Reuters Science News Summary

The launches of Russian spacecraft Luna-28, Luna-29, and Luna-30 have been postponed to 2032–2036, Interfax quoted Russian Academy ⁠of ​Sciences Vice ⁠President Sergei Chernyshev as saying. Artemis II moon crew flies farther ⁠than humans have ever gone before The four astronauts of NASA's ​Artemis II mission flew deeper into space on Monday ⁠than any humans before them, as they cruised through a ⁠rare ​flyby of the shadowed far side of the moon that revealed a lunar surface under ⁠cosmic bombardment.

Following is a summary of ​current science news ​briefs.

Russia delays lunar ‌missions as ​US marks historic flight

Russia has pushed back the launch of ‌three moon missions, the Interfax news agency said on Tuesday, a setback to its ambitious lunar exploration programme as ‌longtime space rival, the United States, celebrated an ‌historic flight around the moon. The launches of Russian spacecraft Luna-28, Luna-29, and Luna-30 have been postponed to 2032–2036, Interfax quoted Russian Academy ⁠of ​Sciences Vice ⁠President Sergei Chernyshev as saying.

Artemis II moon crew flies farther ⁠than humans have ever gone before

The four astronauts of NASA's ​Artemis II mission flew deeper into space on Monday ⁠than any humans before them, as they cruised through a ⁠rare ​flyby of the shadowed far side of the moon that revealed a lunar surface under ⁠cosmic bombardment. The six-hour survey of the normally hidden hemisphere ⁠of Earth's only ⁠natural satellite was highlighted by the astronauts' direct visual observations of "impact flashes" from ‌meteors ‌pelting the darkened and heavily cratered ​lunar surface.