Archive for the ‘Space News’ Category
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June 21st, 2026
Image credit: NASA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
New studies have helped identify what the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin has to offer – a massive impact structure on the Moon’s far side.
Regions near SPA are also potential landing sites for NASA’s Artemis missions.
Rare opportunity
SPA is considered one of the Moon’s oldest surviving features, providing insight into the early solar system.
“The basin offers scientists a rare opportunity to study the Moon’s earliest history,” said William Bottke, director of the Center for Lunar Origin and Evolution (CLOE). “The collision struck the lunar surface with such force that it may have excavated material from deep inside the Moon, including portions of the lunar mantle.”
CLOE is confab of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) experts in NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. Bottke is also executive director of SwRI’s Science Directorate in Boulder, Colorado.
Image credit: NASA
Excavated deposits
Simulation modeling suggests the SPA impactor was not a simple, uniform body but a differentiated object with an iron core surrounded by rock, such as a small protoplanet or differentiated asteroid. Impacts within the SPA basin appear to have excavated underlying mantle deposits.
Those impacts hurled some of this material to the surface, where it could be readily sampled by robotic rovers or astronauts during future missions, explains a SwRI release.
Powerful roadmap
“The combination of impact and gravity modeling gives us a powerful roadmap,” Bottke said. “It tells us not just how SPA formed, but where to look for the rocks that can answer some of our biggest questions about the Moon’s origin and evolution.”
A large impactor created the ancient South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin (blue), a massive structure on the Moon’s far side. Two complementary studies determined that SPA’s surrounding area contains mantle-derived rocks (orange and black), offering information about the interior of the Moon and its earliest history. Proposed landing sites (white squares) for upcoming Artemis missions to the lunar south pole lie within the region, allowing astronauts access to study these materials.
Credit:
Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Goddard/Gabe Gowman-U. Arizona. Data from NASA’s GRAIL mission and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
That modeling tells us not just how SPA formed, Bottke concludes, “but where to look for the rocks that can answer some of our biggest questions about the Moon’s origin and evolution.”
Earlier theories suggested that the deepest ejecta might be confined to parts of the basin far from proposed south polar exploration zones.
However, the new simulations and gravity modeling work indicate that key deposits of mantle-bearing ejecta may blanket portions of the lunar south polar region – including areas that Artemis astronauts could visit for field studies.
Gravity data
In the companion gravity study, researchers analyzed how SPA ejecta is distributed beneath and around the basin. That research team compared high-resolution gravity data with models that include both crustal and mantle material, determining that SPA likely contains substantial amounts of mantle-derived rocks within its interior and mixed into the ejecta blanket surrounding the basin.
“The precise distribution of mantle material has been a big unknown,” said Gabriel Gowman of the University of Arizona, lead author of the gravity-based study.
“Our models indicate that the SPA impact ejected enough deep material to form a significant deposit that should still be accessible today,” Gowman reports.
Nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission The background image of the lunar South Pole terrain within the nine regions is a mosaic of LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images.
Image credit: NASA
Most importantly, Gowman adds, some of that material at a trace level may exist in regions being considered for the Artemis landings.
Go to papers
For further information, go to these research papers:
“A southward differentiated impactor forms the tapered shape of the South Pole-Aitken impact basin on the Moon” at:
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aea1984
The companion study on the gravity and ejecta structure of the SPA basin — “Gravity Mapping of Lunar Mantle Material in South Pole-Aitken Basin Ejecta” – is available at:
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2026JE009665
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Establishing an Artemis-era Moon Base. Wanted: lunar building codes.
(Image credit: Lockheed Martin)
GOLDEN, Colorado – First of all, take into account centuries of accumulated engineering knowhow, hard-learned lessons, and societal evolution. We here on home planet Earth have shaped a robust framework of building standards that governs construction on our world today.
But now, as humanity prepares to put in place a “sustained presence” on the moon, how do we guarantee the safety and integrity of structures built in an environment for which no such tradition exists?
What’s needed is a lunar building code, the development of design criteria for the moon.
What’s the Moon shaking news about this story? To find out, go to my new Space.com article — “Do we need a lunar building code to build moon bases safely?” – at:
Image credit: Cinemark Theatres
Here’s a collectible that’s an Identified Filling Object (IFO), the Disclosure Day “Stag Popcorn Bucket.”
