Ignis Mission Timelapses: Earth and Moon Views From the International Space Station
ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznański‑Wiśniewski recorded striking timelapse videos of Earth and the Moon from the International Space Station’s Cupola during his 20‑day stay on Axiom Mission 4, dubbed Ignis. Launched on 25 June 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon, the mission hosted 13 experiments proposed by Polish institutions and three ESA‑led investigations across human research, materials science, biology and technology. Ignis represents ESA’s second commercial human spaceflight, highlighting a growing partnership between European agencies and private launch providers. The high‑definition footage is now publicly available, offering both scientific insight and public engagement.
Moon-Based Observations Capture Earth's 'Radiation Fingerprint'
A study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research demonstrates that lunar‑based observations can view Earth as a full disk, capturing its outgoing radiation with unprecedented continuity. By applying spherical harmonic analysis, researchers showed that roughly 90% of the observed...
Proposed New Mission Will Create Artificial Solar Eclipses in Space
The Moon‑enabled Sun Occultation Mission (Mesom) proposes using the Moon as a natural occulter to create artificial solar eclipses in space, enabling prolonged, high‑quality observations of the Sun’s inner corona. Current coronagraphs and rare terrestrial eclipses provide limited viewing time...
Remote Sensing Model Enables Early Detection of Vole Outbreaks in Spanish Farmlands
Researchers at Spain’s SERIDA have created a large‑scale remote‑sensing system that predicts fossorial water vole habitats and quantifies damage with 97% accuracy. The model integrates Sentinel‑2 satellite imagery and field data to produce a Predictive Habitat model and an Optimized...
Super-Earth Exoplanets May Have Built-In Magnetic Protection From Churning Magma — and That's Good News for Life
New research published in Nature Astronomy suggests that super‑Earth exoplanets with masses three to six times that of Earth can generate long‑lasting magnetic fields in a basal magma ocean layer between core and mantle, rather than in a metallic core....
CAS Space Prepares For China’s Crewed Spaceflight Operations
On 12 January CAS Space successfully completed its first Lihong‑1 suborbital flight, reaching an altitude of 120 km before parachuting back to the Jiuquan launch site. The mission collected critical data on re‑entry dynamics, deceleration and booster guidance, while carrying a microgravity...
Microgravity Rewires Microbial Metabolism, Limiting Space-Based Manufacturing Efficiency
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory completed the MELSP experiment on the ISS, showing that microgravity fundamentally rewires microbial metabolism and cuts melanin production efficiency. Engineered E. coli produced the same enzyme in space, but impaired substrate transport and...
NASA Welcomes Oman as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
Oman signed the Artemis Accords on Jan. 26, 2026, becoming the 61st nation to endorse the framework for responsible space exploration. The ceremony in Muscat, attended by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and U.S. Ambassador Ana Escrogima, highlighted Oman’s commitment to...
Slovenia Signs Enterprise-Scale Agreement With Planet
Planet Labs has signed an enterprise‑scale contract with Slovenia’s Surveying and Mapping Authority (GURS) to deliver PlanetScope imagery and high‑resolution tasking services. The data will be used across state and municipal agencies for agriculture monitoring, urban planning, and disaster management....
Earth’s Lower Orbit Could Rapidly Collapse, Scientists Warn
Scientists warn that low Earth orbit (LEO) could collapse rapidly if a solar storm disables satellite navigation, triggering the Kessler syndrome cascade. Their pre‑print study introduces a "CRASH clock" metric, estimating only 5.5 days before a catastrophic chain reaction could...
NASA Technology Brings Golden Age of Exploration to Earth
NASA’s Spinoff 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the agency’s technology‑transfer program, showcasing how space‑derived innovations are reshaping everyday life. The edition highlights two firms that use NASA‑inspired 3D‑printing to build lunar‑compatible habitats and affordable Earth housing, as well as...
A Good Sign: Artemis 2 Astronauts Now in Quarantine
NASA confirmed on Jan 23 that the Artemis 2 crew began their health‑stabilization program, effectively entering quarantine. The 14‑day isolation is a key checkpoint before the targeted evening launch on Feb 6, with the astronauts slated to return to Florida between Jan 31 and...
