Human Spaceflight & Space Stations News

SpaceNews.com • Emma Gatti

ESA secures record €22bn ministerial package, but exploration programmes face funding shortfalls

ESA has secured a record €22 billion ministerial package through 2028, but member-state resistance and remaining budget gaps leave human and robotic exploration programmes — including a planned first European crewed lunar mission — exposed to timeline risk and capability shortfalls.

2025-11-27T12:22:30.681208-08:00

New York Times

Perseverance records electrical discharges — 'mini‑lightning' — linked to Martian dust devils

2025-11-26T08:08:37.661314-08:00

Reuters

NASA trims Boeing Starliner crew missions to four, converts next flight to cargo as ISS nears retirement

2025-11-24T10:27:44.947231-08:00

Space.com

China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew

2025-11-24T09:15:05.915938-08:00

Human Spaceflight & Space Stations News Timeline

Ars Technica

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Unsecured 20‑ton service platform discovered ahead of Soyuz launch An unsecured 20‑ton service platform was found at the launch complex shortly before a Soyuz crew launch, prompting immediate safety and oversight questions about Russia's crewed-launch operations and potential impacts to International Space Station access. Officials signalled increased scrutiny of launch‑site procedures.

2025-11-28T08:45:43.278733-08:00

Unsecured 20‑ton service platform discovered ahead of Soyuz launch

Space.com

NASA astronauts test Axiom's new Extravehicular Mobility Unit in neutral‑buoyancy training ahead of Artemis NASA astronauts are conducting neutral‑buoyancy training using Axiom Space's new Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) as part of validation for upcoming crewed Artemis missions. Tests focus on mobility, life‑support integration and EVA procedures to confirm the suit for lunar surface and deep‑space operations.

2025-11-28T06:10:06.585402-08:00

NASA astronauts test Axiom's new Extravehicular Mobility Unit in neutral‑buoyancy training ahead of Artemis

Soyuz MS-28 damages Baikonur crewed‑launch pad, threatens Russia's ISS launch cadence A Soyuz MS-28 launch on Nov. 27, 2025 damaged the Baikonur crewed‑launch pad; footage shows the service gantry falling into an exhaust trench. The damage to Russia's sole operational site for Soyuz and Progress missions jeopardizes upcoming ISS crew rotations and cargo launch cadence.

2025-11-27T15:47:43.154752-08:00

Soyuz MS-28 damages Baikonur crewed‑launch pad, threatens Russia's ISS launch cadence

SpaceNews.com

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ESA secures record €22bn ministerial package, but exploration programmes face funding shortfalls ESA has secured a record €22 billion ministerial package through 2028, but member-state resistance and remaining budget gaps leave human and robotic exploration programmes — including a planned first European crewed lunar mission — exposed to timeline risk and capability shortfalls.

2025-11-27T12:22:30.681208-08:00

ESA secures record €22bn ministerial package, but exploration programmes face funding shortfalls

Space.com

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Soyuz MS-28 launches from Baikonur with NASA's Chris Williams and two Russian cosmonauts for eight-month ISS mission A Soyuz MS-28 lifted off from Baikonur on Thanksgiving Day carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams — an astronomer-turned medical physicist and Harvard board-certified specialist — alongside Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (commander) and Sergei Mikayev, beginning a planned eight-month stay aboard the International Space Station.

2025-11-27T01:42:52.684380-08:00

Soyuz MS-28 launches from Baikonur with NASA's Chris Williams and two Russian cosmonauts for eight-month ISS mission

Space.com

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Soyuz MS-28 to launch NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts to ISS on Thanksgiving Soyuz MS-28 will launch one NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts from Baikonur at 4:27 a.m. ET on Nov. 27, traveling to the International Space Station on a roughly three-hour fast rendezvous. They'll join Expedition 73 for an approximately eight-month microgravity research mission.

2025-11-26T10:03:41.911330-08:00

Soyuz MS-28 to launch NASA astronaut and two Roscosmos cosmonauts to ISS on Thanksgiving

New York Times

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Perseverance records electrical discharges — 'mini‑lightning' — linked to Martian dust devils NASA's Perseverance rover recorded crackling sounds from electrical discharges, described as “mini‑lightning,” often produced by dust devils sweeping Jezero Crater. The detections show Mars' atmosphere is electrically active and have direct implications for surface chemistry, future human missions and habitability.

2025-11-26T08:08:37.661314-08:00

Perseverance records electrical discharges — 'mini‑lightning' — linked to Martian dust devils

Payload

Sustaining Life on the Moon is Harder Than it Looks Artemis demands scientists solve persistent human-health problems created by long-duration lunar operations. A coordinated research agenda — radiation shielding, life-support, EVA systems and medical countermeasures — is essential to move beyond short visits toward an enduring lunar base and protect crew health over months to years.

2025-11-26T05:28:11.335465-08:00

Sustaining Life on the Moon is Harder Than it Looks

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