Universe Today
• Matthew Williams
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.
Universe Today
Space Exploration & Science Missions
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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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NASA teams at Kennedy Space Center have stacked another pair of Artemis III Space Launch System solid-rocket-booster segments, while continuing Core Stage-3 engine work and early Artemis IV processing. Orion test results also confirmed a trajectory correction, providing additional progress across the Artemis hardware pipeline.
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MTG-I2 has passed its initial post-launch milestones, completing Europe’s Meteosat Third Generation constellation and enabling faster, higher-resolution weather monitoring. Separately, India’s GSLV Mark II deployed the EOS-05 Earth-imaging satellite, which has completed two apogee-raising maneuvers on its way to geostationary orbit.
NASA has added a new antenna to its Deep Space Network in the California desert, increasing communications capacity as a growing number of deep-space missions place greater demands on the agency’s ground infrastructure. The expansion is intended to support more reliable links with spacecraft operating far beyond Earth.
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German launch provider Isar Aerospace successfully sent its Spectrum small-satellite rocket into orbit on Sept. 5, following months of delays and aborted attempts. The mission marks the first time a privately developed rocket has reached orbit from European soil, strengthening Europe’s emerging commercial launch sector.
China is narrowing candidate landing sites for Tianwen-3, its Mars sample-return mission, and plans to select a final location before the end of 2026. Hardware development is advancing as the mission targets samples that could help determine whether Mars once hosted—or still preserves—evidence of life.
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