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The global alliance pioneering NASA’s Lunar Gateway

NASA’s Lunar Gateway program represents a pivotal initiative under the agency’s leadership, aimed at facilitating sustainable human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars. This program is characterized by its emphasis on international and commercial partnerships, establishing a strategic outpost orbiting Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor to support scientific research, lunar surface expeditions, and deeper space ventures.

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This Week in Launches: Post Starship lull and Thanksgiving day engine test

After a rather eventful weekend, SpaceX only has one launch schedule for the week with a private Chinese company making a rare appearance, and Russia’s military launching a Soyuz 2. However, on Thanksgiving day, Arianespace and the ESA are planning a test of its Vulcain 2.1 engine down in French Guiana.

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GMV successfully concludes ground tests for ESA’s MIRROR space robot

Multinational technology company GMV has wrapped up ground validation tests for a cutting-edge space robot. Designed as part of the European Space Agency’s MIRROR project (Multi-arm Installation Robot for Readying ORUs and Reflectors), this innovative robot promises to transform the way structures are assembled in Earth’s orbit. 

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This Week in Launches: SpaceX Crew-7 launch week, along with many other missions

This week has proven to be one of the most eventful in recent memory, featuring a flurry of activities including two launches to the International Space Station, four SpaceX launches, and four distinct rockets. From the Crew-7 rotation mission by SpaceX, a specialized SmallSat mission by Rocket Lab, to a rare Japanese launch, this week is poised to be action-packed.

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Who is flying on SpaceX’s Crew-7 mission later this month?

Next month, SpaceX is set to launch its seventh rotation of crew members to the International Space Station for NASA. The upcoming Crew-7 mission is notable for being the most diverse crew to fly on a Dragon spacecraft, with all four members hailing from different nations and agencies – a first for SpaceX.

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space explored podcast

Space Explored Podcast 66: What happens to Europe now the Ariane 5 is gone?

This week Seth and Austin DeSisto discuss the week’s top stories and then dive into the main topic concerning Europe. With the retirement of the Ariane 5 and a lack of any other operational launcher, what does the future look like for European spaceflight?

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The latest flyby views of Mercury, from BepiColombo

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Just hours ago, the teams operating BepiColombo, Europe and Japan’s mission to travel to and orbit Mercury, released images from the spacecraft’s third flyby of the closest planet to our sun. With each pass, the spacecraft gets closer, takes more images, and reveals never-before-seen views of the elusive rocky surface.

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The latest mission to help find extraterrestrial life launches

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European Space Agency’s (ESA) JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft successfully launched from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana this month. It’s the latest collaboration between ESA, NASA, and other international partners to study Jupiter’s icy moons and determine their potential habitability. Here’s a quick rundown:

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Is this Europe’s ‘We choose to go to the Moon’ moment?

The European Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) released a report on the current state of Europe’s human exploration program. It calls for the continent to go all in on space, or risk being left in the dust.

Europe has become a key partner in many of NASA’s programs, including the Artemis Program. However, the continent’s space agency seems to have much more ambitious plans, rather than just helping NASA with its goals. The ESA’s HLAG report makes it clear that its objective should be to bolster its commercial market with its own human exploration program, including low Earth orbit and the Moon.

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Moon o’clock?: Europe pushing for lunar ‘time zone’

With humanity on the cusp of returning astronauts to deep space, one organization is attempting to garner support to give the Moon a time zone.

Spearheading this is the European Space Agency, which says space organizations agree “a common lunar reference time” for timekeeping is important for all lunar systems to reference, be they robotic missions or human surface stays.

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