Space Missions

Thailand’s mu Space is heading for the Final Frontier as it announced plans to participate in projects with the U.S. space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and space exploration initiatives. The announcement, that came during the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s (PTC) conference earlier this week, saw mu Space …

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and the European Space Policy Institute, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and briefs. This is ESPI Briefs No. 21: ‘On the importance of narratives in outer space ’, originally published in March 2018. On February 6th 2018, at Kennedy Space Centre …

Officials from the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos have indicated that the first Emirati human spaceflight mission will take place in September to October 2019 and will last eight days, a change from the initial plan to send the UAE’s first astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) in April …

The UK is in turmoil and is facing a very uncertain future due to its desire to leave the European Union.  Industry is unsettled and the space sector is no different. What could the possible implications be for the UK space industry post-Brexit and how can a way forward be …

The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) has launched a National Plan for the Promotion of Space Investment aiming to increase domestic and foreign investment in the UAE space sector. The initiative promises to transform the nation into a regional hub for commercial space activities and advanced research and development. It also …

As far as we know, Mars is the only planet populated entirely by robots! Due to the time taken for commands to travel to Mars (eight minutes each way), hand guided robots are limited to travelling only a few dozen metres a day. New software developed in the UK will …

India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, will be attempted in mid-April 2019, a senior Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official said on 11 January 2019. Chandrayaan-2 will comprise a lander and a lunar rover. “We are targeting mid-April to launch Chandrayaan-2 as there were certain tests which could not be done …

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is aiming for the first crewed Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission to take place in December 2021. Following the Indian government’s recent allocation of U.S.$1.4 billion for the Gaganyaan mission, ISRO has revealed how much of this budget boost will be spent in achieving an …

By Dr. John B. Sheldon The role of commercial space in today’s national security environments is known well enough. There are useful policy debates to be had over what national security space systems a state should absolutely provide for to ensure sovereign decision making in war versus where commercial entities …

Human space exploration has received another significant boost with the successful landing of a Chinese probe on the far side of the moon – a feat that has never before been accomplished. Chinese state media confirmed that the spacecraft had performed a ‘soft landing’ at 10.26am (2.26am GMT) on January …