Early image of Ultima Thule revealed, providing hints on its shape

China has performed a hover and hazard avoidance test on a model the country’s first Mars rover, while engineers ready the real spacecraft for launch toward the red planet in mid-2020.

NASA safety advisors on Thursday lauded hardware milestones on Boeing and SpaceX commercial crew capsules, but said multiple technical issues, including problems with parachutes, must be resolved before the human-rated ships are ready to carry astronauts, adding that both companies continue to pursue schedules that appear to be unachievable.

NASA’s vision for a sprawling Moon Base will cover “hundreds of square miles” to cover the multitudes of various sites that the agency wants to explore.