Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
Finding accurate positions in dense urban areas remains difficult for satellite-based navigation systems, where high-rise buildings and signal blockages can cause large errors or complete loss of service. A recent study outlines a deeply integrated positioning method that combines commercial 5G New Radio (NR) signals with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to address these issues. By rei

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
Axelspace Corporation has signed a multi-launch agreement with Exolaunch to support a series of missions using Axelspace microsatellites. The framework covers multiple launches and is intended to secure launch access and mission management for Axelspace programs, including new spacecraft assigned to in-orbit demonstration services. Under the agreement, one satellite is scheduled to launch

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
AST SpaceMobile Inc. has confirmed the successful orbital launch of its BlueBird 6 satellite, described as the largest commercial communications array deployed in low Earth orbit and designed to support space-based cellular broadband services for commercial and government users. The mission lifted off at 10:25 p.m. EST on December 23 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Indi

Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
While much of Perseverance's work focuses on ancient rocks that record Mars' long-lost rivers and lakes, megaripples offer a rare opportunity to examine processes that are still shaping the surface today. Megaripples are sand ripples up to 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) tall that are mainly built and modified by wind. However, when water in the atmosphere interacts with dust on the ripple surface, a

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
NASA engineers continue attempts to regain contact with the MAVEN Mars orbiter, which last communicated with Earth on Dec. 6. Working with the Deep Space Network, the team is uplinking recovery commands and listening for any signal that would confirm the spacecraft has resumed communications. Specialists are processing fragments of tracking data captured on Dec. 6 during a radio science ca

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
Researchers from Beijing Institute of Technology, China Academy of Space Technology, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a theoretical model that links electrostatic forces and contact mechanics to describe how low-velocity charged lunar dust particles either adhere to or escape from spacecraft surfaces within a surrounding plasma sheath. The work aims to clarify mechanisms that d

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 26, 2025
As we all prepare for the holiday season here on Earth, we have been planning a few last activities before Curiosity and the team of scientists and engineers take a well-deserved, extended break. This holiday season coincides with conjunction - every two years, because of their different orbits, Earth and Mars are obstructed from one another by the Sun; this one will last from Dec. 27 to Jan. 20

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
China conducted the debut flight of the Long March 12A carrier rocket on Tuesday, with the launch mission succeeding while the recovery attempt ended in failure. A 70.4-meter-high Long March 12A, the tallest space vehicle China has ever built, blasted off at 10 am from a newly constructed service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Af

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 26, 2025
The global space sector is entering a phase of large-scale satellite constellations and expanded human lunar activity, driving a sharp increase in demand for access to orbit. Within the next two decades, the total mass launched to space is expected to reach several hundred thousand tons, with annual launch counts projected in the tens of thousands and continuing to grow. Launch providers therefo

Video: 00:43:26

On the launch anniversary of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, ESA presents a unique compilation of zooms into stunning cosmic views.

So embark on a special journey: as if aboard a virtual spaceship, this video will take you through interstellar dives into the rich realm of our Universe. We will visit colourful nebulas and dynamic star nurseries in our own galaxy. Then venture beyond, to travel to the distant reaches of the cosmos and marvel at interacting galaxies and huge galaxy clusters.

The largest space telescope ever, Webb was launched on Christmas Day in 2021, on an