Government

An international team of geologists has explored the foothills of the Lambahraun volcano to search for grainy soil. This soil is particularly important as it is similar to some of the samples that NASA’s Perseverance rover has collected on Mars. This project was possible due to the similarities between  Iceland and Mars.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Chloe Smith, has announced £20 million in funding from the UK Space Agency to support the development of future telecommunications technologies and aerial connectivity projects. The project would subsequently be onboard drones or high-altitude platforms to provide wireless coverage

European Space Imaging (EUSI) has announced a multi-million euro investment into their ground station at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) near Munich. This strategic upgrade extends EUSI's ability to deliver imagery with remarkable speed and efficiency, solidifying its claim to the position as a hub for the best satellite imagery technology in Europe.

Data from the European Space Agency (ESA)’s exoplanet mission Cheops has led to the surprising revelation that an ultra-hot exoplanet that orbits its host star in less than a day is covered by reflective clouds of metal, making it the shiniest exoplanet ever found.

The United Kingdom and European Union have agreed to a draft agreement regarding Britain’s re-entry into the Horizon Europe research program. Britain formally left all three schemes when it quit the EU in January 2020, and discussions to re-associate as a third country proved difficult. As a result, the European Commission blocked the British researchers' participation until the UK resolved a post-Brexit row over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that it will launch its third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, on July 14, 2023, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Furthermore, the payload will launch aboard the Research Organization's new heavy-lift launch vehicle LVM. 

Rivada Space Networks has announced that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)’s Radio Regulations Board has waived the requirement that Rivada put 10% of its constellation into orbit this year.

OQ Technology has won an ESA € 1.1 Million contract to design, build, integrate, test and demonstrate three advanced nanosatellites. The satellites will feature multiple payloads providing space-based 5G narrowband internet-of-things communications services and optical communications link. Furthermore, they will include hyperspectral Earth observation data to support precision agriculture as part of the ERMIS mission.

The European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA), as of 1 July, will begin operating the Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) Front Desk, following a European Commission’s Decision of 3 June 2022. This follows the European Union's objective to take a holistic approach to Space Traffic Management to address the issue of space congestion.

The European Space Agency has launched the Euclid Space Telescope, an orbital telescope built to shed light on mysterious cosmic phenomena known as dark energy and dark matter. The space telescope launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, United States of America. The mission has cost about $1.4 billion and has a design lifespan of about six years. Furthermore, the Agency expects it to transform astrophysics and potentially the understanding of the very nature of gravity itself.