Space news

Source: Astrometrik · ApJ · ScienceAlert

Oct 20 · JAXA · Space.com

Japan’s MMX is on its way to Phobos: the H3 launch went as planned

JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration lifted off on H3 flight 10 from Tanegashima at 19:41:03 UTC on 19 October (04:41 JST on the 20th). About 71 minutes later the spacecraft separated and reached its planned orbit, JAXA says. MMX should arrive at Mars in August 2027, spend about three years around Mars and touch down on Phobos twice, with the small French–German Idefix rover going down in late 2028 or early 2029. It leaves for Earth in November 2030; a capsule with a planned 10 grams of Phobos should land in Australia in 2031. Our take: if it works, this is the first sample ever from a Martian moon; Russia’s Phobos-Grunt never left Earth orbit in 2011.

71 minafter liftoff: separated, planned orbit

2027arrival at Mars (August)

2031Phobos sample back on Earth

Source: JAXA · Space.com

Oct 17 · Astrometrik · ApJ · ScienceAlert

JWST’s “signal from empty space”: one unexplained infrared line in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

A widely shared post says Webb caught a “mysterious signal” from empty space. The core is true: in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Webb’s NIRSpec recorded a single infrared emission line, near 1.6 micrometres, where neither Hubble nor Webb images show anything. It appeared in August and November 2023, 88 days apart, but not in October 2022 data. A distant galaxy, a supernova and a star torn apart by a black hole all fit poorly. Our take: real and unexplained, but not a message.

1.6 μma single infrared emission line

88days between the two detections

0objects seen there by Hubble or Webb

Oct 16 · Astrometrik · Quanta · EHT

Can a black hole destroy information? Hawking’s 50-year paradox, explained with Sgr A*

A viral post describes our galaxy’s black hole, Sagittarius A*, as “completely invisible”. No light escapes from inside its horizon, but we see its effects: stars orbiting 4.3 million solar masses, and its shadow, imaged in 2022. The post’s deeper question is real. In 1976 Stephen Hawking argued that evaporating black holes would erase information, which quantum mechanics forbids. Since 2019, simplified theoretical models suggest the information can get out, but this is untested and how it happens is unknown. We separate what we observe from what we calculate.

50years since Hawking’s 1976 paradox

≈ 25 mn kmevent horizon of Sgr A*

10⁸⁷ yrfor Sgr A* to evaporate

Source: Astrometrik · Quanta · EHT

Oct 16 · Astrometrik · Wikipedia · ApJ

Betelgeuse or Rigel: which Orion giant will explode first?

Since Betelgeuse began dimming again, readers have asked us which of Orion’s two supergiants will go supernova first. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant about 750 times wider than the Sun and roughly 550 light-years away; Rigel is a blue supergiant about 74 times wider, 18 to 24 solar masses and around 850 light-years away. Rigel’s pulsations hint it may already have been a red supergiant, while its chemistry says it is still on the way, and its luminosity estimates range from 61,500 to 363,000 Suns. Our take: nobody can name a winner yet, and both are safely far away.

750 vs 74times the Sun’s radius

550 / 850light-years away

≈ 160 lya supernova must be closer than this to harm Earth

Source: Astrometrik · Wikipedia · ApJ

Oct 16 · Spektrum.de · ATel · AAVSO

Betelgeuse is dimming again: the strongest fade since the Great Dimming

Since August 2026 Betelgeuse, the red shoulder of Orion, has faded from about magnitude 0.5 to 0.95, its strongest decline in more than six years. Spectra from the STELLA telescope show its inner atmosphere falling inwards faster, part of the star’s natural pulsation; there is no sign yet of a dust-making gas ejection like in 2019–2020, and models put the supernova more than 100,000 years away. Our take: compare it with Aldebaran before dawn, it now looks about as bright.

0.5 → 0.95magnitude since August 2026

≈ −34 %less light than usual

> 100 000years before a supernova (models)

Source: Spektrum.de · ATel · AAVSO

Oct 15 · Universe Today · NASA JPL

SPHEREx fingerprints 33 “failed stars” and finds the models fall short

NASA’s SPHEREx all-sky mapper has recorded detailed infrared spectra of 33 brown dwarfs between 7 and 100 light-years away, objects too small to burn hydrogen like true stars. Across its 102 colour channels from 0.75 to 5 microns, the team led by Zafar Rustamkulov of Caltech and JPL saw water vapour, methane and carbon monoxide, and tracked how carbon switches from carbon monoxide to methane as these bodies cool below about 1,000 K. None of five leading atmosphere models matched every detail, with some getting sizes wrong by 20 to 50 per cent. The study appears in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Our take: SPHEREx’s survey should soon add thousands more, a goldmine for understanding cold giant planets too.

33nearby brown dwarfs measured

102colour channels across the whole sky

7–100 lydistance range of the sample

Source: Universe Today · NASA JPL

Oct 15 · NASA Chandra

Chandra solves the “Treble Clef”: a radio cloud revived by colliding galaxy clusters

A radio structure shaped like a musical treble clef, hidden almost directly behind the plane of the Milky Way, sits inside a galaxy cluster, NASA’s Chandra and the German-Russian eROSITA telescope have shown by spotting its multimillion-degree gas. The cluster is really two clusters that crashed head-on a few hundred million years ago. A team led by Andrea Botteon of Italy’s INAF, publishing in Astronomy & Astrophysics, says an old outburst from a central black hole first filled the region with fast particles that faded, and the collision then squeezed and re-energised them so they shine again in LOFAR radio images. Our take: the clef shape is pure chance, but the physics is a neat two-act story.

2galaxy clusters colliding

few 100 Myrsince the head-on crash

INAFItalian-led study, A&A

Source: NASA Chandra

Oct 15 · NASA

Artemis II heat shield passed: ten times less damage than on Artemis I

NASA’s detailed analysis confirms that Orion’s heat shield worked as expected when the four Artemis II astronauts returned from the Moon on 10 April 2026. Re-entering at 39 times the speed of sound and above 2,200 °C outside, it showed only nine spots of lost char, against 103 on the uncrewed Artemis I, thanks to a changed re-entry path. The cabin stayed at about 24 °C. The Artemis III heat shield, with more uniform Avcoat blocks, is already installed; that crew, including ESA’s Luca Parmitano, flies to Earth orbit next year before Moon landings start with Artemis IV in 2028. Our take: the biggest technical doubt about Orion is now settled.

9 vs 103char-loss spots, Artemis II vs Artemis I

Mach 39peak re-entry speed

> 2,200 °Coutside temperature at peak

Source: Universe Today · ESA

Oct 14 · Universe Today · ESA

ESA’s Hera reaches the asteroids hit by NASA’s DART in November

After a two-year trip, ESA’s Hera will meet the double asteroid Didymos and its 151-metre moon Dimorphos in November 2026, giving the first close-up look at the crater and reshaped surface left by NASA’s DART spacecraft, which struck at 6.6 km/s in 2022 and shortened Dimorphos’ 11 h 55 min orbit by about 32 minutes. Soon after arrival Hera will release two cubesats: Juventas, built in Luxembourg, will probe the asteroids’ interior and may touch down on Dimorphos, and Milani, built in Turin, will study their dust. Our take: this is the follow-up that turns DART from a single shot into a real planetary-defence test.

Nov 2026rendezvous with Didymos and Dimorphos

−32 minDimorphos’ orbit after the DART impact

2cubesats: Milani (Italy) and Juventas

Oct 14 · NASA · Space.com

Space jellyfish over Florida: why the CRS-35 rocket plume glowed before sunrise

When SpaceX launched NASA’s CRS-35 cargo mission to the ISS at 6:35 a.m. EDT on 13 October 2026, a giant glowing “jellyfish” spread across the dark sky. The launch came 47 minutes before sunrise: our calculation puts the Sun 10.5° below the horizon, so the ground was dark but everything above about 110 km was already sunlit, and the exhaust lit up as it climbed into the light and spread out in the thin air. Dragon carries about 2,860 kg, including the last iROSA solar arrays. Our take: twilight launches are the ones to watch.

47 minbefore sunrise at lift-off

−10.5°Sun below the horizon at Cape Canaveral

≈ 110 kmheight above which it was already sunny

Source: NASA · Space.com

Oct 13 · Space.com · NASA

Fireballs on doorbell cameras: why they look close and are hundreds of km away

On 6 October 2026, at about 1:03 a.m. local time, a green fireball crossed Arizona; a doorbell camera near Scottsdale and a webcam in Dragoon caught it, and the American Meteor Society thinks the rock was about the size of a small car. Fireballs glow between about 100 and 40 km up, so even one that seems to fall “behind the trees” is usually 100 to several hundred km away, and they shine because they squeeze the air into plasma, not because of friction. Our take: the Taurids, rich in slow, bright fireballs, peak around 5 and 12 November with a new Moon on the 9th.

100→40 kmheight where a fireball glows

≈ 340 kmaway, if it ends 10° above the horizon

5 & 12 NovTaurid fireball peaks, new Moon on 9 Nov

Source: Space.com · NASA

Oct 12 · L’essentiel · NASA

Red “jellyfish” over Corsica: the sprites came from a storm 600 km away

On the night of 16–17 September 2026 photographer Florian Riou caught giant red sprites above the village of Montemaggiore near Calvi, Corsica; his pictures went viral in October. Sprites are flashes 50–90 km up, just below the edge of space, set off by powerful lightning, and they last a few milliseconds. The storm was near Barcelona, about 500–700 km away: at that distance the clouds are below the horizon, but the sprites are still about 5° above it. Our take: a lovely reminder that the sky over the sea can hide a storm and still show its fireworks.

