Space Exploration

It’s been nearly half a century since humans left footprints on the moon and during that time human space exploration has largely centered on manned low-Earth orbit missions and unmanned scientific exploration. But now, high levels of private funding, advances in technology, and growing public-sector interest is renewing the call …

The United States National Space Council was re-established by President Donald J. Trump in 2017 after ceasing operations in 1993. The Council works to develop a strategy for national space activities and also to foster co-operation with other countries and space agencies in order to advance the U.S. space agenda …

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) announced on 26 November 2018 that it is designing a low cost 35 kilogram lunar communications satellite mission called DoT-4, targeted for a 2021 launch. DoT-4 will provide the communications relay back to Earth using the Goonhilly Deep Space Network, and will link up with …

By Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan ISRO recently announced its plans to undertake a mission to Venus in the early 2020s and has also invited international proposals for scientific payloads. Since the successful inter-planetary mission to Mars in November 2014, India’s civil space organisation, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been …

On Wednesday, 21 November 2018, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall spoke at the opening of the first International VENµS End-Users Conference organized as part of the France-Israel Season 2018. On this occasion, in the presence of Avi Blasberger, Director General of the …

During his recent visit to China, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Chinese counterparts signed a number of agreements that commit both countries to space, science, and technology cooperation. The science and technology relationship between Islamabad and Beijing dates back to the 1970’s, and has typically involved technology transfers …

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) has signed a Declaration of Principles with Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency (NSSA), and the UAE’s Khalifa University (KU), for the training of the Bahrain Space Team. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 5th Bahrain International Airshow, held at the …

The French national space agency, the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and CapDecisif Management, has created a venture fund called CosmiCapital to help create a European New Space ecosystem. The CosmiCapital fund, launched by the CNES in May 2018 and managed by …

What do astronauts, Pokemon, wildlife park rangers, and surgeons all have in common? The answer is virtual and augmented reality, or VR and AR. Usually associated with video games, this ultra-immersive technology is quickly being recognised for its real-world potential. VR is a computer-generated environment that simulates physical presence and …

The UAE Space Agency will continue selecting astronaut candidates in order to create a national astronaut cadre with the aim of sending Emiratis in to orbit annually, Dr. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, the Director General of the agency, said in an interview with Russian news outlet Sputnik. “The UAE has a …