Space Exploration

Russia and other independent republics of the former Soviet Union enjoy a proud and impressive space heritage, from Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin to the Mir Space Station and the unparalleled launch record of Baikonur Cosmodrome. While national space programmes receive the most public attention, however, Russia and the Commonwealth of …

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) is on the verge of mounting a large expansion of its cooperative efforts with other African countries, and potentially with the European Space Agency (ESA) as well, according to the SANSA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Val Munsami in an interview with Engineering News …

In what might be an election ploy or a signal of a growing space race, President Vladimir Putin announced plans for Russia to go to Mars in 2019 despite funding difficulties and a poor Russian track record for Martian exploration. Plans for this Mars mission come after 15 unsuccessful and …

How should India approach Chinese efforts to develop antisatellite (ASAT) weapons and its ambition to establish space superiority? In a talk given to the Observer Research Foundation’s Space Security conference in New Delhi on 16 February, 2018, ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon offers a few suggestions. For those who have just …

India and France have announced a broad and strategic space cooperation agreement to guide their developing bilateral strategic partnership. This Joint Vision for Space Cooperation includes both existing and new joint mechanisms, with inter-agency representation led by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES) …

France and India have agreed to cooperate on space-based maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean. This decision to increase cooperation is seen as a geopolitical countermove to what many Indian analysts believe are increasing attempts by China to gain superiority in the Indian Ocean. France and India will now …

The United Arab Emirate’s Dubai-based Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has announced the extension by a month of the registration deadline for the UAE Astronaut Programme until 31 March, 2018. This development “aims to optimize entries to the programme as well as allow the space centre time to process …

Known as Dr. Space Junk, Dr. Alice Gorman is a world-renowned expert on space archaeology. Dr. Gorman takes particular interest in the field of orbital debris and is passionate about the preservation of key objects that orbit our planet for the sake of our cultural heritage in space. In this article, Dr. Gorman …

With Mission to the Moon, PTScientists are taking Europe to the Moon. This much anticipated project will be the first private mission to land on the Moon. No pressure then. The PTScientists story began nine years ago, when a team of like-minded engineers entered the Google Lunar XPrize, a competition …

A pioneer of Space Archaeology, Lisa Westwood’s story is an inspiring one. Author of two books on humanity’s heritage in space, Westwood is a professional archaeologist and Cultural Resources Manager for ECORP Consulting and also a member of the Department of Anthropology at California State University-Chico and Butte College. Here, …