50–90 kmheight of a red sprite

≈ 600 kmfrom Corsica to the storm near Barcelona

mslasts only a few milliseconds

Source: L’essentiel · NASA

Oct 11 · NOAA SWPC

Solar storm hits Earth: G3 northern lights reach England’s south coast

A coronal mass ejection from the M6.7 solar flare of 8 October reached Earth at 14:34 UTC on 10 October, and NOAA reported a strong G3 geomagnetic storm (Kp 7) from 17:58 UTC. Northern lights were photographed across the UK down to England’s south coast and in northern Germany, while Austria was mostly cloudy and we found no confirmed sighting from Türkiye. NOAA kept a G2 watch for 11 October. Our take: region 4549 can still fire off flares, so keep an eye on the Kp index on clear nights.

G3strong geomagnetic storm, Kp 7

56 nTmagnetic jolt at Niemegk, 15:16 UTC

M6.7flare of 8 October, region 4549

Source: NOAA SWPC

Oct 10 · arXiv (Ortiz Ceballos, Berger, Cendes)

First radio signal from an exoplanet: β Pictoris b’s aurora “sings”

Astronomers using South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope have traced radio bursts to the giant exoplanet β Pictoris b, about 64 light-years away, rather than to its star – a first. The strongly polarised bursts at up to 3.5 GHz are auroral emission, like Jupiter’s, and imply a magnetic field of at least about 1,250 gauss, thousands of times Earth’s. The result is a preprint (arXiv, September 2026) and not yet peer reviewed. Our take: not aliens, but something almost as exciting – we can now measure the magnetism of other worlds.

1stradio signal traced to an exoplanet

≥1250 Gmagnetic field, thousands × Earth

~64 lyaway, 12 Jupiter masses

Source: arXiv (Ortiz Ceballos, Berger, Cendes)

Oct 8 · NASA Science

Webb pins down the most distant fast radio burst ever seen

A team led by Manisha Caleb of the University of Sydney used the James Webb Space Telescope to find the home galaxy of FRB 20240304B, a millisecond radio flash caught by South Africa’s MeerKAT array on 4 March 2024. Webb’s NIRSpec instrument measured a redshift of 2.148, so the burst set off about 3 billion years after the Big Bang — the most distant fast radio burst known. Its host is a small, young dwarf galaxy busy forming stars, roughly 1,000 times less massive than expected and too faint for Keck and other ground-based telescopes to see. Because the galaxy built most of its stars within about 30 million years, the team favours young magnetars over neutron-star mergers as the source. The results were published in Science on 8 October 2026. Our take: fast radio bursts are still a puzzle, but this one points firmly at young, super-magnetised dead stars.

z = 2.148redshift, a new record

~3 bnyears after the Big Bang

Source: NASA Science

Oct 8 · NASA

Crew-12 splashes down off Los Angeles after 237 days in space

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission ended at 15:34 UTC on 8 October 2026, when the Dragon capsule Freedom splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Los Angeles. On board were NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who had undocked from the International Space Station on 7 October. The crew launched on 13 February and spent 237 days on the station, during which they carried out four spacewalks. Meir now has 440 days in space in total, which puts her in NASA’s all-time top 10; for Hathaway and Adenot it was their first flight. Our take: a clean handover — Crew-13 was already on board, so the station was never left short-handed.

237days at the ISS

440days in space: Meir’s total

Earlier stories (32)

Oct 7 · NASA Science

Artemis II Moon science: astronauts saw five meteoroid impact flashes

NASA presented the preliminary lunar science results of Artemis II on 7 October 2026 at the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya, Türkiye, and opened more than 800 GB of mission data to researchers worldwide. During the April flyby the four astronauts spent about seven hours at Orion’s windows and passed 6,545 km (4,067 miles) above the lunar surface at closest approach. While the Moon blocked the Sun for 54 minutes, they spotted five faint flashes from rocks no bigger than about 5 cm striking the surface some 74,000 km away — probably the faintest impact flashes ever seen with the naked eye. The crew also reported subtle colours, from brown and tan to green and blue, that can hint at different rocks and minerals. NASA now plans Artemis III as an Earth-orbit docking test in 2027 and a crewed landing near the lunar south pole with Artemis IV in 2028. Our take: trained human eyes still catch what cameras miss — good news for the geologists who will walk the south pole.

5impact flashes seen by eye

54 minSun hidden by the Moon

Source: NASA Science

Oct 7 · Korea Times

South Korea’s Nuri rocket puts 14 of 15 satellites in orbit on 5th flight

South Korea’s home-built Nuri (KSLV-II) rocket lifted off from the Naro Space Center in Goheung at 03:25 UTC (12:25 local time) on 7 October 2026. It carried a record 15 satellites, about 1,071 kg in total, towards a 570 km sun-synchronous orbit: five NEONSAT Earth-observation microsatellites and ten cubesats. All five NEONSATs separated and had contacted the ground by the evening, but one cubesat, Quaternion’s PERSAT02, failed to separate from the rocket. It was Nuri’s fourth success in five launches since its failed debut in 2021, and the next five NEONSATs are due to fly in 2027. Our take: Nuri is turning from a test rocket into a working launcher — and South Korea’s first satellite constellation is now taking shape.

14/15satellites deployed

570 kmtarget orbit

Source: Korea Times

Oct 6 · Nobel Prize

Physics Nobel 2026: Francis Halzen’s IceCube neutrino hunt explained

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics on 6 October to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Belgian-American physicist was honoured for his decisive role in building the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and for the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from cosmic sources. IceCube watches a cubic kilometre of ice at the South Pole with more than 5,000 light sensors, an idea Halzen first put forward in 1988. In 2013 it caught the first high-energy neutrinos from beyond the Solar System, and in 2023 it produced the first picture of the Milky Way made with neutrinos. The prize of 12 million Swedish kronor will be handed over in Stockholm on 10 December. Our take: a Nobel for a telescope buried in ice that looks at the sky through the Earth — neutrino astronomy has come of age.

1 km³of Antarctic ice: IceCube

2013first cosmic neutrinos

Source: Nobel Prize

Oct 6 · Forbes

6 October: the Moon hides Jupiter; from Europe and Türkiye they rise side by side at dawn

On Tuesday 6 October the waning crescent Moon passes in front of Jupiter. From parts of North America and the Caribbean it happens before dawn (New York: 4:23–5:27 a.m. EDT); from West Africa in daylight. From Europe and Türkiye there is no occultation, but before sunrise Jupiter shines 2–3° below the crescent in the east. Our take: set an alarm, it is a lovely pair even without the cover-up.

~20%Moon illuminated

4:23–5:27New York, EDT

6.10date (Tuesday)

Source: Forbes

Oct 5 · Spaceflight Now

Laser web in orbit: Falcon 9 lifts 21 US military satellites (SDA Tranche 1)

Still on the ground: SpaceX also stood down from the 8 October opportunity, after the 5 October countdown stopped in its final minute and the 6 October try was called off. The Falcon 9 with 21 Northrop Grumman data-relay satellites for the US Space Development Agency now aims for no earlier than Saturday 10 October, 07:29 UTC, from Vandenberg. SpaceX says rocket and payload are healthy. It is the fourth Tranche 1 launch and lifts the transport layer to 84 of 126 satellites. Our take: scrubs are routine; the laser mesh will simply go up a few days late.

21satellites on board

84/126Tranche 1 transport after launch

6.flight of booster B1103

Oct 4 · In-The-Sky.org

Mercury at greatest eastern elongation, 12 October 2026

On 12 October 2026 Mercury sits 25.2° east of the Sun in Libra, shining at about magnitude −0.1. We are honest with you: it hangs very low in the north, so you will want binoculars and a clear western horizon, and the south has the best view. Try the “find Mercury” button.

25,2°east of the Sun, 12 Oct

≈ 1°–18°height after sunset (Vienna to São Paulo)

≈ −0,1magnitude

Source: In-The-Sky.org

Oct 4 · EarthSky

Draconid meteor shower 2026: best on the evening of 8 October

The Draconids peak on 9 October 2026 around 01:00 UTC, but the radiant is highest in the evening, so start looking after dark on 8 October. With a new Moon on 10 October the sky is gloriously dark: lie back, look north-west and watch slow meteors drift by.

9.10peak, ~01:00 UTC

8.10best: evening before

~5–10meteors per hour

Source: EarthSky

Oct 4 · In-The-Sky.org

Moon and Mars 5 October 2026: see them together at dawn

On the morning of 5 October 2026 a thin waning crescent Moon sits right next to orange Mars in the east, closing from about 2.2° to 1.0° before sunrise. Binoculars add earthshine and the Beehive Cluster; the “find with camera” button points the way.

1,0°Moon–Mars gap at 04:00 UTC

33 %Moon lit

+1,1Mars magnitude

Source: In-The-Sky.org

Oct 3 · EarthSky

Saturn at opposition on 4 October: brightest of the year

Saturn lines up with Earth and the Sun on 4 October 2026 and shines at its brightest of the year, about magnitude +0.3, rising at sunset and standing high in the south at midnight. A small telescope shows the rings; this page has a “find Saturn” button that points you to it.

4.10opposition, ~12:00 UTC

8,43 AUfrom Earth

≈ +0,3magnitude

Source: EarthSky

Oct 3 · NASASpaceflight

ESA puts a price on flying European astronauts on European spacecraft

ESA estimates that its own crew transport would take about ten years and €10 billion, with The Exploration Company’s Nyx and PLD Space’s LINCE as candidate capsules. Director General Josef Aschbacher argued that for about five billion more Europe could do the job itself and keep the money at home. ESA is also funding a Nyx cargo demonstration to the ISS with €310 million. Our take: the bill is now on the table, and member states will have to say yes or no.

