Astronauts from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) are preparing to partake in four crewed missions this year, the Associated Press has reported. China is working towards completion of its first permanent orbiting station. The Chinese Space Station will be approximately one-fifth the mass of the ISS at 80-100 tonnes. Under the CNSA’s timetable, it will … Read more
Plants grown in space could feed astronauts, but might new strains contribute to ending a food crisis here on Earth, too? American commercial space services company Nanoracks has ambitious plans to operate orbital greenhouses where it would create mutant crops that could save the Earth from famine amid progressing climate change. The plan seems to … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled an ambitious space programme for the country over the next decade, which includes developing satellite systems and sending a Turkish astronaut on a space mission. The programme is ambitious in its timescale, with Erdogan aiming to establish “first contact with the Moon” in 2023 (‘The Moon Programme’), marking … Read more
The UAE’s Hope probe is expected to reach Mars tomorrow, just hours before China’s orbiter-rover combo and a week ahead of Nasa’s probe. The Hope Probe, which was launched from Japan last year, will orbit Mars for more than two years and beam back data about the Martian atmosphere. It will observe the Martian atmosphere from an … Read more
Last month, the probe successfully delivered a capsule back to Earth containing a sample of rocks that it had collected from the surface of the asteroid. While analysis of the samples is still underway, researchers have used data from the spacecraft’s other instruments to reveal new details about the asteroid’s past. They found that Ryugu isn’t quite … Read more
A space telescope barely larger than a mini fridge could reveal new secrets about the cosmos, thanks to onboard instruments which observe the ultraviolet spectrum. The Aspera mission, which will receive around $20m in funding from Nasa, is designed to study the evolution of galaxies and the spaces between them. In particular, the mission seeks … Read more
The UK-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft is making a flyby of Venus, using the planet’s gravitational field to slingshot itself closer to the Sun. The spacecraft, which launched in February, will make its closest approach to the planet just after midday on 27 December. It will fly some 7,500 km from the Venus cloud tops while … Read more
Nasa will end attempts by its Insight lander to dig down into the soil on Mars after concluding that it had not been able to gain the friction it needed to do so. One of the digger’s core objectives was to measure the internal heat flow of the planet using a mole called HP3 which … Read more
The UK-built Solar Orbiter spacecraft is making a flyby of Venus, using the planet’s gravitational field to slingshot itself closer to the Sun. The spacecraft, which launched in February, will make its closest approach to the planet just after midday on 27 December. It will fly some 7,500 km from the Venus cloud tops while … Read more
A China National Space Administration spacecraft has touched down successfully on the Moon and started to collect its first rock samples, state media has reported. The lunar probe, known as Chang’e 5, was launched last week from the tropical island of Hainan. The uncrewed mission aims to retrieve 2kg of lunar samples from a previously … Read more