NASA is going to the Moon and on to Mars, in a measured, sustainable way. Working with U.S. companies and international partners, NASA will push the boundaries of human exploration forward to the Moon. NASA is working to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon within the next decade to uncover new scientific discoveries and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy. A key component of establishing the first permanent American presence and infrastructure on and around the Moon is the Gateway, a lunar orbiting platform to host astronauts farther from Earth than ever before. On the Gateway, America and its partners will prepare to transit deep space, testing new technologies and systems as we build the infrastructure to support missions to the surface of the Moon and prepare for the epochal mission to Mars. NASA also will study the effects of the deep space environment of the Gateway, learning how living organisms react to the radiation and microgravity of a deep space environment over long periods. Right now, NASA is taking steps to begin this next era of exploration. #Moon2Mars Learn more at: https://www.nasa.gov/moontomars This video is available for download from NASA's Image and Video Library: https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ_2019_0311_Humans%20Explore%20Farther%E2%94%83Go%20Forward.html ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJ2bgMSoR0Q

Expedition 53-54 Soyuz Commander Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA and their backups, Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos and Scott Tingle and Shannon Walker of NASA conducted their first Soyuz vehicle fit check in the Integration Facility at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Aug. 28 and final qualification training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia Aug. 30 and 31. On September 1 both the prime and backup crews held a news conference and toured the Gagarin Museum at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. They viewed historic space artifacts, and visited Red Square in Moscow for traditional ceremonies, including the laying of flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred. The Expedition 53 crew participated in traditional ceremonies Sept. 6 at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, outside Moscow. Afterward, they departed for the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to complete training for launch of Misurkin, Vande Hei and Acaba Sept. 13 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft for a five-and-a-half-month mission aboard the International Space Station. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FEnuXVVL0Q