€10 bncrew transport estimate

~10years to develop

€310 mESA share of Nyx demo

Source: NASA Space Apps Challenge

Oct 2 · NASA Space Apps Challenge

NASA Space Apps Challenge 2026 is open for registration

The world’s largest space hackathon returns on 14–15 November under the theme “The Next Frontier”. More than 450 local events take part, and anyone without one nearby can join online through the Universal Event. Teams have at most six members; Turkish organisers stress that students, engineers, designers, programmers and anyone curious about space can join, alone or in a team, and that taking part is free. Registration closes on 15 November. Our take: it is one of the few ways to work on real NASA data over a weekend without any prior track record.

14–15.11hackathon weekend

450+local events

6people per team, at most

Oct 2 · NASA

NASA’s DAVINCI Venus probe passes a 465 °C oven test

Between 28 August and 10 September 2026, engineers placed a development model of DAVINCI’s yoga-ball-sized descent probe in a ceramic-lined chamber and heated it to 465 °C in about an hour, the same rate it will warm while falling through Venus’s atmosphere. The mission is meant to show whether Venus was once wet and habitable like Earth. Our take: on Venus the heat is the main enemy, so proving the hardware on the ground first is exactly the right order.

465 °Ctest temperature

~1 hto heat up

28.08–10.09test campaign

Oct 2 · NASASpaceflight

Falcon Heavy flies a secret NRO satellite after its quickest turnaround yet

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launched the classified NROL-97 payload from Kennedy’s pad 39A at 03:53 UTC on 2 October, late on 1 October local time, towards a high-energy orbit. Both side boosters landed back at Cape Canaveral while the centre core was expended. Coming after the 30 August launch of NASA’s Roman telescope, it was the shortest gap ever between two Falcon Heavy flights. Our take: the biggest rocket in service is quietly turning routine.

27Merlin engines

2boosters landed

70 mrocket height

Oct 1 · NASASpaceflight

Transporter-18 drops off 130 payloads, including Google’s first AI test satellite

A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg on 1 October and released 130 payloads into sun-synchronous orbit. Aboard were Google’s Project Suncatcher M1 with four Tensor Processing Units, Starfish Space’s 335 kg Otter inspector for NASA, Varda’s W-8 and W-9 capsules for in-orbit drug making and NASA’s SPRITE CubeSat. The booster landed back at Vandenberg after its 25th flight. Our take: computing in orbit is moving from slide decks to real hardware.

130payloads deployed

25booster’s flight number

110Falcon 9 flights in 2026

Oct 1 · ESA/Webb

Webb reads the dust left by planet-shattering crashes

Webb’s mid-infrared spectra cover 21 young stars surrounded by “extreme debris discs”: hot dust from collisions between growing rocky worlds, seen around only about 1% of young stars. The discs share small grains, plenty of warm dust close to the star and erratic brightness changes; a third are silica-rich and appear only around stars younger than 300 million years. Our take: this is how rocky planets like Earth get built, one violent impact at a time.

21young star systems

~1%of young stars show it

1/3silica-rich discs

Source: ESA/Webb

Oct 1 · NASA

Crew-13 docks in record time, Crew-12 set to leave on 7 October

Launched on 1 October, the Dragon carrying Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk and Sergey Teteryatnikov docked at the Harmony module 7 h 55 min later, the fastest launch-to-docking of a US spacecraft in ISS history. With 11 people now aboard, NASA targets Crew-12’s undocking no earlier than 7 October and a splashdown off California on 8 October. Our take: a shorter commute is a small but real gain for crew comfort.

7 h 55 minlaunch to docking

11people aboard the ISS

7.10Crew-12 undocking

Oct 1 · Universe Today

Mars’s north polar cap is far cleaner than we thought

A study led by Aditya Khuller of the University of Washington, using data from the OMEGA and CRISM instruments and the Phoenix lander, finds the cap is about 3% dust by mass, not the roughly 25% assumed before. A dusty frost forms each winter and hides older, cleaner ice that shows again in summer. Our take: cleaner ice keeps a sharper record of Mars’s past climate, and would be easier water for future explorers.

earlier estimate25 %

new result3 %

Source: Universe Today

Sep 30 · Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab signs its biggest Electron deal yet: 20 launches

Japan’s Synspective booked 20 Electron launches for its StriX radar satellites, launching every year from 2028 to 2031, bringing its total to 47 missions, more than any other Rocket Lab customer. The company’s backlog now tops 100 launches. Our take: radar satellites that see through clouds and darkness are becoming a constellation business, and dedicated small rockets are winning the rides.

this deal20

Synspective in total47

Source: Rocket Lab

Sep 30 · Universe Today

Signs of life on Enceladus may be easier to spot than feared

Two papers in Science Advances by Frank Postberg, Vanessa Helmbrecht and colleagues at Freie Universität Berlin and LMU Munich find that ocean spray freezes slowly inside the ice cracks, concentrating salts and organic molecules in the grains a spacecraft could sample, and that methane-producing microbes stay active under Enceladus-like conditions. Our take: good news for ESA’s Enceladus mission planned for the early 2040s – the plumes may carry clearer clues than models suggested.

2papers in Science Advances

2040sESA Enceladus mission

Source: Universe Today

Sep 30 · Space.com

Twin planets caught forming, with gas swirling around one of them

Using the ALMA radio telescope, astronomers from the University of Milan and Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Astronomy imaged the young WISPIT 2 system, roughly 430 light-years away, with two growing planets. For the first time the gas spiralling around a forming planet was seen directly, as simulations had predicted. The star is only about 5.4 million years old. Our take: planet birth stops being a computer model and becomes a picture.

2planets forming

~5 MJmass of WISPIT 2b

5,4 Myrage of the star

Source: Space.com

Sep 30 · ESA

Smile, Europe and China’s space-weather watcher, starts its science

The joint ESA–Chinese Academy of Sciences mission launched on 19 May, reached its final orbit on 20 June and was cleared for science on 23 September. Its four instruments will image how the solar wind hits Earth’s magnetic shield; during checkout its ultraviolet camera already followed auroras for record 45-hour stretches. Our take: a view of the collision from outside, which is exactly what aurora and storm forecasts have been missing.

19.05launch
20.06final orbit
23.09science approved

Sep 29 · Space.com

The coolest lava world yet still has an atmosphere

With JWST’s MIRI instrument, a University of Chicago team found that HD 3167 b, a rocky planet about 154 light-years away that circles its star in roughly a day, keeps an atmosphere although it is the coolest known lava world. The authors suggest most lava worlds may hold on to their air, much like the young Earth during its magma-ocean stage. Our take: a rare glimpse of what our own planet may have looked like before it cooled.

154light-years away

~1day per orbit

Source: Space.com

Sep 29 · ESA

Europe starts sketching its own space station

With the ISS heading for retirement, ESA has two industrial teams, led by Airbus Defence and Space and by OHB, running nine-month feasibility studies (started in June) for a European-led outpost in low Earth orbit. Europe already built the Columbus lab and Orion’s service module. Our take: the real question after the ISS is whether Europe wants to be a tenant on someone else’s station or a landlord on its own.

Source: SpacePolicyOnline

Sep 28 · SpacePolicyOnline

Starship reaches orbit for the first time, then cuts the trip short

SpaceX’s IFT-14 left Starbase on 28 September, released 26 Starlink V3 satellites and splashed down in the North Pacific after 3 h 8 min instead of the planned ten or so hours; the ship lost one of its three vacuum engines on the way up. Our take: orbit is the milestone. The test that matters for NASA’s Moon plans, refuelling in orbit, is still ahead.

3 h 08actual flight

~10 hplanned

26Starlink V3 satellites

Sep 28 · NASA

Crew-13 heads for the space station on 1 October

Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney (NASA), Joshua Kutryk (Canada) and Sergey Teteryatnikov (Roscosmos) are due to launch no earlier than 15:10 UTC on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, in the Dragon capsule “Grace”. Their lab work includes heart and brain tissue grown from stem cells to study disease. Tip: the station is one of the brightest things in the night sky, and our sky map shows when it passes over you.

Sep 28 · NASA

Starliner will not carry astronauts again before 2028

NASA and Boeing plan an uncrewed Starliner-1 flight in December or January to check fixes to the thrusters that ran outside their limits on the 2024 crewed test; astronauts return on Starliner-2 “by 2028”. Our take: until then, SpaceX’s Dragon remains America’s only ride to the station, which is exactly the single point of failure NASA wanted two capsules to avoid.

2024crewed test, thruster trouble
12/2026–01/2027uncrewed Starliner-1
2028astronauts on Starliner-2

Sep 28 · ESA

Juice slingshots past Earth on its way to Jupiter

ESA’s Juice skimmed 8,640 km above the Indian Ocean on 28 September. Earth’s gravity bent its path by 20° and added 3.5 km/s for almost no fuel. One more Earth flyby in January 2029, then Jupiter in 2031 and 35 passes of Ganymede, Europa and Callisto. Our take: this is how deep space is done on a budget, borrowing speed from planets instead of burning it.

8 640 kmclosest to Earth

+3,5 km/sspeed gained

20°course change

Sep 28 · NASA

The rescue that didn’t happen: Swift will fall back to Earth

Katalyst Space’s LINK robot launched in July on a Pegasus XL to push NASA’s 2004 Swift observatory into a higher orbit. Communication dropouts and pointing problems turned the mission into a technology test instead; LINK re-entered on 25 September and Swift is expected to follow by the end of the year. Our take: satellite servicing works on paper and in demos, but it is not routine yet.

2004Swift launched
07/2026LINK rescue craft launched
25.09LINK re-entered
2026Swift expected to re-enter

Sep 25 · NASA

Artemis Accords pass 75 countries: three signatures in three days

Croatia signed as number 74 on 23 September, Côte d’Ivoire as 75 the next day and San Marino as 76 on 25 September. The accords set shared rules for exploring the Moon peacefully and openly: share data, help each other, keep out of each other’s way. Portugal joined as 60th in January, Türkiye as 71st on 31 August. Our take: the Moon is getting a rulebook before it gets crowded.

