July 5th, 2026
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What would it be like to live and work on Mars? National Geographic Explorer and photographer Mackenzie Calle suited up to get a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at astronaut space training at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah for the July cover story. Go to this read […]
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China’s new cargo transport craft – Qingzhou – is ready for operations next year. A test flight of the craft earlier this year verified key aspects of the spacecraft to deliver supplies to the country’s space station. The test vehicle, designed for a three-year service life, was launched into orbit in March. “The test […]
Last week, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that using ground- and space-based equipment enables the ability to track near-Earth asteroids and determine potential impact threats. The CNSA said China will build an integrated network featuring telescopes and other equipment on the ground and in space to eliminate blind spots. Round-the-clock monitoring “On the […]
Could humans someday explore Saturn’s moon Titan, or will humanoid robots do it for us? “Ultimately, we think of Titan as the next big leap beyond Mars.” Training ground In fact, a humanoid robot offered by China’s UBTech Robotics, the Walker S2 is a case in point. It can change its own depleted battery, swapping […]
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a 10-year forecast for licensed commercial space operations The FAA is predicting nearly 4,300 launches and reentries under the high-case scenario between FY 2026 and FY 2036. Operations would steadily increase annually from more than 200 to more than 500 per year. “The projected growth reflects anticipated demand for […]
The first CubeSat designed to operate on the surface of an asteroid has been contracted by the European Space Agency. The Spanish company EMXYS is providing Don Quijote, a shoebox-sized spacecraft that will be deployed onto the Apophis asteroid by ESA’s Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses) mission before the asteroid flies by […]
While SpaceX ultimately worked through a variety of its own technical challenges and is currently providing continuous crew transportation to the ISS, Boeing’s and NASA’s development efforts to certify the Starliner continue to face challenges that have delayed progress and increased both costs and risks to sustained crew transportation to the ISS through 2030. Since […]
Researchers from Tohoku University and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are diving into securing sustainable food supplies on the Moon. First of all, the Moon’s soil contains no organic material, and essential plant nitrogen sources like ammonia and nitrate are virtually nonexistent. A new idea has cropped up: the potential of plasma technology for […]
NASA announced Tuesday the selection of three companies, totaling nearly $600 million, to land four new missions on the Moon in late 2028 as part of the agency’s Moon Base Program. Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines will deliver NASA science payloads to the lunar surface as the agency builds the first U.S. outpost […]
BOULDER, Colorado – After Earth’s Moon and more distant Mars, where could humans plant their footprints? A Humans to Titan Summit 2026 was held here June 11-12 to explore the concept of Titan as the next human exploration destination, post-Mars. How demanding such a trek could be and what’s required was plotted out by […]
