
Once again the Philippine Space Agency was on guard for possible rocket debris stemming from China’s recent launch of a Long March 8A rocket from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Wenchang, Hainan. The maiden flight of the Long March 8A booster took place on February 11, reportedly hurling into orbit a set of satellites for […]

Japan’s Resilience lunar lander completed a flyby of the Moon today, zipping within roughly 5,220miles (8,400 kilometers) of the Moon’s surface. The commercial lunar lander is a product of ispace, a Moon exploration company. “Resilience is now on a trajectory out to deep space before completing orbital maneuvers that will bring it back towards the […]

Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander is on cruise control as it prepares to enter orbit around the Moon. A recent engine burn to send the probe off to the Moon was performed with such accuracy, Firefly mission controllers are skipping the next one. “With Earth in the rearview mirror, we’re on cruise control until we reach […]

China’s Moon exploration plans, including placing humans on the lunar landscape before 2030, continues to progress. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) unveiled today the names of the lunar landing spacesuit and human-carrying lunar rover. The Moon walking spacesuit is named “Wangyu”, meaning “gazing into the cosmos.” “Tansuo” is the name selected for the rover, […]

A Chinese research team is developing a lightweight robotic drone with a targeted special mission scenario of Mars exploration. The air-ground dual-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weighs only 300 grams, equivalent to the weight of an apple. The development team is at the School of Astronautics of Harbin Institute of Technology. Shifting center of gravity […]

A candid video details the spacewalking tribulations by China’s Shenzhou-18 crew back in May of last year. During an 8.5-hour spacewalk, astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu successfully installed space debris protection devices, among other tasks. Ye and Li Guangsu made the spacewalks then returned to the station’s Wentian lab module after their […]

NASA’s Acting Administrator, Janet Petro, has requested space agency employees “to lean into this opportunity” that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) seeks to maximize efficiencies. “I know the recent executive orders and subsequent guidance are weighing on many of you,” Petro explains in a February 7 NASA update. “Speculation from all areas has contributed […]

Uncertainty exists associated with operating in cislunar space, as well as on and around the Moon – so much so that a “security dilemma” between countries can evolve. There is need to provide an opportunity for transparency, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration a new report suggests. It calls for inclusive engagement and decision-making concerning cislunar space, […]

Albeit a hell hole of a world, the planet Venus is a tantalizing, cloud-enveloped cool place for scientific scrutiny to ferret out its history, evolution and gauge its present state. At the forefront of tackling what that puzzling place can teach us is the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VExAG), a community-based forum to help NASA […]