Sep 23 · NASA

NASA picks PRIMA, a far-infrared telescope for 2033

PRIMA opens NASA’s new “Probe” class of missions, with a cost cap of $1.2 billion, a 1.8 m mirror and five years of planned observing, led by JPL with partners including CNES, ASI and DLR. It sees the far-infrared light that sits between what Webb and radio dishes pick up: cold dust, forming planets, growing galaxies. Our take: this is the part of the sky Webb cannot see.

2026selected
2033launch
+5years of observing

Sep 23 · NASA

Arctic sea ice hits its 2026 low

On 12 September the Arctic ice cover shrank to 4.6 million km², tied for the 10th-lowest minimum since satellite records began in 1978. The 20 lowest minimums all fall between 2007 and 2026; scientists describe a plateau, still far below the early record. Our take: only satellites can measure a whole ocean every day, and that record is one of the clearest things space does for us.

4,6 M km²minimum on 12 Sep

10.lowest since 1978 (tied)

20/20lowest years all since 2007

Sep 6 · European Spaceflight

Europe’s first orbital launch from its own mainland

On 5 September Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket lifted off from Andøya in Norway and delivered five CubeSats to orbit, the first successful orbital launch from continental Europe and the first by a privately funded European rocket. It came after a year of scrubs, from a valve problem to a boat in the exclusion zone. Our take: with Ariane 6 delayed, a second European ride to orbit arrives at exactly the right moment.

Source: Anadolu Ajansı / Milliyet

Your country

Chosen from your location. Pick another country:

Türkiye

Oct 8 · Anadolu Ajansı / Milliyet

Astronauts open a Mars-themed science centre at Türkiye’s Lake Salda

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır opened the Salda Science Center in Burdur on 8 October, joined by Turkish astronauts Alper Gezeravcı, Tuva Cihangir Atasever and Gökhan Erdem and about 20 astronauts visiting for IAC 2026. It is the 45th science centre in Türkiye’s network and was funded by TÜBİTAK with 30 million lira. Exhibits include five rockets used on space missions, a Mars hall with a Martian rock sample, a spacesuit simulation and a “Mars Planetarium” on astronaut food and growing plants in space. Lake Salda’s white carbonate shores are often compared with Jezero Crater, where NASA’s Perseverance rover landed. Our take: a smart way to turn a famous Mars analogue into a classroom, as long as the lake’s fragile shoreline stays protected.

45science centres in Türkiye

30M ₺TÜBİTAK funding

Oct 6 · Anadolu Ajansı

Turkish Space Agency signs deals with Turkic states and UK at IAC 2026

The Turkish Space Agency (TUA) signed two cooperation documents during the first two days of the 77th International Astronautical Congress, which opened on 5 October at the NEST Congress Center in Antalya. The first is a framework agreement with the space agencies of fellow members of the Organization of Turkic States, building on the joint CubeSat project the organisation already coordinates. The second is a declaration of intent with the UK Space Agency to develop joint projects. The announcement named no signatories and gave no budget or timetable for either document. Our take: the shared Turkic CubeSat is the one to watch, because a satellite actually built together is the clearest test of whether such frameworks turn into hardware.

Source: Anadolu Ajansı

Oct 5 · Daily Sabah / Anadolu

Erdoğan opens IAC 2026: Türkiye’s Somalia spaceport is under construction

Opening the 77th International Astronautical Congress in Antalya on 5 October, the first held in Türkiye, with delegates from 111 countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said construction of the Turkish spaceport in Somalia has begun. He added that the Moon Research Program’s lander, about 3.5 tonnes with more than 80% domestic content, has finished production, assembly and integration and is now in system-level environmental tests. Erdoğan also called the weaponisation of space and an arms race there “extremely wrong”. After the ceremony he received SpaceX executives together with ministers Kacır and Uraloğlu; no statement on the talks was released. Our take: a launch site of its own would be Türkiye’s biggest step towards independent access to orbit, but no timetable or rocket plan for it has been published yet.

3.5 tMoon spacecraft mass

>80%domestic content

Source: Daily Sabah / Anadolu

Oct 5 · IAC 2026

IAC 2026 Public Day in Antalya: free entry on Friday 9 October

The International Astronautical Congress opens its doors to everyone on its last day, Friday 9 October, at the NEST Convention Center in Belek (Serik, Antalya). Entry is free but you must register online beforehand; the detailed programme is still to be announced. Expect the exhibition halls of agencies and companies, talks for the public and student activities. Our take: the easiest way in Türkiye this year to see the global space industry up close — register early.

9.10Friday, public day

0 ₺entry, with registration

Source: IAC 2026

Oct 4 · İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi

ASELSAN brings its Astralink constellation plans to the IAC

At the Antalya congress (5–9 October) ASELSAN will show Astralink, a planned low-orbit communications constellation for which it targets production of up to four satellites a month, alongside its work on Türksat 6A, Türksat 7A and the Göktürk-3 radar satellite. Its slogan is “from chip to satellite”, covering electronics, payloads, ground stations and terminals. Our take: four satellites a month would be a real industrial leap for Türkiye.

4Astralink sats per month

Source: İstanbul Ticaret Gazetesi

Oct 4 · Bengütürk

Antalya Declaration: 21 countries sign a pledge for peaceful space

On 4 October, the eve of the IAC, the Ministers and Parliamentarians Meeting in Antalya adopted the “Space for Peace Antalya Declaration”, signed by 32 participants from 21 countries. It covers peaceful research, space law, sustainable space economy and bringing developing nations into the field. Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır called it a first for this IAC meeting. Our take: symbolic, but a useful diplomatic calling card for the host.

21countries signed

32signatories

Source: Bengütürk

Oct 2 · TÜBİTAK

Türkiye’s first astronauts meet visitors at TEKNOFEST on 3 October

TÜBİTAK and the Science and Society department announced that Tuva Cihangir Atasever (09:30) and Alper Gezeravcı (11:00) will meet visitors on Saturday 3 October in the TÜBİTAK Science Centres tent at TEKNOFEST Güneydoğu, which runs at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport until 4 October. Entry to the festival is free with online registration. Our take: after the 2024 flight, the two astronauts have become the public face of Turkish spaceflight, and a morning at a science tent is the closest most children will get to one.

09:30Tuva Cihangir Atasever
11:00Alper Gezeravcı
4.10festival ends

Source: TÜBİTAK

Sep 29 · TÜBİTAK Bilim Genç

The world’s space industry meets in Antalya next week

The 77th International Astronautical Congress runs 5–9 October at the Antalya Nest Convention Center, hosted by the Turkish Space Agency with more than 10,000 engineers, scientists and students expected. Our take: for one week the space world comes to Türkiye, a chance to turn a young programme into partnerships.

5–9.10congress dates

10 000+expected attendees

77.edition of the IAC

Source: TÜBİTAK Bilim Genç

Sep 28 · Anadolu Ajansı

Roketsan lays out its rockets for independent access to space

Ahead of the Antalya congress, Roketsan chief executive Murat İkinci said Şimşek 1 aims to place a 400 kg payload in a 500 km orbit, while Şimşek 2, contracted last year, is designed to carry 1.5 tonnes to orbits of up to 700 km and to be sold commercially. Roketsan has flown sounding rockets since 2016. Our take: a national launcher is what turns satellite-building into a full space programme; the date of the first orbital flight is the number to wait for.

Şimşek 1 payload400 kg

Şimşek 2 payload1 500 kg

Source: Anadolu Ajansı

Sep 16 · Türkiye Uzay Ajansı

Türkiye’s first Moon spacecraft moves into environmental testing

Built with more than 80% domestic parts, the 3.5-tonne spacecraft has finished assembly and moved to TUSAŞ’s test centre to be shaken and heated like on a launch. It targets early 2027 from Kennedy, a two-month trip and a 100 km polar orbit around the Moon to study solar wind, water formation and radiation. Our take: testing is where schedules slip or hold; this is the step to watch.

3,5 tspacecraft mass

100 kmlunar polar orbit

%80+domestic parts

Earlier stories (3)

Sep 10 · Türkiye Uzay Ajansı

TUA Astro Hackathon crowns its Türkiye finalists in Ankara

The Turkish Space Agency held the national final of its Astro Hackathon in Ankara on 10 September, where student teams build space-themed software and hardware ideas against the clock. Our take: rockets make headlines, but a space programme lives or dies on the engineers it grows at home.

Aug 31 · Türkiye Uzay Ajansı

Türkiye signs the Artemis Accords as the 71st country

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır signed at NASA headquarters in Washington on 31 August. The accords commit signatories to peaceful, transparent lunar exploration and open the door to Turkish instruments and technology on future Moon missions. Our take: a signature does not fly anything, but it puts Türkiye at the table where Moon rides are shared out.

Jul 17 · Türkiye Uzay Ajansı

Türkiye’s first home-made atomic clock is ticking in orbit

The rubidium clock built by TÜBİTAK’s National Metrology Institute launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-17 on 7 July and sent its first signal on 15 July. It will be tested for at least a year as a building block for a regional positioning and timing system. Our take: every navigation satellite is really a flying clock, and this is the part countries usually have to buy abroad.

United States

Sep 30 · NASA

Three new science payloads for NASA’s Moon Base

NASA picked three investigations to ride commercial landers: a long-term station to monitor the environment at the lunar south pole, a search for underground lava tubes at the Marius Hills pit, and measurements of ice deposits and surface conditions. Our take: lava tubes could be ready-made shelters from radiation and temperature swings, so the Marius Hills survey is the one to watch.