Astranis Adds Oman Customer to Summer GEO Launch Lineup
Astranis has signed a nine‑figure contract with Oman’s MB Group for a small geostationary broadband satellite slated for a summer launch. The deal, part of a $200 million investment, includes ground stations and connectivity infrastructure to support Oman’s diversification away from...
High-Resolution Map Shows Dark Matter's Gravity Pulled Normal Matter Into Galaxies
Using James Webb Space Telescope data, astronomers produced the highest‑resolution dark‑matter map to date, covering a sky region 2.5 times the size of the full Moon and cataloguing nearly 800,000 galaxies. The map, published in Nature Astronomy, visualizes dark‑matter density...
New Insight Into Economic Outcomes of the US Space Race
Florida State University economists Shawn Kantor and Alexander Whalley published a study in the American Economic Review that re‑examines the economic legacy of the 1950s‑60s US space race. Using declassified CIA intelligence to isolate NASA’s impact, they find that federal...
Grid Aero Raises $20M in Series A Funding
San Leonardo‑based Grid Aero, an autonomous aircraft startup, announced a $20 million Series A round. The financing was led by Bison Ventures and Geodesic Capital, with participation from Stony Lonesome Group, Alumni Ventures, and returning backers such as Ubiquity, Calibrate, and Commonweal...
Moon Landings Could Contaminate Evidence About Life's Beginnings on Earth. Here's How
A new study shows methane exhaust from lunar landers can travel ballistically across the Moon and become trapped in permanently shadowed polar craters. Simulations of ESA’s Argonaut mission indicate that over 54% of released methane settles in cold traps within...
Jan. 26, 1949: The Hale Sees First Light
On January 26, 1949 the 200‑inch Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory achieved first light, marking the debut of the world’s largest optical instrument at the time. After 11 years of mirror fabrication and a six‑month dedication period, Edwin Hubble operated...
How Can the Sun Contain so Many Elements without Its Heat Destroying Them?
The Sun’s extreme temperatures ionize its gases, but its immense gravity prevents them from escaping, creating a stable star. Hydrogen accounts for roughly 70 % of its mass, helium 28 %, and all heavier elements together make up about 2 %. A tug‑of‑war...
We Need a ‘Planetary Neural Network’ for AI-Enabled Space Infrastructure Protection
The orbital environment now hosts over 11,000 active satellites and could swell to 30,000‑60,000 by 2030, creating a collision‑risk crisis known as Kessler syndrome. Traditional radar and optical tracking struggle to detect sub‑centimeter debris, prompting calls for AI‑driven space situational...
ESA’s Biomass Goes Live with Data Now Open to All
The European Space Agency’s Biomass satellite has completed commissioning and entered scientific operations, making its P‑band synthetic aperture radar data freely available. The mission, launched in April 2025, can penetrate dense canopies to quantify woody biomass, delivering the first global, high‑resolution...
Payload Field Guide: Commercial LEO Destination
The International Space Station’s planned retirement by decade’s end has spurred NASA’s Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) program, which seeks privately funded orbital habitats. In 2021 NASA awarded $416 million to three proposals—Nanoracks‑Voyager, Blue Origin, and Northrop Grumman—to develop next‑generation stations. Today the...
How Superheavy-Lift Rockets Could Transform Astronomy by Making Space Telescopes Cheaper
Super‑heavy lift rockets such as SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn can deliver roughly ten times the payload mass and twice the fairing diameter of legacy launchers. This capability could eliminate the costly folding optics required for telescopes like the...
Kazakhstan's Space Strategy: Can Its High-Tech Assets Propel It to Eurasia's New Broker?
Kazakhstan is leveraging its Baikonur Cosmodrome and emerging deep‑tech ecosystem to position itself as a regional space broker in Eurasia. A McKinsey‑WEF report projects the global space economy to rise to $1.8 trillion by 2035, creating a narrow window for Kazakhstan...
Ready for Launch: The 2nd Philippine Can Satellite and Rocket Competition Takes Off
The second Philippine Can Satellite and Rocket Competition (PCSRC 2026) is now open for student teams across the Philippines. Organized by Indiana Aerospace University, the contest guides participants through the full aerospace mission lifecycle, from concept to post‑flight analysis. The final...
