Archive for July, 2025
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July 31st, 2025
Moon to Mars?
Image credit: NASA
A Reason Foundation study calls for shifting the Artemis program to the commercial space industry, canceling unnecessary NASA programs related to the Artemis Space Launch System (SLS), Orion, Exploration Upper Stage, the Mobile Launch Platform-2, and the cis-lunar Gateway project.
In its place, argues the Reason Foundation report, use the public-private partnerships that are transporting cargo and crew to and from the International Space Station to build a much stronger lunar capability.
Space Launch System (SLS) Credit: NASA/MSFC
Private sector
“I believe it would be better for NASA and Congress to transition to the private sector immediately, rather than after two more SLS launches, because it would only add costs, extend delays and problems, and make crewed lunar missions too expensive and infrequent,” the author of the insightful report, Rand Simberg, told Inside Outer Space.
The Reason Foundation published the nearly 50-page study “Why commercial space should lead the U.S. return to the Moon” at:
https://reason.org/policy-study/commercial-space-should-lead-us-return-to-moon/
Posted in 
Image credit: NASA/KSC
Crew-11 scheduled to launch to the International Space Station at 12:09 p.m. EDT on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX Crew-11 mission (left to right) are Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui.
Image credit: NASA
Onboard: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
Russia’s Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov and his deputy veteran cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev visited the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He met with the Crew-11 crew, which includes Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
Cosmonaut Platonov’s flight will take place under an agreement on cross-flights between Roscosmos and NASA.
The Roscosmos delegation is led by Bakanov, arriving in the United States on July 29 ahead of the launch of Crew Dragon.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Roscosmos working trip
On the first day of the working trip, the Director General of Roscosmos visited the Lyndon Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center, met with employees responsible for managing the Russian segment of the ISS. He also spoke with Russian cosmonauts who are preparing for flights – Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikayev, Petr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina are currently there.
Bakanov is also expected to meet with Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy in the near future. The head of Roscosmos intends to discuss the cross-flight program, cooperation on the ISS, and prospects for cooperation on the Russian Orbital Station (ROS).
In addition, Bakanov plans to visit the production sites of Boeing and SpaceX.
Roscosmos Sergei Krikalev (left) andDmitry Bakanov (right) meet Crew-11 at Kennedy Space Center. Image credit: Roscosmos
Go to live coverage of launch at:
https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/nasas-spacex-crew-11-launch/
X-37B (OTV-8) military space plane being readied for flight.
Image credit: U.S. Air Force/U.S. Space Force
The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) is preparing to launch its eighth mission (OTV-8) from Florida’s Space Coast, with liftoff scheduled no earlier than August 21.
This upcoming flight comes after the completion of OTV-7 in March of this year.
According to a Boeing statement, OTV-8 will fly with a service module. Doing so expands the capacity for experiments for mission partners, which include the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Defense Innovation Unit.
OTV-6 was the first mission to introduce a service module that expanded the capabilities of the spacecraft.
Image credit: Staff Sgt. Adam Shanks
GPS-denied navigation
“The mission will host demonstrations of high-bandwidth inter-satellite laser communications technologies,” Boeing explains, “as well as the highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space. The U.S. Space Force will leverage insights from this mission to inform future space architectures.”
“OTV 8’s quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for the operational resilience of Guardians in space,” said Space Delta 9 Commander Colonel Ramsey Hom.
“Whether navigating beyond Earth-based orbits in cis-lunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities where GPS navigation is not possible,” Hom adds.
The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission Seven successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., March 7, 2025. The X-37B landed at Vandenberg SFB to exercise the service’s ability to recover the spaceplane across multiple sites.
Image credit: U.S. Space Force courtesy photo
“Ultimately, this technology contributes significantly to our thrust within the Fifth Space Operations Squadron and across the Space Force guaranteeing movement and maneuverability even in GPS-denied environments,” Hom points out.
Cutting-edge technologies
Boeing and Space Force teams are preparing the spaceplane for launch at Boeing’s facility at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
X-37B hangar at Kennedy Space Center.
Credit: Michael Martin/SAF
“With each successive flight, the X-37B has demonstrated adaptability and flexibility by hosting diverse experiments and pioneering new orbital regimes,” said Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems. “This mission continues that legacy by fielding cutting-edge technologies that advance our nation’s space capability and improve the resilience of future architectures.”
Since its inaugural launch in April 2010, the spaceplane program (a fleet of two vehicles) has chalked up more than 4,200 days in space.
Image credit: Gilmour Space Technologies
Ooops!
Gilmour Space Technologies carried out on July 30 the maiden test launch of Australia’s first locally designed and built orbital rocket.
But the 23-meter, 30-tonne Eris rocket — powered by new hybrid propulsion technology — faltered roughly 14 seconds after liftoff from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland, crashing to the ground.
“Space is hard,” said Adam Gilmour, CEO of Gilmour Space Technologies.
Image credit: Gilmour Space Technologies/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Flight data
“Initial data confirms that key systems performed well until the anomaly, including ignition, liftoff, first-stage thrust, range tracking and telemetry,” according to a post-failure statement.
“The team is now reviewing flight data to understand the cause of the anomaly that led to early termination, with lessons already being applied to the next vehicle, which is in production.”
Next launch
The TestFlight 1 mission was a product of years of effort by a team of more than 200 people, over 500 Australian suppliers, and assistance from government and industry.
“The team will now review flight data and apply lessons learned to the next Eris rocket, with plans to launch again within 6-8 months,” the company statement adds.
Go to video of flight at:
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/71c469_f8182dbf5c26468386e7cfd8345fa805/1080p/mp4/file.mp4
SpaceX Update: Starship moved to the launch site at Starbase in Texas for preflight testing:
Image credit: SpaceX
Image credit: SpaceX
Image credit: SpaceX
Image credit: SpaceX
Image credit: Roscosmos
Russia’s Dmitry Bakanov, the Director of Roscosmos, is scheduled to meet with Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy to discuss the cross-flight program and the future of the International Space Station.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy.
Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
This is the first face-to-face meeting between the heads of Russian and US space agencies in eight years, according to a Roscosmos posting.
During his U.S. trek, Bakanov is to visit the NASA Johnson Space Center and tour Boeing’s manufacturing facilities where the CST-100 Starliner is being developed.
Bakanov will be meeting the Crew-11 mission team that includes Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. The launch is no earlier than July 31.
Other members of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission are NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui.
SpaceX Crew-11 mission (left to right) are Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui.
Image credit: NASA
X-37B (OTV-8) military space plane being readied for flight.
Image credit: U.S. Air Force/U.S. Space Force
The U.S. Space Force is slated to launch the eighth X-37B robotic space plane mission next month.
According to a statement from the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) will be lofted on Aug. 21 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the vehicle, designated US Space Force-36 (USSF-36).
Seemingly more open to discuss what the uncrewed space plane will do during its mission, the statement explains that onboard the winged vehicle will be several next-generation technologies.
These include laser communications and the highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space, according to the statement. “Mission partners include the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit, respectively.”
Data transport speeds
Mission 8 will focus on improving the resilience, efficiency and security of U.S. space based communications architectures “by conducting laser communications demonstrations involving proliferated commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit.”
X-37B space plane. Image credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“OTV-8’s laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force’s ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures,” says Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman stated. “In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture.”
More secure transmissions
In the Air Force release, it is pointed out that laser communications are integral to the future of space communications as the shorter wavelength of infrared light increases the amount of data that can be sent with each transmission.
“Additionally, they are more secure than traditional radio frequency transmissions owing to the more targeted nature of laser beams. The use of proliferated relay networks enhances the resilience of U.S. space architectures by ensuring that they contain no single point of failure,” the statement adds.
Image credit: Boeing
Quantum inertial sensor
The OTV-8 mission will also demonstrate the world’s highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space.
“This demonstration will inform accurate unaided navigation in space by detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms without reliance on satellite networks like traditional GPS. This technology is useful for navigation in GPS-denied environments and consequently will enhance the navigational resilience of U.S. spacecraft in the face of current and emerging threats,” the statement notes.
“As quantum inertial sensors would be useful for navigation in cislunar space, they additionally promise to push the technological frontiers of long-distance space travel and exploration.”
Flight roster
Here’s a listing of previous flights of the space plane:
OTV-1: launched on April 22, 2010 and landed on December 3, 2010, spending over 224 days on orbit.
