Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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March 29th, 2025
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Experiments onboard China’s space station are being readied to study planaria, a kind of flatworm with amazing regeneration abilities.
“The planarias can regrow complete heads or tails when cut, making them ideal models for studying tissue regeneration,” reports China Central Television (CCTV. Planaria is a kind of flatworm with amazing regeneration abilities. The planarias can regrow complete heads or tails when cut, making them ideal models for studying tissue regeneration.
According to the researchers from the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, the new experiment will utilize the “small universal biological cultivation module” of the “life ecosystem experiment cabinet” aboard the orbiting outpost.
Researchers will study the specific effects of the space environment on the regeneration process and physiological behavior of planaria to gain a deeper understanding of this mechanism.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Age-related degenerative diseases
China’s space station has previously hosted zebrafish and fruit flies. The specimens allow researchers to study the effects of microgravity on the proteins in bones and muscles, and how hypomagnetic and microgravity conditions impact living organisms’ genes and behavior patterns.
As reported by China Daily, an upcoming Chinese Shenzhou piloted spacecraft will carry dozens of planarian fragments into orbit. “Studying planarians holds significant implications for combating cellular aging and age-related degenerative diseases in humans,” the posting added.
China established its own space station system after the launch of the Tianhe core module in April 2021, followed by the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules in 2022.
For information on the planarian experiment, go to:
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At the European Space Agency’s ESTEC installation, Belbruno describes his unorthodox way to plot out unique trajectories through art. Image credit: Edward Belbruno
The heaven’s above is a tapestry of mystery and beauty.
For Ed Belbruno the universe around us is more than eye-catching. It’s a medium for infinite fine art, artistic renderings that can capture weak stability boundaries and how to use them for spacecraft missions to the Moon and beyond.
Belbruno is a visiting research collaborator in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University.
Showings of his art are being sponsored by the European Space Agency and have been displayed at several ESA installations.
Edward Belbruno’s Low Fuel Route to Moon artwork, chalk pastel on paper (1986). (Image credit: Edward Belbruno)
Ballistic capture via paint brush
“It is exciting that my pastel painting, ‘Low Fuel Route to the Moon’ (1986), is featured in the exhibition touring ESA,” Belbruno told Space.com. “This is because it actually gave rise to the first transfer to the Moon that arrives at the Moon in ballistic capture…that is, a spacecraft using this would be automatically captured into lunar orbit without any fuel,” he said.
For more details, go to my new Space.com story – “Capturing the cosmos on canvas – Astrophysicist and artist Ed Belbruno explains how art helps scientists communicate their work to the public and even discover solutions to spaceflight and astronomy problems” – at:
Image credit: Naval History and Heritage Command
Eye-patch on and crank up your best “grrr.”
And while you’re at it, plop down a stack of doubloons and conjure up visions of “Captain” Jack Sparrow!
Talk about “high crimes” and misdemeanors. The growing pace of space as a commercial resource brings with it the prospect for misdeeds, corruption, piracy, and war.
The Center for the Study of Space Crime, Policy, and Governance (CSCPG) is looking into the risks of piracy in space and solutions to this potentially devastating economic and legal problem.
They call it “speculative non-fiction” – to learn more, go to my new Space.com story – “Space pirates already have their sights set on the ‘high seas’ of Earth orbit. Can we stop them?” – at:
Image credit: Naval History and Heritage Command
Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
The Blue Ghost Mission 1 spacecraft sitting on the Moon completed more than 14 days of surface operations (346 hours of daylight), and operated just over 5 hours into the super-chilly lunar night.
Final data from the lunar lander was received on March 16.
“This achievement marks the longest commercial operations on the Moon to date,” Firefly Aerospace, builder of the lander, noted in a statement.
Blue Ghost captured imagery of the lunar sunset and provided critical data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during lunar dusk conditions.
Artwork credit: Firefly Aerospace/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Rising from the dead?
Could Blue Ghost rise from the dead given the next burst of daylight at the landing site?
“We did not design our mission 1 hardware to survive the rest of the lunar night, so we don’t expect Blue Ghost to survive,” said Risa Schnautz, Firefly’s director of marketing and communications. “This capability can be a major mission architecture driver for both a lander and its payloads and was not required for this mission.”
On the other hand, Schnautz told Inside Outer Space that Firefly Aerospace ground operators will check back in early April “when there’s daylight again to see if there are any signs of life. It’s of course possible, but not expected.”
Photo taken from the Blue Ghost lander’s top deck shows X-band antenna (left), the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (center), and the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder mast (right). Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
Successful operations
All 10 NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) instruments successfully operated on the lunar surface and collected their science data after Blue Ghost Mission 1’s arrival on the Moon on March 2.