Starfighters Completes Key Wind Tunnel Campaign for STARLAUNCH 1 Air Launch Vehicle
Starfighters Space Inc has completed a dedicated wind‑tunnel campaign for its STARLAUNCH 1 air‑launched sub‑orbital rocket, confirming clean separation from its supersonic carrier aircraft at both subsonic (Mach 0.85) and supersonic (Mach 1.3) conditions. Ten test runs demonstrated forces and moments consistent with...
China Prepares Offshore Test Base for Reusable Liquid Rocket Launches
China is constructing its first offshore platform dedicated to testing, launching and recovering reusable liquid‑propellant rockets at Haiyang, Shandong. The artificial island, three kilometres from shore, targets early‑February 2026 trial operations, featuring a hydraulic erector and a 17‑metre‑deep flame trench....
NATO Space Centre of Excellence Reaches Full Operational Capability as New Facility Opens
NATO’s Space Centre of Excellence has been declared fully operational following the opening of its permanent facility in France on 19 January 2026. The centre consolidates three years of institutional build‑up into a standing capability that will shape alliance thinking,...
NASA's Webb Telescope Peers Into the Heart of the Circinus Galaxy
The James Webb Space Telescope employed the Aperture Masking Interferometer on its NIRISS instrument to capture the sharpest infrared image yet of the Circinus galaxy’s active nucleus, effectively achieving a 13‑meter virtual aperture. The data show that 87 % of the...
Hubble Shows Spectacularly Violent Scenes From a Massive Young Star
The Hubble Space Telescope captured vivid Herbig‑Haro objects produced by the massive protostar IRAS 18162‑2048, located about 5,500 light‑years away. Its bipolar jets blaze at over 1,000 km s⁻¹, the fastest ever recorded for a young stellar object, carving a 32‑light‑year cavity. The...
Chandra Catalog Now Contains 1.3 Million X-Ray Detections Across the Sky
NASA’s Chandra X‑ray Observatory has expanded its Chandra Source Catalog to include 1.3 million X‑ray detections, covering the entire sky. The new release consolidates over 20 years of observations with uniform processing and improved positional accuracy. Researchers can now query the catalog...
Inside South Korea’s Bold Move To Accelerate Its New Space Economy
South Korea has officially designated its first nationally recognised New Space technologies, shifting the focus from pure research to commercially ready systems. The Korea Aerospace Space Administration evaluated 52 proposals, rewarding technologies that can be manufactured, sold and operated at...
Tracking Artemis II’s 10-Day Journey: Global Volunteers
NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program announced that 34 global volunteers will track the Orion spacecraft during Artemis II’s ten‑day lunar flyby. The participants span commercial service providers, academic institutions, and amateur‑radio enthusiasts who will passively receive the mission’s radio...
Golden Dome Is Forcing the Pentagon to Confront Missile Defense Economics
Gen. Michael Guetlein said Golden Dome’s success hinges on affordable, scalable missile defenses, emphasizing lower cost‑per‑kill and deeper magazine depth. He warned that today’s multi‑million‑dollar interceptors limit the number of shots the U.S. can field, making defenses vulnerable to volume attacks....
Rural Areas Have Darker Skies but Fewer Resources for Students Interested in Astronomy – Telescopes in Schools Can Help
Rural communities enjoy some of the darkest night skies in the United States, yet they often lack the STEM resources needed to turn that natural advantage into educational outcomes. The Smithsonian’s STARS program is delivering free telescopes and curriculum kits...
Jan. 25, 2004: Opportunity Lands on Mars
On January 25, 2004 NASA’s Opportunity rover touched down on Mars after a dramatic “six minutes of terror” descent involving parachutes, retrorockets, and an airbag‑cushioned landing. The rover bounced 26 times before settling inside Eagle Crater, an ideal scientific site that allowed...
3 Stunning Lunar Craters to Explore During the Half-Lit First Quarter Moon Tonight
Tonight’s first‑quarter moon offers a prime window to view three prominent lunar craters—Eudoxus, Aristoteles and Cassini—each casting dramatic shadows that enhance their topography. Eudoxus (67 km) sits in the northeastern quadrant above Mare Serenitatis, while Aristoteles (87 km) borders the southern edge of...
