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NASA has updated a planned call for proposals for lunar landers to enable a human mission in 2024, broadening the scope to include integrated lander concepts. In a procurement filing issued late April 26, NASA updated an earlier notice published April 8 that announced plans to solicit proposals for an ascent stage for a human-rated lunar lander. Instead, the upcoming procurement will seek proposals for “a complete integrated lander” that includes an ascent module as well as a descent module and transfer stage. A formal call for proposals, part of NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships, or NextSTEP, program...

NASA is eager for humans to venture beyond the International Space Station, leave boot prints in the red dust of Mars and fly into the vast unknown—but first, the moon. Before the space agency puts astronauts on our natural satellite for the first time since the Apollo missions touched down, it needs a lunar outpost to be its gateway to the future. The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway is the brainchild of NASA scientists joining forces with ISS and commercial partners to explore the concept of such an outpost floating around the moon. After months of brainstorming, the concept is going to...

SAN DIEGO - A week after a half million people fled Southern California's wildfires, shelters began closing and residents were figuring out what to do next — even as firefighters kept a wary eye on the possibility of strong winds developing later in the week. There was a chance of moderate Santa Anas — the fierce, dry winds that fanned the flames last week — returning in the next seven days, forecasters said. "It's a little premature to be celebrating, that's for sure," California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Fred Daskoski said. "We're looking for full control within...

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats say there is no doubt President Bush will soon be confronted with legislation calling for an end to the Iraq war. But the new majority must decide how far to go in trying to tie Bush's hands and what will happen after the president's inevitable veto. The debate is likely to expose fissures among Democrats, who remain divided on whether to cut off money for the unpopular war and risk leaving troops in the lurch. "My feeling is at a certain point we're going to have a 'come-to-Jesus' moment in the caucus and talk about whether...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The military will install a long-range missile interceptor in a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., next Tuesday, the Pentagon said. The interceptor is part of the Bush administration's missile defense program, designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles fired from North Korea or elsewhere in eastern Asia. It is the first interceptor to be placed at Vandenberg. Six other interceptors are already in place at the primary site in Fort Greely, Alaska; the Vandenberg site will receive a second missile this month. The multibillion-dollar system is still being tested. The military has no date set...