Space Exploration

The first science experiments that will be hosted on the Gateway, an international outpost which will orbit the Moon, have been selected by ESA and NASA. Europe’s contribution will monitor radiation to gain a complete understanding of cosmic and solar rays in unexplored areas as the orbital outpost is assembled …

The Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis I mission has successfully completed several months of simulated space environment system level testing in the NASA-owned thermal vacuum chamber at Plum Brook Station in Ohio, according to a 16 March 2020 announcement by Airbus. The tests were conducted in two phases; a 47-day …

It is already hard to believe that there is ice on Mercury, where daytime temperatures reach 400 degrees Celsius, or 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Now an upcoming study says that the Vulcan heat on the planet closest to the sun likely helps make some of that ice. As with Earth, asteroids …

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Roscosmos Space Corporation announced on 12 March 2020 that they have decided to postpone the launch of the second ExoMars mission to study the Red Planet to 2022. The joint ESA-Roscosmos project team evaluated all the activities needed for an authorisation to launch, …

NASA/JPL?Cornell Katarina Miljkovic, Curtin University We’ve all heard of earthquakes, but what about marsquakes? NASA’s InSight mission has, for the first time, recorded seismic activity coming from Mars’ interior. The observations, recorded in 2019 and published today, will help understand the red planet’s internal structure, composition and dynamics. It opens …

Caltech and JPL have been successful partners in space exploration since the mid-1930s. In their tradition of intermixing in unique ways fundamental science, technology and engineering they develop a collaborative multi-disciplinary cross-agency research program to advance and accelerate scalable hybrid quantum networking and communications technologies. To support the increasing data …

Axiom Space announced on 5 March 2020 that it is planning history’s first fully private human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station. Axiom has signed a contract with SpaceX for a Crew Dragon flight which will transport a commander professionally trained by Axiom alongside three private astronauts to and …

The Airbus-built Bartolomeo platform was successfully launched on 6 March 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, US. Bartolomeo is now on its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) and will be installed outside of the Columbus Laboratory, the European module of the ISS built by Airbus. Andreas Hammer, Airbus’ Head …

Sen, a British space company establishing video streaming media to provide real-time and timely Ultra-High Definition (UHD) video of Earth, has contracted NanoAvionics to build the first five nano-satellites of its constellation. Sen has already demonstrated its technology of streaming ultra-high definition (UHD) video from space. It is now focused …

The Saudi Space Commission (SSC) is casting a wide net in its aim to create space cooperation arrangements with friendly countries around the world, with agreements or discussions underway with countries such as Greece, Kuwait, Brazil, Australia, and France. On 5 February 2020, the acting CEO of the Saudi Space …