The bucket, according to an ad, brings Steven Spielberg’s “chilling sci-fi mystery to your collection with an eerie creature-inspired design that fans won’t stop talking about!”
The 85-ounce plastic container is described as “ must-have collectible for alien thriller lovers, movie merch hunters, and blockbuster popcorn bucket collectors.”
This limited-edition collectible is a hand wash only item over 16-inches tall. It’s yours at a bucket-buttery blastoff price of $49.95.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
According to the NASA Curiosity Mars rover team, the challenge is piecing together how a vast network of boxwork could exist on Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain the rover has been ascending.
“Each layer of the mountain formed in a different era of Mars’ ancient, changing climate. The higher Curiosity goes, the more the landscape bears signs that water was drying out over time, with occasional wet periods that saw the return of rivers and lakes.”
These images were taken by one of Curiosity’s Navigation Cameras on Sol 4928, June 17, 2026.
This artist’s impression shows radar waves from the NASA Goldstone Solar System Radar pinging one of Jupiter’s moons, Europa. The radar waves penetrate Europa’s icy surface before bouncing back to be collected by the NSF Green Bank Telescope on Earth.
Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/P.Vosteen
Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has been “pinged” by powerful radar on Earth reflecting radio waves in an odd, strong, and complex way not seen on rocky worldsNASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar and the U.S. National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope carried out the most extensive radar study to date of the ocean world between 2011 and 2024.
Europa is a prime target in the search for habitable environments beyond Earth.
Internal structure and purity
Tunhui (Tina) Xie, a graduate student at the University of California Los Angeles, states that “radar delves below what is easily seen, because radio waves can penetrate into the ice, and carry information about its internal structure and purity.”
This 2022 view of Jovian moon Europa was created by processing an image from JunoCam captured during the Juno spacecraft’s close flyby on Sept. 29.
Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Björn Jónsson CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
These new observations show that Europa’s radar “albedo”—a measure of how bright it appears to radar—is much higher than that of typical planets and asteroids.
This depth limit using radar offers a new constraint on how transparent Europa’s ice is, and will help scientists interpret upcoming ice‑penetrating radar data from NASA’s Europa spacecraft now en route to study this moon in more detail. It arrives in April 2030.
This radar news is featured in a press conference held at the American Astronomical Society’s 248th meeting on Tuesday, June 16th
Go to 12:35 at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-38ah-bRjs4
En route to Jupiter, the Europa Clipper.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin
An image from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express shows part of Mamers Valles, a huge valley system in Mars’s northern hemisphere.
The image captures tens of small dust devils.
These brief, tornado-like whirlwinds lift dust into the air and carry it across the surface of the Red Planet.
Go to this site to explore dust devils galore at:
This image marks the location of Mamers Valles, a huge valley system in Mars’s northern hemisphere.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Last week China hurled into space a new communication technology test satellite, making use of the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s Hainan Province.
The June 11 liftoff of the Long March 5 booster was noted and confirmed by the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) as it routinely monitors expected debris that careens into identified “drop zones” (DZs) sent skyward from China’s busy Wenchang spaceport.
“Unburned debris from rockets, such as the booster and fairing, are designed to be discarded as the rocket enters outer space,” posted PhilSA.
Potential risk
“While not projected to fall on land features or inhabited areas, falling debris poses danger and potential risk to ships, aircraft, fishing boats, and other vessels that will pass through the drop zone,” PhilSA warned.
Due to the possibility for rocket leftovers floating around the area and washing toward nearby coasts, it advises the public to inform local authorities if suspected debris is sighted.
PhilSA also cautions against retrieving or coming in close contact with these materials that may contain remnants of toxic substances such as rocket fuel.
“Additionally, the possibility of an uncontrolled re-entry to the atmosphere of the rocket’s upper stages returning from outer space cannot be ruled out at this time,” PhilSA noted.
Drop zones
DZ 1 is approximately 69 Nautical Miles away from Burgos, Ilocos Norte, and 94 Nautical Miles away from Dalupiri Island, Cagayan.
DZ 2 is 119 Nautical Miles away from Santa Ana, Cagayan, and 133 Nautical Miles away from Camiguin Norte.
