European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
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.
Space Exploration & Science Missions
Latest source-backed stories
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.
High activity
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is entering the final phase of launch preparations at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, following its June arrival. Teams have completed several integration and rehearsal milestones ahead of the scheduled Aug. 30 liftoff, bringing the observatory closer to operations designed to expand space-based astronomical research.
High activity
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.
NASA has selected 18 proposals for Innovative Advanced Concepts awards, funding early-stage research into unconventional spaceflight technologies. The concepts include a swarm of 10,000 tiny “femtosats” for Saturn, underscoring the agency’s effort to explore high-risk ideas that could shape future planetary missions.
Japan has revealed the spacecraft for its Martian Moons eXploration mission, scheduled to launch Oct. 19. MMX will travel to Mars’ moon Phobos, collect surface material and return the samples to Earth, providing a closer look at one of the Red Planet’s enigmatic satellites.
High activity
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.
JAXA has set an October launch target for its Martian Moons eXploration mission, a sample-return effort focused on the Mars region. The schedule establishes a near-term milestone for Japan’s planetary exploration program and a mission designed to bring material from the Martian moons back to Earth.
High activity
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.
Create a free account to see more recent Space Exploration & Science Missions stories and keep bookmarks in one place.
