All articles tagged with #space mission
NASA's Psyche spacecraft flew by Mars on May 15, using a gravity assist to boost its speed by about 1,000 mph and capturing high-resolution images, including a crescent view of Mars' polar ice caps and wind-carved craters from roughly 2,900 miles above the surface, as it continues toward the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche (arrival expected in 2029); the flyby also served to calibrate instruments for the longer journey.
The European-Chinese Smile mission, a joint ESA-CAS project to study how Earth reacts to solar wind using an X-ray camera for magnetosphere observations and a UV imager for auroras, is rescheduled to launch on May 19, 2026, aboard a European Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana after a precautionary delay due to a Vega-C subsystem issue. The launch time is 05:52 CEST / 04:52 BST / 00:52 local, with Smile released after about 57 minutes into a low-Earth orbit and solar panels unfolding around 63 minutes after liftoff, before entering an elongated orbit peaking about 121,000 km above the North Pole and extending to roughly 5,000 km above the South Pole to deliver data to ground stations. The mission aims to shed light on space weather, solar storms and geomagnetic processes through its four instruments, as ESA and CAS collaborate on this Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer.
NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the Didymos system’s moon Dimorphos in 2022, creating ejecta that boosted momentum and slowed the system’s orbit by about two inches per hour, shortening its solar orbit by roughly 0.15 seconds over 770 days. The result shows we can alter an asteroid’s path, but a much larger or multiple impacts would likely be needed to deflect a real threat; the event provides essential data for improving planetary defense as near-Earth objects remain a vulnerability.
Russia unveils the 2036 Venera-D mission to Venus—a three-vehicle venture (lander, balloon, and orbiter) designed to study Venus’ extreme conditions and search for signs of microbial life, building on the Soviet-era Venus legacy amid growing global interest in the planet.
NASA has decided to end the Crew-11 mission early due to a medical emergency involving an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, marking the first time such a decision has been made in the station's history.
NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on track for a September 2026 launch, ahead of schedule and within budget, marking a successful flagship mission that demonstrates NASA's improved project management after previous delays with missions like the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes were launched into a loiter orbit near Earth's Lagrange point 2 to analyze solar wind interactions with Mars' atmosphere. They will use Earth's gravity for a slingshot to Mars in late 2026, with a planned orbit insertion in 2027. The extra year in space adds some wear but is deemed manageable, serving as a template for future Mars missions and colonization efforts.
The European Space Agency confirmed a security breach involving unclassified data from science servers, with reports suggesting the leak included source code, confidential documents, and system credentials, potentially affecting the Ariel exoplanet study mission; ESA is investigating and has taken measures to secure affected systems.
The Russian Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station on Nov. 27, 2025, carrying three crew members and marking a historic moment with all eight ISS docking ports occupied for the first time in its 25-year history, despite damage to Baikonur's launch pad.
The ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has celebrated 30 years of continuous solar observation, overcoming challenges and revolutionizing solar science, space weather monitoring, and comet discovery, while inspiring future missions and international collaboration.
An Australian company, HEO Robotics, plans to use a dying satellite to photograph the asteroid Apophis during its close approach to Earth in 2029, joining international efforts to study this rare event, which offers a unique opportunity to understand asteroid behavior near Earth.
An investigation into the failure of the MethaneSAT satellite could not determine a single root cause, citing possible issues with its avionics or power systems, but limited data prevents a definitive conclusion. The mission faced technical problems since launch, and some experts suggest rushed development may have contributed to its failure.
China's Shenzhou 21 spacecraft successfully docked with its space station in a record 3.5 hours, carrying a crew including the youngest Chinese astronaut, and conducted scientific experiments, including sending mice to study effects of space environment.
China announced its crew for the upcoming Shenzhou 21 mission to the Tiangong Space Station, including the nation's youngest astronaut Wu Fei, who will join Zhang Lu and Zhang Hongzhang for a six-month mission involving experiments, spacewalks, and cargo management, marking China's 10th crewed flight to Tiangong.
NASA's $20 million mission to study asteroid Apophis in 2029 has been saved from cancellation with last-minute funding, allowing continued observation of the asteroid's close approach, though ongoing budget issues threaten future operations and research.