As the earthquake-strength Hydra shaker table simulates the vibration forces of a rocket launch for satellite testing, it is only this concrete block and the dampeners and springs supporting it that prevent the rest of the European Space Agency's ESTEC Test Center from also suffering the shakes.

The most powerful and precisely controllable of the shaker tables the ESA uses for satellite testing at its Test Center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is the multi-axis Hydra, which is capable of vibrating test items weighing many tons.

Seen from the cleanroom above, the hydraulically-powered Hydra appears to be simply a 5.5 x 5.5 m aluminum platform lying flush with the floor. But this plate is only the top of an 18 metric ton test table which is moveable using eight hydraulic actuators, in the same manner as a flight simulator machine.

This test table is enclosed within a 1,400 metric ton concrete 'seismic foundation' block. This block rests in turn on the set of springs and dampers, which isolate it, preventing potentially damaging vibrations from spreading through the rest of the building.

Plenty of areas in the solar system are interesting for scientific purposes but hard to access by traditional rovers. Some of the most prominent are the caves and cliffs of Mars—where exposed strata could hold clues to whether life ever existed on the Red Planet. So far, none of the missions sent there has been able to explore those difficult-to-reach places. But a mission concept from a team at Stanford hopes to change that.

The concept, known as ReachBot, is a robot that can support itself using multiple articulated appendages to navigate terrain that would be difficult to reach using other navigational techniques. In addition to being able to traverse complex ground patterns, it could also, in theory, at least scale sheer cliff faces.

It was initially pitched as a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts project, where it was awarded a Phase I grant back in 2021. The authors describe the idea as a fusion of two separate technologies developed for different purposes: mobile manipulation robots and deployable space structures.

Mobile manipulation robots are relatively common in space exploration.

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is nearing completion now that its second and final cutting-edge science instrument has been added to the small spacecraft. Built by the University of Oxford in England and contributed by the UK Space Agency, the Lunar Thermal Mapper (LTM) joins the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper (HVM3), which was integrated with the spacecraft late last year. Together, the instruments will enable scientists to determine the abundance, location, and form of the moon's water.

Led by Caltech in Pasadena, California, Lunar Trailblazer has a mass of about 440 pounds (200 kilograms) and measures only 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) wide with its solar panels fully deployed.

The upcoming XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, pronounced "crism") spacecraft will study the universe's hottest regions, largest structures, and objects with the strongest gravity.

Led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), XRISM will peer into these cosmic extremes using spectroscopy, the study of how light and matter interact. In this explainer, video producer Sophia Roberts from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center walks us through how understanding spectroscopy deepens our knowledge of the universe.

"I think we all get excited for the beautiful images we get from missions like NASA's James Webb Space Telescope," Roberts said. "But after taking a deep dive into spectroscopy, I really appreciate the critical context it gives scientists about the story behind those pictures.

The space industry has changed dramatically since the Apollo program put men on the moon in the late 1960s.

Today, over 50 years later, private companies are sending tourists to the edge of space and building lunar landers. NASA is bringing together 27 countries to peacefully explore the moon and beyond, and it is using the James Webb Space Telescope to peer back in time. Private companies are playing a much larger role in space than they ever have before, though NASA and other government interests continue to drive scientific advances.

I'm a macroeconomistwho's interested in understanding how these space-related innovations and the growing role of private industry have affected the economy.