3new investigations

Sep 30 · NASA

NASA orders a 5G network for the Moon

Modulate Space Corporation won a contract of about $38 million, run from NASA Glenn in Cleveland, to combine 5G and Wi-Fi 6 for surface operations at the planned Moon Base: first a “network in a box” tested in the lab, then a lunar network and flight demonstration by the end of 2028. Our take: astronauts, rovers and instruments will need to talk to each other on the surface, not only to Earth.

$38Mcontract value

2028flight demo by end of

Sep 30 · NASA Science

Roman’s coronagraph takes its first look

After guidance-system tests on 15–21 September, NASA’s Roman Space Telescope pointed its Coronagraph Instrument at a faint star in the Large Magellanic Cloud on 22 September, then again on 27 September with cooled detectors. Pointing held steadier than one hundred-thousandth of a degree for up to eight hours. Our take: that steadiness is what will let Roman blot out a star’s glare to see the planets next to it.

15–21.09guidance tests
22.09coronagraph first light
27.09second look, cooled detectors

Source: NASA Science

Sep 28 · NASA

Artemis II crew in Houston on 30 September

Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, who flew around the Moon from 1 to 10 April and went 252,756 miles (406,772 km) from Earth, the farthest humans have ever travelled, hold a free public event at the University of Houston. They will be honoured for beating Apollo 13’s distance record. Our take: the next crew to go that far is meant to land.

406 772 kmfarthest from Earth

10days, 1–10 April

Sep 25 · Spaceflight Now

Falcon 9 flies a classified Space Force mission from California

SpaceX scheduled the USSF-385 mission for the US Space Force from Vandenberg on the West Coast, one of a growing number of national-security flights now handled by commercial rockets. Payload details are secret. Our take: from the ground the launch looks like any other, and the numbers on our launch board show how routine these flights have become.

Sep 24 · NASA

US–India radar satellite films a volcano waking up

NISAR, built by NASA’s JPL (L-band radar) and India’s ISRO (S-band), turned its images of Krasheninnikov in Kamchatka, erupting for the first time in nearly 500 years, into a time-lapse from December 2025 to August 2026. It sees through cloud and darkness and revisits each spot every 12 days. Our take: radar is how you watch the ground move when no one can stand on it.

Sep 24 · NASA

What to eat on Mars: NASA names its food-system winners

The Deep Space Food Challenge asked for a full food system for 15 people over 500 Martian days. First prize ($300,000) went to Chinyere Ukeje of Philadelphia for a design mixing farming, fermentation and fungi that grows half the crew’s food on site. Our take: Mars is as much a kitchen problem as a rocket problem.

$650 000total prizes

113entries from 33 countries

15 × 500crew × Martian days

Sep 24 · NASASpaceflight

An oven-sized “Otter” will inspect dead satellites for NASA

Starfish Space’s first full-scale Otter, an electric-propulsion servicer that can grab flat surfaces without a docking fixture, flies no earlier than October on SpaceX’s Transporter-18. From 2027 it will approach defunct US satellites for NASA’s $15 million SSPICY mission, the agency’s first paid commercial debris inspection. Our take: before anyone can clean up space junk, someone has to find out how it tumbles.

Germany

Oct 8 · European Spaceflight

The Exploration Company will fly its ONEIROS Moon hopper in the UAE in 2027

Munich-based The Exploration Company plans to test ONEIROS, a privately funded lunar hopper demonstrator, in the desert of the United Arab Emirates in 2027. The one-tonne vehicle carries a throttleable methane-fuelled engine, autonomous navigation and hazard-avoidance systems, the key ingredients of a soft Moon landing. According to a paper abstract presented at the IAC in Antalya, work started earlier in 2026 and several breadboards have already been built to cut technical risk. The UAE site follows a memorandum of understanding with the Emirati space agency, though no binding agreement has been announced yet. ONEIROS paves the way for Hilal, a precision-landing demonstrator, and for the full-size Nyx Moon lander. Our take: hopping on Earth before landing on the Moon is the cheapest way to learn, and a private European company is now taking that step on its own money.

1 tdemonstrator mass

2027hop tests in the UAE

Oct 5 · European Spaceflight

HyImpulse pushes its second SR75 rocket flight from Scotland to 2027

German launch start-up HyImpulse has moved the second flight of its SR75 suborbital rocket from SaxaVord, Scotland, to spring 2027, no earlier than March. As recently as 2 September the company was aiming for the end of 2026, and notices had even been issued for a launch window from 5 to 18 October. On 1 October HyImpulse received a UK Civil Aviation Authority operator licence allowing one SR75 flight per 12 months, but insurance, range and data-sharing conditions still have to be met before launch. The company blames the remaining licensing work and autumn and winter weather at SaxaVord, not the rocket itself. It will be the SR75’s first commercial mission, after a test flight from South Australia on 3 May 2024. Our take: Europe’s new launchers are learning that paperwork and North Sea weather can be as tough as engineering.

Oct 1 · Aktuelle Technik

DLR’s MAPHEUS-17 rocket flies to nearly 300 km

The German Aerospace Center’s research rocket lifted off from Esrange in northern Sweden on 1 October at 06:51 UTC, reaching almost 300 km and giving about seven minutes of weightlessness. Its 360+ kg payload studied alloy solidification, cells and biofilms and thermoelectric generators, plus four student experiments, many in standard “Mosaic” boxes. Our take: cheap, quick microgravity flights like this keep German lab research flowing.

~300 kmpeak altitude

~7 minof weightlessness

360+ kgof experiments

Source: Aktuelle Technik

Sep 29 · ESA

Airbus and OHB lead Europe’s post-ISS station studies

Both industrial teams ESA picked to study a European-led orbital outpost are led by companies with big German sites, Airbus Defence and Space and Bremen’s OHB, each with six further partners, over nine months. Our take: whoever designs the concept usually builds the hardware, so this is quietly a big moment for Germany’s space industry.

Sep 28 · DLR

DLR shows its space spin-offs at Munich’s founders’ festival

At Bits & Pretzels (28–30 September, more than 7,500 founders, investors and policymakers) DLR presented seven spin-offs, among them Adpera, whose carbon masts unfold to several metres in orbit, and Terranetik, which uses AI on radar satellite data to spot damage to infrastructure before it becomes visible. Our take: research centres turning lab work into companies is how Germany’s space start-up scene keeps growing.

7DLR spin-offs on show

7 500+visitors at the festival

Source: DLR

Sep 25 · European Spaceflight

Callisto, Europe’s reusable rocket test bed, takes shape

DLR has finished testing Callisto’s nose cone and is shipping it to CNES in France. The German–French–Japanese demonstrator will make eight increasingly demanding hops and two final flights over about eight months from 2027, from a pad in French Guiana. Our take: landing rockets is no longer exotic, but Europe still has to learn it for itself.

8 + 2test and demo flights

~8months of hops

2027first hop

Sep 23 · ESA

ESA gives Rocket Factory Augsburg another boost

ESA’s Boost! programme is adding €2.7 million, matched by RFA, to prepare the first two test flights and the first full hot-fire of RFA One on the pad at SaxaVord in Shetland. The 30-metre, three-stage rocket is designed to put up to 500 kg into a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit. Our take: after a static-fire attempt was called off in July, money for pad testing is exactly what RFA needs now.

€2,7Mnew ESA Boost! money

500 kgto sun-synchronous orbit

30 mheight of RFA One

Sep 19 · European Spaceflight

DLR’s MAPHEUS-17 research rocket could fly on 1 October

The German Aerospace Center’s suborbital MAPHEUS-17 mission is set to launch as early as 1 October. Rockets like this give experiments a few minutes of weightlessness for a fraction of the cost of an orbital flight. Our take: much of the science that later flies to the space station is first tried on flights like this one.

Sep 4 · European Spaceflight

Munich start-up Project-S steps out to watch the skies

Project-S, a Munich company working on space situational awareness, tracking what orbits where and how it behaves, came out of stealth on 4 September. Our take: with tens of thousands of objects in orbit and new constellations every month, knowing where things are is turning into its own industry.

Sep 2 · European Spaceflight

HyImpulse adds €50 million to its funding round

The German launch start-up, which builds rockets burning paraffin and liquid oxygen, extended its Series A round by €50 million on 2 September. The money arrived days before Isar Aerospace proved a German-built rocket can reach orbit. Our take: investors are now betting that Europe has room for more than one small launcher.

Source: Infoespacial / TEDAE–PwC

Spain

Oct 6 · Infoespacial / TEDAE–PwC

Spain’s space industry hit €1.416 billion in 2025, 82% of it exported

A PwC impact study for TEDAE, the Spanish defence, security, aeronautics and space industry association, reported on 6 October, puts the consolidated turnover of Spain’s space industry at €1,416 million in 2025, up 9.5% on 2024. Civil space accounted for €1,241 million and defence space for €175 million, the latter growing faster at 16.6%. Exports reached €1,167 million, or 82.4% of sales, and the sector supports 25,068 jobs in total, 8,553 of them direct. Companies spent €402 million on R&D, about 15.7% of turnover, while Madrid alone concentrates 74% of the activity. Our take: a sector that sells four of every five euros abroad is a true export industry; the next test is turning that into missions flown on Spanish rockets, starting with Miura 5.

€1,416Mturnover 2025, +9.5%

82.4%of sales exported

25,068jobs in total

Oct 5 · Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Europe’s biggest solar telescope, EST on La Palma, earns ESFRI Landmark

The European Solar Telescope (EST), planned for the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, has been granted Landmark status by ESFRI, Europe’s strategy forum for research infrastructures, at its 97th meeting in Cork on 23–24 September; the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) announced it on 5 October. The label puts EST, on the ESFRI roadmap since 2016, in the same league as CTAO, the ELT and SKAO. Spain leads the project, coordinated by the IAC with the participation of the CSIC, and the investment is estimated at €274 million. Once built, EST should create about 65 direct jobs and spend some €8.1 million a year in the Canary Islands, with science operations lasting at least 30 years. Our take: Landmark status is a political seal, not money; the real milestone will be the national contributions that allow construction to start.

