Space Exploration

PTScientists and ArianeGroup agreed on 8 May 2019 in Berlin on a far-reaching cooperation. The contract governs the cooperation between the two companies for future Moon missions such as the planned ISRU mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and beyond.

A team of specialised engineers from the Russian space agency Roscosmos designed two custom Soyuz MS-15 seats for Emirati astronauts Hazzaa Al Mansoori and Sultan Al Neyadi, following the official announcement of the launch date of the first Arab and Emirati astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) on 25 September 2019, and the announcement made by Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of selecting Al Mansoori as the prime astronaut and Al Neyadi as the back-up astronaut.

NanoRacks is pleased to announce Veronica La Regina as the Director of Global Engagement (Europe) and will be directing NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l, an Italian company, co-located at ALTEC in Torino. She will be moving to Torino along with NanoRacks Head of European Operations, Peter Bak. NanoRacks Space Outpost S.r.l. officially opened its doors for business on 1 April 2019.

Pakistan signed a space cooperation agreement with China at a ceremony in Beijing held on 27 April 2019 providing a framework for the training of Pakistani astronauts, space science and exploration, as well as the establishment of a Sino-Pakistani space committee that will discuss other cooperative initiatives in space.

Germany's Ministry of Economy is drafting new space laws and regulations - that could be submitted to the Bundestag for ratification as soon as the end of this year – in order to incentivize the German private sector to invest in the rapidly growing global space sector, according to a 28 April 2019 report by Reuters.

The UAE Space Agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, MBRSC, have announced that 85 percent of the Hope Probe project has been completed.

ARIEL, a mission to make the first large-scale survey of exoplanet atmospheres, has launched a global competition series to find innovative solutions for the interpretation and analysis of exoplanet data.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gave a remarkable “Kennedy” style speech on 26 March 2019 in Huntsville, Alabama, where he stated that the United States will put Americans on the Moon again - in as soon as five years. China demonstrated, with Chang'e 4, their capability to land on the far side of the Moon. Israeli NGO SpaceIL’s Beresheet spacecraft, though ultimately unsuccessful in its soft landing, did reach the Moon’s surface on 11 April 2019. This has all happened without Europe. SpaceWatch.Global Chairman, Dr. John B. Sheldon, shares his thoughts on Europe's ability to carry out Moonshots in the 21st century.

The France-United Arab Emirates Strategic Dialogue convened for its 11th session in Paris on 16 April 2019.

"If at first you don’t succeed, you try again," said newly reelected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the Beresheet (Hebrew for Genesis) lunar lander failed to make a soft landing on the Moon's surface on 11 April 2019.