If NASA hopes to mount a human expedition to Mars by 2039 using nuclear in-space propulsion, it must make significant decisions linked to the architecture and funding this year, according to an independent assessment requested by the agency.
As it proceeds with the largely in-house development of a third-generation spacesuit, NASA plans to turn to a commercial provider once it has evaluated the prototype garment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and carried out Artemis III, a return to the Moon’s surface with humans.
China’s Tianwen-1 mother ship arrived in Martian orbit on Feb. 10, setting the stage for a multi-spacecraft exploration initiative during the country’s first visit to the red planet.
The U.S. Space Force is looking to industry for a tactically responsive launch provider for two future missions and set a cost cap of $7.5 million for each launch.
Newly formed Karman Missile & Space Systems, a large pure-play supplier for the space, missile, interceptor and hypersonic markets, is bulking up just weeks into its existence with the acquisition of AAE Aerospace, a manufacturer of high-temperature composites for the missile, interceptor, and space sectors.
After a shaky 2020, the outlook for space from government and commercial perspectives looks more favorable, though not without notable challenges, a lineup of experienced players from the two sectors say.
Russia wants to renew its space tourism activities by offering dedicated commercial missions to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Soyuz rockets.
NASA on Feb. 9 awarded SpaceX a $331 million contract for Falcon Heavy launch and support services to send the first two modules of its planned Gateway outpost toward lunar orbit.
With one of its two U.S. commercial space taxi lines not yet operational, NASA is considering bartering for an extra seat on a Russian Soyuz capsule slated to launch in April or May to the International Space Station (ISS), the agency said Feb. 9.
Telesat has awarded a $3 billion contact to Thales Alenia Space to build its planned 298-member low Earth orbit broadband constellation, named Lightspeed.
Turkey will send a probe to make a hard landing on the Moon in 2023 as part of celebrations of the country’s centenary, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared.
The Emirates Mars Mission Hope spacecraft completed a 27-min. braking burn to put itself into orbit on Feb. 9, earning the United Arab Emirates a place in history as the first Arab nation to successfully reach the red planet.
Russia’s MS-15 cargo capsule, filled with trash and discarded equipment, departed the International Space Station (ISS) early Feb. 9 for a destructive re-entry into the South Pacific Ocean.
Swarm, a low-cost satellite communications network company selling data from space for less than the cost of a Netflix subscription, is now available for commercial use.
British flat-panel satellite antenna systems maker Isotropic Systems, already a recipient of Boeing and venture capital funds, has landed at least $40 million more and plans to double in size as it races toward commercial rollout.
The first of a trio of new spacecraft headed to Mars is nearing a do-or-die 27-min. engine burn on Feb. 9 to trim speed so it can be swept into orbit around the red planet.
Two northern hemisphere regions on Mars appear to offer the best prospects for hosting generous deposits of subsurface ice that could serve as a key resource for future human exploration of the red planet, findings from multiple planetary science missions show.
