Sam's News — space — 2026-08-24¶
Space¶
8 NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope readies for launch¶
NASA is preparing the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy to conduct deep space observations.
Sources: Space.com RSS
8 NASA Plans Nuclear Reactor Deployment to Mars in 2028¶
NASA is preparing to send a working nuclear reactor to Mars in late 2028 to support long-term exploration.
Sources: geekspin RSS
8 SpaceX achieves 100th Falcon 9 launch and sets rocket-reuse record on Aug. 25¶
SpaceX will execute its 100th Falcon 9 flight in 2024 early on August 25, setting a new rocket-reuse milestone.
Sources: Space.com RSS
7.5 SpaceX plans to retire Falcon 9 once Starship becomes operational¶
SpaceX plans to retire its widely-used Falcon 9 rocket once the next-generation Starship megarocket becomes operational, potentially reshaping the commercial launch market.
Sources: Space.com RSS
7 President Awards Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II Astronauts¶
The Artemis II crew will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor after becoming the first humans in over 50 years to travel beyond the Moon.
Sources: Science Daily RSS, Science Daily RSS, ScienceDaily RSS Update to: Artemis II Astronauts to Receive Congressional Space Medal of Honor
7 China launches polar lunar exploration mission to detect water ice¶
China is launching Chang'e-7, its most ambitious lunar mission, to search for water ice in permanently shadowed craters near the Moon's south pole. The mission includes an orbiter, lander, rover, and solar-powered hopper designed to explore areas inaccessible to conventional vehicles, with a launch window from August 24–31, 2026.
- Target: Shackleton Crater region at lunar south pole
- Four-part mission: orbiter, lander, rover, solar-powered hopper
- Hopper can descend into sunless pits to detect water and volatile compounds
- Most complex robotic lunar mission China has attempted
- Previous Chang'e-6 (2024) returned 1,935.3 grams of lunar material
Sources: The Conversation AI Web Searched, Al Jazeera AI Web Searched, Tribune Pakistan AI Web Searched, Asia Times Web Search
7 Milky Way's earliest galactic merger left scar at galactic center¶
Astronomers identified the earliest known galaxy consumed by the Milky Way during its growth, which left a structural imprint at the galaxy's core.
Sources: Space.com RSS
6.5 NASA releases images of Falcon 9 upper stage crater on the Moon¶
NASA has released new images of the crater created when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the lunar surface, captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from an altitude of 97 km.
- Falcon 9 upper stage impacted August 5, 2026 at ~5,400 mph
- Rocket stage: ~40 feet long, ~4,900 kg, launched January 15, 2025
- Crater: ~60 feet (18 m) diameter, <10 feet (3 m) deep
- Impact force equivalent to ~3 tons of TNT
- LRO captured images August 11–12 at ~97 km altitude
- Second known uncontrolled human-made object crash on Moon
Sources: facebook.com RSS, Facebook Web Search Update to: NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captures Falcon 9 impact crater details
Security¶
8 AI discovers critical vulnerability in NASA spacecraft command system¶
Artificial intelligence identified a flaw in a NASA system that could have allowed unauthorized commands to be issued to active spacecraft.
Sources: IFLScience RSS
Climate¶
7 Satellite Images Reveal Greenland's Largest Floating Ice Loss in Over a Decade¶
A satellite image captured a fractured ice tongue in Greenland, documenting the region's most significant floating ice loss in more than ten years.
Sources: Space.com RSS