Japan launched a $578 million mission Monday on a five-year expedition to land on the largest moon of Mars and retrieve samples for return to Earth, a daring international project that could yield new insights into the formation of the Solar System.

The robotic Martian Moons eXploration mission, known as MMX, lifted off at 3:41 pm EDT Monday (4:41 am Japan Standard Time Tuesday) from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

The MMX spacecraft rode into orbit atop a 207-foot-tall (63-meter) H3 rocket, Japan's flagship launch vehicle. The rocket assigned to MMX debuted a new souped-up configuration with four strap-on solid rocket boosters, full-throttle main engines, and an extended payload shroud to accommodate the demands of Japan's heaviest and most ambitious interplanetary mission to date.

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© ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/Andrea Luck

Chinese food in orbit, hard-working robots, and lightning strikes a rising rocket. As the Earth's northern hemisphere moves through autumn, let's check in on humanity's exploration of space.

Sun An international team found gorgeous images of the photosphere and "small-scale magnetized Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities in the solar photosphere." (previously). Mercury The European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) BepiColombo mission arrived at Mercury. However, that planet closest to the Sun seems to be shrinking faster than previously understood. Venus A new study argues that Venus may have been covered with oceans a long time ago. A moon may once have orbited ancient Venus but spiraled in to its destruction. On Earth's surface In Canada an amateur astronomer identified an impact crater; "[a]fter consultations with the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit, the research team is calling the crater Uhackatik." Wildfires in Spain threatened a NASA observatory. In Chile an observatory started its "Legacy Survey of Space and Time," a decade-long project to "create the most comprehensive, cinematic record of the universe in history." Japan's experimental RV-X rocket lifted off, moved horizontally, then safely landed nearby in a test. RocketLab announced it was offering a portable spaceport, the Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology, or GHOST. Indian company Skyroot hopes to produce one launch vehicle per month. NASA's Office of Inspector General called for upgrades to launch facilities as Artemis missions and private rocketry increase pressure on the system. NASA stated that it won't fly humans on the Boeing Starliner until 2028. The Trump administration issued a national space transportation policy. Demand for space launches might soon exceed rocket capacity. From Earth's surface to orbit German's Isar Aerospace successfully launched a Spectrum rocket from Norway into Earth orbit, the first such mission from a Western European site. Lighting struck a Long March rocket as it ascended, but the craft went on to a successful orbital deployment. Another Long March suffered an anomaly and exploded (archive link). A Taiwanese rocket launch failed (archive). NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully launched, deployed solar panes and heatshield, and is on its way to an L2 point position with plenty of fuel. (previously). A Falcon rocket accomplished two achievements in August: 100 SpaceX missions that year to date, and the 37th mission for booster B1067. Starship's 13th mission reached orbit, deployed Starlink satellites, and returned to Earth. A camera captured the first 15 seconds of Starship's engines firing from close up; cameras on some of those Starlinks looked back at their launch vehicle (another copy). A Google satellite reached orbit, carrying a group of Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) running Gemma AI in a test of orbital data center capacity. In Earth orbit The Tiangong space station now serves more than 200 different meals. Russia's Rassvet satellites are apparently struggling to reach needed altitude. Polish company Orbital Matter is testing out materials 3d printed by its Replicator 2. Kyoto University researchers are using Starlink data to study Earth's thermosphere. NASA and Katalyst conceded defeat in an effort to rescue the failing Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Swift is still doing its best to track gamma-ray bursts. (previously) A United States Space Force exercise saw one satellite successfully launch, target, and intercept another. Space Force also declared it had placed "space control weapons" in orbit. back down to Earth A NASA astronaut in orbit observed cities changing their lighting technologies. The number of alerts for space debris falling to Earth has increased. The United States Federal Communications Commission granted Reflect Orbital permission to orbit its Eärendil-1 satellite, designed to reflect solar light onto the Earth's night side. Reflect then bought space on a Skyroot launch. SpaceX is struggling to make Starship's heat shield reusable. A petition warned that expanding satellite numbers with orbital data centers would cause Earthly damage, including pollution and ozone layer depletion. More than 40 million years ago it seems that an asteroid struck what is now known as the North Sea. Earth's Moon In 2024 an asteroid struck the moon, "the largest contemporary impact crater found in the Solar System and, according to current models, a once-in-132-year event.' A Falcon 9 rocket stage crashed into the moon (photo). A lunar hole, Marius Hill Pit, may become a habitat for human visitors. NASA's Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration mission (CADRE) will rove the lunar surface to some degree of autonomy. NASA is also considering sending Promise, an engineering model for Perseverance, to the moon. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) delayed launching its Chang'e 7 (嫦娥七号) lunar mission until 2027. Mars Perseverance set a new record for offworld driving, having notched up 28.10 miles in over 14 years (seen from HiRISE). The rover also took photos of Phobos crossing in front of Earth. Not to be outdone Curiosity came across "honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures." Speaking of Martian moons, Japan's Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is due to launch today (previously). Pioneer Labs announced they made their first microbe for a Mars mission. Planetary geological and former NASA program administrator Adriana C. Ocampo Uría called for an international approach to human settlement of Mars; NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman rejected that. To the asteroids Tianwen-2 (天问二号) reached asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and is scheduled to attempt a sample return. Astronomers were able to image 44 Nysa clearly enough to find it was unusually triple-lobed and had its own tiny moon. China's National Space Administration (CNSA) is considering a two-ship mission to strike and observe a near Earth asteroid. Jupiter The Juno probe marked ten years orbiting and working around Jupiter. Saturn Astronomers working with Hubble imagery discovered a new ten-sided atmospheric shape on Saturn's southern pole. Neptune The large moon Triton may have wrecked preexisting Neptunian moons when it first arrived, leaving tiny moons as orbital wreckage behind. (previously) In the Kuiper belt NASA's New Horizons safely awoke from hibernation mode as it traveled nearly 6 billion miles from Earth. It may become the third human craft to exit the solar system. However, funding cuts threaten two instruments.