€274Mestimated investment

30+years of science operations

Source: Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Oct 2 · IAC

La Palma telescope measures the biggest known galaxy: 1.7 million light-years

An IAC team led by Carlos Marrero-de la Rosa used ultra-deep images from the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma to size IC 1101 in the Abell 2029 cluster, about a billion light-years away. Its main body spans some 1.7 million light-years, roughly ten times the Milky Way, with about 3.4 trillion solar masses of stars. The study is in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Our take: a modest telescope plus patience still beats records.

1,7 Mlight-years across

3,4 tnsolar masses of stars

~1 bnlight-years away

Oct 1 · Infoespacial

Valencian composites ride to orbit on Transporter-18

Lofith Composites from Paterna (Valencia) put its thermoplastic composite materials into orbit on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare on 1 October, built into satellite panels with sensors that track how they age. Hydra Space handled integration; the work ran through ESA’s Technology Broker programme with support from the Spanish Space Agency, and included atomic-oxygen tests at ESTEC. Our take: a small firm reaching orbit is how a national supply chain grows.

Source: Infoespacial

Sep 30 · IAC

First methyl radical found around a dying star

With JWST’s MIRI instrument, an IAC team led by Jialu Li detected the methyl radical (CH₃) around SMP LMC 011, a carbon-rich dying star in the Large Magellanic Cloud – the first secure detection around such a star, and in larger amounts than predicted. Ultraviolet light or shock waves eroding carbon dust are the likely source. Our take: dying stars seed galaxies with the carbon chemistry that later goes into new planets.

Sep 25 · IAC

A supernova that peaked in a week, likely powered by a magnetar

A team led by Frédéric Poidevin at the IAC studied SN 2021lwz, about 900 million light-years away, which reached peak brightness in just 7 days and threw off about 0.24 solar masses. A rapidly spinning, highly magnetised neutron star explains it better than radioactive nickel; its host is a dwarf galaxy with a millionth of the Milky Way’s mass. Our take: such fast, bright blasts show how a newborn neutron star can drive an explosion.

7days to peak

900Mlight-years away

0,24solar masses ejected

Sep 25 · IAC

A satellite from the Canary Islands spots an oil spill from orbit

On 22 September the IAC’s small satellite ALISIO-1 imaged oil from the tanker Caroline Bezengi near Oman’s Al Hallaniyat islands, a spill estimated in August at about 400 km². Its DRAGO-2 infrared camera looks at 1,100 and 1,600 nm, wavelengths where oil mixed with water stands out. Our take: a satellite built in Tenerife doing real environmental monitoring is exactly what such programmes promise.

~400 km²estimated spill

50 mper pixel

2023launched

Aug 14 · ESA

Looking back at the total eclipse over Spain

On 12 August Europe saw its first total solar eclipse in more than two decades, with the path of totality crossing northern Spain after Greenland and Iceland; ESA broadcast live from the Javalambre observatory in Teruel. Our take: the next total eclipse over Spain comes on 2 August 2027, and our sky pages will count down to it.

Jul 31 · European Spaceflight

Spain puts €1 billion on the table to bring a giant telescope to La Palma

Spain offered up to €1 billion to move the Thirty Meter Telescope from Hawaii’s Mauna Kea, blocked by protests since 2014, to La Palma in the Canary Islands, its alternative site since 2016. The US science foundation has leaned toward the rival Giant Magellan Telescope. Our take: if it lands, the Canaries would host one of the sharpest eyes on the sky for decades.

Science ministry400 M€

European Investment Bank300 M€

ICO (possible)300 M€

Jul 31 · SpaceNews

Spain commits up to €2 billion to military satellite links within IRIS²

Spain will allocate between €1.6 and 2 billion for national military communications as part of IRIS², the EU’s planned secure satellite constellation. Days later, Airbus and Thales won an order to replace one of the SpainSat satellites. Our take: secure links from orbit have moved from nice-to-have to budget line.

Source: SpaceNews

Earlier stories (2)

Jul 24 · Spaceflight Now

Wildfires forced the evacuation of NASA’s deep-space antennas near Madrid

In July, fires near Madrid emptied the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, one of only three sites worldwide that talk to NASA’s distant probes; an ESA ground station in Spain was also threatened. Both returned to service without major damage. Our take: every signal from Mars or Juice passes through a handful of dishes on the ground, and this summer showed how exposed they are.

Jul 11 · European Spaceflight

A Spanish lander named Don Quijote will ride an asteroid past Earth

ESA picked Spain’s EMXYS to build the €10 million lander, which will try to set down on asteroid Apophis in April 2029, when it passes just 32,000 km from Earth, closer than many satellites. Its three instruments will record gravity, magnetism and quakes as Earth’s pull tugs on the rock. Our take: a rare free experiment, courtesy of celestial mechanics.

2028Ramses probe launches
04/2029Apophis passes 32,000 km from Earth

France

Oct 7 · European Spaceflight

ArianeGroup’s reusable Themis rocket passes a second fuelling rehearsal

ArianeGroup and SSC Space completed a second wet dress rehearsal of Themis, Europe’s reusable rocket demonstrator, at Esrange in Sweden on 29 September; ESA announced it on 7 October. As in the first rehearsal in July, the tanks were filled with liquid nitrogen chilled to about −200 °C instead of propellant, recreating cryogenic temperatures and pressures without the risks of real fuel. The test also tried out the automated ground systems meant to find the landed vehicle, plug into it and drain leftover propellant while staff stay at a safe distance. The first hop will climb to as high as 100 metres before a vertical landing attempt, funded by the EU’s €42.8 million SALTO project, whose end date was just pushed to 31 December 2026. Our take: steady progress, but Themis still has a full methane-oxygen rehearsal and an engine firing to go before it leaves the ground.

−200 °Cliquid nitrogen in the tanks

100 mfirst hop, maximum height

Oct 5 · CNES

The CNES-founded disaster charter wins the IAF World Space Award 2026

The International Charter “Space and Major Disasters”, created in 2000 by France’s CNES and ESA, received the International Astronautical Federation’s 2026 World Space Award at the opening ceremony of the IAC in Antalya on 5 October. CNES President François Jacq and Emilie Bronner of the Charter’s executive secretariat accepted the team prize alongside the other member agencies. The Charter has been activated more than 1,052 times and has helped more than 146 countries, handing free satellite images and maps to rescue and civil-protection teams after floods, earthquakes and storms. Partners include UNOOSA, UNOSAT and Sentinel Asia. Our take: a rare prize for something that quietly works — free satellite data, delivered within hours, when a disaster strikes.

1,052+activations since 2000

146+countries helped

Source: CNES

Oct 1 · CNES

CNES tests nanocrystal infrared sensors that shrug off radiation

At CNES in Toulouse, doctoral researcher Alexandre Neyret is testing infrared detectors coated with colloidal nanocrystals, a cheaper alternative to classic sensors. In radiation tests the nanocrystal film held up far better than the readout circuit beneath it, and damage appeared only at doses well above real mission levels. Partners include the Paris Institute of Nanosciences, ISAE-SUPAERO and Thales Alenia Space. Our take: cheaper infrared eyes could open up small missions.

Source: CNES

Sep 29 · European Spaceflight

CNES wants new automated trackers for Europe’s Spaceport

France’s space agency issued a call for automated optical tracking turrets at the Guiana Space Centre, the cameras that follow rockets after liftoff. Our take: with Callisto, Vega C, Ariane 6 and new start-ups all heading to Kourou, the spaceport is preparing for far more traffic than it was built for.

Sep 25 · ESA

Sophie Adenot heads home after a record European stay

The French ESA astronaut, launched on 13 February with Crew-12, is ending a mission of almost eight months that set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a European, with three spacewalks totalling 19 h 42 min. She is expected in Cologne on 7–8 October for recovery at ESA’s astronaut centre and DLR’s :envihab. Our take: months-long stays like this are the rehearsal for how Europeans will live on future stations.

13.02launch on Crew-12
03.09200 days in space
7–8.10arrival in Cologne

Sep 24 · CNES

France builds the camera for NASA’s PRIMA telescope

CNES coordinates Europe’s share of PRIMA, the far-infrared probe NASA has picked for a 2033 launch. France’s main piece is PRIMAger, a camera cooled to about −272 °C, built with CEA and the LAM laboratory together with partners in the Netherlands and the UK. Our take: far-infrared light shows star birth hidden in dust that even JWST cannot reach, and a French camera will be the eye.

−272 °CPRIMAger working temperature

2033planned launch

Source: CNES

Sep 21 · European Spaceflight

A turbopump problem slows Ariane 6

A turbopump anomaly found in ground tests in August means only one or two more Ariane 6 launches this year instead of three or four, ESA confirmed on 21 September; ArianeGroup is checking the production line. The goal of 9 to 10 flights a year from 2027 stands. Our take: Europe’s heavy rocket works, but cadence is now its weak spot, just as customers look for alternatives to SpaceX.

3–4more launches once planned for 2026

1–2now expected

9–10a year, target from 2027

Sep 18 · ESA

Paris from orbit, photographed by Sophie Adenot

ESA published a view of the French capital taken from space by French ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, the Seine curling through the city. Our take: astronaut photos are more than postcards; they show a country its own place on the planet.

Sep 13 · European Spaceflight

French start-up Sirius Space fires its full STAR-1 engine

Sirius Space Services test-fired a complete prototype of its STAR-1 rocket engine for the first time. In the same week, fellow French start-up HyPrSpace pushed the first flight of its Baguette One rocket to 2027. Our take: France’s small-launcher scene is growing up, one engine test and one delay at a time.

