Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of September 8, 2025:

Human Space Exploration

• Committee approves FY26 Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies appropriations act;
• NASA announces CHAPEA crew for year-long Mars mission simulation;
• The race back to the Moon: What if China lands its astronauts first?
  Coalition for Deep Space Exploration president and CEO Allen Cutler in the News;
• NASA releases details on revised next phase of commercial space station development;
• Space Force’s X-37B space plane is testing ‘Zylon’ material to help crew and cargo land on Mars
• Ten flights in, the Starship Program has had successes and failures;

Space Science

• Scientists find evidence of flowing water on Ryugu’s ancient parent asteroid. ‘It was a genuine surprise!’;
• Scientists find quasi-moon orbiting the Earth for the last 60 years and it’s not the first one;
• One wrong hit could send an asteroid on a collision course with Earth;
• Mars samples must be returned to Earth to prove if life existed there;
• A giant burst of energy in need of an explanation;
• New AI tool predicts vision loss risk in astronauts before launch;
• NASA to reveal new Perseverance Mars rover discovery on September 10: How to watch live;
• 1st known interstellar visitor Oumuamua is an ‘exo-Pluto’ a completely new class of object, scientists say;
• Life on Earth probably got some help from space;
• 50 years ago, NASA sent two spacecraft to search for life on Mars. The missions’ findings are still discussed today;
• China unveils asteroid defense mission plan;
• Mars has a solid core, resolving a longstanding planetary mystery, according to new study;

Other News

• Musk confident Starship will start launching 100 tons to orbit next year;
• Boeing turns to 3-D printing to speed production of satellite solar arrays
  Coalition Member in the News – Boeing;
• Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is approaching Earth will it become visible to the naked eye?
• Is space worth the cost? Accounting experts say its value can’t be found in spreadsheets;
• Houston company awarded $2.5B NASA contract to support astronaut health and space missions;

Major Events This Week:

• • The U.S. House Appropriations Committee meets Wednesday at 10 a.m., EDT, to mark up an appropriations bill that addresses NASA’s White House proposed $18.8 billion for the 2026 fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The House has so far opposed what would be an $8.8 billion cut from NASA’s 2025 budget and is moving forward with a $24.8 billion spending measure. The committee’s proceedings will be webcast.
  • The American Astronautical Society’s annual Glenn Space Technology Symposium meets Monday through Wednesday at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, which is home to NASA’s Glenn Research Center. A virtual option is available.
  • SpaceX’s Bill Gerstenmaier, the company’s VP for build and flight reliability, will be the keynote speaker at 5 p.m., EDT. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Global Aerospace Summit from Tuesday through Thursday in Washington D.C. Summit space activities are scheduled for Thursday.
  • SpaceX’s Bill Gerstenmaier, the company’s VP for build and flight reliability, will be the keynote speaker at 5 p.m., EDT. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Global Aerospace Summit from Tuesday through Thursday in Washington D.C. Summit space activities are scheduled for Thursday.
  • The launch of Russia’s Progress 93 International Space Station resupply mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is scheduled for Thursday at 11:54 a.m, EDT. Docking is slated for Saturday at 1:27 p.m., EDT. NASA will webcast the launch and docking.

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