Japanese space agency leading five-year mission to Phobos, one of ‘most important unclimbed mountains in the solar system’

Japan is to launch a spacecraft on the world’s first mission to bring back samples from Phobos, one of the two small, potato-shaped moons orbiting Mars.

Scientists hope the mission, which is expected to take five years, will provide clues to how Phobos and its smaller sibling Deimos formed, and hopefully even shed light on the origins of life in the solar system.

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© Photograph: NASA/AP

© Photograph: NASA/AP

© Photograph: NASA/AP

Most planetary scientists will tell you the heyday of Venus exploration was more than a generation ago. That is about to change.

Two NASA missions are on track to launch to Venus in the early 2030s. The first, known as the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI), is now scheduled for launch in December 2030, a year earlier than previously planned. DAVINCI will send a parachute-assisted descent probe through the atmosphere of Venus, returning the first direct images of the planet's surface since 1982. A second mission, Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy (VERITAS), will follow with a launch in November 2032 to map the Venusian surface by radar from orbit.

The European Space Agency is building another orbiter, Envision, for launch to Venus in 2032. The Venus armada might get started as soon as next year, when Rocket Lab aims to launch a privately funded probe to search for signs of organic material in the planet's clouds.

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Expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalized in the sky and reflected sunlight off frozen particles after Florida launch

A SpaceX rocket provided a stunning pre-dawn display over Florida as a egiant, luminescent “jellyfish cloud” spread for miles, caused by an expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalizing in the sky and reflecting sunlight off the frozen particles.

The phenomenon occurred shortly after Tuesday’s 6.33am ET launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying cargo to the International Space Station.

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© Photograph: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

NASA on Friday released a much-anticipated "request" to the US commercial space industry to develop private space stations that, as early as 2030, will succeed the International Space Station as a place for astronauts to live in low-Earth orbit.

In a cover letter accompanying the 360-page "request for proposals," NASA stated its plan: "This will ensure NASA has a sustained human presence in LEO for crew members to perform science and exploration." Several private companies that have worked for years on designing and developing such stations have been keen to learn exactly what capabilities NASA is seeking. These new documents finally provide some answers.

NASA's solicitation can be found here. Industry responses are due back to NASA on December 8. NASA said it plans to select "two or more" contractors in this phase of the competition and intends to make a final decision in April.

