The Polaris Program is a planned series of private crewed space missions organized by U.S. billionaire Jared Isaacman. 

Two probes — BepiColombo, headed to Mercury, and Solar Orbiter, en route to the sun — recently passed by Venus at nearly the same time, visiting Earth’s sister planet within a day of each other in August 2021. Their combined observations, recently published in the journal Nature Communications (opens in new tab), give astronomers a rare glimpse into the workings of Venus’ magnetic field.

WASHINGTON — The government of Saudi Arabia has announced the two astronauts who will fly to the International Space Station this spring on a private astronaut mission by Axiom Space.

With 25 projects from the European Space Agency (ESA) since Poland’s accession to ESA 10 years ago, Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation became a R&D hot spot in space propulsion in Central-Eastern Europe. Completed and ongoing projects with key spacecraft integrators (i.e. Airbus Defence & Space, OHB and Thales Alenia Space), as well as established players in space transportation systems (i.e. ArianeGroup, Avio, Nammo) and major new space companies – the institute have the ultimate goal of bringing new components, technologies and subsystems to the international market.

WASHINGTON — Russia has delayed the launch of an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, intended to replace a damaged spacecraft there, to investigate damage to a second spacecraft there.

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin plans to launch the first demonstration mission of its new LM 400 mid-sized satellite bus in 2023, the company announced Jan. 31

NASA’s Curiosity rover has found another meteorite on Mars.

In a new study, a team of 50 astronomers from around the world have confirmed the existence of exoplanet Wolf 1069 b, which orbits a red dwarf star, Wolf 1069, only 31 light-years from Earth. What makes this discovery particularly intriguing is that Wolf 1069 b is potentially a rocky world, at about 1.26 the mass of Earth and 1.08 the size. Wolf 1069 b also orbits in its star’s habitable zone, making it a prime candidate for liquid water to potentially exist on its surface.

Jupiter isn’t just the largest and most massive planet in the solar system — now, the gas giant also boasts the largest number of moons orbiting it after scientists discovered another 12 moons, bringing the behemoth’s total up to 92.

WASHINGTON — NASA and Astrobotic have changed the landing site for the company’s first lunar lander mission shortly before its scheduled launch, moving the mission to a location of greater scientific interest.

HELSINKI — China is to construct new ground station facilities to its Zhongshan research base in Antarctica to support satellite data acquisition. 

On the global stage of mature space powers, Canada has earned its place, though it does not always receive the public acclaim it is due. For those in the space community, however, Canada is not only an important stakeholder but also a vital partner. As Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said in a NASA preflight interview in 2012, “Canada has almost linearly built our capability and our responsibility and therefore our international respect over time.”

After years of sky-high valuations and investor competition for shares of promising space startups, high interest rates and the threat of recession have made investors cautious. In response to a lack of new funding sources, space startups are cutting back on hiring, reducing travel and giving up leased office space.

WASHINGTON — The United States and Israel are finalizing an agreement that would see NASA contribute to an upcoming Israeli astrophysics mission.

SAN FRANCISCO – Satellite megaconstellations could pose a threat to the spectrum that meteorologists are eager to protect from radio frequency interference.

TAMPA, Fla. — The U.K. announced 50 million British pounds ($62 million) in funding Jan. 23 for projects that could boost the country’s satellite communications industry.