SpaceWatch Global
• Joshua Faleti
China says it has completed an Earth–Moon laser communications demonstration, verifying two-way, high-speed optical links across more than 400,000 km. The milestone highlights progress in lunar communications technology as China expands its ambitions for sustained activity and infrastructure around the Moon.
Space Exploration & Science Missions
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China says it has completed an Earth–Moon laser communications demonstration, verifying two-way, high-speed optical links across more than 400,000 km. The milestone highlights progress in lunar communications technology as China expands its ambitions for sustained activity and infrastructure around the Moon.
China has pushed the launch of its Chang’e 7 lunar mission into 2027, citing the need to proceed “prudently and reliably” and ensure “absolute success.” The lack of a more specific explanation adds uncertainty to the timing of China’s broader lunar ambitions and its competition with the United States.
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NASA and its contractors are increasing activity ahead of next year’s Artemis III mission, with continued Solid Rocket Booster stacking and RS-25 engine installation on the SLS Core Stage 3. The agency says four SLS vehicles are now in production, signaling a broader production ramp-up for Artemis missions.
High activity
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday on its mission to Lagrange Point 2, beginning a commissioning period months ahead of schedule. The Hubble-class observatory will deliver wide-field, high-resolution views to investigate dark energy and dark matter while searching for Earthlike planets around other stars.
President Trump’s decision to dial into a NASA news conference puts added visibility on an agency whose science programs need a boost, with only one more major mission reportedly upcoming. The appearance signals heightened political attention as NASA’s near-term mission slate and broader science priorities come under scrutiny.
NASA and AeroVironment are moving forward with development of a helicopter fleet intended for deployment to Mars at the end of 2028. The SkyFall effort would extend rotorcraft operations beyond Ingenuity, positioning aerial mobility as a potential tool for future planetary exploration.
NASA and Katalyst Space will attempt rendezvous and proximity operations between Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft and NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, following an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude-control issue. The maneuver is intended to demonstrate capabilities that could support future on-orbit servicing and space exploration missions.
High activity
President Donald Trump presented NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor at Johnson Space Center. The award recognizes the crew’s successful Artemis II mission, including its crewed flight around the moon earlier this year.
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