The UK Space Agency has provided funding to Rolls-Royce into how nuclear power could be used to support a future Moon base for astronauts. Specialists at Rolls-Royce are engaged in developing a “Micro-Reactor” program, a key technology to help sustain future Moon missions and enhance their scientific value. The UK Space Agency has announced $3.5 […]

China continues to scope out a future international lunar research station, one that will carry out lunar-based Earth observations and perform lunar resource utilization. Zou Yongliao, head of the lunar and deep space exploration division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, revealed the goals at a recent national space conference, as reported by China Science […]

  When OneWeb and Russia’s Roscosmos cut off cooperation last year, stranded at the Baikonur Cosmodrome were 36 OneWeb satellites to be lofted into orbit via a Soyuz booster. According to Novosti-Kosmonavtiki citing a Reuters story, the head of OneWeb, Neil Masterson, has abandoned attempts to return the satellites from Baikonur. The British company reportedly […]

The annual report of worldwide threats to the national security of the United States has been issued by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. This 2023 Annual Threat Assessment Report includes appraisals of China and Russian space activities. Overall, the report states that China is steadily progressing toward its goal of becoming […]

Remains of a modern glacier near Mars’ equator have been found. The finding implies water ice is possibly present at low latitudes on the Red Planet…even today. The announcement comes from the now-in-session 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference being held in The Woodlands, Texas. Scientists at the gathering revealed the discovery of a relict […]

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3770 duties. A recent two sol scripted plan (Sols 3769-3770) called for the robot to wrap up its remaining drill campaign and workspace liens at the Tapo Caparo site. A weekend plan ran successfully, “though we had a known issue which caused several of […]

For the second time in a month, the Russian-provided Progress MS-22 resupply spacecraft took the International Space Station (ISS) away from a collision with space debris. Coupled to the ISS, the Progress and its engines fired for 135 seconds, giving out an impulse to boost the orbiting facility to 260 miles (419 kilometers), explains a […]

A Sub-Orbital Launch and Recovery (SOLAR) System capsule is being pursued by California State, Fullerton engineers and computer researchers. The team at the university’s Orbital Labs is focused on a high-altitude balloon and capsule that reaches 150,000 feet, or 28 miles high above Earth, to provide an affordable launch service. Along with microgravity experiments, specialists […]

  A possible NASA Artemis 3 Moon landing spot has been eyed by NASA’s veteran Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, making use of its high-powered LROC imaging system. Malapert massif, an informal name, is a glorious peak (lower left of image) thought to be a remnant of the South Pole – Aitken basin rim, which formed more […]

The rim of Marvin crater, 2.9 miles (4.6-kilometers) in diameter arcs across the image from left to right. This just-released image comes via the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter’s (KPLO) ShadowCam. ShadowCam is a NASA-funded instrument hosted onboard the KPLO, provided by Arizona State University. By collecting high-resolution images of the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), […]