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"Margaret Hamilton, the groundbreaking researcher who helped create the field of software engineering and whose code helped land NASA's Apollo astronauts on the moon to win the 20th century space race, has died," writes longtime Slashdot reader Veeru. "She was 90." MIT News reports: A computing pioneer who authored over 130 publications, Hamilton helped to establish software engineering as a dedicated discipline. She worked at MIT from 1959 until the mid-1970s, after which she became a successful computing entrepreneur and CEO. Her life's work was recognized with many awards and honors, including the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, whose citation noted: "Hamilton defined new forms of software engineering and helped launch an industry that would forever change human history. Her software architecture led to giant leaps for humankind, writing the code that helped America set foot on the moon." "To say Margaret Hamilton was a pioneer -- to say she was ahead of her time -- would be a dramatic understatement. She was a software engineer at a time when that field was in its infancy, and she not only developed advanced code herself but also led a team in using that nascent technology to develop one of the most complex systems humanity had ever achieved," says Olivier de Weck, the Apollo Program Professor and interim head of the MIT Department Aeronautics and Astronautics. "The Apollo program still stands as one of our greatest testaments to the power of collaboration, ingenuity, and engineering, and Margaret Hamilton was a fundamental contributor to that program's success. And for her that was just the beginning! She went on to become an entrepreneur and remained on the cutting edge of systems software throughout an extraordinary career, while acting as an advocate, mentor, and inspiration to millions."

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Margaret Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT's Instrumentation Lab during NASA's Apollo program, died on Sep. 30. She was 90. A computing pioneer who authored over 130 publications, Hamilton helped to establish software engineering as a dedicated discipline. She worked at MIT from 1959 until the mid-1970s, after which she became a successful computing entrepreneur and CEO.

You probably know her from the photo of her standing next to the stack of books containing the Apollo guidance software she and her MIT team wrote.

It's no surprise that NASA's new tack toward foreign partnerships—good deals only, please—is challenging preconceived notions of international cooperation in space.

Without a massive budget hike, the US space agency's emphasis on building a Moon Base and winning a competition for lunar real estate and resources with China will inevitably leave lesser priorities behind.

Gone is the Lunar Gateway, a space station that was to be assembled in orbit around the Moon. For the United States, Gateway was an unnecessary distraction and expense as NASA goes all-in on placing a surface station near the Moon's south pole.

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As a flight director during NASA's Apollo missions, Gerry Griffin led several lunar landings. He helped bring the crew of Apollo 13 safely back to Earth. Later, he directed Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Through these experiences, Griffin learned the value of teamwork in spaceflight—during the dynamic moments that can make or break a successful launch or landing, you absolutely have to trust your colleagues in the trenches.

"When lightning struck the rocket during Apollo 12, we had to react in a hurry," Griffin said in an interview. "With people like John Aaron and Jerry Carr, the trust and communications came through. It made the difference."

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A four-person crew rocketed into orbit Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, heading for a six-month expedition on the International Space Station.

Riding a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, the four crew members departed from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral at 11:10 am EDT (15:10 UTC) Thursday. Nine minutes later, they were in orbit to begin closing in on the space station for docking Thursday evening.

The launch was delayed from mid-September to replace a balky valve in the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system, a task that involved cutting into a propellant line inside the ship to swap out a faulty component.

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Previously: NASA to bump telescope back into space to avoid it falling to Earth. It didn't work. Why: An attempt to save NASA's $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from dropping out of orbit fell short, but the behind-the-scenes machinations required just to make a rescue possible deserve recognition, government and commercial space officials said in a recounting of the mission.

An attempt to save NASA's $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from dropping out of orbit fell short, but the behind-the-scenes machinations required just to make a rescue possible deserve recognition, government and commercial space officials said in a recounting of the mission.

The rescue mission was developed by Katalyst Space Technologies, working under a $30 million contract awarded by NASA last September. NASA gave Katalyst nine months to build and launch a satellite to capture Swift flying some 200 miles above the Earth and boost it into a higher orbit.

Katalyst's rescue spacecraft, known as Link, successfully launched July 3 and completed some of its initial checkouts before a malfunction caused it to spin out of control a few weeks later. NASA announced in August that Link would not be able to reach Swift as intended, and the rescue mission was aborted.

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