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SpaceNews.com • Jeff Foust

NASA: MAVEN recovery 'very unlikely' after month-long loss of contact

NASA says it's 'very unlikely' to recover the MAVEN Mars orbiter after more than a month of silence since December 2025, jeopardizing ongoing studies of Mars' upper atmosphere and its role as a relay for surface missions. The loss compounds strain on Mars science amid Mars Sample Return funding uncertainty.

2026-01-14T04:46:58.619718-08:00

Universe Today

Scientists pinpoint Sun’s gamma‑ray source: supercharged atmospheric particles

2026-01-15T03:06:28.950263-08:00

Space.com

JWST's 'little red dots' may be black holes, not ultra‑dense dwarf galaxies

2026-01-14T14:13:47.705997-08:00

SpaceNews.com

ESA advances Comet Interceptor launch after delay to another mission

2026-01-14T10:36:53.178108-08:00

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Universe Today

Scientists pinpoint Sun’s gamma‑ray source: supercharged atmospheric particles Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology traced intense gamma‑ray bursts from solar flares to a previously unknown population of particles in the Sun’s atmosphere, accelerated to millions of electron volts. The finding resolves a decades‑old mystery about the origin and mechanism of these high‑energy emissions.

2026-01-15T03:06:28.950263-08:00

Scientists pinpoint Sun’s gamma‑ray source: supercharged atmospheric particles

Space.com

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JWST's 'little red dots' may be black holes, not ultra‑dense dwarf galaxies James Webb has identified compact red sources whose inferred stellar mass would make them the densest galaxies known; new analysis suggests these 'little red dots' could instead be accreting black holes or compact AGN, forcing a reassessment of their nature and JWST follow‑ups.

2026-01-14T14:13:47.705997-08:00

JWST's 'little red dots' may be black holes, not ultra‑dense dwarf galaxies

Space.com

JWST "little red dots" identified as nascent black holes shrouded in gaseous cocoons Researchers analysing James Webb Space Telescope images have identified the ubiquitous 'little red dots' as nascent black holes embedded in dusty, gaseous cocoons. Based on emission lines and surrounding gas morphology across multiple JWST deep fields, the result implies an unrecognized population of early black holes near the cosmic dawn.

2026-01-14T14:13:47.705997-08:00

JWST "little red dots" identified as nascent black holes shrouded in gaseous cocoons

SpaceNews.com

ESA advances Comet Interceptor launch after delay to another mission A delay to another European Space Agency mission has created an opening that allows Comet Interceptor to launch sooner than previously scheduled and under a more favourable profile. The change gives ESA an opportunity to enhance the spacecraft's performance and scientific return by exploiting the newly available launch slot.

2026-01-14T10:36:53.178108-08:00

ESA advances Comet Interceptor launch after delay to another mission

Universe Today

NASA demolishes Marshall's historic Dynamic Test Stand and T‑Tower On Jan. 10 NASA demolished two National Historic Landmark test structures at Marshall Space Flight Center — the Dynamic Test Stand and the T‑tower — facilities that enabled Saturn V development and Space Shuttle testing. The removals clear the site for modernized infrastructure to support next‑generation space exploration.

2026-01-14T09:36:36.826236-08:00

NASA demolishes Marshall's historic Dynamic Test Stand and T‑Tower

Bloomberg

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Congress rebuffs Trump, preserves NASA science funding Congress has rejected President Trump’s proposed cuts to NASA’s science budget, preserving funding for key Earth and space‑science missions. The decision brought relief across the space community, averting immediate program cancellations and stabilising near‑term research and satellite schedules.

2026-01-14T07:51:12.860835-08:00

Congress rebuffs Trump, preserves NASA science funding

Universe Today

Study: Lunar infrastructure risks contaminating and degrading ancient ice deposits A new JGR Planets paper by Francisca Paiva and ESA planetary protection officer Silvio Sinibaldi warns that constructing lunar exploration infrastructure risks contaminating and physically degrading ancient polar ice deposits. The authors say the threat to scientific value and site "pristineness" is greater than previously understood.

2026-01-14T07:33:17.259117-08:00

Study: Lunar infrastructure risks contaminating and degrading ancient ice deposits

SpaceNews.com

NASA: MAVEN recovery 'very unlikely' after month-long loss of contact NASA says it's 'very unlikely' to recover the MAVEN Mars orbiter after more than a month of silence since December 2025, jeopardizing ongoing studies of Mars' upper atmosphere and its role as a relay for surface missions. The loss compounds strain on Mars science amid Mars Sample Return funding uncertainty.

2026-01-14T04:46:58.619718-08:00

NASA: MAVEN recovery 'very unlikely' after month-long loss of contact

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Space Exploration & Science Missions News

NASA: MAVEN recovery 'very unlikely' after month-long loss of contact

Scientists pinpoint Sun’s gamma‑ray source: supercharged atmospheric particles

JWST's 'little red dots' may be black holes, not ultra‑dense dwarf galaxies

ESA advances Comet Interceptor launch after delay to another mission

News Timeline