Muon Space has 20 satellites manifested for launch over the next 20 months.

In 2025 Muon Space secured major government contracts supporting missile warning and tracking and dual-use environmental monitoring.

Thermal-vacuum test campaigns allow identification of potential issues and corrections before proceeding to subsequent program phases.

The Blue Moon MK-1 lunar lander is part of Blue Origin’s lunar program focused on developing lunar landing capabilities.

Chamber A at NASA Johnson Space Center is one of the world’s largest thermal-vacuum test facilities.

On February 4, 2026 the NASA Johnson Space Center received the Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander at its Houston facilities.

The Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander was transferred into Chamber A at NASA Johnson Space Center for thermal-vacuum testing.

Chamber A is a thermal-vacuum chamber designed to simulate the space environment by combining near-vacuum conditions and large temperature swings.

The Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander arrived at the Clear Lake dock before being moved into the NASA Johnson Space Center complex.

The NASA Johnson Space Center post did not include launch dates or specific mission schedules for the Blue Moon lander.

Thermal-vacuum testing in Chamber A is one of the final steps of on-ground qualification before flight phases.

Thermal-vacuum tests in Chamber A reproduce operational conditions expected for a lunar mission to verify spacecraft structural and functional responses.

Passing through the Clear Lake port is an intermediate logistical step for transporting large vehicles to NASA Johnson Space Center test infrastructures.

The new HECC infrastructure will strengthen the DLR site in Bavaria.

The Gateway is planned to be constructed during this decade and will orbit the Moon.

The HECC project includes expanding the existing control center at GSOC and constructing an additional new building.

Germany participates in the Artemis program through the European Space Agency (ESA).

The HECC will incorporate high-security areas with separate server and control rooms to meet demanding operational requirements.

The GSOC at DLR is developing the AI-based assistance system METIS (Mars Exploration Telemetry-driven Information System) to enable autonomous or semi-autonomous spacecraft operations.

Round-trip signal latency for Mars missions to Earth can be up to 40 minutes, preventing conventional real-time operation.

The DLR is responsible for implementing the development work for Moon and Mars missions at the HECC.

The HECC design is based on operational experience from the Columbus module of the International Space Station.

The Human Exploration Control Center (HECC) will be built at the DLR site in Oberpfaffenhofen.

The HECC is planned to handle astronautical missions that extend beyond the Earth–Moon system in the long term.

The HECC will assume operational responsibility for three Gateway modules: I-HAB, the HALO Lunar Communication System (HLCS), and the ESPRIT Refueling Module (ERM).

Construction of the HECC is scheduled to begin in 2028.

The GSOC team is developing new operational and mission concepts for Moon and Mars missions to be used at the HECC.

The HECC will support the European side of operations for the Gateway lunar space station.

The HECC facility will accommodate up to 200 employees.

The HECC will include a lunar control center with dedicated cleanrooms and multimission rooms to enable parallel operation of different missions.

The DLR is investing an additional €20 million from institutional basic funding provided by the federal and state governments for the HECC.

The HECC will monitor astronautical and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars.

The Free State of Bavaria is funding the HECC construction with €58 million.

The funding approval for the construction of the new control center was delivered to the DLR on 4 February 2026 by Bavarian Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder.

The HECC is intended to be built with long-term support from ESA as a European control center for astronautical and robotic exploration.

Operational start of the Human Exploration Control Center is expected in 2030.

The HECC will be established at the DLR Oberpfaffenhofen as part of the National Space Operations Center (GSOC).

The GSOC is preparing operational procedures for the I-HAB (International Habitation Module) of the Gateway.

The Lunar Gateway introduces a sustained, organized presence in cislunar space rather than episodic missions.

Translating Italian aerospace and space-related competencies into a stable position within the future cislunar value chain is a national industrial challenge.

Cislunar infrastructure development will require patient capital, extended investment horizons, and financial instruments capable of distributing risk to attract institutional investors.

The Artemis program is led by NASA and aims to structure a cislunar architecture beyond individual missions.

The author directs Economia dello Spazio Magazine, Economia del Mare Magazine, and Space&Blue Magazine and has worked in aerospace since 2004 and in maritime economy since 2011.

The Italian Space Agency is involved in activities within Artemis that can have impacts on the national industrial supply chain.

Apollo missions were high-technology operations that lacked systematic continuation and permanent infrastructure.

An articulated supply chain will be required to build habitat modules, life-support systems, energy infrastructures, and logistical platforms for cislunar operations.

Cislunar economic activity involves physical presence, material transfer, energy production, and in-situ resource utilization rather than only data and telecommunications services.

The emergence of permanent cislunar infrastructure would generate interdependent activities of transport, docking, habitation, and return that create opportunities for diverse public and private operators.

The European Space Agency participates in the Artemis program to maintain a role in defining the emerging cislunar architecture.

The Lunar Gateway is conceived as a permanent orbital node around the Moon within the Artemis program.