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September 19th, 2025
Image credit: Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko
Russia’s Bion-M No. 2 descent module returned to Earth September 19, touching down in the Orenburg steppes. The spacecraft was launched from Baikonur on August 20 and after 30 days in space, the cargo of living organisms on board have been recovered.
Images taken of the recovered craft suggest the landing sparked a small fire that was quickly extinguished so recovery crews could approach the descent module.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Inside Outer Space screengrab
The biosatellite’s payload included 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies, cell cultures, microorganisms, plant seeds, and other items.
This “Noah’s Ark” of specimens will be transported to Moscow for intensive study.
Cosmic radiation
Bion-M No. 2 was sent into a nearly circular orbit at an inclination of roughly 97 degrees, a pole-to-pole orbit.
Image credit: Roscosmos/Ivan Timoshenko
Bion-M No. 2’s menagerie of specimens were exposed to a 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, placed in a different orbit and also flying for 30 days.
Image credit: Roscosmos
Microgravity and cosmic radiation
The mission was a joint effort of Roscosmos, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The scientific program of experiments and research consists of 10 sections.
According to the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the first and second sections are devoted to experimental studies of gravitational physiology on animals, to help create new technologies for ensuring human life support during flights under the combined effects of weightlessness and cosmic radiation.
Pre-liftoff image shows technician with biosatellite experiments.
Image credit: Roscosmos
Patterns of life
The third, fourth and fifth sections are devoted to studies of the influence of space flight and outer space factors on the biology of plants and microorganisms, as well as their communities, i.e. understanding the general patterns of life in the Universe.
The sixth, eighth and ninth sections include biotechnological, technological, physical and technical experiments.
The seventh section is a complex of radiobiological and dosimetric experiments necessary to solve the problems of ensuring radiation safety of new crewed spacecraft.
The tenth section includes experiments prepared by students from various schools of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
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Image credit: SpaceFactory
The quest for human permanence on the Moon, that grimy, rock-laden and crater-pocked world, would be made smoother by the presence of mini-highways.
These special paths could handle back-and-forth traffic, while limiting exposure to the pervasive lunar dust that plagued Apollo astronauts.
Progress is being made on establishing thoroughfares on the Moon, to not only reduce wear and tear on lunar vehicles, but also allows them to be lighter and faster.
Image credit: Michigan Technological University (MTU)
A partnership between Michigan Technological University (MTU) in Houghton, Michigan and the Huntsville, Alabama-based SpaceFactory group has led to testing a first-ever lunar “road” in a simulated space environment.
For details, go to my new Aerospace America story – “Inside an effort to construct a lunar highway” – at:
Schematic illustration of sulfur cycling from an evolving crustal magmatic system on early Mars.
Image credit: Lucia G. Bellino/Chenguang Sun
Volcanic emissions of reactive sulfur gases on early Mars may have made for a unique Martian environment. If so, that environment on the Red Planet could have been hospitable to certain forms of life.
That is one output from new research led by geoscientists at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. This finding comes from a study published in Science Advances.
Hazy environment
“The presence of reduced sulfur may have induced a hazy environment which led to the formation of greenhouse gases, such as SF6, that trap heat and liquid water,” said Lucia Bellino, a doctoral student at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences.
“The degassed sulfur species and redox conditions are also found in hydrothermal systems on Earth that sustain diverse microbial life,” Bellino added in a university statement.
Making use of data from the composition of Martian meteorites, Bellino and colleagues ran more than 40 computer simulations to estimate how much carbon, nitrogen, and sulfide gases may have been emitted on early Mars.
The Red Planet as seen by Europe’s Mars Express.
Image credit: ESA/D. O’Donnell – CC BY-SA IGO
Sulfur cycling
Instead of the high concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) that previous Mars climate models predicted, their research shows volcanic activity on Mars around 3-4 billion years ago may have led to high concentrations of a range of chemically “reduced” forms of sulfur – which are highly reactive.
This includes sodium sulfide (H₂S), disulfur (S₂) and possibly sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) – an extremely potent greenhouse gas, the university statement on the research points out.
“Sulfur cycling” – the transition of sulfur to different forms – may have been a dominant process occurring on early Mars, Bellino explains.
Cracked rock
As Bellino and team members were deep into their research, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover exploring Gale Crater wheeled over and cracked open a rock last year. That was fortuitous for the researchers, seemingly backing their findings.
That fractured rock revealed elemental sulfur – it was the first time the mineral had been found in pure form, unbound to oxygen.
