Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of April 7th, 2025:

Human Space Exploration

• Vast signs three more payload partners for Haven-1
• A ‘little pillow fort’: Making plans to protect the Artemis II crew
  Coalition Member in the News – Lockheed Martin
• The continued momentum of Artemis
• Vast signs three more payload partners for Haven-1
• China and Pakistan agree to fly 1st foreign astronaut to Chinese space station;
• Isaacman insists NASA can pursue Moon and Mars goals simultaneously;
• Bangladesh becomes 54th nation to join NASA’s Artemis Accords for ‘peaceful exploration of deep space’;
• Rocket carrying NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, 2 Russian cosmonauts docks with space station;
• Cruz: Isaacman commits to Moon, then Mars
  Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;
• Peggy Whitson on her space legacy and commanding a new mission for Axiom
  Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;
• Fram2 astronaut mission’s West Coast splashdown opens new era for SpaceX;
• NASA seeks proposals for two private astronaut missions to ISS
  Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;

Space Science

• Scientists source solar emissions with largest-ever concentration of rare helium isotope;
• NASA’s Juno probe at Jupiter hits ‘safe mode’ glitch, but bounces back just fine;
• China to 3-D print bricks on the Moon using lunar dirt in 2028 to pave way for future base (video);
• A new comet discovered in spacecraft images is bright enough to make you get out of bed before dawn;
• There could be life on Titan, but not very much;
• China focus: China unveils new radio telescope in Antarctica;
• New comet discovery;
• Potential NASA Earth science cuts highlight budget uncertainty;
• ESA releases first set of Euclid images and data;
• Here’s how we could quickly raise temperatures on Mars;

Other News

• NASA’s Deep Space Network is getting a new dish to help distant spacecraft phone home;
• Space Command move to Huntsville will be announced very soon, congressman says: Contractors ‘ready to turn dirt’;
• Poor weather forces a scrub of the Kuiper 1 launch on a ULA Atlas 5
  Coalition Members in the News – L3Harris, Northrop Grumman;
• Space leaders emphasize collaboration amid geopolitical challenges;
• Gayle King, Katy Perry among crew of all women launching to space next week;
• Space nuclear power poised for breakthroughs if NASA and DoD stay committed
  Coalition Members in the News – Aerojet Rocketdyne, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin;
• NASA may consolidate major facilities due to Trump cuts;
• South Korea is converting an abandoned coal mine into a Moon exploration testing ground;
• Lunar lander operators cite growing demand beyond NASA;
• Researcher proposes first-time model that replaces dark energy and dark matter in explaining nature of the universe;
• How rare are inhabited worlds in the universe? The ‘LIFE’ space telescope fleet could find out;
• China’s megaconstellation launches could litter orbit for more than a century, analysts warn;
• Satellite jamming is a real and growing threat. How can we protect our space infrastructure?;
• Honda sets up dedicated business in U.S. to tap into space boom;
• SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin win $13.7 billion in U.S. military launch contracts through 2029
  Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, Lockheed Martin;
• Space companies swept up in far-reaching trade war
  Coalition Members in the News – Boeing, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin;

Major Space Related Activities for the Week of Feb 10th:

• The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Technology Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing on President Trump’s nominee to serve as NASA’s administrator, entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman, for Wednesday at 10 a.m. EDT. The hearing is to be webcast on the committee’s website as well as by NASA over NASA+ (plus.nasa.gov)
• The latest crew exchange aboard the ISS is to enter its final phase with the Tuesday 1:47 a.m. EDT launch of NASA astronaut Jonny Kim alongside cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Aleksey Zubritsky aboard the Soyuz MS-27 from Kazakhstan. They are scheduled to dock with the ISS at 5:03 a.m. EST to begin a planned eight-month stay.
• The 40th Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs gets underway Monday night and wraps up on Thursday.
• The Strategic Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee will hold its annual Strategic Forces Posture Hearing on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
• Saturday is “Yuri’s Night,” the annual recognition of the first human space flight. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made a single orbit of Earth on April 12, 1961 to earn the distinction.

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