Frontiers News

The Polaris Dawn crew successfully launched aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to expand commercial space exploration from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew, including Anna Menon, Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, and Sarah Gillis, will subsequently begin research to better understand the effects of spaceflight and space radiation on human health

Kuva Space has announced the successful completion of the Sunstorm CubeSat’s mission. After three years of operation, the Sunstorm satellite re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on September 4, 2024, at 10:30 EEST, marking the end of its mission that started under the European Space Agency’s (ESA) General Support Technology Programme (GSTP). 

Canopy Aerospace Inc. (Canopy) has announced its latest initiative in partnership with the U.S. Air Force on $2.8M in contracts. This effort, which is part of a broader push by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to modernize its strategic weapons portfolio, addresses critical challenges in developing advanced Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) for hypersonic vehicles and weapon systems.

The ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission will continue with a new trajectory that will take it just 165 km from Mercury’s surface, around 35 km closer to Mercury than originally planned. This comes after the mission developed thruster issues that prevented the mission spacecraft from operating at full power. The BepiColombo mission, which launched in 2018, began experiencing an issue that prevented the mission's Mercury Transfer Module (MTM)’s electric thrusters from operating at full power

The Iceland Space Agency (ISA), together with the Science Park, and the University of Iceland is hosting representatives of the world’s major space agencies from September 2nd to the 6th in Reykjavík, to work together to explore Mars further. Around 50 representatives are expected from 15 space agencies, which form part of the International Mars Exploration Working Group (IMEWG). 

John McFall, a member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve, bore the Paralympic flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on 28 August 2024. John's inclusion in the ceremony highlights the Paralympics' commitment to pushing boundaries for people with disabilities. Furthermore, his journey from Paralympic sprinter to astronaut represents a significant milestone in sports and space exploration.

Astrobotic has published its Peregrine Mission 1 post-mission report, detailing the mission's journey and its propellant leak which prevented the mission from achieving its primary objective of landing on the moon. After the mission, Astrobotic assembled external experts for an incident investigation team and review board to analyze the mission. The board was chaired by Dr. John Horack, Professor and Neil Armstrong Chair, Ohio State University. 

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded further SpaceX launches after a Falcon 9 booster anomaly on Wednesday, 28th of August. The booster was part of a Falcon 9 mission to place Starlink satellites in orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. However, after the stage separation, the booster, intending to land on an uncrewed drone ship, suffered an anomaly and ended up tipping into the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) this autumn. This agreement reflects the shared commitment of both organizations to promote international collaboration in space science and strengthen their respective global impacts.

Axiom Space has partnered with Nokia to integrate advanced 4G/LTE communication capabilities into the next-generation spacesuits for the Artemis III lunar mission. Together, Nokia and Axiom Space will incorporate high-speed cellular-network capabilities in the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU), supporting HD video, telemetry data, and voice transmission over multiple kilometers on the Moon