OTV-2: launched on March 5, 2011 and landed on June 16, 2012, spending over 468 days on orbit.
OTV-3: launched on December 11, 2012 and landed on October 17, 2014, spending over 674 days on-orbit.
OTV-4: launched on May 20, 2015 and landed on May 7, 2015, spending nearly 718 days on-orbit.
OTV-5: launched on September 7, 2017 and landed on October 27, 2019, spending nearly 780 days on-orbit.
OTV-6: launched on May 17, 2020 and landed on November 12, 2022, circling Earth for 908 days.
OTV-7: lofted on December 28, 2023 and touched down on March 7, 2025, circling Earth for 434 days.
X-37B Air Force space plane.
Credit: Boeing/Inside Outer Space Screengrab
Image credit: Roscosmos
Russia is prepping for an August 20 launch of a biosatellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Soyuz-2.1b rocket.
The craft is considered a “Noah’s Ark” of space, carrying 75 mice, more than 1,000 fruit flies, cell cultures, microorganisms and plant seeds.
The Bion-M No. 2 will reportedly be lofted into a nearly circular orbit at an inclination of roughly 97 degrees, a pole-to-pole orbit, remaining in space for 30 days.
That orbit will increase the level of cosmic radiation by at least an order of magnitude compared to that on the Bion-M No. 1 spacecraft launched back in April 2013, flying for 30 days.
Radiation data
According to the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems, Bion-M No. 2 is flying to obtain data, such as:
— Data on effects of microgravity on radiation susceptibility, therefore on radiation damageability of living beings in the environment of real deep space flight under exposure to increased doses of space radiation of wide spectrum
— general data applicable to development of adjusted requirements to the medical support of future space flights
— data on biological outcomes of space effects applicable to the general Earth medicine.
Technicians work on the Bion-M No. 2 mission.
Image credit: Roscosmos
Moon simulants
Also onboard is a payload tied to future exploration of the Moon.
The Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry teamed with the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems to produce a container holding 16 test tubes. The vials hold lunar simulants – dust and rocks — that mimic Moon topside materials found at high latitudes of the Moon.
To be exposed in radiation and vacuum for a month, the lunar simulants will be appraised after return to Earth as to their behavior in space, providing insight into Moon construction ideas.
Bion-M No. 1’s return to Earth.
Image credit: Institute of Medical and Biological Problems
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, looking toward the upper slopes of Mount Sharp, using its Left Navigation Camera (Left Navcam) on July 20, 2025. Curiosity captured the image on Sol 4605, or Martian day 4,605 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Curiosity rover continues its exploration of the fractured boxwork terrain on the slopes of Mount Sharp, reports Deborah Padgett, an Operational Product Generation Subsystem (OPGS) task lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“After a successful 5-meter drive (about 16 feet), our rover is resting in a hollow on its way to a boxwork ridge viewpoint,” Padgett notes. Over the July 19-20 weekend, Curiosity began an atmospheric observation with the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 4611, July 27, 2025.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Deep dip
“Because the SAM instrument is complex and powerful, it uses a great deal of energy when it operates, causing what we call a ‘deep dip’ in the battery charge level,” Padgett points out. “This means that we have to wait a bit after the SAM observations complete for the battery to recharge enough for Curiosity to observe its surroundings with other science instruments, or move its arm or wheels.”
For this reason, a recent plan did not include a drive, and contact science at this location will be done on the second sol of the plan for Sols 4607-4608.
Curiosity Right B Navigation Camera image taken on Sol 4611, July 27, 2025.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Cloud observations
On Sol 4607, Curiosity was to begin the day with SAM atmospheric composition activity, which will run for several hours.
“After it finishes, we will use the rover’s navigation camera to perform a cloud altitude observation, looking for cloud shadows on the upper reaches of Mount Sharp, and clouds drifting by overhead at the zenith,” Padgett adds. “Overnight, Curiosity’s battery will recharge, allowing us to perform a targeted science block on the morning of Sol 4608. This starts with Navcam observations of dust opacity across the floor of Gale Crater, then a measurement of dust in the air toward the Sun with Mastcam.”