Sulfur crystals found inside a rock after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over it and crush it on May 30, 2024. This discovery supports new research led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin on what types of sulfur would be present on Mars billions of years ago.
Image credit: NASA
The rover discovering a large outcrop of elemental sulfur was a plus, added Chenguang Sun, an assistant professor at the Jackson School’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, also a Bellino advisor and co-author of the research paper in Science Advances.
“One of the key takeaways from our research is that as S₂ was emitted, it would precipitate as elemental sulfur. When we started working on this project, there were no such known observations.”
Food source for microbes?
As for what next, the researchers will use their computer simulations to investigate other processes that would have been essential to sustain life on Mars. That includes the source of water on early Mars, and whether volcanic activity could have provided a large reservoir of water on the Red Planet’s surface.
In addition, the team will also seek to understand whether the reduced forms of sulfur may have served as a food source for microbes in an early climate that resembled Earth’s hydrothermal systems.
Bellino hopes her team’s research can be used by climate modeling experts to predict how warm the early Mars climate might have been.
Mars beckons. Human explorers can maximize the science output for unraveling the complex nature of the Red Planet.
Image credit: NASA/Pat Rawlings
If indeed microbes were present, how long could they have existed in a warmer atmosphere?
Important implications
Bellino and Sun conclude in their research paper, “our findings may also have important implications for understanding the habitability potential of martian hydrothermal systems.”
Furthermore, results of their modeling “indicate that the magmatic gases in the martian surface environment share similar reducing capacities as those from the hydrothermal systems in terrestrial submarine environments.”
To read the research paper – “Volcanic emission of reduced sulfur species shaped the climate of early Mars” – go to:
The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) released a new report titled “Redshift: The Acceleration of China’s Commercial and Civil Space Enterprise and the Challenge to America.”
The CSF document offers a thorough review of China’s civil and commercial space activities over the past decade following the announcement of their “Space Dream” and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative.
As a primary finding, the report focuses on China’s decade of steady progress in space, an effort that “is now reshaping the competitive landscape and may soon challenge U.S. leadership and commercial strength,” contends the assessment.
Define norms, capture markets
“The risks extend beyond technology to markets, partnerships, and governance, signaling a pivotal moment in global space competition,” the report notes. “What began as milestone-driven missions has become a state-backed campaign to define norms, capture markets, and build international coalitions across all segments of the space ecosystem.”
Furthermore, the report points out that over the past decade, China’s space enterprise has transformed rapidly, driven by sweeping policy reforms, surging investment, and an intentional merging of commercial, civil, and national security ambitions.
Altering the strategic landscape
This just-issued analysis suggests CSF, is underscored by China’s shift from aspirational planning to tangible achievement—changes that are fundamentally altering the strategic landscape for the United States and its partners.
Billed as a comprehensive, segment-by-segment assessment of China’s space progress and its implications for American interests, this CSF report “aims to serve both as a factual record of China’s emerging capabilities and as a risk assessment for U.S. industrial competitiveness and national security.”
To access the report – “Redshift: The Acceleration of China’s Commercial and Civil Space Enterprise and the Challenge to America” — go to:
https://commercialspace.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/CSF-Redshift-v6.pdf
Justin Cyrus, Lunar Outpost’s CEO and co-founder.
Image credit: Barbara David
ARVADA, Colorado – Lunar Outpost, a private space company, is putting the pedal to the metal on its lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), a large rover that Artemis astronauts will use to wheel across the moon’s dusty, crater-pocked landscape.
A tour of the Lunar Outpost’s Mission Control here offered an up-close look at the status of the group’s LTV design, the Eagle, and how use of its Autonomous Test Facility in Rye, Colorado is sharpening skills in motoring the off-Earth, off-road vehicle.
Lunar Outpost’s Eagle undergoes testing. Unit for driving on the Moon will feature special wheels and suspension design to gain traction on the lunar surface.
Image credit: Lunar Outpost
The design is “a mix between a dune buggy and a heavy-duty truck,” said Justin Cyrus, Lunar Outpost’s CEO and co-founder.
For more regarding Lunar Outpost’s Moon rover concept, go to my new Space.com story – “’We are ready to drive’: Take a look inside Lunar Outpost’s moon rover mission control (photos)” – at:
Image credit: CMSA/CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China’s Shenzhou-20 crew onboard the country’s Tiangong space station continue to advance a series of scientific experiments and perform other tasks.
According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) the station trio have used laptops and specialized software to complete fine motor control and metacognitive monitoring experiments.
