Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of September 15, 2025:

Human Space Exploration

• NG-23 Cygnus back on track, arrives at ISS tomorrow
  Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman;
• Artemis II astronauts will double as human science experiments on their trip around the Moon;
• We’ve officially found 6,000 exoplanets, NASA says: ‘We’re entering the next great chapter of exploration;
• NASA, Northrop Grumman postpone Cygnus X: arrival to ISS following propulsion issue
  Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman;
• ‘We have to fully fund NASA’: Lawmaker joins space agency employees in protest outside DC headquarters;
• China completes second hot fire test for new Moon rocket, including engine restarts;
• ‘We are ready to drive:’ Take a look inside Lunar Outpost’s Moon rover mission control (photos);
• Northrop Grumman’s 1st Cygnus XL spacecraft launches on cargo run to the space station
  Coalition Members in the News – Axiom Space, Northrop Grumman;
• Russia Progress spacecraft arrives at the ISS with 2.8 tons of cargo
  Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman;

Space Science

• New Mars research reveals multiple episodes of habitability in Jezero Crater;
• Can a spacecraft land on a teeny tiny asteroid? Japan’s Hayabusa2 will certainly try;
• We’ve officially found 6,000 exoplanets, NASA says: ‘We’re entering the next great chapter of exploration;
• ‘The Sun is slowly waking up’: Scientists say a rise in solar storms awaits us;
• Earth’s inner core: Nobody knows exactly what it’s made of, but now we’ve started to uncover the truth;
• Here are the tools Perseverance used to spot a potential sign of ancient life;
• A rover to mine Martian volcanoes;
• New bright comet SWAN could perform a surprise October show;
• 2 billion people will be able to see ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid Apophis when it buzzes Earth in April 2029;
• NASA analysis shows Sun’s activity ramping up;
• Scientists spot potential new class of black hole stars;
• A major advance in the search for life on Mars;
• Enceladus, the life signs that weren’t;

Opinion

• NASA at a crossroads: Trump’s plan to refocus, explore and beat China;
  In an op-ed, Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administrator and the Secretary of Transportation, finds NASA adrift, bogged down by what he terms delayed programs and bureaucracy. In order to prevent losing its space leadership position to China, NASA has been directed to move ahead with two bold initiatives, creation of a nuclear fission reactor for the Moon and accelerated efforts to develop commercial low Earth orbit destinations to replace the ISS. “If the U.S. hesitates, Beijing could seize what many call the “ultimate high ground” with far-reaching implications for security and global leadership. America can’t afford to let that happen,” according to Duffy.

Other News

• Space is the new frontier of war, officials say in change of tone;
• Blue Origin retires New Shepard capsule after payload flight;
• Does Europe need a spaceplane?
• ‘A game changer’: Space shuttle astronaut Pam Melroy joins Venus Aerospace after revolutionary rocket engine breakthrough;
• These 2 European telescopes use lasers to track potentially dangerous space junk (video);
• At least 35 space industry companies to move to newly created National Space Center;
• Department of the Air Force, FAA clear SpaceX to launch up to 120 Falcon 9 rockets annually from Cape Canaveral;

Major Events This Week:

• • Launched Sunday evening, Northrop Grumman’s first Cygnus XL, is on a course to rendezvous with the ISS early Wednesday for berthing to the station’s U.S. segment Unity module.
  • Five space policy conferences are planned for this week, two in the continental U.S. and three in Hawaii, London and Paris.
  • Meanwhile, the U.S. House and Senate are still working to come together on a federal budget, including a NASA spending plan, for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on October 1.

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