Medical issue could force early end of Crew-11 ISS mission
Thursday, 08 January 2026 11:49
An unspecified “medical concern” involving one of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station has postponed a spacewalk and could force an unprecedented early return of part of the crew.
ESA Director General’s 2026 annual press briefing
Thursday, 08 January 2026 10:30
Video:
01:30:00
Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, briefed journalists on the main milestones for 2026, such as the launch of Smile, a mission that will give humankind its first complete look at how Earth reacts to streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun. Later in 2026 should also see the arrival of BepiColombo at Mercury after its eight-year trip, where it will gather data to answer many perplexing questions about the least-explored planet of the inner Solar System. Many more exciting missions are expected, with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot launching for the
ESA preview 2026
Thursday, 08 January 2026 09:00
Video:
00:06:21
As a new year begins, let’s take a look at what’s ahead for the European Space Agency in 2026. From Earth to the farthest reaches of the Solar System, 2026 marks a year of firsts that continue to shape the future of space.
US Space Command APEX summit explores AI for campaign planning
Thursday, 08 January 2026 08:12
Colorado Springs CO (SPX) Jan 03, 2026
U.S. Space Command's Joint Operations Division hosted the command's first artificial intelligence-enabled summit Nov. 18-21, 2025, at the Bayfield facility in Colorado Springs and at a MITRE-operated facility that supports national security work.
The Augmented Planning and Execution Summit brought together more than 70 leaders, including seven division chiefs and component representatives,
U.S. Space Command's Joint Operations Division hosted the command's first artificial intelligence-enabled summit Nov. 18-21, 2025, at the Bayfield facility in Colorado Springs and at a MITRE-operated facility that supports national security work.
The Augmented Planning and Execution Summit brought together more than 70 leaders, including seven division chiefs and component representatives, Defence backs Australian STARS system for autonomous space threat detection
Thursday, 08 January 2026 08:12
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 06, 2026
Space Machines Company (SMC) has been awarded a 2.9 million Australian dollar contract by Defence's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) to develop the Space Threat Analysis and Response System, or STARS, under the Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Decision Advantage program. The capability is intended to strengthen the protection of Australian and allied space assets in increas
Space Machines Company (SMC) has been awarded a 2.9 million Australian dollar contract by Defence's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) to develop the Space Threat Analysis and Response System, or STARS, under the Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Decision Advantage program. The capability is intended to strengthen the protection of Australian and allied space assets in increas Sierra Space finishes first plane of SDA missile tracking satellite structures
Thursday, 08 January 2026 08:12
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
Sierra Space has completed the first nine satellite structures for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program, delivering Plane 1 of its contracted 18 satellites three months ahead of schedule. The milestone supports delivery and launch preparation timelines for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer within the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
Erik Daehler, Senior Vic
Sierra Space has completed the first nine satellite structures for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program, delivering Plane 1 of its contracted 18 satellites three months ahead of schedule. The milestone supports delivery and launch preparation timelines for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer within the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
Erik Daehler, Senior Vic Starfighters Space positions for rapid hypersonic era missions
Thursday, 08 January 2026 08:12
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 03, 2026
As rivals deploy operational hypersonic vehicles, analysts describe a new Sputnik moment for U.S. tactical space access, with the Pentagon directing more than $6.9 billion toward hypersonic weapons programs for fiscal 2025 and the hypersonic technology market projected at about $8.46 billion this year. The shift away from chasing the lowest launch price toward speed and responsiveness underpins
As rivals deploy operational hypersonic vehicles, analysts describe a new Sputnik moment for U.S. tactical space access, with the Pentagon directing more than $6.9 billion toward hypersonic weapons programs for fiscal 2025 and the hypersonic technology market projected at about $8.46 billion this year. The shift away from chasing the lowest launch price toward speed and responsiveness underpins Tiny patches of deforestation drive tropical carbon loss
Thursday, 08 January 2026 06:30
Often called Earth’s green lungs, tropical forests pull down massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, release oxygen and help regulate the global climate. While the threat of large-scale deforestation is well known, new findings reveal a surprising culprit – the clearance of small areas of forest accounts for more than half of net carbon losses across the Tropics.
Second ESCAPADE spacecraft completes key trajectory fix on path to Mars
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft are back on a fully synchronized path to Mars after mission controllers successfully carried out a critical trajectory correction maneuver for the second probe on Jan. 6. The burn followed a brief pause in December 2025, when engineers delayed the attempt to investigate low thrust seen during earlier correction efforts on one of the two small satellites.
The
NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft are back on a fully synchronized path to Mars after mission controllers successfully carried out a critical trajectory correction maneuver for the second probe on Jan. 6. The burn followed a brief pause in December 2025, when engineers delayed the attempt to investigate low thrust seen during earlier correction efforts on one of the two small satellites.
The Lunar spacecraft exhaust could obscure clues to origins of life
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Over half of the exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft could end up contaminating areas of the moon that might otherwise yield clues about the origins of earthly life, according to a recent study. The pollution could unfold rapidly regardless of a spacecraft's touchdown site; even for a landing at the South Pole, methane molecules may "hop" across the lunar surface to the North Pole in under two
Over half of the exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft could end up contaminating areas of the moon that might otherwise yield clues about the origins of earthly life, according to a recent study. The pollution could unfold rapidly regardless of a spacecraft's touchdown site; even for a landing at the South Pole, methane molecules may "hop" across the lunar surface to the North Pole in under two Sandblasting winds sculpt Mars landscape
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Martian winds lift sand grains into the air and drive them across the surface, where they erode soft sedimentary layers and gradually carve elongated grooves and ridges near the planet's equator. The remaining ridges, mounds, or columns, known as yardangs, stand above the surrounding terrain and often extend for tens of kilometres in the direction of the prevailing winds.
In northern Eumen
Martian winds lift sand grains into the air and drive them across the surface, where they erode soft sedimentary layers and gradually carve elongated grooves and ridges near the planet's equator. The remaining ridges, mounds, or columns, known as yardangs, stand above the surrounding terrain and often extend for tens of kilometres in the direction of the prevailing winds.
In northern Eumen NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory spots record-breaking asteroid in pre-survey observations
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500
As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500 M dwarf plasma torus offers window into space weather and planetary habitability
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 08, 2026
Carnegie researcher Luke Bouma is using a naturally occurring plasma structure around certain young M dwarf stars as a kind of space weather station to investigate how stellar particles shape planetary environments and potential habitability. M dwarfs are smaller, cooler and dimmer than the Sun and commonly host at least one Earth-sized rocky planet, many of which are either too hot for liquid w
Carnegie researcher Luke Bouma is using a naturally occurring plasma structure around certain young M dwarf stars as a kind of space weather station to investigate how stellar particles shape planetary environments and potential habitability. M dwarfs are smaller, cooler and dimmer than the Sun and commonly host at least one Earth-sized rocky planet, many of which are either too hot for liquid w We finally know how the most common types of planets are created
Thursday, 08 January 2026 04:14
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026
Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can't study them in as much detail as they'd like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form?
h3>Now we know the answer /h3>
An interna
Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can't study them in as much detail as they'd like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form?
h3>Now we know the answer /h3>
An interna