Curiosity image taken on July 24, 2025, Sol 4609, by Left Navigation Camera B.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Disturbed ground
Curiosity then was to turn Mastcam toward the ridge ahead to obtain a 15×1 mosaic on target “Cueva De Los Vencejos Y Murcielagos (Cave of Swifts and Bats).”
“Afterwards, Mastcam will look back along Curiosity’s tracks, hoping to see freshly broken rocks and determine the texture of disturbed ground,” says Padgett.
Next, the rover’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) was to use its laser spectrograph to zap a nodular rock pillar named for the famous high-altitude “Lake Titicaca” bordering Bolivia and Peru.
A second ChemCam observation with the Remote Micro Imager (RMI) telescopic camera was to study stratigraphy on the Mishe Mokwa butte with a 5×2 image mosaic. Mastcam will finish off this science block by looking at the pits left behind by the ChemCam laser on target “Lake Titicaca.”
This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4609, July 24, 2025.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Big mystery
Padgett in wrapping up the report adds that Curiosity’s arm was slated to reach out to brush the dust from the bedrock target “La Tranquita,” and then observe it with the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) microscopic imager and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS).
“MAHLI and APXS will also investigate plate-like rock formations at target “Aqua Dulce.” A third target with more complex rock structures dubbed “Paposo,” after a natural monument along the Pacific Coast of northern Chile, will be imaged only by MAHLI. The next morning will include another targeted science block. Curiosity will then drive away toward the next viewpoint in the boxwork terrain of Mars, Padgett concludes.
“A big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns and why only here,” explains Curiosity’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s JPL. “As we drive on, we’ll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target.”
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has imaged part of the boxwork region the robot is exploring, perhaps formed by ancient groundwater.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA 1976 Viking 2 lander image of the Mars Utopian Plain.
Credit: NASA/JPL-CalTech
The idea that modern Mars is entirely devoid of liquid water is being challenged by data gleaned from the 1970s NASA Viking 2 landing site.
These findings provide “a new perspective on the transient presence of liquid water on Mars, a key factor in assessing planetary habitability.”
That’s the view of Vincent Chevrier, an associate research professor at the University of Arkansas’ Center for Space and Planetary Sciences. His case for the existence of liquid brines on Mars was recently published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment.
Frost factoid
Chevrier’s research combined Viking 2 meteorological data and computer modeling.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/E. Vandencbulek
“The confirmation that brines can form at the Viking 2 landing site during late winter — albeit for short periods — suggests that similar processes may occur in other frost-bearing regions, especially at mid-to-high latitudes” on the Red Planet, Chevrier’s paper – “Perchlorate brine formation from frost at the Viking 2 landing site” – states, “which could guide the planning of future astrobiological investigations.”
The new looksee into Viking 2 data could mean the planet might have supported life adapted to a much colder, drier planet.
NASA’s Viking 2 landed on Mars in 1976. “It was the only mission that clearly observed, identified and characterized frost on Mars,” Chevrier says in a University of Arkansas research posting.
However, frost on Mars tends to sublimate rapidly, transitioning from a solid to a gas quickly, without spending much time in a liquid state due to atmospheric conditions on the Red Planet.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/AndreaLuck
Brief window
In sifting through the Viking 2 meteorological data, combined with data from the Mars Climate Database, Chevrier found there was a brief window in late winter and early spring when the conditions were right for the formation of brines.
That period of time spans one Mars month — roughly equivalent to two Earth months — where the conditions were generally ideal in the early morning and late afternoon.
“Robotic landers equipped with in situ hygrometers [to gauge moisture content in air] and chemical sensors could target these seasonal windows to directly detect brine formation and constrain the timescales over which these liquids persist,” Chevrier’s research paper notes.
Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of this huge feature on the Red Planet.
Credit: NASA, USGS, Viking Project
Brine stability
The research scientist adds that the methodology applied — using Viking 2 meteorological data to reconstruct brine stability – could be extended to datasets from more recent missions, such as NASA’s InSight lander and the Curiosity rover, to appraise whether similar processes occur in different climatic settings.
“Moreover, this work underscores the need for future landers to deploy high-resolution imaging and thermal mapping to track frost evolution in real-time,” Chevrier concludes.
To access the research paper – “Perchlorate brine formation from frost at the Viking 2 landing site” – go to:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02411-0