Amazon's Internet-Beaming Satellites Are Bright Enough to Disrupt Astronomical Research, Study Finds
Amazon’s low‑Earth‑orbit “Leo” internet constellation is brighter than the International Astronomical Union’s recommended limit, according to a new arXiv study of nearly 2,000 observations. The satellites have an average apparent magnitude of 6.28, making them invisible to the naked eye...
40 Years After Challenger: Lingering Guilt and Lessons Learned
Forty years after the Challenger explosion, former Morton Thiokol engineers recount how cold‑temperature O‑ring concerns were dismissed, leading to the shuttle’s catastrophic failure. Engineers Roger Boisjoly, Bob Ebeling and others warned NASA that the stiffened O‑rings could cause blow‑by, but Thiokol executives reversed...
NASA and DOE to Collaborate on Lunar Nuclear Reactor Development
NASA and the Department of Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance the Fission Surface Power program, which aims to develop a 100‑kilowatt nuclear reactor for lunar use. DOE will provide regulatory oversight, design support, and roughly 400 kg...
Dragonfly’s Rotors Complete Testing
The Applied Physics Lab announced that Dragonfly’s rotor system has completed its first round of testing in Titan‑like conditions, evaluating stress, vibration, and aeromechanical performance. The next steps involve fatigue and cryogenic trials to simulate the harsh environment of Saturn’s...
ESA Awards Startup Rocket Factory Augsburg a Two-Launch Contract
The European Space Agency awarded German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) a two‑launch contract under its Flight Ticket Initiative, targeting the Lurbat demonstrator mission and a CubeSat launch for Indra Space. The agreement signals ESA’s confidence in RFA as a...
A Comparative Analysis of DiskSat and CubeSat Architectures
The DiskSat platform replaces the traditional box‑shaped CubeSat with a 1‑meter‑diameter, 2.5‑cm‑thick plate, dramatically increasing surface area for solar cells and thermal radiators. Demonstrated on a Rocket Lab Electron launch in December 2025, DiskSat generated over 200 W of power and maintained...
Book Review: The Pale Blue Data Point – An Earth-Based Perspective on the Search for Alien Life
Jon Willis’s new book, *The Pale Blue Data Point*, examines Earth’s ecosystems as analogues for extraterrestrial life, weaving together recent exoplanet discoveries with field research. The author, an astronomy professor, highlights missions ranging from deep‑sea submersibles to Chilean observatories, illustrating...
Jan. 24, 1986: Voyager 2 Flies by Uranus
On Jan. 24 1986, NASA’s Voyager 2 performed its closest approach to Uranus, passing within 81,400 km of the planet’s cloud tops. The flyby revealed a magnetic field tilted 55 degrees and offset from the planet’s center, discovered ten new moons (an eleventh later identified),...
Governance of the Space Economy: A Hierarchical Framework (2026 Edition)
The space economy’s governance has evolved into a six‑tier hierarchy, blending enduring treaties with agile soft‑law and industry standards. The Artemis Accords now count 60 signatories, reinforcing norms on data sharing, safety zones, and resource extraction. Regulatory focus has shifted...
Artemis II Detailed Mission Schedule as of January 24, 2026
As of January 24 2026 the Artemis II crewed lunar‑flyby vehicle sits on Launch Pad 39B undergoing final system checkouts and crew training wrap‑ups. A Wet Dress Rehearsal that loads and drains liquid hydrogen and oxygen is slated for February 2, followed by a targeted...
A Guide to In-Space Electric Propulsion: Manufacturers and Products
The article outlines electric propulsion (EP) technologies, their advantages, and the manufacturers supplying thrusters for both legacy and emerging space missions. It explains how EP’s high specific impulse enables cheaper launches, longer satellite lifetimes, and new deep‑space missions. The piece...
The Essential Reading Series: Astrophysics
The Essential Reading Series: Astrophysics offers a curated selection of ten books spanning foundational and contemporary topics in cosmology, relativity, and the ultimate fate of the universe. Titles include Neil deGrasse Tyson’s concise overviews, Stephen Hawking classics, and Brian Greene’s...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Receives Praise From The Pentagon
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, praising the company’s rapid innovation and “risk‑averse‑free” culture compared with traditional defense contractors. He highlighted the Pentagon’s confidence in SpaceX, noting ongoing military contracts for Falcon launches and the upcoming...
