Jupiter’s moon Europa and its global ocean may currently have conditions suitable for life. Scientists are studying processes on the icy surface as they prepare to explore.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — It’s easy to see the impact of space debris on our Moon, where the ancient, battered surface is covered with craters and scars. Jupiter’s icy moon Europa withstands a similar trouncing – along with a punch of super-intense radiation. As the uppermost surface of the icy moon churns, material brought to the surface is zapped by high-energy electron radiation accelerated by Jupiter.

Orders placed with aerospace suppliers for more than $30M of components

SAN FRANCISCO (Astranis PR) — Astranis announced today that it has started to build four new small geostationary communications satellites, three of which are already spoken for under signed deals with new, yet-to-be-announced customers. To kick off the manufacturing of these four satellites, Astranis has placed orders with many of its major component suppliers, committing over $30 million to start procuring long-lead hardware, confirm delivery dates, and accelerate timelines. The list of suppliers includes trusted aerospace vendors L3 Harris Technologies, RUAG Schweiz AG, Aitech Systems, Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace AS, and Moog, Inc.

Designed to improve navigation for robotic explorers and the operation of GPS satellites, the technology demonstration reports a significant milestone.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — Spacecraft that venture beyond our Moon rely on communication with ground stations on Earth to figure out where they are and where they’re going. NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock is working toward giving those far-flung explorers more autonomy when navigating. In a new paper published today in the journal Nature, the mission reports progress in their work to improve the ability of space-based atomic clocks to measure time consistently over long periods.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA PR) — As any seasoned road-tripper knows, to get the most out of an adventure, a good map helps. It’s no different for NASA’s first lunar robotic rover planned for delivery to the Moon in late 2023 to search for ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is part of the agency’s Artemis program. Without a Moon travel guide, VIPER’s mission planners are creating new high resolution, digital elevation maps of the lunar surface.

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla. (NASA PR) — Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is fully assembled on its ride to space, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, in preparation for the 2:53 p.m. Friday, July 30, launch of its second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) in collaboration with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA will hold a virtual media briefing at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, July 21, to discuss early science results from the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover and its preparations to collect the first-ever Martian samples for planned return to Earth.

• The World’s First Commercial Space Orbital Infrastructure and new comfortable home for humans in space
• Extending the boundaries of research and science activities in space for a more sustainable life on Earth
• In this occasion, Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Air Force ratify a Memorandum of Collaboration for a variety of developments and tests in microgravity

ROME (Thales Alenia Space PR) – Thales Alenia Space, Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), and Axiom Space of Houston, Texas (USA), have signed the final contract for the development of  two key pressurized elements of Axiom Space Station – the world’s first commercial space station. Scheduled for launch in 2024 and 2025 respectively, the two elements will originally be docked to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the birth of the new Axiom Station segment. The value of the contract is 110 Million Euro [US $129.9 million].

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA astronaut and former U.S. Marine Col. Doug Hurley is retiring from NASA after 21 years of service. His last day with the agency is July 16.

Continues to Strengthen Launcher’s Team with Decades of Experience at SpaceX, Virgin Orbit, U.S. Space Force and More

HAWTHORNE, Calif., July 15, 2021 (Launcher PR) – Launcher today announced that commercial space executive David Caponio has joined its leadership team as the Head of Product and Business Development. David brings two decades of both customer and provider experience in the commercial space launch sector, including at SpaceX, Virgin Orbit, and Tyvak and in the U.S. Government, as a military officer supporting launch and space development programs at the U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Air Force. 

LUXEMBOURG (Luxembourg Space Agency PR) — CNES, the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), the European Space Resources Innovation Centre (ESRIC) and Air Liquide signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) confirming their commitment to work together on developing research and technology (R&T) activities. In the months ahead, the four partners will be pursuing their discussions on research projects encompassing space exploration and in situ resource utilization (ISRU).

A first CNES-LSA workshop in September 2020 identified joint initiatives aiming in particular to address the challenges and opportunities arising out of developments in space exploration. At the same time, LSA, ESRIC and Air Liquide, drawing on a 50-year heritage of handling gases in space, engaged discussions with a view to collaborating on production and use of gases produced from in situ space resources.

Space Foundation Releases ‘The Space Report 2021 Q2’ Detailing Growth of 4.4% Over 2019 Revised Total — 55% Higher Than a Decade Ago

• Commercial space grew 6.6% in 2020, representing nearly 80% of space economy
• US, China and ESA remain top three investors in global space economy
• US military space spending increased 6.1% in 2020, reaching new height of $26.6B

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 15, 2021 — Space Foundation, a nonprofit advocate organization founded in 1983 for the global space ecosystem, today released “The Space Report 2021 Q2,” which examines global space economy growth and trends in 2020, the continuing growth of commercial space activity, notable shifts in the global space economy, and U.S. military space spending in 2020.

BALTIMORE (NASA PR) — NASA has successfully switched to backup hardware on the Hubble Space Telescope, including powering on the backup payload computer, on July 15. The switch was performed to compensate for a problem with the original payload computer that occurred on June 13 when the computer halted, suspending science data collection. The switch included bringing online the backup Power Control Unit (PCU) and the backup Command Unit/Science Data […]