!
 
 
 
 
Search for Life
 
Where are all the aliens?
Where are all the aliens?
(SETI Institute)
If our galaxy is teeming with alien planets, many of them in the habitable zone, where is E.T.? Could it be that they don't want to talk to us? In a new study, scientists have an explanation for this "Great Silence."
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E.T. phone Earth!
 
 
 
 
Science & Astronomy
 
Why does asteroid Ryugu have DNA ingredients?
Why does asteroid Ryugu have DNA ingredients?
(ISAS/JAXA/JAXA / JAMSTEC)
From the depths of space comes this tantalizing find about asteroid Ryugu: Scientists studying samples collected by Japan's Hayabusa 2 have found signs of 5 key components of DNA. But what does that mean for us?
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Read More
 
 
 
 
Entertainment
 
5 thoughts about the Dune: Part Three teaser
5 thoughts about the Dune: Part Three teaser
(Warner Bros)
Ready to head back to Arrakis? The first "Dune: Part Three" teaser has just landed to give us our first look at the final installment of Denis Villeneuve's spicy space trilogy. Do we have thoughts? Oh, boy, yes do we have thoughts.
 
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Arrakis. Desert planet.
 
 
 
 
Today in Space
 
Space photo of the day: X-59 preps for test flight
Space photo of the day: X-59 preps for test flight
(NASA)
Our space photo of the day today comes from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center, where the space agency's new "quiet" supersonic X-plane, the X-59, is being prepared for its next test flight. Here's what you should know.
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Learn about the photo
 
On this day in 1980: Soviet rocket explosion kills 48
On this day in 1980: Soviet rocket explosion kills 48
(Roscosmos)
For our space history minute today, we're looking back to March 18, 1980, when the then Soviet Union was working to launch a new Tselina-D satellite. The launch suffered a fatal accident, killing 48. Here's what happened.
 
Watch the video
 
 
 
 
Editor's Note
 
Have a great Wednesday!
Hey, you made it to the end! Congrats, the week may be about half over, but we've got some exciting space events to come. Artemis 2 rollout is just days away, along with the launch of Project Hail Mary in theaters this weekend. We'll have more on that this week, too!

Until then, keep looking up!

Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief, Space.com
 
 
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