Throughout the mission, Blue Ghost transmitted more than 119 gigabytes (GB) of data back to Earth, including 51 GB of science and technology data, “significantly surpassing Firefly’s mission requirements,” the Cedar, Texas-based group added.
Here are the key payload milestones completed on the lunar surface by Blue Ghost, according to Firefly Aerospace:
LuGRE: Integrated on Blue Ghost’s antenna gimbal on the top deck, LuGRE successfully acquired and tracked Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, from satellite networks such as GPS and Galileo, on the way to and on the Moon’s surface for the first time. This achievement suggests GPS-like signals could be used to navigate future missions to the Moon and beyond.
NGLR: The Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector (NGLR) mounted on Blue Ghost’s antenna gimbal successfully reflected laser pulses from Earth-based Lunar Laser Ranging Observatories (LLROs), allowing scientists to precisely measure the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, expanding our understanding of the Moon’s inner structure.
Every single Firefly employee’s name is etched on the Blue Ghost lunar lander plaque and is now on the Moon’s surface.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
LEXI: Mounted on Blue Ghost’s top deck on another Firefly-developed gimbal, the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) captured a series of X-ray images to study the interaction of solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field, providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces surrounding Earth affect the planet.
LMS: Blue Ghost also deployed four tethered Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) electrodes on the surface, reaching a distance up to 60 feet from the lander, and deployed a six-foot mast above its top deck to enable the payload team to measure electric and magnetic fields and learn more about the Moon’s composition up to 700 miles, or two-thirds the distance to the Moon’s center.
RadPC: Integrated below Blue Ghost’s top deck, RadPC demonstrated a computer that can withstand space radiation while in transit to the Moon, including through the Earth’s Van Allen Belts, and on the Moon’s surface.
RAC: Mounted above Blue Ghost’s lower deck, the Regolith Adherence Characterization (RAC) instrument examined how lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the Moon’s environment, allowing the industry to better test, improve, and protect spacecraft, spacesuits, and habitats from abrasive regolith.
Image captures LISTER in operation on the Moon.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace/NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
SCALPSS: Mounted below Blue Ghost’s lower deck, the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) instrument captured images during the spacecraft’s lunar descent and touchdown on the Moon, providing insights into the effects engine plumes have on the surface for future robotics and crewed Moon landings.
LISTER: Also mounted below Blue Ghost’s lower deck, the Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity (LISTER) payload drilled about three feet into the surface to measure the temperature and flow of heat from the Moon’s interior. This pneumatic, gas-powered drill is now the deepest-reaching robotic planetary subsurface probe.
Lunar PlanetVac: Deployed on Blue Ghost’s surface access arm, the Lunar PlanetVac successfully collected, transferred, and sorted lunar regolith from the Moon using pressurized nitrogen gas, proving to be a low cost, low mass solution for future robotic sample collection.
Lunar PlanetVac deployed by Blue Ghost.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
EDS: Also deployed on Blue Ghost’s surface access arm, the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) successfully lifted and removed lunar regolith using electrodynamic forces on the glass and thermal radiator surfaces. These results confirm EDS as a promising solution for dust mitigation on future lunar and interplanetary surface operations.
What next?
In looking ahead, Firefly Aerospace said it is ramping up for annual missions to the Moon.
“The team has begun qualifying and assembling flight hardware for Blue Ghost Mission 2, which will utilize Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander stacked on an Elytra Dark orbital vehicle for operations in lunar orbit and on the far side of the Moon,” the company said in a statement.
Blue Ghost Mission 2
Artwork: Firefly Aerospace
For more information on Firefly Aerospace, go to:
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
It’s a wait-a-minute moment as featured in a new issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
“Mars Attacks: How Elon Musk’s plans to colonize Mars threaten Earth” is the work of Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith, adapted from their book A City on Mars
Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? (Penguin Press).
This fully-illustrated comic explores the implications of space colonization.
“If the world’s most powerful nation, helped along by history’s most powerful rocket company, were to scrap international space law, it would have consequences that may echo for centuries,” writes Kelly Weinersmith, adjunct faculty member at Rice University, and Zach Weinersmith, creator of the popular webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.
Artwork credit: Zach Weinersmith
Signing of Outer Space Treaty.
Image credit: United Nations
Outer Space Treaty
“Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is intent on creating a one-million-person colony on Mars. As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk also seems content to break anything that stands in his way—including potentially a Cold War era treaty that has kept humanity safe for over 50 years, the Outer Space Treaty (OST),” they write. “Musk’s rejection of international governance could have lasting implications for life on earth, and could augur a new era of geopolitical conflict.”
