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• Jeff Foust
NASA and Advanced Space are developing a pair of small satellites as a follow-on to the CAPSTONE CubeSat mission. The spacecraft will test rendezvous and proximity operations around the moon, advancing capabilities needed for future lunar missions and more complex cislunar activity.
European Spaceflight
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NASA will omit cubesat secondary payloads from Artemis 3 after carrying small satellites on the first two Space Launch System missions. The change reduces the mission’s rideshare activity and underscores the evolving payload priorities for the next Artemis flight to the Moon.
NASA and Advanced Space are developing a pair of small satellites as a follow-on to the CAPSTONE CubeSat mission. The spacecraft will test rendezvous and proximity operations around the moon, advancing capabilities needed for future lunar missions and more complex cislunar activity.
High activity
ESA is planning modifications to Ariane 6 to support future Argonaut lunar missions carrying radioisotope power systems. The adaptations would enable the launcher to accommodate missions with nuclear power sources, linking Europe’s heavy-lift launch capability to longer-duration lunar exploration objectives.
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China has delayed the Chang’e-7 robotic mission, which is designed to explore the lunar south pole and search for water ice. The postponement came hours before the planned launch from Hainan, with reports citing stormy weather and a safety and reliability assessment; no new target date was announced.
Eight early-stage companies have joined a national accelerator pairing International Space Station access with private investment, while NASA highlights next-generation commercial cargo landers intended to support a sustained human presence on the Moon. Together, the efforts connect near-term microgravity commercialization with longer-term lunar infrastructure development.
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President Donald Trump will present the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen during an Aug. 28 ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The crew is the first to fly around the moon in more than 50 years.
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China is preparing to launch Chang’e-7 late Sunday on a complex, multi-spacecraft mission to study the lunar south pole and land nearby. The mission will search for evidence of water ice, a resource of significant interest in future lunar exploration and surface operations.
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Firefly Aerospace will fly a Zeno Power radioisotope heating unit aboard an upcoming Blue Ghost lunar lander mission, potentially as early as 2028. The NASA-supported demonstration is designed to keep lander components operational through the lunar night, when extreme cold threatens spacecraft survival.
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