Space Exploration & Science Missions News

New York Times • Richard Goldstein

Wally Funk, last ‘Mercury 13’ and oldest woman to fly to space, dies at 87

Wally Funk, the trailblazing aviator and final living member of NASA’s original “Mercury 13” astronaut trainee class, died at 87 in Texas. She flew into space at 82 after decades of waiting, later recognized as the oldest woman in space, following a Blue Origin invitation.

20 Sources

2026-07-09T09:59:25.062127-07:00

Space.com

Euclid telescope finds the oldest known quasar—black hole-powered beacon from the early universe

1 Source

2026-07-09T14:14:03.753069-07:00

SpaceNews.com

MDA Space to acquire 70% of French EO/geo-intelligence firm CLS in €567M deal, vertically integrating radar satellite data with

6 Sources

2026-07-09T04:29:00.090902-07:00

Space.com

Hidden orbital threats surface: new debris scans reveal dozens of previously undetected fragments near critical satellite orbits

6 Sources

2026-07-09T05:14:13.339467-07:00

Space Exploration & Science Missions News Timeline

Space.com

1 source

Euclid telescope finds the oldest known quasar—black hole-powered beacon from the early universe Using the ESA’s Euclid space telescope, astronomers identified a large population of black hole–powered quasars in the early universe, including the most ancient and most distant quasar observed to date. The object’s brightness corresponds to energy output described as a “trillion suns.”

2026-07-09T14:14:03.753069-07:00

Euclid telescope finds the oldest known quasar—black hole-powered beacon from the early universe

New York Times

20 sources

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Wally Funk, last ‘Mercury 13’ and oldest woman to fly to space, dies at 87 Wally Funk, the trailblazing aviator and final living member of NASA’s original “Mercury 13” astronaut trainee class, died at 87 in Texas. She flew into space at 82 after decades of waiting, later recognized as the oldest woman in space, following a Blue Origin invitation.

2026-07-09T09:59:25.062127-07:00

Wally Funk, last ‘Mercury 13’ and oldest woman to fly to space, dies at 87

Payload

2 sources

Auxilium Biotechnologies demonstrates scalable bioprinting of multiple organ tissues in orbit via ISS tech demo Auxilium Biotechnologies said it has created multiple types of organ tissues aboard the International Space Station, a milestone toward scalable in-orbit bioprinting. The company positioned the results as enabling future bioprinting use cases in space, building toward broader orbital manufacturing and medical applications.

2026-07-09T05:14:37.806766-07:00

Auxilium Biotechnologies demonstrates scalable bioprinting of multiple organ tissues in orbit via ISS tech demo

Space.com

None source

China announces plan to build early-warning system for dangerous asteroids

2026-07-09T05:14:13.339467-07:00

China announces plan to build

Space.com

6 sources

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Hidden orbital threats surface: new debris scans reveal dozens of previously undetected fragments near critical satellite orbits New observation techniques are uncovering small, previously unseen space-debris fragments—dozens of them—raising concerns about a “potential minefield” near valuable satellite regions, including objects as small as ~5 cm. Separate work outlines ways to detect hidden nuclear-weapon material in orbit, and reporting also highlights China’s Tianwen-2 probe imaging an Earth ‘quasi-moon’.

2026-07-09T05:14:13.339467-07:00

Hidden orbital threats surface: new debris scans reveal dozens of previously undetected fragments near critical satellite orbits

SpaceNews.com

6 sources

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MDA Space to acquire 70% of French EO/geo-intelligence firm CLS in €567M deal, vertically integrating radar satellite data with MDA Space will purchase a 70% majority stake in French data analytics and geo-information company Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) from CNES, in a €567 million transaction (about $647 million). MDA also plans to raise US$819 million via an upsized bought deal to fund the acquisition, positioning the combined company as a top global space-based geointelligence provider.

2026-07-09T04:29:00.090902-07:00

MDA Space to acquire 70% of French EO/geo-intelligence firm CLS in €567M deal, vertically integrating radar satellite data with

Universe Today

2 sources

Spaceflight stress may drive “accelerated aging” in the liver—UCF study links deep-space conditions to aging-like molecular chan Researchers at the University of Central Florida report that the combined stresses of spaceflight—radiation and weightlessness—can produce liver changes that resemble accelerated aging. The study also found matching genetic “fingerprints” in real astronaut blood samples, suggesting deep-space biology leaves consistent, measurable signatures.

2026-07-08T22:53:27.928231-07:00

Spaceflight stress may drive “accelerated aging” in the liver—UCF study links deep-space conditions to aging-like molecular chan

Bloomberg

6 sources

ispace charts a new “Lunar Access Integrator” role with Starship-based payload transportation ispace says it will launch a new lunar transportation and integration service aboard SpaceX’s Starship, repositioning as a “Lunar Access Integrator” by using a Mobile Cargo System to combine multiple customer payloads. The company tied the plan to Starship capacity and described it as an addition to its existing lunar logistics services using ULTRA landing modules.

2026-07-08T21:16:51.845441-07:00

ispace charts a new “Lunar Access Integrator” role with Starship-based payload transportation

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