Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of June 30, 2025:

Human Space Exploration

• Canadian astronauts train to explore the Moon’s surface;
• New geometry discovery could stop lunar landers from falling over;
• How to make building blocks for a lunar habitat;
• In situ resource utilization and the importance of lunar ice for Artemis III;
• China’s Shenzhou-20 astronauts complete second spacewalk to enhance Tiangong space station;

Space Science

• Was Mars doomed to be a desert? Study proposes new explanation;
• Galaxies caught in the act of forming just one billion years after the Big Bang;
• Astronomers discover a galaxy frozen in time for billions of years: ‘Fossil galaxies are like the dinosaurs of the universe’;
• NASA budget cuts threaten Europe’s already troubled flagship Mars rover;
• The oceans on Enceladus are highly alkaline;

Opinion

• This is not the time to cut space-enabled medical research
  In an op-ed, LamdaVision president and CEO Nicole Wagner, a molecular and cell biologist, warns that significant White House proposed cuts in NASA’s budget for 2026 will jeopardize ongoing space research to develop treatments for ailments that include blindness, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease. “The cuts to the International Space Station (ISS), forecasted to be $508 million, halt space research and development momentum, discourage investors, impede growth of the space manufacturing economy and supply chains, threaten the loss of specialized space talent and expertise and jeopardize the United States’ leadership position in space-based life science research,” Wagner cautions.

Other News

• China’s lunar 3-D printing breakthrough paves way for Moon “houses” built from soil sourced on-site;
• U.S. set new record with 21 commercial launches in June, FAA says;
• Space Force eyes maneuverable satellites and cloud-based control software to outpace threats in orbit;
• Chinese spacecraft begin rendezvous and proximity operations in geostationary orbit;
• Netflix teams up with NASA to boost its live TV offering;
• NASA looking at organizational change amid workforce and budget cutbacks;
• DARPA’s DRACO nuclear propulsion project ROARS no more
  Coalition Member in the News – Lockheed Martin;
• Rare daytime fireball bright enough to be seen from orbit may have punched a hole in a house in Georgia;

Major Events This Week:

• • Axiom Space’s 4th private astronaut mission to the ISS continues to unfold as planned.
  • Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, is preparing for the launch and docking of a Progress resupply mission to the ISS orbital lab on Thursday and Saturday.
  • Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. the Senate and House are working to come together on a reconciliation appropriation measure for President Trump’s signature by July 4, which is Friday, a federal holiday.

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