Researchers are using a human-machine collaborative approach to assess areas of poverty in underdeveloped nations. Providing an accurate assessment of poverty is a global challenge with 53 countries not conducting agricultural surveys in the past 15 years, and 17 countries not publishing a population census. To fill the data gap new technologies are being used to estimate poverty using alternative sources including street views, aerial photos, and satellite images. 

In the first half of 2023 I conducted a study on the future of the global space economy for the future studies institute 2b AHEAD. Being based on in-depth expert interviews from both inside and outside the space sector, the study contains some wild predictions for the upcoming two decades: private space stations, modular, repairable satellites, a permanent Moon base, and nuclear propulsion. But many of these predictions stand on the assumption that SpaceX’s Starship will, as promised, dramatically ease accessibility to space. What if Starship fails? In this article, I would like to provide an overview of the consequences of Starship’s failure for future human activities in space.

Zhang Kejian, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) administrator, and Sherif Sedky, the Chief Operating Officer of the Egyptian Space Agency (EGSA), signed a cooperation agreement between the CNSA and the EGSA on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in Beijing on the 6th of December. 

Uzma, a energy and technology company and Satellogic Inc, a Earth Observation (EO) data collector, announced on the 7th of December a new collaboration. The companies are aiming to evolve the landscape of satellite imagery capabilities and geospatial services in Southeast Asia. As part of the agreement Satellogic will design and manufacture a EO satellite. It is planned to be launched in the second half of 2024 as ‘UzmaSAT-1’ aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The Peregrine Lunar Lander is set to land on Christmas eve. It intends to touch down on a region of ancient lunar lava flows, Sinus Viscositatis, the Bay of Stickiness. This will be the first mission to launch under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. It will lift off on the first flight of the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket.

China launched a remote-sensing satellite for Egypt on the 4th of December marking a new feat in space cooperation between these countries, according to the China National Space Administration. The Egyptian MISRSAT-2 satellite was launched on a Long March 2C carrier rocket which set off from the Jiuqan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. The satellite was designed and built by Aerosapce Dongfanhong, a subsidiary of the China Academy of Space Technology.

Iran is aiming to launch astronauts into space using domestically developed technology by the end of 2029 Eisa Zarepour, Communication Minister stated in a post on the Iran Virasty social media site on Sunday. "In line with the implementation of the ten-year document of the country's space industry, the 'Life in Space' program has been revived and soon, God willing, the suborbital tests of the new generation 'bio-capsule' will be completely Iranian," he said.

LeoLabs, a commercial provider of Space Traffic Management (STM) and Space Situational Awareness (SSA), announced on the 4th of December that it signed a partnership agreement with Aalyria, the software-defined and optical networking communications company. 

Polaris, a German aerospace start-up, successfully ignited their AS-1 engine on the 22nd of November. This Hot Fire Test was the first time the engine had been ignited. The test took place on an airfield at a former airport in northern Germany. The main material of the engine is Inconel and this engine is a heavy ground test version, with lighter versions of the engine for in-flight testing. 

Arcfield, a government technology and mission support provider, announced on the 29th of November that it has completed its acquisition of Orion Space Solutions, a developer of end-to-end space mission capabilities and solutions. Arcfield intends for the acquisition to enhance their space exploration and hypersonic detection and tracking capabilities for agencies in the Department of Defence (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC).