WASHINGTON — NASA will continue a lunar smallsat mission for launch in mid-2023 despite exceeding its cost cap by 30%.

Mars is a planet of vast contrasts — huge volcanoes, deep canyons, and craters that may or may not host running water. It will be an amazing location for future tourists to explore, once we put the first Red Planet colonies into motion. The landing sites for these future missions will likely need to be flat plains for safety and practical reasons, but perhaps they could land within a few days’ drive of some more interesting geology. Here are some locations that future Martians could visit.

In late 2019, the star Betelgeuse dimmed by about 60%. While it’s impossible to say with certainty exactly what caused it, new research suggests that a wandering companion may have played a role. By swinging close to the giant star, the interloper may have raised a tidal bulge, causing the surface of Betelgeuse to dim. While this scenario can’t explain the full amount of dimming observed, it may have triggered other effects on the star that made the problem worse, researchers propose in a new paper.

AST SpaceMobile announced on Monday (Nov. 14) that its prototype BlueWalker 3 satellite had deployed its array. The milestone comes about two months after BlueWalker 3 launched to orbit atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, along with a set of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites. 

TAMPA, Fla. — The United Kingdom gave SpaceX permission Nov. 10 to expand its Starlink satellite broadband network in the country, while also granting a license to Telesat for a competing constellation bound for non-geostationary orbit (NGSO).

TAMPA, Fla. — ClearSpace, the Swiss orbital debris removal startup, said Nov. 14 it is planning a mission to extend the life of an Intelsat satellite before it runs out of fuel around 2026-2028.

WASHINGTON — The X-37B space plane landed Nov. 12 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 5:22 a.m. Eastern, setting a new endurance record after spending 908 days on orbit. Its previous record was 780 days.

Exoplanets can come in a variety of sizes and masses. If you were to plot on a graph how many planets of each size astronomers have discovered, you’d find two peaks: one at 1.4 times Earth’s radius, and another at 2.4 times Earth’s radius. Between them is a dip or valley, at around 1.8 times the radius of Earth, signifying the relative scarcity of planets of that size.

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency is requesting several hundred million euros at its upcoming ministerial council meeting for new satellite navigation technologies from low Earth orbit to the moon.

News Update! KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — After years of delays, NASA’s Space Launch System lifted off for the first time Nov. 16, sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a shakedown cruise around the moon.

WASHINGTON — NASA is moving ahead with the next Artemis 1 launch attempt on Nov. 16 after finding no major repairs required to the Space Launch System and Orion from Hurricane Nicole.

WASHINGTON — Japanese lunar lander developer ispace is in the final phases of preparations for the launch of its first lunar lander mission, a flight that will include a NASA lunar cubesat mission as a secondary payload.

SAN FRANCISCO – Barring last-minute offers from potential buyers or investors, SpaceLink, a startup developing a space-relay constellation, will wind down its operations.

WASHINGTON — NASA expects SpaceX to be ready to attempt a first orbital flight of its Starship vehicle, an essential element in the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration plans, as soon as early December, pending tests and regulatory approvals.