Brain research
The taikonauts also collected data with electroencephalograms — devices that measure electrical activity in the brain — for studies on visual-motion processing and cognition in microgravity, supporting ongoing research on Earth.
Additionally, the crew harvested and stored lettuce grown on board, before beginning a new round of cultivation of other plants.
Image credit: CCTV/CMSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Emergency drill
Station maintenance tasks continue, including replacement of ignition heads and burners in the orbiting outpost’s combustion facility. A scheduled full-system pressure emergency drill was also carried out between the crew and ground controllers, simulating a cabin depressurization scenario.
For health management, the crew conducted cardiopulmonary fitness tests, exercised regularly, and used neuromuscular stimulation devices to counteract muscle atrophy in microgravity.
For an overview, go to this China Central Television (CCTV)/CMSA video at:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17Np4DZRA8/
China’s Tiangong space station as imaged by MAXAR satellite.
Image credit: MAXAR
Image credit: Mars Guy/NASA/JPL Caltech/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Mars Guy focuses on the possible evidence for ancient life on the Red Planet.
“Perseverance has not found aliens or even a fossilized bone,” explains Mars Guy, “but as detailed in a newly released paper and announced by NASA this week, it may have found evidence for long dead microbes that lived in the mud of an ancient river.”
Image credit: NASA/JPL Caltech/Mars Guy/Inside Outer Space screengrab
To watch this new episode from Mars Guy, go to – “NASA announces potential biosignatures on Mars” – at:
Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Visualizer Ernie Wright (USRA)
This visualization simulates what the crew of Artemis II might see out the window on the day of their closest approach to the Moon.
The video compresses 36 hours into a little more than a minute as it flies the virtual camera on a realistic trajectory that swings the spacecraft around the Moon’s far side.
This sample trajectory is timed so that the far side is fully illuminated when the astronauts fly by, but other lighting conditions are possible depending on when Artemis II actually launches.
The launch is currently scheduled for no later than April of 2026.
To view the video, go to:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a005500/a005536/a2_flyby_1min_1080p30.mp4
Four astronauts have been selected for NASA’s Artemis II mission: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency.
Image credit: NASA
Up close and personal! Scene from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers circa 1956.
Image credit: Columbia Pictures
How best to restore public trust through transparency and whistleblower protection regarding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs)?
That was the core question seeking answers in a September 9 congressional House of Representatives hearing, held by the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.
“This is about national security, government accountability, and the American people’s right to the truth,” said Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida). The lawmaker is chair of that task force, swearing in witnesses that under oath discussed their experiences and knowledge about UAPs, a rebranded term, rightly or wrongly, attached to Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).
Swearing in of witnesses at the September 9 congressional House of Representatives hearing, held by the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets.
Image credit: Inside Outer Space screengrab
I asked several experts from leading research groups on UAPs/UFOs concerning the hearing and their take-away messages.
For details, go to my new Space.com story – “UAP witnesses criticize Pentagon UFO office in Congressional hearing for ‘using science and coming up with answers’” – at:
Image credit: Mick West/Inside Outer Space screengrab
NOTE: During the hearing new UFO/UAP video was shown. The footage was recorded off the coast of Yemen, reportedly by a military drone. What’s captured is a drone-fired Hellfire missile intercepting a purported UAP. The video stirred comments that no known craft of Earthly origin could take the impact and continue onward.
Mick West, a long-time UAP video analyst has another take on what’s being shown in that video. For his interpretation, go to:
China’s powerful Long March-10 carrier rocket intended to support the country’s humans-to-the-Moon effort has successfully completed its second static fire test.
The September 12 test firing was held at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan.
According to China’s Xinhua news agency, all seven YF-100K engines were fired up, followed by a restart of several of the engines. Total test duration: 320 seconds.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated that the test focused on evaluating the capabilities of the seven clustered engines of the rocket’s first stage for low-thrust operating condition and secondary restart condition, obtaining complete test data.
Image credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Two versions
An earlier test, the first of the two static fires to date, took place on August 15, with the thrust scale reaching nearly 1,000 tons – the largest such test ever conducted in China.
The Long March-10 carrier rocket is to serve China’s crewed lunar exploration missions. It will loft the piloted spacecraft and the lunar lander. The Long March-10 rocket is a three-stage rocket outfitted with two boosters.
The Long March-10A version is a two-stage reusable rocket, with its first stage designed to be recycled and reused. It will hurl the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft and the uncrewed Tianzhou cargo craft to support China’s space station program.
Go to video below.
