Space Exploration & Science Missions News

SpaceNews.com • Jeff Foust

Safety panel urges NASA to reassess Artemis lunar-landing architecture and review Starliner response

NASA’s safety advisers recommend the agency reconsider its Artemis lunar-landing architecture and formally review how it handled the Starliner incident. The panel said both issues raise programmatic and crew-safety questions that could affect near-term Artemis schedules and crewed spaceflight operations.

2025-12-19T16:03:57.784172-08:00

Space Intel Report

ESA to decide in February how to plug 20% exploration funding shortfall; 13.3% staff rise set for 2026

2025-12-19T08:38:04.030042-08:00

NASA

Jared Isaacman sworn in as NASA's 15th administrator; vows to accelerate lunar missions and expand public–private partnerships

2025-12-18T10:11:06.248552-08:00

nasawatch.com

Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator after renomination

2025-12-17T12:30:15.363024-08:00

Space Exploration & Science Missions News Timeline

SpaceNews.com

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Safety panel urges NASA to reassess Artemis lunar-landing architecture and review Starliner response NASA’s safety advisers recommend the agency reconsider its Artemis lunar-landing architecture and formally review how it handled the Starliner incident. The panel said both issues raise programmatic and crew-safety questions that could affect near-term Artemis schedules and crewed spaceflight operations.

2025-12-19T16:03:57.784172-08:00

Safety panel urges NASA to reassess Artemis lunar-landing architecture and review Starliner response

NASA

NASA unveils 2025 astronaut class; trains in Neutral Buoyancy Lab for Artemis South Pole moonwalks NASA introduced its 2025 astronaut class and is evaluating lunar surface training at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab to rehearse tasks for Artemis South Pole moonwalks. The sessions aim to simulate extravehicular activities and inform procedures and crew readiness for upcoming Artemis missions.

2025-12-19T14:06:58.945587-08:00

NASA unveils 2025 astronaut class; trains in Neutral Buoyancy Lab for Artemis South Pole moonwalks

USA Today

2025 spaceflight in photos: Blue Origin, SpaceX, two lunar landings and the Starliner return A year of milestones — from two uncrewed lunar landings and the high‑profile return of Boeing's 'stuck' Starliner crew to major operational pushes by SpaceX and Blue Origin — 2025 saw a rapid increase in launch cadence, lunar activity and commercial space capability demonstrations.

2025-12-19T10:40:35.838105-08:00

2025 spaceflight in photos: Blue Origin, SpaceX, two lunar landings and the Starliner return

Space Intel Report

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ESA to decide in February how to plug 20% exploration funding shortfall; 13.3% staff rise set for 2026 The European Space Agency will review options in February to address a roughly 20% shortfall in its exploration programme budget. Its December Council meeting also approved a 13.3% staff increase for 2026, highlighting pressure on resources amid tight launch and programme schedules.

2025-12-19T08:38:04.030042-08:00

ESA to decide in February how to plug 20% exploration funding shortfall; 13.3% staff rise set for 2026

Space.com

JWST observes galaxy transform, revealing a heavily obscured supermassive black hole JWST has imaged a galaxy nicknamed Virgil that shows two distinct faces: one side is a young, star-forming galaxy while the other hosts a heavily obscured, energetically active supermassive black hole. The observations reveal a rapid transformation linking intense star formation and buried AGN activity in one system.

2025-12-19T08:20:29.034024-08:00

JWST observes galaxy transform, revealing a heavily obscured supermassive black hole

Universe Today

Parker Solar Probe spots massive magnetic 'tadpoles' reconnecting on the Sun During its closest-ever pass, NASA's Parker Solar Probe used Wide-Field imagers to record massive magnetic 'tadpoles' — tens of thousands of kilometers across — reconnecting back to the Sun's surface, a phenomenon described in a new Astrophysical Journal Letters paper led by Angelos Vourlidas (Johns Hopkins APL).

2025-12-19T04:35:19.663984-08:00

Parker Solar Probe spots massive magnetic 'tadpoles' reconnecting on the Sun

New York Times

JWST Finds Extremely Distorted 'Lemon‑Shaped' Exoplanet Orbiting a Rapidly Spinning Star NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected an unusually distorted, 'lemon‑shaped' exoplanet orbiting a rapidly spinning star. The extreme shape suggests strong tidal and rotational forces or a previously unseen physical process, representing a potentially new class of planetary phenomena.

2025-12-18T18:49:10.456879-08:00

JWST Finds Extremely Distorted 'Lemon‑Shaped' Exoplanet Orbiting a Rapidly Spinning Star

Bloomberg

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NASA chief: whichever company builds a moon lander fastest — SpaceX or Blue Origin — will carry astronauts NASA's new administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency will select whichever company — SpaceX, Blue Origin or another contractor — that completes a crewed lunar lander first to return humans to the lunar surface, prioritizing speed over previous awards as Artemis seeks the first crewed landing in more than 50 years.

2025-12-18T14:29:38.648297-08:00

NASA chief: whichever company builds a moon lander fastest — SpaceX or Blue Origin — will carry astronauts

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