Space News

Space explorers in the land of volcanoes

From the ESA Blogs.

First switch on for ESA-JAXA Ramses asteroid mission

The European Space Agency’s and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Ramses planetary defence spacecraft has been turned on for the first time by its prime contractor – marking a major milestone in its time-critical development schedule.

There are now 17,000 satellites in orbit—and growing. Should we be concerned?

"I think we are going to lose the ability to use certain orbits."

A hitchhiker’s guide to Hera’s target asteroids

Currently speeding through deep space at 12 km/s relative to Earth, ESA’s Hera spacecraft is due to reach its target Dimorphos asteroid this November. But if an astronaut were magically teleported onto the small-car-sized Hera upon arrival, what would they be seeing, and what would it feel like to walk on the asteroid’s surface?

Rocket Factory Augsburg ‘Boost!’ extension in run-up to first launch

From the ESA Blogs.

Italy to Spend Over $5 Billion to Send Two Astronauts to the Moon

According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, Italy has committed more than $5 billion to the development of a lunar habitat for the agency’s Moon Base programme. In return, the country has secured spots for two Italian astronauts on future missions to the surface of the Moon. Speaking during the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, […]

APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin

Boom Year for Desert Blooms

Carpets of wildflowers burst from arid, ochre-colored land in Western Australia following winter rains.

Ship 41 rolls to Pad 2 carrying two flown tiles from Ship 40

SpaceX rolled Ship 41 to the launch site for stacking with Booster 21, and the…

Curiosity Blog, Sols 5010-5015: Checking out the Bands

Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University New Brunswick, NB, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 11, 2026 This week we had two planning days (Tuesday and Friday), as Monday was Labor Day in North America, where many of the Curiosity team are based. Labor Day (the first Monday in September) marks […]

Risks of Decompression Sickness and Venous Thromboembolism during Spaceflight and Patent Foramen Ovale Implications

NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer formed a working group in August 2026 to review the most recent data related to extravehicular activity (EVA) prebreathe testing and decompression sickness (DCS) events, venous thromboembolism (VTE) in-flight occurrences, and patent foramen ovale (PFO) implication as they relate to NASA’s Artemis (lunar and beyond) missions. The recommendations from this working group are built upon and integrate the outcomes of previous working groups hosted by OCHMO.

NASA-Funded Research Finds Complex Life Defying Record Heat

NASA-supported scientists have discovered an organism that lives at extreme temperatures previously thought impossible for complex life. High temperatures can cause the destruction of necessary cell components, which is a big problem for cells with complex parts like a nucleus encasing delicate genetic information. In the heated waters of California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, a […]