Sam's News — space — 2026-08-17¶

Space¶

7.5 Lunar Environment Monitoring Station Completed for Artemis Moon Missions¶

NASA has completed the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS), the first payload astronauts will deploy on the Moon as part of the Artemis program.

Sources: autoevolution.com RSS, autoevolution Web Search

7.5 Three supermassive black holes on collision course discovered in ancient galaxy¶

Astronomers found a galaxy less than 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang harboring three supermassive black holes approaching merger.

Sources: Space.com RSS

7.5 Hubble identifies dead star showing future fate of our Sun¶

Astronomers have discovered a dead star in the Helix Nebula that demonstrates how our Sun will eventually be destroyed and scattered back into the galaxy.

Sources: Space.com RSS

7 NASA invites India's ISRO to join Artemis lunar base program¶

NASA has extended an invitation to India's space agency ISRO to participate in the Artemis lunar base development program.

Sources: Business Standard RSS Update to: NASA invites ISRO to collaborate on lunar south pole base program

7 NASA Administrator confident in 2027 Artemis 3 mission launch¶

NASA Administrator stated high confidence that the Artemis 3 mission—comprising three rocket launches—will occur in 2027.

Sources: Spaceflight Now Web Search, Spaceflight Now Web Search Update to: NASA Administrator Confident in Artemis 3 Moon Mission for 2027

7 NASA funds ion-powered flying drones for Saturn's largest moon exploration¶

NASA is funding development of ion-powered flying drones for missions to explore Saturn's largest moon.

Sources: Interesting Engineering RSS

6.5 NASA CLPS awards three more lunar missions including orbiter replacement for LRO¶

NASA plans to award three additional commercial lunar surface and delivery missions through its CLPS program, including an orbiter to succeed the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Sources: SpaceNews Web Search, SpaceNews Web Search Update to: NASA plans lunar orbiter replacement mission under CLPS program

Hardware¶

7 NASA tests AI-ready space processor 500 times faster than current chips¶

NASA has begun testing a miniaturized processor designed for space applications that is 500 times faster than existing space-rated hardware and includes AI capabilities.

Sources: The Times of India RSS

Industry¶

6.5 US Rocket Launch Cadence Accelerates as Space Industry Expands¶

US rockets now launch almost daily, with even higher launch rates expected as the commercial space industry accelerates.

Sources: USA Today Web Search

Astronomy¶

6.5 Cosmic gas stream tilts planets in Orion constellation system¶

A trillion-mile-long river of gas is streaming onto a young planet-forming system in Orion, altering the orbital planes of developing worlds.

Sources: Space.com RSS