Aug 27 · ESA

Ariane 6 completes Europe’s new weather satellite trio

The second Meteosat Third Generation imager, MTG-I2, launched on Ariane 6 flight VA270 from Kourou, completing Europe’s latest trio of geostationary weather satellites. Our take: the forecast on your phone starts 36,000 km up, and much of Europe’s now comes from satellites launched from French Guiana.

Source: ESERO Portugal / Ciência Viva

Portugal & Brazil

Oct 9 · ESERO Portugal / Ciência Viva

Portugal’s “space teachers” meet in Lisbon on 9–10 October

The 13th EspAciais teachers’ conference, run by ESERO Portugal (Ciência Viva and ESA), takes place on 9–10 October at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento in Lisbon under the theme “Space for Sustainable Cities”. Day one brings talks by scientists and engineers, including ESA’s James Carpenter, day two hands-on classroom activities. Registration is closed, but places may reopen. Our take: inspiring teachers is the cheapest way to multiply space careers.

Oct 7 · Mais Ribatejo

Neil deGrasse Tyson to open student rocket contest EuRoC in Portugal

American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson will be the special guest at the opening of the 7th European Rocketry Challenge (EuRoC) on 16 October at 11:00 in Constância, the regional outlet Mais Ribatejo reported on 7 October. Organised by the Portuguese Space Agency, the competition runs from 15 to 21 October and brings together about 600 students in 21 university teams from across Europe. Teams finish their rockets in Constância’s municipal sports hall, and launches begin on 17 October at the Santa Margarida military range. In June, three Portuguese teams, RED (Instituto Superior Técnico), North Space and newcomer MAST (University of Minho), were among those selected from a record 61 eligible applications. Our take: a star name for a student event is a smart way to put Portugal’s growing rocketry talent pool in the spotlight.

~600students

21university teams

15–21.10competition week

Source: Mais Ribatejo

Oct 5 · ECO

Open Cosmos, building satellites in Portugal, plans 192-satellite network

Open Cosmos, the satellite maker that counts Portugal among its four core locations, will deploy at least 192 satellites for its ConnectedCosmos low-Earth-orbit network by 2030, Portuguese business daily ECO reported on 5 October. The first launches are due later in 2026, with more than 96 satellites in orbit by the end of 2028, aimed at governments, institutions and companies that need secure, resilient connectivity. The plan follows a €300 million funding round; the company’s four factories in the UK, Greece, Spain and Portugal employ about 400 people and can turn out one satellite a day. In Portugal it has about 50 staff, integrates satellites in Coimbra and plans to invest €50 million and double its local team to around 100. Our take: Portugal has a real stake in this would-be European rival to Starlink; the question is how many of the 192 will actually leave Coimbra.

192satellites by 2030

1/dayproduction capacity

€50Mplanned investment in Portugal

Source: ECO

Oct 2 · European Spaceflight

Portugal’s Omnidea buys bankrupt Orbex and plans the PrimeNEO rocket

On 30 September Portuguese company Omnidea completed its purchase of assets of Scottish launch firm Orbex, which entered administration in February: two buildings in Forres, equipment, intellectual property and the brand. It has set aside over €10 million and will develop PrimeNEO, an evolution of Orbex’s Prime, with the Azores or Scotland as possible launch sites. Our take: Portugal suddenly has a stake in Europe’s small-launcher race.

€10 M+ringfenced by Omnidea

30.09deal completed

Source: Agência Espacial Portuguesa

Sep 30 · TELETIME

Brazil’s space agency drafts a new ten-year plan

The AEB expects to publish its National Programme of Space Activities for 2027–2036 by the end of 2026, senior analyst Mônica Oliveira said at the Latin American Satellite Congress in Rio de Janeiro on 30 September. What began as a light review of the 2022–2031 plan turned into a full new programme. Our take: a rewritten plan is a chance to fund launch and satellite projects that have waited for years – the budget lines will tell.

2021current plan approved
30.09new plan announced
2027–36period covered

Source: TELETIME

Sep 22 · Agência Espacial Portuguesa

Portugal joins Europe’s AgData partnership

Portugal has joined AgData, a European partnership aimed at putting data, including satellite observations, to work for farming. Our take: for a country of vineyards, orchards and increasingly dry summers, knowing soil moisture and crop health from orbit is not abstract science, it is next season’s harvest.

Sep 20 · Agência Espacial Portuguesa

Portugal has 25 new “Astronauts for a Day”

On 20 September 35 young people, 25 from Portugal and 10 from Estonia, flew 15 parabolas on Novespace’s Airbus A310, each giving about 20 seconds of weightlessness; 60% were girls. That brings the Portuguese total to 146 since 2022. Our take: cheap, joyful and memorable, the kind of outreach that turns into engineers ten years later.

35young flyers (25 PT + 10 EE)

15 × 20 sparabolas × weightless seconds

60%girls

Source: Agência Espacial Portuguesa

Sep 19 · Observador

Portugal will start building satellites at Alverca this autumn

According to General João Cartaxo Alves, chief of the armed forces general staff, the satellite factory at the Alverca Space Hub should open in October or November, building satellites of more than 600 kg and hiring up to 50 engineers. The Atlantic Constellation with Spain already has two radar satellites in orbit with two more due this year, and the Santa Maria launch base in the Azores gets about €15 million. Our take: building, not only buying, satellites keeps the skills at home.

600+ kgsatellites to be built

50new engineers

~€15Mfor the Santa Maria base

Source: Observador

Sep 16 · Agência Espacial Brasileira

Brazil fishes a microgravity payload out of the sea

Operation Potiguar phase 2 launched a VS-30 sounding rocket from the Barreira do Inferno launch centre, reaching 92 km on a flight of about 12 and a half minutes with four experiments, among them microorganisms in microgravity and a new lithium battery. The payload was recovered at sea by the air force, qualifying the PSM-R suborbital platform. Our take: getting experiments back after minutes of weightlessness gives Brazilian labs a cheap, home-made way to fly research.

92 kmapogee

~12,5 minflight

4experiments

Source: Agência Espacial Brasileira

Aug 3 · ECO

Five Portuguese space-exploration projects share €600,000

The Portuguese Space Agency’s PROSSE programme is funding five projects, from making oxygen out of Martian CO₂ to turning a Lisbon stairwell into a 2.5-second free-fall tower. Sixteen proposals came in, up from two funded projects in 2025. Our take: small grants, big ideas, and a stairwell drop tower is exactly the kind of hack that gets students hooked.

ARES: oxygen from Martian CO₂150 k€

Ocean2Orbit: fish molecules in microgravity150 k€

FingertipSpace: astronaut health chip100 k€

MARSEP: solar particles at Mars100 k€

TOWER: 2.5 s drop tower100 k€

Source: ECO

Earlier stories (2)

Jul 2 · Agência Espacial Portuguesa

Space added €1.2 billion to Portugal’s economy in six years

A Novaspace study for the Portuguese Space Agency found the sector contributed €1.2 billion to GDP between 2019 and 2024, about 4,500 jobs a year and €2.17 of value for every euro invested. New companies now appear at 4.8 a year, up from 1.9. Our take: still only about 0.1% of GDP, but growing from a very small base.

€1,2 mldadded to GDP, 2019–2024

2,17€ of value per € invested

4 500jobs a year

Source: Agência Espacial Portuguesa

Jan 27 2026 · European Spaceflight

Brazil’s Amazonia-1B will fly on a European Vega C

Brazil’s space research institute INPE has contracted a launch of its Amazonia-1B Earth-observation satellite aboard Vega C, the same rocket that flew two climate satellites this month. Our take: the Amazon is one of the places where watching from orbit matters most, and it is good to see Brazil’s own eyes getting a ride.

Source: AMNA / Greek City Times

Greece

Oct 8 · newmoney.gr

Open Cosmos plans to build up to one satellite a day in Greece

Open Cosmos presented plans in Athens on 8 October to mass-produce telecom satellites in Greece at a rate of up to one a day. Its Greek subsidiary, Open Cosmos Aegean, is moving into 4,000 m² premises with an initial 600 m² clean room and aims to grow from nearly 40 staff to more than 300 by 2030. The satellites are for ConnectedCosmos, a low-orbit network announced on 5 October with a core of 192 satellites, more than 96 of them in orbit by the end of 2028. The company is also building seven satellites for Greece’s national microsatellite programme: Hyperion GR-1 launched in July and the other six are ready or in final assembly. Our take: with ICEYE also planning a Greek plant, Greece is turning from satellite buyer into satellite maker, now the hard part is hitting those rates.

4,000 m²new Greek premises

192core ConnectedCosmos satellites

Source: newmoney.gr

Oct 8 · AMNA / Greek City Times

Athens’ Libre Space Foundation has eight tiny satellites working in orbit

The Athens-based non-profit Libre Space Foundation says all eight picosatellites tied to its technology on SpaceX’s Transporter-18, launched from Vandenberg on 1 October, are now operating. Four are its own SIDLOC PocketQubes, registered as Greek, which test an open standard that lets small spacecraft identify themselves and be tracked from the ground. Three were built for AMSAT Deutschland from the foundation’s open-source designs. The eighth is a 5 cm cube for students of a Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Astana, after Kazakhstan’s space agency approached the foundation. Its SatNOGS network of more than 400 ground stations in over 50 countries listens to them all. Our take: a small Greek team exporting open hardware to other countries is a quietly impressive model as low orbit gets crowded.

8picosatellites working

5 cmcube edge

Oct 4 · Business Daily

Greece bets on satellite factories: ICEYE plans a 150-a-year plant

Greece is pairing the €350 million HELLAS-SPACE 2.0 programme with its roughly €200 million national microsatellite programme, over €550 million to 2030, says Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou. Finland’s ICEYE plans a Greek plant able to build 150 satellites a year with 100+ jobs, and Open Cosmos already works from Pallini. The aim is for Greek firms to win at least half of the contracts. Our take: factories, not only funding, make a space nation.

