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In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global Editor in Chief Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Savino Ruà,  International Relations Officer at DG DEFIS (European Commission) and  Cecilia Donati, Policy Officer Digital and Space for Development at DG INTPA (European Commission) about the recent NewSpace Africa Conference 2023, which took place in Abidjan, in the Ivory Coast, between the 26th and 27th of April 2023.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and ESA announced on the 31st of May that they have opened the third round of applications for the Fellowship Programme on the Large Diameter Centrifuge Facility Hypergravity Experiment Series (HyperGES).

MDA Ltd., a provider of advanced technology and services to the global space industry, has announced it is working with Thoth Technology Inc. (Thoth) to create a made-in-Canada deep space radar surveillance and space domain awareness (SDA) capability. A strategic cooperation agreement will integrate MDA's commercial data services with Thoth's ground-based radar technology to provide unprecedented levels of sovereign monitoring in deep space over Canada, providing both detection and characterization of space objects.

On December 6, 2021, GomSpace and UK partner, RAL Space, signed a contract with ESA for the Scout-1 Mission for climate observation, known as CubeMap. During the past year, the parties have been working on completing the scope and requirement specifications. However, after several negotiations between ESA, GomSpace, and UK partner RAL Space,

Asteroid day will take place on the 30th of June in Luxembourg, and it will be live streamed on several digital platforms. The event is recognised by the United Nations, and is part of a programme by the Luxembourg-based Asteroid Foundation.

In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global contributor Remco Timmermans spoke with Raúl Verdú, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer at PLD Space,  days before the first launch attempt of the MIURA 1 rocket.

NASA is seeking industry proposals for a next-generation Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) which will allow astronauts to go further and explore the south polar region of the Moon during the Artemis missions. NASA will contract the LTV as a service from industry instead of owning the rover. 

Spain has become the 25th country to sign the Artemis Accords, as it signed it during a ceremony at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Tuesday. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Diana Morant, Spain’s science and innovation minister, signed on behalf of Spain. Pedro Sánchez, President of Spain, Julissa Reynoso, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, and Karen Feldstein, NASA Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations, also were in attendance.

UAE Space Agency announced on the 28th of May the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt, the EMA. The concept plan of the mission to the main asteroid belt began in 2019. The Emirati spacecraft will take a 5 billion km trip to a region between Mars and Jupiter to study asteroids. “The initial idea of what should we do after the Emirates Mars Mission actually started one or two years prior to the launch of the Hope probe,” Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, exclusively told The National on Wednesday.

New Zealand has launched its national space policy, outlining the increasing geopolitical risks associated with space and the urgency to work with like-minded partners to protect the country’s national security. The Policy also set out New Zealand’s values and high-level objectives for space activities. The policy outlines the New Zealand Government’s objectives for growing an innovative and inclusive space sector, protecting and advancing its national security and economic interests.