ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence is currently undergoing testing at the ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands. The van-sized spacecraft is powered by a pair of solar array wings, each made up of three panels. One of these solar wings was recently added to Hera for a “cold deployment check” to ensure proper […]

NASA is facing concerns about the low flight rate planned for its crewed Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The space agency does not have enough vehicles to fly more frequently in the coming decade. The hardware to launch only two more SLS vehicles is available until the completion of the Exploration Upper […]

The Universe is full of secrets waiting to be unraveled, and two of its greatest enigmas are dark energy and dark matter. These mysterious entities, which allegedly make up 95% of the Universe, do not emit, absorb, or reflect light, making them invisible to our current technology. However, a cosmic detective named Euclid is on […]

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen has taken on the role of commander of the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the sixth European to hold this prestigious position. In a traditional ceremony on September 26, 2023, Mogensen received the symbolic key of the Space Station from the departing commander, Sergey Prokopyev. Mogensen’s command comes as part of […]

In a historic move, a SpaceX rocket engine and grid fin have found their new home in the prestigious Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. This marks a significant milestone for the U.S. commercial spaceflight company as their hardware joins the national collection. The National Air and Space Museum took to their […]

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will be taking on the role of commander of the International Space Station (ISS), making him the sixth European to hold this prestigious position. The ceremony where Andreas will officially become the commander can be watched on ESA WebTV channel 2 tomorrow at 15:40 CEST (14:40 BST). Andreas has been in […]

On September 24, 2023, history was made as the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid successfully landed back on Earth. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule (SRC) touched down within the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range, bringing with it a half a pound (8.8 ounces or 250 grams) of rocks and soil […]

On September 24, NASA’s historic OSIRIS-REx mission successfully returned samples from the asteroid 101955 Bennu after a seven-year journey through space. This marks the first American mission to bring back samples from an asteroid. The sample return capsule (SRC) landed within a designated area at the Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway Proving Ground […]

SpaceX is gearing up for the next test flight of its Starship spacecraft, following the successful debut of Integrated Flight Test One (IFT 1). The company has made a series of upgrades to both the launch site and Booster 9, pending final regulatory approval. One of the significant changes to Booster 9 is the switch […]

NASA’s first asteroid sample mission, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, is set to deliver samples of the asteroid Bennu to the Utah desert on Sunday. To celebrate this momentous occasion, the U.S. Postal Service has released a new stamp featuring artwork of the spacecraft’s descent onto the Utah Test and Training Range. The stamp comes in sheets […]