January 6th, 2026
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The existing NASA/European Space Agency effort to establish a Mars Sample Return program is slated to be discontinued. That’s the word according to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026. It calls for an overall NASA budget figure of $24.44 billion and change. As noted in a section on Mars Future Missions: […]
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China’s next exploratory probe of the Moon is to depart this year. It is a mission that begins to set the stage for that country’s multi-phased lunar outpost. The Chang’e-7 mission is on tap to reconnoiter the Moon’s south pole, making use of an orbiter, lander, rover, and a water-seeking, well-instrumented lunar hopper. “The Chinese […]
“How do you get to Mars when the launch vehicle is not necessarily going to Mars?” There is a loop de loop space saga underway. It is a celestial long and winding road that may also have consequences for future settlers firmly planted on the Red Planet. The Mars-bound ESCAPADE twins were lofted November 13 […]
PBS science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports on the spunky space start-up in New Zealand that’s catching some attention of its own. The private space economy is growing significantly and 2026 could be a big one. Also highlighted is the evolution of the competitive commercial space market, from SpaceX, Virgin Galactic to […]
Mum’s the word from 3I/ATLAS! That interstellar object oddity made its closest approach to Earth on December 19. On December 18, a Breakthrough Listen-funded program carried out a “technosignature” search of the celestial intruder for evidence of it being a probe dispatched by extraterrestrial intelligence. Tasked for the “listen up” was the 100 meter […]
China’s Shenzhou-21 astronauts, the 42nd Antarctic scientific expedition team, and sailors on the aircraft carrier Fujian transmit New Year wishes for 2026 through China Media Group’s New Year Gala that aired on December 31. Go to: https://www.facebook.com/reel/869625462594559 Left to Right: Wu Fei, Zhang Lu, Shenzhou-21 mission commander, and Zhang Hongzhang. Image credit: CMG/CCTV/Inside Outer Space […]
As it has repeatedly done throughout 2025, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) issued yet another advisory on spent rocket parts from China falling into drop zones within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The December 31 PhilSA posting stems from China’s Long March 7A liftoff that day from the country’s Wenchang Space Launch Site in […]
Earth is encircled by human-made rubbish and the problem is worsening every year. Space debris experts say nearly 130 million pieces of orbital flotsam are zipping around our planet, high-speed leftovers from rocket stage explosions, abandoned satellites, as well as bits and pieces of junk from space hardware deployments. Toss into this meandering mess the […]
For an agency shooting for the Moon and onward to Mars, NASA in 2025 has been more on a roller coaster ride of proposed budget cuts, personnel layoffs, and potential elimination of science missions. A key question: Have these various traumas changed NASA dramatically, and potentially permanently? Battle lines are being drawn and now Congress […]
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Aerospace Security Project has rolled out its on demand video of a “Year in Review” – delving into the developments reshaping the space landscape. Over the past year, global space activity continued to expand. Launch numbers climbed, satellite constellations surged. There’s a widening roster of nations asserting […]