To read the full story, go to:
“Wait-a-minute”
Image credit: Barbara David
Wait-a-Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
Call it a pre-emptive strike, as well as a “wait-a-minute” moment in U.S. rocketry.
A Boeing-backed website is in full-advocacy mode for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).
Image credit: Watch U.S. Fly
On one hand, pundits are poking at the Boeing SLS contract, at a time of internal and external looks at NASA’s budgetary condition.
For good measure, toss in SpaceX’s Elon Musk and his Trump-supported Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) campaign. And then there’s the upshot from Musk’s Starship program.
Image credit: SpaceX
There’s even discussion of skipping the Moon and heading for Mars – a scenario that would question the ongoing NASA Artemis “rebooting” of the Moon with human expeditions.
Critical component
SLS is a powerful rocket that’s “irreplaceable” to our nation’s long-term space strategy, the website states. “Congress must prioritize its continued funding to establish America’s leadership role in space.”
Space Launch System (SLS) Credit: NASA/MSFC
SLS is the centerpiece of the Artemis missions, argues the website, “and a critical component for America’s continuing dominance in space. Importantly, it’s the only rocket that can lift the Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.”
“Adversarial nations like Russia and China are investing heavily in space exploration, which puts America’s role as the global space leader in jeopardy,” states a communique, adding that “NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the answer to this threat.”
Letter-writing campaign
A letter-writing campaign for “SLS Will Deliver US Dominance in Space” is at:
For more details, go to:
Image credit: Barbara David
Book Review: Space Piracy – Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit by Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor, Published by John Wiley & Sons; 256 pages; E-Book Starting at $18.00; Hardcover Starting at $30.00.
This book is quite the lean into it, forward-thinking volume that takes on topics few researchers have tackled. It’s an invaluable look at space as a commercial resource, but primarily the prospect for crime, corruption, piracy, and war.
The authors are Marc Feldman, a Managing Partner at Eonia Capital, an aerospace and defense-based venture capital fund, and Hugh Taylor, Executive Editor of The Journal of Cyber Policy and a cybersecurity and enterprise technologist.
Talk about “high crimes” and misdemeanors!
Criminality in space is explored in this book, from space hacking to existing cybersecurity standards and practices in space, laws and treaties relevant to space crime, as well as cartels and kidnappers.
As Colonel Eric Felt of the US Space Force writes in the book’s foreword: “In my view, we can deter and defeat space pirates, but not by doing nothing. The book thoughtfully outlines specific actions that can and should be taken today, specific actions for the intelligence community, Space Force, private sector, and other stakeholders.”
Feldman and Taylor provide a viable and valuable read, indeed, a 101 course on the idea of space piracy. As they write, “we think the phenomenon will occur,” and offer suggestions for mitigating the risk. “We refer to our content as ‘speculative nonfiction,’” they add.
Space Piracy – Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit is an eye-opening volume. It does what the authors were seeking to do, to “catalyze the conversations that need to take place.”
Those that have a vested interest in the multi-billion dollar commercial space of today and what’s ahead, space exploration progress that is leading to space colonization, will find this book a tour guide of trouble-brewing possibilities.
For more information about this book, go to:
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Space+Piracy%3A+Preparing+for+a+Criminal+Crisis+in+Orbit-p-9781394240210
Also, go to the Center for the Study of Space Crime, Piracy, and Governance at:
Take a look at this webinar: Space – The Next Frontier for Money Laundering at:
Also, check out the Space Beach Law Lab that is returning to the Queen Mary on March 25 to 27 for their second annual conference on space law.
Go to: https://www.spacelawlab.com/
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China is turning its attention to future space mining. A multifunctional space mining robot is being pursued by experts at the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT).
Liu Xinhua at CUMT explains that the space mining robot differs from the widely known humanoid robots and robotic dogs.
Instead, the mining robot adopts a six-legged design, featuring three wheel legs and three claw legs, which would allow it to function efficiently in microgravity conditions.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Claw system
“In space, objects do not stay in place like they do on Earth due to the lack of gravity. If you push something, it will float away, just like astronauts inside a space station,” Liu told China Central Television (CCTV).
The research team took inspiration from insect claws and designed a special claw structure to improve the robot’s grip.
“This claw system is an array-type structure that enhances adhesion and gripping ability in microgravity environments. It allows the robot to stay anchored while collecting samples and move efficiently based on the terrain,” Liu added.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Preliminary testing
The space mining robot is equipped with a “biomimetic” six-legged movement system. Each leg has wheel and anchor configurations, enabling the robot to traverse rough and uneven surfaces on asteroids, CCTV reports.
Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems.
Prototype hardware has already undergone preliminary testing to validate the team’s approach.
Liu said the robot was able to walk, anchor itself, and even collect samples in a simulated lunar soil environment.
Artist’s view of International Lunar Research Station . Credit: CNSA
Lunar research base
In related work, China is aiming to realize a crewed Moon landing by 2030. By 2035, the country has stated it wants to establish the core structure of a Moon base, “with the possibility of long-term unmanned operation with the prospect of ensuring a human presence on the Moon.”
The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is targeted for the Moon’s south pole region, and to establish a lunar research station connecting the Moon’s south pole, equator, and far side by 2050.
For a video view of China’s robotic space mining work, go to:
Pre-launch photo of Athena lunar lander.
Image credit: SpaceX/Intuitive Machines
That IM-2 Moon lander’s true fate has grabbed the attention of Scott Manley as posted in his YouTube video: “Why Did the Latest Lunar Lander Fall Over, Why Is Landing On The Moon Harder Than We Thought.”
In an impressive “Citizen Science Investigation” (CSI), Manley uncovers new details about how the Intuitive Machines’ Athena Moon lander on March 6 wound up tipping over, leading to loss of the spacecraft and fulfilling operational and full use of its load of payloads.
Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission lander, Athena, during descent toward the lunar surface on March 6, 2025.
Image credit: Intuitive Machines
“Over the last week we’ve learned a few more details about how Intuitive Machines performed a minor miracle in crossing hundreds of thousands of miles, gently slowing itself to arrive at its landing site as slowly as possible only to fall over. Almost like what happened on their first flight,” Manley states.
Leg loss
Manley’s appraisal of the botched landing includes imagery showing loss of an Athena leg as it made its touchdown on the lunar landscape.
Busted landing leg.
Image credit: Dymon
Thanks to Japan’s lunar rover, YAOKI, developed by Dymon, that device was not deployed but snagged 25 photos from inside the full-stop location of Athena. “While all the images were taken from the same angle, we discovered that by stacking, adjusting, and analyzing them, various details became visible,” explains a Dymon posting.
Meanwhile, Philip Stooke, a Moon mapping specialist at the University of Western Ontario, processed the Dymon rover images a different way. An image was made by stacking multiple frames several times, Stooke told Inside Outer Space, each processed in different ways, with contrast stretches and high pass filtering using different values. Then the various stacks of images were merged to create a new image, he said.
Image credit: Philip Stooke
Rest in pieces
The IM-2 Athena lander hit the surface faster than intended and ended up on its side within a 65-foot diameter (20-meters) crater.
NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spots the IM-2 site.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
On March 6, the Athena lander made its way down to attempt a landing in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole. The effort was part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and the space agency’s Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence.
Athena Moon lander tipped over.
Image credit: Intutive Machines
But in a bit of a retro-replay, the IM-2 botched landing seems similar to the IM-1 mission of the group’s Odysseus lunar lander last year.
Coming in too hot
Back in February 2024, the $118 million IM-1 Odysseus spacecraft was victorious in becoming the first U.S.-built probe to make a lunar touchdown since the Apollo 17 human-carrying moon trek over 50 years earlier.
However, it too was not a glitch-free ride to its intended destination, Malapert A, near the Moon’s south pole. Like the Athena, that six-legged Odysseus lander came in hot.
The IM-1 mission arrived with a higher downward and horizontal speed than designed for, hitting harder, skidding across sloping terrain, snapping off some of its landing gear in the process
For Scott Manley’s video that contains a detailed look at the IM-2 mission Moon landing, go to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISZTTEtHcTg
Image credit: Scott Manley
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
That recent eclipse many viewed here on Earth was also witnessed by the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Moon lander.
Blue Ghost captured imagery during the totality of the solar eclipse. The images were taken from the lander’s top deck camera taken using different exposure settings.
Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
Red hue
They were stitched together, revealing a red hue. That color is a result of sunlight refracting through the Earth’s atmosphere as the Sun is blocked by our planet, casting a shadow on the lunar surface.
The glowing ring of the eclipse is again seen on Blue Ghost’s solar panel. You can also spot Mercury (left) and Venus (right) just above the eclipse – all captured from the probe’s landing site in the Moon’s Mare Crisium.
Go to video clip at:
https://live.staticflickr.com/video/54387002075/5ab573a3b6/1080p.mp4?
Blue Ghost X-band antenna (left), the Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (center), and the Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder mast (right). Image credit: Firefly Aerospace
