For two decades, ESA has sent a medical doctor to brave the cold and more for 13 months at Concordia station in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth. This unique environment – isolated, confined and extreme – mirrors many of the psychological and physiological challenges astronauts face in space. By studying life at Concordia, scientists can better understand these effects, develop countermeasures and prepare for future human missions beyond Earth. 

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 11, 2025
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems' FAST Labs research, development, and production organization a $16 million Phase 2 contract under the Oversight program, which is developing an autonomous space-based system to maintain continuous custody of many terrestrial assets using new satellite constellations. The Phase 2 award follows completion of

Mahia, New Zealand (SPX) Dec 16, 2025
Rocket Lab Corporation has carried out its first dedicated launch for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), advancing the role of the Electron small launch vehicle in Japan's satellite technology demonstration program. The mission marks a new step in collaboration between Rocket Lab and JAXA in support of Japan's growing space activities. The flight, named RAISE And Shine, lifted

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 16, 2025
Southern Launch has signed a contract with South Korean launch service provider INNOSPACE to conduct space missions from the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex and the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. The agreement allows INNOSPACE to undertake a range of missions from Southern Launch sites, including orbital satellite launches and suborbital technology demonstration flights.

Tucson AZ (SPX) Dec 16, 2025
Gemini North has obtained new color images of Comet 3I/ATLAS after the interstellar object emerged from behind the Sun on its outbound trajectory from the Solar System. Using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on the Gemini North telescope at Maunakea in Hawaii, scientists observed the comet on 26 November 2025 to study how it has evolved since perihelion. The observations were co

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 16, 2025
Researchers in China have used a Mars general circulation model to simulate 50 years of Martian dust activity, aiming to improve forecasts of global dust storms that can disrupt exploration missions. Mars is dominated by a dry, dusty desert landscape where winds and rotating columns of air lift fine particles into the atmosphere and later return them to the surface. The resulting dust cycl

Atlanta GA (SPX) Dec 16, 2025
When NASA scientists opened the sample return canister from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample mission in late 2023, they found something astonishing. Dust and rock collected from the asteroid Bennu contained many of life's building blocks, including all five nucleobases used in DNA and RNA, 14 of the 20 amino acids found in proteins, and a rich collection of other organic molecules