October 4th, 2025
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This month, there’s a first of its kind Moon/Mars analog mission, one that involves five continents simultaneously. Africa, America, Asia, Australia, and Europe are joining forces to emulate human presence on the Moon or Mars. Over 200 scientists from 25 countries are involved in this unique analog undertaking. Research collaboration From October 13 to 26, […]
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The opening shot that kicked off the “Space Race.” October 4, 1957, now 68 years ago today, the former Soviet Union’s R-7 rocket lifted off from the Tyuratam test site (now the Baikonur Cosmodrome), hurling into space the first artificial Earth satellite. The R-7 Semyorka intercontinental ballistic missile was modified by Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, known […]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space group is deep into development of its new Delta Class suborbital space planes, with both research and private astronaut flights expected to commence next year. The company has also been looking at using its mothership aircraft that releases those newly developed space planes at high altitude as a carrier […]
The planet Venus is a hellish, hot under the collar world. Not only is this enigmatic globe holding tight its secrets under thick clouds saturated with sulfuric acid, it is upwelling a heavenly question mark: Could it be a haven for high-altitude life? Perhaps Venus is a cozy, comfy home for microbes? That prospect is […]
A veteran of Earth remote sensing is nearing its destructive reentry though Earth’s atmosphere. Landsat 4 was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on July 16, 1982 on a Delta 3920 rocket. Landsat 4 was built for and launched by NASA. The spacecraft was built by contractor GE Astro Space. Despite numerous […]
Image credit: Ironbound Films Will Judaism survive in space? That’s the key question probed in Fiddler on the Moon, a film focused on answering this query that scientists, theologians, and comedians have asked. This intriguing video includes NASA astronauts Jeffrey Hoffman and Jessica Meir, Neil deGrasse Tyson, as well as a quorum of rabbis and […]
Close-in observations by Mars orbiters are on tap as that interstellar comet –3I/ATLAS — zips by the Red Planet on October 3rd. One of those spacecraft to view the object is NASA/s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its powerful camera system, the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE). “MRO/HiRISE will attempt a couple of images,” reports Alfred […]
China’ first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, was sent into space on May 29. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has released an in-flight image, taken by a camera affixed to the probe’s robotic arm. Also captured in the image is the craft’s white sample return capsule. This en-route mission is headed for an over decade-long […]
The SpaceX Starship’s eleventh flight test is to launch as soon as Monday, October 13. The launch window will open at 6:15 p.m. Central “Texas” Time. A SpaceX posting provides detail regarding what’s up with this flight test: The flight will build on the successful demonstrations from Starship’s tenth flight test with flight experiments gathering […]
“…we’re going to see an astronaut death within a few years,” reports a NASA whistleblower. Safety is a critical part of NASA’s culture, especially following the reforms put in place after the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters. U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. released a report “The Destruction of NASA’s Mission,” prepared by […]
