New York Times
• Kenneth Chang
NASA engineers are reworking the power systems aboard the nearly 50-year-old Voyager spacecraft to conserve energy and keep both probes operating in interstellar space. The changes could extend the mission into the early 2030s, preserving an unprecedented source of long-duration data beyond the solar system.
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NASA engineers are reworking the power systems aboard the nearly 50-year-old Voyager spacecraft to conserve energy and keep both probes operating in interstellar space. The changes could extend the mission into the early 2030s, preserving an unprecedented source of long-duration data beyond the solar system.
High activity
The week of Aug. 17-23 will feature three SpaceX Starlink launches alongside China’s second test flight of the partially reusable ZhuQue-3 launcher and the robotic Chang’e 7 lunar mission. The schedule marks China’s return to launch activity after the previous week’s Chang Zheng 7A failure.
NASA is testing technologies aimed at reducing dependence on Earth-based infrastructure and improving mobility beyond Earth. The agency demonstrated GPS-free optical navigation on its Starling CubeSat swarm, evaluated wheel designs for lunar bases, and developed a fabric-based ground-penetrating-radar antenna for SkyFall Mars helicopters.
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage struck the lunar surface earlier this month at roughly 8,700 kilometers per hour. While the impact was harmless, the event underscores the growing challenge of tracking and managing rocket hardware and other objects beyond Earth orbit.
An early-stage NASA grant is supporting the concept of spherical “Aerobots” designed to navigate Titan’s caves, offering a potential approach to exploring environments inaccessible to conventional rovers. The proposed demonstration mission would build on the technology-validation model established by Mars’ Ingenuity helicopter.
SpaceMD will use Starfall for a space-based pharmaceutical manufacturing mission, positioning low Earth orbit as a potential production environment for treatments targeting diseases including cancer and Alzheimer’s. The effort underscores the expanding commercial-space sector’s interest in translating orbital manufacturing into medical applications.
Speaking to more than 8,000 people at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Aug. 3, 2026, the Artemis II crew thanked NASA and its contractors. The mission’s pilot highlighted the responsibility of manually flying Orion, saying he remained “blown away” by the trust placed in him.
A new chronology, detailed data on the moon’s far side and a homegrown cartographic standard point to China’s expanding ambitions in lunar science and space mapping. The effort goes beyond technological showcase, signaling an attempt to establish influence over how celestial bodies are documented and understood.
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