October 2nd, 2023
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In the early morning hours of September 24, NASA’s first sample return mission of bits and pieces of an asteroid successfully parachuted into the Department of Defense Dugway Proving Ground in the Utah Test and Training Range, roughly 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah. That extraterrestrial freight from afar came capsule-contained courtesy […]
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Russia’s Roscosmos chief, Yuri Borisov, explains that Russia will decide on extending the operation of the International Space Station after 2028, based on the condition of the station. Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Baku, he spoke about plans to create a modular Russian orbital station, which is planned to be deployed in the […]
China Moon exploration planners are detailing the country’s next robotic lunar probe mission, the Chang’e-6 to be launched around 2024. This Moon lander is to set down in the south pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side and gather lunar samples, then rocket the specimens to Earth. According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), […]
Nearly 7,000 satellites orbit the Earth, serving vital functions such as communication, navigation, and scientific research. In 2022 alone, more than 150 launches took place, sending new instruments into space, with many more expected over the next decade. But who owns these objects? Industry leader Visual Capitalist utilized data from the Union of Concerned Scientists […]
NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy has issued a report — Artemis, Ethics and Society: Synthesis from a Workshop — focused on two key study questions: 1) How should NASA consider the ethical, legal, and societal implications of the Artemis and Moon to Mars efforts? 2) What are the key ethical and societal implications […]
Without doubt, Earth’s Moon looms as nations and for-profit private concerns have our celestial next-door-neighbor in their exploration cross-hairs. The drum beat of back to the Moon, then putting humans on a permanent footing there, is on the upswing made practical by harvesting lunar resources. One need-to-have top priority is water ice, thought resident within […]
Lunar exploration is the catalyst behind an unprecedented surge in the space exploration sector which saw global government investment rise to an impressive $26 billion during 2023. A new report has been issued by Euroconsult pointing to ambitious lunar missions that are projected to boost investment to nearly $33 billion by 2032. That’s a growth […]
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has now completed 60 flights since first taking to the skies above the Red Planet on April 19, 2021. Newly posted imagery show the high-flying mini-chopper scooting skyward on September 26, the date of Ingenuity’s 60th flight. That aerial hop covered roughly 1,116 feet (340 meters) in horizontal distance; reaching […]
Utah Test and Training Range – Exciting times here as I watched the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule make its safe and sound touchdown at this remote military outpost. Taking nothing away from this huge step in asteroid research, there are a couple of items of note to keep an eye on. Keeping samples safe […]
The ripple effect of the recent independent assessment of the multi-billion dollar NASA Mars Sample Return (MSR) effort includes a just-issued open letter to the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) community – a top-level advisory group to NASA. “We know many in the community are worried NASA will abandon MSR after 40 years of […]