Image credit: Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA)
Both drop zones are within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), PhilSA explains.
“Details of the rocket drop zone were disclosed through a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) warning of an ‘aerospace flight activity.’ PhilSA disseminated a pre-launch report to relevant government agencies and authorities prior to the launch.”
A similar launch warning was posted by PhilSA in late May. On that occasion, China lofted a Long March 7A from the Wenchang Space Launch Site.
Wenchang ramp up
Meanwhile, word is that the Wenchang spaceport is prepared to ramp up rocket liftoffs per year.
Wenchang is home of the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site, located in Wenchang International Aerospace City. It was built and is being operated by the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co., Ltd. (HICAL).
Construction of China’s first commercial spacecraft launch site began in July 2022.
For a video of the recent Long March-5 carrier rocket launch, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/26200449259631288
Image credit: Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Image credit: SpaceX
Some are calling it the “Elon factor” – the highly anticipated initial public offering of SpaceX stock.
Last May, SpaceX filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission key documentation that signaled an initial public offering (IPO) of stock.
And this week, the long-anticipated public offering hit the streets, becoming the largest IPO in history.
At roughly a two trillion dollar valuation, SpaceX anticipates a $75 billion initial offering, with shares perhaps valued at $135 each, a dollar number that SpaceX can modify on its own.
SpaceX transitioning to a publicly traded company is a big deal, not only cash wise but may well power the future and potency of commercial space overall.
What’s all the chatter about this IPO? Go to my new Space.com story – “SpaceX to go public with a mind-bogglingly historic IPO today. The space industry may never be the same” – at:
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Work in China is underway toward building a space solar power station.
The effort is being led by Xidian University in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, with reports that a breakthrough has been achieved in transmitting energy to multiple moving targets simultaneously.
Underway since 2018, the work is being done under the name “Zhu Ri.” Its latest upgrade has shifted from one-to-one fixed transmission to one-to-many energy supply streams, enabling precise power delivery to multiple fast-moving targets.
As reported by China Central Television (CCTV), researchers say the challenge of the upgraded system was to keep beams locked on moving targets without losing signal.
Control system
“Our transmitting antenna beam must be monitored in real time and precisely directed toward the receiving antenna,” says Qian Sihao, associate professor at the School of Electromechanical Engineering of the university.
“To achieve this, we have developed a high-precision closed-loop control system based on reverse beam guidance,” Qian tells CCTV. “When the receiving antenna sends out a guiding signal, the transmitting antenna can promptly capture it and instantly calculate the position and angular attitude of the receiving antenna, thereby ensuring accurate beam pointing.”
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Outdoor tests
“In simple terms, the system can track targets and make real-time corrections during transmission, enabling dynamic power supply to multiple moving devices,” notes CCTV. To prevent damage from misaligned beams, key components were upgraded with gallium nitride diodes, improving tolerance to high-power fluctuations.
According to CCTV, outdoor tests showed the system could deliver 1,180 watts of output power at a distance of 100 meters, with DC-to-DC transmission efficiency rising to 20.8 percent and beam collection efficiency reaching 88 percent.
Qian Sihao, associate professor at the School of Electromechanical Engineering at Xidian University.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
“This means that most of the beams emitted by our transmitting antenna can be precisely captured by the receiving antenna, with very little energy wasted,” Qian adds. “In addition, our overall output power has reached the kilowatt level, which is enough to run a household air conditioner. It can also easily cover everyday needs such as cooking, boiling water, or other domestic uses.”
Power supply for space vehicles
Fan Guanheng, associate professor, School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University, said the construction of space solar power stations could become a major undertaking in the future.
“One potential benefit is access to a virtually unlimited power supply. Because energy can be collected continuously in space 24 hours a day, electricity could be supplied on an uninterrupted basis,” says Fan.
“Secondly, it could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, thereby lowering carbon emissions and helping protect the environment,” Fan explains.
“Thirdly, it could support the development of charging infrastructure in space and enable wireless microwave charging for spacecraft, changing the way power is supplied to space vehicles,” says Fan.
Fan Guanheng, associate professor, School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Ground test system
In 2018, the research team launched the first phase of the Sun Chasing project to build a ground test system.
By June 2022, they had completed the world’s first full-link, full-system ground validation system for a space solar power station.
