The launch of a new rocket is always an exciting event. SpaceX’s ‘go fast and fail’ approach means that even though the test ended with engineers blowing up the rocket, it was a valuable first flight.
NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System rocket, with the Orion capsule attached, launches at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
As signatories, Nigeria and Rwanda are demonstrating their commitment to safe, sustainable use of outer space. This should have multiple benefits.
Jupiter has more than 80 moons, the largest of which were discovered by Galileo. Many will be studied in depth by the scientific instruments of ESA’s JUICE mission.
ESA, NASA, JPL, ATG, DLR, University of Arizona, University of Leicester
China has invested massively in its space capabilities in recent years and is now a major competitor with the US. But according to a space policy expert, the US still dominates space by most measures.
The surface of Europa – one of Jupiter’s moons – is a thick layer of solid ice.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer and Europa Clipper missions will arrive at Jupiter in the 2030s and provide researchers with unprecedented access to the icy moons orbiting the gas giant.
From left to right: Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen make up the Artemis II crew.
Nasa
The Artemis II mission is scheduled for launch in late 2024 and is a critical step towards NASA’s goals of establishing a permanent human presence on and near the Moon.
An artist’s conception of the Artemis spacecraft orbiting the moon.
(NASA)
Canadian Jeremy Hansen will be one of the next astronauts on the Artemis II mission. This announcement signals a new era in Canada’s role in space exploration.
Within the next year or two, people will set foot on the surface of the Moon for the first time in 50 years.
NASA
A US-led coalition and China are both planning to establish bases on the Moon. How the two nations will navigate actions on the Moon and how other countries will be involved is still unclear.
Over 8,000 satellites are orbiting Earth today, capturing images like this, of the Louisiana coast.
NASA Earth Observatory
With more than 5,000 known exoplanets, astronomers are shifting their focus from discovering additional distant worlds to identifying which are good candidates for further study.
CTIO / NOIRLab / SOAR / NSF / AURA/ T. Kareta (Lowell Observatory), M. Knight (US Naval Academy)
With more than 100 lunar missions planned in coming years, space junk near the Moon could become an issue for humanity. No agency tracks lunar space junk, so two astronomers decided to do it themselves.