Europe

The International Space University (ISU) has announced the appointment of Dr. John Wensveen as its new President. Dr. Wensveen, a seasoned expert in higher education, the aerospace industry, and entrepreneurship will succeed acting President Nicolas Peter, who is returning to the European Space Agency after guiding the institution through a significant transition period.

At the initiative of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), representatives from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and the newly created Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) met in Busan, South Korea, on 15 July 2024 to explore coordinating their planning and approach for missions to the asteroid (99942) Apophis. 

Celestia TTI and Indra, the national industrial coordinator of the NGWS/FCAS program in Spain, have agreed to jointly develop next-generation antennas to design advanced communications systems for the FCAS. As a result, both companies will work more specifically on multipurpose antennas capable of covering different needs and bands, both civil and military, and establishing links with satellite networks in geostationary, high, medium and low orbits

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). 

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the University of Bonn have renewed their partnership, reinforcing their commitment to leveraging space technology in response to growing threats from natural and human-made disasters. This five-year agreement, which both parties signed today in Vienna, extends the "Spaceborne Earth Observation Applications for Emergency Response and Disaster Risk Reduction" (SPEAR) project, focusing on African nations

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.

Mynaric has announced that the supervisory board and the chief executive officer, Mustafa Veziroglu, jointly decided on the termination of the office of Mustafa Veziroglu as CEO and member of the management board of Mynaric with immediate effect. In addition, Mynaric announced the appointment of Andreas Reif with immediate effect as a member of the management board and Chief Restructuring Officer

Rockets! Satellites! Asteroids! Let's blast off into the world of space investment with engineer-turned-investor Christian Ziach. He shares insights on Europe's space race, the challenges of refuelling satellites in orbit, and why asteroid mining might be trickier than we thought. Also: the Ariane 6 dilemma, space sustainability woes, how to turn scientists into entrepreneurs, the MASCOT mission's nail-biting success, and whether we're really ready to settle on Mars.

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.