The team has now moved to phase two. The present goal is to solve the challenges of generating high power in space and transmitting it efficiently over long distances.
Overcoming challenges
Despite the advances in ground-based validation, the researchers add that a series of technical challenges must still be overcome before the technology can be deployed in space.
“The first issue that needs to be addressed is the adaptability of components to the space environment, as conditions in space are completely different from those on Earth, including radiation exposure and extreme temperatures,” Qian says.
“Another challenge involves the deployment and retraction design of transmitting and receiving antennas. We also need to develop thermal management systems to cope with extreme temperatures and temperature fluctuations in space. These are all areas where further breakthroughs are needed,” notes Qian.
In-orbit demonstration
“We have now completed the development and validation of a ground-based test system, and our next step is to carry out in-orbit wireless microwave power transmission,” Fan said.
With ground validation complete, notes CCTV, the team now turns its attention to overcoming the harsh realities of space, “aiming to demonstrate in-orbit wireless power transmission and bring the vision of orbital solar energy closer to reality.”
Image credit: SpaceX
A new study presents the atmospheric impacts of different aspects of spaceflight.
Focus of the research was to appraise the effects of chemical reactions in the rocket plume in setting up a global emission inventory, leading to emission indices that vary with altitude.
The study team was led by Yvar S. W. Vliex, an operations and environment specialist within the faculty of aerospace engineering at Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Supercomputer-aided study
Researchers calculated emissions from186 rockets launched in 2022 — along with 472 objects equaling a combined total mass of nearly 5,000 tons — that reentered the atmosphere that year.
This research was carried out on the Dutch National Supercomputer Snellius – the largest system in the Netherlands in terms of high-performance computing.
“Although the current atmospheric impact of spaceflight is small, this is expected to change as the sector continues to grow,” Vliex and colleagues explain in the paper, published in the American Geophysical Union’s journal, Earth’s Future.
“As the space industry continues to grow, a better understanding of the effects of re-entry emissions, rocket plume chemistry and aerosols such as those from alumina is required, alongside in situ measurements of emissions from new rocket engines and propellant types,” the study team reports.
Locations and number of rocket launches in 2022, with marker size indicating launch frequency.
Image credit: Yvar S. W. Vliex, et al.
Launch rate on the rise
The space industry has grown rapidly in recent decades. The yearly launch rate has more than tripled since 2005. Also, the number of operational spacecraft has more than doubled to reach roughly 2,900 Earth orbiting satellites.
“Based on current trends such as the privatization of the space industry, the development of reusable boosters, and the plans for satellite mega-constellations and space tourism, the yearly launch and re-entry rates are expected to increase considerably, with almost 10,000 spacecraft being planned for low-Earth orbits in the upcoming years,” Vliex and colleagues observe.
Atmospheric pollutants
Rocket engines give off pollutants in all layers of the atmosphere, they report, “and the burn-up of satellites and discarded rocket bodies leads to emissions at high altitudes.”
Furthermore, as the space industry is expected to continue to grow rapidly, “a good understanding of its environmental effects is needed.”
The overall climate impact of spaceflight can likely be reduced by using more liquid hydrogen (LH2), a common rocket fuel due to its high efficiency, instead of the Rocket Propellant-1 (RP1) fueled rockets that now dominate the market.
However the low density and cryogenic storage requirements make LH2 less suitable for lower stages.
Spaceflight emissions mass contributions for 2022 per propellant type (left) and launch location (right).
Image credit: Yvar S. W. Vliex, et al.
Rocket fuel types
“The current development of liquid-methane rockets will likely reduce the climate impact of spaceflight, as methane is expected to produce less black carbon per unit mass than RP1, but further research is needed to determine how the effect of liquid-methane compares to current propellant types,” Vliex and colleagues add.
Comparing rocket fuel types, solid propellant has the largest impact on ozone depletion. Rocket-grade kerosene has the largest climate response relative to payload mass, they report.
“Our results highlight the need to consider and accurately model re-entry emissions, engine plume reactions and their interactions,” they conclude.
To access the report – “The Role of Propellant Type, Re‐Entry, and Plume Reactions in the Atmospheric Impacts of Spaceflight” – go to:
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/8d85ab81-c214-4837-a0c6-0feb14cbd382
