Space
Articles under the Space category.
VIPER returns: Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 will ferry rover
NASA has brought back its ice‑hunting VIPER rover and tapped Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK1 for a south pole attempt by 2027. Here is how the CLPS structure shifts risk to industry, what will change on the ground, and why this matters for Artemis planning.
Bennu’s 2025 sample haul reshapes origin of life science
The first 2025 results from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample show all five DNA and RNA nucleobases, dozens of amino acids, and a clean magnesium–sodium phosphate that points to briny water on Bennu’s parent world. The mix is pushing astrobiology toward faster, sample-first missions and a sharper planetary defense playbook.
Two Mars probes, one big moment for New Glenn and NASA
Blue Origin’s New Glenn is slated to send NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft toward Mars as early as fall 2025. Explore what the mission will uncover about Mars’s magnetosphere and why a successful second New Glenn flight could reset pricing, cadence, and competition across the launch market.
JWST’s little red dots point to a fast track for black holes
Some of JWST’s puzzling little red dots may be compact black hole-star atmospheres rather than tiny galaxies. Paired with new detections of dust-shrouded early quasars, they outline a fast route to supermassive black holes and a clear set of tests to confirm it.
65th pass: DSOC's 218-million-mile link changes Mars comms
NASA’s DSOC wrapped its 65th and final pass with Psyche from 218 million miles, proving deep space laser links at Mars ranges. Here is how optical comms enable HD video, teleoperations, lighter spacecraft, and new mission playbooks.
Earth’s new quasi-moon 2025 PN7 could change exploration
Astronomers have flagged 2025 PN7 as a newly discovered quasi-moon that closely tracks Earth. Here is how it hid for decades, why its orbit is unusual, and how it could unlock rapid, low-cost missions while sharpening planetary defense.
Euclid’s Q1 release is reshaping our view of the dark universe
On March 19, 2025, Euclid unveiled its first science trove: 63.1 square degrees and roughly 26 million detections. The images already spotlight strong lenses, rich clusters, and filaments you can explore now, with full DR1 slated for October 2026.
Driest Lunar Mantle Yet Is Forcing a New Moon Playbook
New analyses of Chang'e-6 farside samples suggest mantle water as low as 1 to 1.5 micrograms per gram and basalt ages near 2.83 billion years. The results tighten resource expectations away from mid‑latitudes and sharpen Artemis priorities around polar ice and operations.
TRAPPIST‑1e’s Atmosphere: JWST Hints Keep Nitrogen in Play
Fresh JWST results from September 2025 rule out hydrogen-dominated skies for TRAPPIST-1e and make a Venus or Mars style carbon dioxide blanket unlikely. A nitrogen-rich atmosphere or a bare rock remain in play, and the next JWST transits could decide it.
Webb’s first planet image: TWA 7 b and the new roadmap
In June 2025, the James Webb Space Telescope’s MIRI coronagraph isolated a faint, orange point inside the debris disk of the young star TWA 7. If confirmed, the Saturn mass candidate TWA 7 b would be the lightest world ever captured by direct imaging. Here is how the detection works, how it will be confirmed, and why it accelerates the route to imaging Earthlike planets.
New Glenn’s 2nd Flight Shoots for Mars with NASA ESCAPADE on Sept. 29
New Glenn’s second launch is slated to send NASA’s twin ESCAPADE orbiters toward Mars on September 29, 2025. Here is why flying interplanetary so early matters for risk, cost, cadence, and competition in the U.S. launch market.
Euclid’s first sky map opens the dark universe to all
On March 19, 2025, ESA's Euclid released Quick Data Release 1, a deep sampler of images, spectra, and catalogs. We unpack what is in Q1, how to access it, early science highlights, and what to watch before DR1 in 2026.
JUICE’s hot Venus slingshot and the near-miss timer bug
In late August 2025 ESA’s JUICE skimmed past Venus for a high-heat gravity assist while controllers beat a last-minute comms glitch traced to a software timer. Why cameras stayed off, how the team kept the spacecraft cool, and what this flyby sets up next.
IMAP to L1: The mission to map the heliosphere’s edge
With Solar Cycle 25 surging, NASA’s IMAP heads for the Sun-Earth L1 point to image the heliosphere in 3D while SWFO‑L1 delivers earlier, more reliable space weather alerts.
Juno catches Io's most powerful eruption, models shift
NASA confirmed on January 28, 2025 that Juno’s December 27, 2024 flyby of Io recorded the moon’s most energetic volcanic outburst yet. A giant southern hotspot and nearby sites brightened together, pointing to connected magma reservoirs and a rethink of how tidal heating works.
Tianwen‑2 bets big on Kamoʻoalewa, a tiny quasi‑moon
China’s Tianwen-2 is chasing Earth’s tiny quasi-moon Kamoʻoalewa for a bold sample return, with a 2027 drop-off and a follow-on cruise to 311P. The payoff spans lunar history and real-world planetary defense.
Parker Probe’s 25th Flyby Sets Stage for Better Forecasts
Between Sept 15 and 20, 2025, Parker Solar Probe matched its 3.8 million mile perihelion and 430,000 mph speed records right at solar maximum. With science downlink beginning Sept 23, expect fresh near-Sun measurements that can tighten space weather forecasts for satellites, power grids, and future crews.
Bennu’s Bounty: What the Samples Say About Life’s Recipe
January 2025 analyses of the OSIRIS-REx Bennu sample uncovered soluble organics including amino acids and all five nucleobases, plus evaporite salts formed in ancient brines. Here is what that means for prebiotic chemistry and the missions we should fly next.