€550 M+public space funds to 2030

150ICEYE satellites a year

Source: Business Daily

Oct 3 · Panhellenic Post

Thessaloniki’s NOESIS celebrates World Space Week, 3–10 October

The NOESIS science centre and technology museum marks World Space Week for the fifth year with the theme “Rocket Revolution”. On 9 October a primary school presents “Space Mission 301” live from the planetarium as part of the ARISS programme that links classrooms with the ISS. On 10 October there are family shows, quizzes, a science café on space traffic and planetary defence against asteroids and the premiere of a new planetarium film. Our take: a good, easy weekend outing for families in northern Greece.

3.10workshop at Aristotle Univ.
9.10ISS school link
10.10family day, new film

Source: Panhellenic Post

Sep 29 · Hellenic Space Center

HELLAS-SPACE 2.0 information day on 9 October

The Hellenic Space Center will hold an info day on 9 October for companies and researchers who want to take part in the new national space programme. Our take: the money is announced; this is the moment when Greek labs and start-ups find out how to get their share.

Source: Hellenic Space Center

Sep 27 · ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ / eMakedonia

Greece prepares the science for its first astronaut

Adrianos Golemis is due to fly to the International Space Station on the PAM-6 mission no earlier than July 2027, with Thomas Pesquet as commander. Greek scientists have proposed experiments in biomedicine, cell biology, materials, Earth observation, food technology and education, coordinated by planetary scientist Anezina Solomonidou of the Hellenic Space Center. Our take: the experiments chosen now will matter long after the flight itself.

09.09.26ESA–Vast agreement
07.2027earliest launch

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ / eMakedonia

Sep 25 · Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών

Researchers’ Night opens the National Observatory of Athens

On 25 September the observatory opened its Thiseio and Penteli sites from 17:00 for experiments, children’s workshops, talks and observing under the Athens sky, on subjects from the Sun, the Moon and black holes to earthquakes, tsunamis and climate seen from space. Our take: public nights like this are where future astronomers start – our events page lists the next ones near you.

2observatory sites open

Source: Εθνικό Αστεροσκοπείο Αθηνών

Jul 30 · Hellenic Space Center

Greece launches HELLAS-SPACE 2.0, a €350 million space programme

Funded through the Greece 2.0 recovery plan and developed with ESA, the programme pays for very-high-resolution Earth-observation satellites, thermal cameras to spot wildfires, secure satellite links, space surveillance and support for universities and start-ups. Our take: after summers of fires, satellites that see heat from orbit are among the most practical things a space budget can buy.

€350 Mnational space programme

Source: Hellenic Space Center

May 9 2026 · Hellenic Space Center

A Greek-led study picks ice-volcano targets on Ganymede for Juice

Dr Anezina Solomonidou of the Hellenic Space Center led an international team that found four depressions on Ganymede that may be ice volcanoes, where water-rich material once erupted. Juice’s MAJIS spectrometer and JANUS camera will check them after 2031. Our take: this week’s Earth flyby brought Juice a step closer to the targets Greek scientists chose.

Source: Hellenic Space Center

May 4 2026 · ESA

Thirteen European satellites on one rocket boost Greek monitoring

In May, thirteen European satellites reached orbit on a single rideshare launch, adding capabilities to Italian and Greek monitoring programmes. Our take: rideshares are how smaller space nations get into orbit affordably, and Greece is using them well.

Earlier stories (1)

Feb 13 2026 · ESA

Greece’s small satellites: from first contact to a busy 2026

ESA reported in February that the teams behind Greece’s MICE-1 and PHASMA satellites had contacted all spacecraft and were commissioning them. The national small-satellite programme has seven missions, with ERMIS, OptiSat, PeakSat and Hellenic Space Dawn planned for 2026. Our take: seven small missions teach more engineers than one big one.

7missions in the programme

4CubeSats planned for 2026

Italy

Oct 8 · ASI

Italy’s quantum-magnetometer community meets at ASI’s Matera centre

The Italian Space Agency is hosting the ACDC_Q 2026 national conference on magnetometers for space on 8 and 9 October at its “Giuseppe Colombo” Space Centre in Matera. Sixteen talks across six themes, from 14 organisations, cover diamond NV-centre sensors, SQUIDs, optically pumped magnetometers, spintronic devices and MEMS. The meeting is part of ACDC_Q, a 48-month Horizon Europe project coordinated by Belgium’s IMEC with about €5 million of EU money, which started on 1 January 2025. Its goal is to make diamond quantum sensors smaller, tougher and more sensitive, with space magnetometry among three target uses. ASI supplies the mission requirements and tunes the diamond samples by irradiating them with pulsed electron beams. Our take: quantum sensors are leaving the lab, and measuring magnetic fields in space is one of the first places they could earn their keep.

16talks in two days

€5MEU funding for ACDC_Q

Oct 6 · Formiche

Leonardo and Telespazio team up with Japan’s ispace on Moon networks

At the IAC in Antalya, Italy’s Leonardo and its joint venture Telespazio (67% Leonardo, 33% Thales) signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s ispace and its European subsidiary. The deal widens a Telespazio–ispace cooperation that began in 2025 and brings in Leonardo’s Space Division, with a focus on lunar communications, positioning, navigation and timing, and transport to lunar orbit. The first target is ESA’s Moonlight network, led industrially by Telespazio: the partners will study using ispace’s orbital transfer vehicle to deliver Moonlight satellites into lunar orbit. In a separate deal, Leonardo renewed its work with Sweden’s Unibap to fly an upgraded iX20 onboard computer in its Space Guardian Earth-observation constellation. Financial terms were not disclosed. Our take: Moonlight is Europe’s ticket to the lunar economy, and Italy wants to own both the network and the ride.

Source: Formiche

Oct 2 · ASI

Italy plans to make oxygen from Moon dust by 2029

At the Aerospace Festival in Olbia, Sardinia, ASI, ESA, parliamentarians, universities and industry met on 2 October to discuss using lunar resources: regolith, water ice, oxygen, propellant, 3D-printed building and robotics. ASI science director Mario Cosmo pointed to the Oracle experiment, planned for September 2029 to extract oxygen from lunar soil. Our take: living off the land is what turns Moon visits into a Moon economy.

2.10.2026ISRU meeting in Olbia
09.2029Oracle oxygen demo on Moon

Oct 1 · ASI

Italy completes its Eaglet II fleet: IRIDE now has 39 satellites

Eight 25 kg satellites built by OHB Italia rode SpaceX’s Transporter-18 from Vandenberg on 1 October, completing the 24-satellite Eaglet II constellation in under a year. With 15 other satellites, Italy’s IRIDE Earth-observation programme, developed by ESA with ASI support and funded by the recovery plan, now has 39 in orbit, carrying cameras and ship-tracking AIS receivers. Our take: Italy now has its own national eye on floods, fires and coastlines.

8satellites launched

24Eaglet II in orbit

39IRIDE satellites total

Sep 23 · European Spaceflight

Italy pays for a Moon home, and gets two astronauts on the surface

Italy has committed more than $5 billion to the Multi-Purpose Habitat, a 15-tonne, 6-metre pressurised module built by Thales Alenia Space for NASA’s Moon base, in exchange for two seats for Italian astronauts on future landings. The module passed its requirements review in May and targets a 2033 launch. Our take: this is the most direct path any European country has found to put its own citizens on the Moon.

$5 mld+Italian commitment

2seats for Italian astronauts

15 thabitat mass

Sep 21 · ASI

Italy confirmed at the head of the UN space committee

Ambassador Mario Cospito, ASI’s extraordinary commissioner, will chair the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space for 2026–2027, a post first proposed for ASI president Teodoro Valente before his death. Italy helped found COPUOS in 1959; it now has 110 member states. Our take: this is the room where the traffic rules for crowded orbits get written – a useful seat to hold.

1959COPUOS founded

110member states

2026–27Italian chair

Sep 16 · European Spaceflight

Avio says SpaceX’s full order book is sending it customers

On Avio’s earnings call, chief executive Giulio Ranzo said customers turned away by SpaceX, which has stopped taking some Falcon 9 bookings beyond 2028, are coming to Avio. Vega C can fly four times a year today and could reach six with more investment and ESA support. Our take: Europe’s smaller rockets win when the market leader is full – but only if they can fly often enough to take the work.

Vega C flights a year today4

possible with investment6

Sep 15 · Spaceflight Now

Vega C lifts two climate satellites, and Avio does it alone

Flight VV30 from Kourou carried ESA’s FLEX, which measures the faint glow plants give off while photosynthesising, and Copernicus Sentinel-3C for oceans and land. It was the second Vega C launch run entirely by Italy’s Avio. Our take: Europe’s small launcher is quietly finding its rhythm while the bigger Ariane 6 stumbles.

Sep 11 · European Spaceflight

Avio finishes assembling its FD1 rocket demonstrator

Avio has completed integration of FD1, a flight demonstrator that will test technology for its future rockets on a suborbital hop from Sardinia, according to environmental filings. Our take: after years of flying rockets designed for ESA, Avio is now testing hardware on its own terms.

Aug 11 · European Spaceflight

A diplomat takes temporary charge of the Italian Space Agency

After three board members resigned and the board was dissolved, career diplomat Mario Cospito was appointed extraordinary commissioner of ASI. Our take: the timing is delicate, with Italy funding a Moon habitat and flying Vega C; a steady hand at the agency matters as much as the rockets.

Earlier stories (1)

Jun 11 2026 · European Spaceflight

Luca Parmitano gets Europe’s first Artemis seat

ESA assigned Italy’s Luca Parmitano to its first Artemis crew slot, a departure from the order agreed in November 2025, citing his test-pilot experience. Our take: together with the habitat deal, Italy now holds Europe’s strongest hand for the Moon.