Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter during the week of August 2, 2026:

Human Space Exploration

• ‘1 more step’: NASA astronauts conduct 6.5-hour spacewalk to prep ISS for solar array upgrade;
• NASA, Northrop Grumman repurpose Gateway elements for Moon Base demo missions
  Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman;
• Mars dust is toxic. How will future astronauts deal with it?;
• Future of Crew Dragon weighs on commercial spaceflight industry
  Coalition Members in the News – Axiom Space, Boeing;
• ESA astronaut completes third test of EuroSuit prototype aboard ISS;
• NASA’s Moon base will be a reality and Americans will live there within 20 years, agency’s chief says;
• The roads to the Moon;
• ‘A very busy mission’: SpaceX on track to launch 4 astronauts to the ISS on September 12;
• Red Rocks filled by space fanatics to hear from Artemis II crew
  Coalition Members in the News –  Amentum, Boeing, L3Harris Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman;
• Exclusive: NASA’s new KSC chief tackles Artemis deadlines, aging infrastructure;
• Artemis moonsuits take a dive;
• Europe wants to be a strong partner of the U.S. in the Moon race, ESA astronaut says;

Space Science

• Scientist constructs “big picture” of Mars water from rover data;
• Perseverance finds organic carbon preserved just beneath the Martian surface;
• Most detailed images ever taken of Sun’s surface revealed: “Major step forward”;
• Liquid nitrogen may have recently flowed across Pluto’s heart-shaped glacier;
• NASA mission predicts solar explosion’s arrival at Earth with stunning precision;
• NASA’s new dark-energy space telescope can also detect killer asteroids;
• Asteroid Nysa’s rare three-lobed structure challenges formation models;
• Spaceflight could change how astronauts swallow, eat and drink in subtle ways;
• A SpaceX rocket will slam into the Moon on Wednesday, and astronomers will be watching closely;
• Jupiter’s moon Europa may have signs of life in its buried ocean but can we get to them?;
• NASA’s Curiosity finds a vast sea of mysterious polygons on Mars;
• ‘We are not giving up yet’: Private mission to rescue NASA’s Swift telescope is spinning out of control, and engineers are racing to fix it;
• Laying odds on the potential for Martian water;
• A discarded SpaceX rocket is on a high-speed collision course with the Moon;

Opinion

• AI is ready to run spacecraft. Is the space industry ready for it? (op-ed);

Other News

• SpaceX rocket’s impact crater on the Moon spied by Korean lunar orbiter (photos);
• SpaceX’s Falcon 9 wasn’t the first rocket to crash into the Moon. Here’s a rundown;
• Can an Alaskan spaceport ease Pentagon’s launch bottleneck?;
• A SpaceX rocket just crashed into the Moon. Now, the race is on to get a look at the impact site;
• See the Perseid meteors on a New Moon year;
• SpaceX’s satellite ambitions squeeze out rivals reliant on its rockets;
• SpaceX wants to launch next Starship this month (and catch it, too), Elon Musk says in 1st earnings call since historic IPO;
• SpaceX rocket booster slams into Moon, expected to leave large crater;
• NASA targets students in a push for new talent;
• Byron Donalds announces `Florida’s Space Race’ plan to bring NASA headquarters to state;
• SpaceX McGregor facility central to America’s return to the Moon, NASA chief says;

Major Space-Related Activities for the Week

• NASA is hosting two virtually accessible news briefings on Monday at 12 p.m. EDT, and 2 p.m. EDT, on the Crew-13 Dragon mission launch to the ISS with two NASA, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. NASA looks to advance the launch from November to no earlier than mid-September.
• Also on Thursday, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, the current Expedition 75 ISS commander, and Anil Memon are to embark on a planned 6 1/2-hour spacewalk to complete the preparation of the ISS for the fall installation of the seventh and eighth planned solar power augmenting Roll-Out Solar Arrays.
• In Washington D.C., the U.S. House is in recess this week, with the exception of pro forma sessions, while the Senate plans to depart for its summer recess at week’s end. Each is working to come together on a budget for the 2027 fiscal year that begins October 1, or a Continuing Resolution to prevent a federal government shutdown should a 2027 spending plan not come together.
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