Space

The latest mission to return a sample from the lunar surface is part of China’s internally focused effort to put humans on the Moon.

The ascent stage of China’s Chang’e 5 sample-return mission has taken off from the Moon’s surface ahead of a docking in lunar orbit.

NASA has awarded four companies contracts to collect samples of lunar regolith, then transfer ownership to the agency, not for return to Earth necessarily but to expand the legal and regulatory framework for commercial space activities on the Moon and beyond.

Whether Puerto Rico’s venerable Arecibo Observatory will be replaced after being heavily damaged by multiple support cable failures rests in the hands of Congress and the space science community, according to Ralph Gaume, director of the National Science Foundation’s astronomical sciences division.

Aspiring small satellite launch service and logistics provider Aevum has unveiled an 80-ft.-long, 60-ft. wingspan unmanned aircraft system to serve as the reusable first stage of a three-stage, autonomous launch system that aims to cut costs and dramatically reduce the time needed to plan and execute missions.

The European Investment Bank, the long-term lending institution of the European Union, announced Dec. 3 that it could invest up to €20 million ($24.3 million) in Spire Global, a Luxembourg-registered nanosatellite operator for cloud-enabled data analytics, marking the European institution’s first direct new-space venture.

Axiom Space, selected by NASA to berth the first element of an eventual commercial low Earth orbit-crewed free flyer at the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024, has significantly upgraded the architecture of its planned Axiom Station, providing an initial four-person crew capability.

The Russian defense ministry launched a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class vehicle with a Fregat third-stage booster from its spaceport Plesetsk in northern Russia on Dec. 3, orbiting three Gonetz-M communication satellites and the ERA-1 military nanosatellite, Roscosmos State Corp. said.

T-7A simulator production begins; Greek F-35 interest confirmed; Russia’s reusable rocket engine, and Spain to convert airliner to tanker.

Space agency testing double-anonymous peer review to fund grant proposals.

Made In Space’s Turbine Ceramic Manufacturing Module has manufactured a ceramic component in space.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed an €86 million ($100 million) contract with an industrial team led by Swiss start-up company ClearSpace for the provision of a debris removal service.

Days after unveiling plans to decommission and dismantle the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the National Science Foundation announced a third wave of damage, the Dec. 1 collapse of the suspended 900-ton instrument platform.

After years of discussions, Canada’s Telesat and Loral Space & Communications will combine to form a new publicly traded Canadian company called Telesat Corp., the companies announced.

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission successfully touched down on the Moon’s surface on Dec. 1, the China National Space Administration said.

Virgin Orbit will make a second attempt to reach orbit with the air-dropped LauncherOne small satellite rocket on Dec. 19, with backup launch windows available later in the month in the event of a delay.

Russia has taken another significant step toward development of its first reusable space launch vehicle.

Nov. 2, 2020, the date that marked 20 years of continuous human operations aboard the International Space Station, also represents an unfolding “wedding of the old and the new,” according to David Brady, NASA’s ISS associate program scientist.

The U.S. should be at the forefront of high-capacity power-beaming to lead the technology rather than be dependent on others for it.

The space launch ambitions of the Shetland Islands have been given an additional boost with investment from a Scottish conservation fund, but the cash injection appears to have prompted a war of words between competing space ports.

Measurements of ocean heights provide real-time indication of Earth’s changing climate.

In bringing back samples, Chang’e 5 will demonstrate technology that China will need for sending people to the Moon.

SpaceX has marked its 100th Falcon 9 launch with a record seventh reflight of a first-stage booster, a mission that increased the company’s burgeoning Starlink broadband network to more than 950 satellites.

Engineering and government professional services provider Jacobs has acquired cyber and artificial intelligence specialist The Buffalo Group to bolster its offerings to the U.S. intelligence community and military.

Though on his third voyage to the International Space Station, veteran Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi said each mission poses a challenge, with the adjustments well worth making to help inspire younger generations.