California based Varda Space Industries, a start-up founded last year by a pair with experience at SpaceX and Founders Fund, has raised over $50 million for its first mission due in 2023. The first on-orbit space factory is planned to bring back 100 kg of material during its first assignment.

Leaf Space, the Italy-based pioneering ground segment as-a-service (GSaaS) solutions provider, is launching the CARES project, the company said. The project utilises telemedicine via satellite transmission and allows for the home monitoring of patients recovering from COVID-19. CARES is co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).

British Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man’s government has agreed to join the 12 countries already embracing Artemis Accords. The Artemis Accords are an international agreement among participating nations setting out guidelines for cooperation in space exploration.

Isar Aerospace extended its series B funding by €63 million to over €140 million, the company founded in 2018 and specialising in small and medium satellites said. With a total financing volume of more than €150 million, Isar Aerospace now sees itself as "the most well-funded space start-up in the European Union".

Previously, research has suggested the presence of molecular oxygen (O2) after auroral bands were discovered in the ultraviolet (UV) images produced by the Hubble Space Telescope. However, when comparing these to recent datasets, astronomers have discovered that there was almost no O2 in the atmosphere in 2018 implying another reason for the charged particle bands.