Space.com
• Monisha Ravisetti
NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is expected to directly image exoplanets, while a next-generation observatory in early development could analyze reflected light from their surfaces. Detecting signatures such as ocean glint and rainbows would provide potentially important evidence in the search for habitable worlds and life beyond Earth.
Space Exploration & Science Missions
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NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is expected to directly image exoplanets, while a next-generation observatory in early development could analyze reflected light from their surfaces. Detecting signatures such as ocean glint and rainbows would provide potentially important evidence in the search for habitable worlds and life beyond Earth.
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NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover are stepping away from spaceflight and entering NASA’s emeritus program after leading the Artemis II mission. The crew, which includes Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, recently received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and visited NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
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Besxar has flown and tested hardware designed to produce semiconductor precursors in the vacuum of space, marking the startup’s first demonstration above the Kármán line. The mission, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9, is an initial step toward developing an orbital semiconductor-manufacturing capability.
After an eight-year journey to the innermost planet, the BepiColombo spacecraft has separated from its propulsion stage and entered the final phase of its mission. The European-Japanese probe will now prepare for orbital insertion at Mercury, a critical milestone in its long-delayed arrival sequence.
China is progressing development of the Tianwen-3 Mars sample-return mission, targeting dual Long March 5 launches in 2028 and the return of Martian dirt and rock to Earth in 2031. Sampling hardware and both spacecraft are reportedly under construction ahead of the ambitious campaign.
JAXA says Hayabusa2 achieved the first successful laser-ranging experiment conducted during an asteroid flyby on July 5, 2026. The milestone demonstrates the spacecraft’s ability to use laser measurements while passing an asteroid, extending the mission’s scientific and operational capabilities.
The European Space Agency has opened a call to establish a pilot plant producing European-manufactured americium-241 radioisotope heater units. The devices convert radioactive decay into heat, enabling spacecraft components to remain operational in cold environments during future exploration missions.
China has postponed the Chang’e-7 robotic mission, which is intended to explore the lunar south pole and search for water ice. The delay underscores the technical and operational challenges of executing increasingly ambitious lunar science and exploration missions.
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