Category: Space

A major milestone in space manufacturing has been achieved with the return of the first-ever metal component produced on the International Space Station (ISS). The component, created using a metal 3D printing system developed by Airbus and its partners, marks a significant step forward in additive manufacturing technology for space exploration. This system has been operational in the ISS’s Columbus module since January 2024, thanks to ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who installed it as part of his Huginn mission.

The first successful print, a curved structure shaped like an “S”, was completed in June 2024. Following this initial test, a fully functional component was produced later that summer, with another sample printed in December. The sample now returned to Earth is being analyzed at the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory. The primary objective of this investigation is to compare how the metal 3D printing process in microgravity differs from production on Earth. Another sample will also be sent to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) for further analysis.

The growing issue of space debris—comprising spent rockets, defunct satellites, and other fragments—poses an increasing threat to active missions in Earth’s orbit. If left unchecked, this orbital clutter could lead to catastrophic collisions, damaging current satellites and jeopardizing the future of space exploration.

In response to this looming crisis, a team in Japan is making significant strides to clean up the space junk. Astroscale, a company dedicated to removing space debris, launched its ADRAS-J mission to test innovative technology designed to capture and remove debris. ADRAS-J stands for Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan.

A team of engineers is making significant strides in space innovation with the development of a revolutionary machine designed to produce oxygen directly on the Moon. This ambitious project, taking place in a massive vacuum sphere at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, pushes the boundaries of current space technology and aims to create a life-sustaining system for lunar missions.

The device, a silvery metal contraption adorned with colorful wires, marks a major step forward in enabling long-term lunar exploration and habitat construction. According to Brant White, program manager at Sierra Space, a private aerospace company, “We’ve tested everything we can on Earth now. The next step is going to the moon.” This project is part of a broader initiative to develop systems that can extract essential resources from the Moon’s surface, providing astronauts with the oxygen and materials necessary for survival and deep-space exploration.

The Moon, Earth’s natural satellite, may soon become a bustling hub of commercial activity, with one of the most ambitious ventures set to take place next month. Florida-based startup Lonestar Data Holdings is preparing to launch the first-ever physical data center on the Moon, ushering in a new era of off-world technological innovation. The company plans to deploy its data center using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with a targeted launch window in February. The center will ride aboard Intuitive Machines’ upcoming lunar lander mission, marking a historic step in space exploration and data storage.

Lonestar’s lunar data center, named “Freedom,” will be the first of its kind to operate beyond Earth. As the company notes, this data center will serve various customers by offering secure data storage and edge processing capabilities. However, this won’t be your typical data center. Unlike conventional servers that require rapid data access, the Freedom center’s focus will be on long-term data preservation. It’s designed to store crucial information in a way that ensures its protection for generations to come, free from the threats of natural disasters, cyberattacks, and geopolitical tensions on Earth.

In a groundbreaking achievement for space exploration, Chinese astronauts have successfully demonstrated artificial photosynthesis technology in orbit for the first time. This revolutionary experiment mimicked the natural process of photosynthesis by converting carbon dioxide and water into vital resources: oxygen and rocket fuel components. This advancement represents a significant leap toward enabling long-term human space missions, addressing one of the most complex challenges of space exploration—sustaining life and resources for extended periods beyond Earth.

Oxygen is a critical necessity for human survival, especially in space. Currently, transporting oxygen to space for long-duration missions is both expensive and logistically difficult. To address this, China has been exploring ways to produce oxygen directly in space, reducing reliance on Earth-based supplies and paving the way for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane is poised to make history with its first mission, SSC Demo-1, slated for launch “no earlier than May 2025.” Initially designed for resupply missions, Dream Chaser is set to evolve into a crewed vehicle capable of transporting astronauts to low-Earth orbit (LEO). Sierra Space proudly describes it as “the only commercial runway-capable spaceplane,” a groundbreaking achievement in space exploration.

“The Dream Chaser spaceplane is the first-ever winged commercial spaceplane that will open shared access to space and foster international collaboration for all humankind,” said Sierra Space. “Our multi-mission spaceplane fleet will not only carry cargo but also crew to LEO and can be customized for both domestic and international customers, supporting global operations.”

After Elon Musk’s success in launching thousands of satellites into low-Earth orbit, many might wonder: Why can’t we just send all our trash into space or even throw it straight into the sun? Despite the appeal of removing Earth’s growing waste problem by dumping it elsewhere in the solar system, this idea remains more fantasy than feasible reality, primarily due to the enormous costs and practical limitations involved.

John L. Crassidis, a mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, explains that sending garbage into space would require vast amounts of thrust and fuel, making it “not cost-feasible at all.” The challenge isn’t just launching the trash—it’s about where to put it. Unlike Earth’s pollution, which can be dumped into oceans or landfills, space is unforgiving. To avoid collisions with existing satellites or risk bringing debris back to Earth, waste would have to be moved at least 22,000 miles away, out of the Earth’s gravitational influence.

Jiangsu-based tech startup Deep Blue Aerospace has unveiled plans to send its first passengers on a 12-minute suborbital space journey in 2027, promising at least five minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth. Tickets for this pioneering trip sold out within 20 minutes during a live-streamed event on e-commerce giant Taobao, sparking significant excitement among China’s emerging space tourism community. The company plans to release additional tickets next month to meet the high demand.

Unlike full orbital flights, this suborbital experience will reach outer space without completing an orbit, allowing travelers to experience weightlessness while keeping the journey relatively short. Deep Blue Aerospace has acknowledged the “complexity and risks” associated with rocket technology and aims to conduct dozens of tests over the next two years to ensure safety and reliability before its commercial launch in 2027.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has long explored space-based solar power as a potential energy solution, theorizing that solar collection in space—where sunlight is over 10 times more intense than on Earth’s surface—could eventually meet one-third of the EU’s energy needs. ESA’s studies, however, concluded that creating the necessary infrastructure would be astronomically expensive, requiring a geostationary satellite network positioned 36,000 kilometers above Earth and costing hundreds of billions of dollars.

Despite these daunting challenges, one tech entrepreneur, Baiju Bhatt, believes he’s found a more feasible path forward. Bhatt, co-founder of the Robinhood trading app, launched a new venture called Aetherflux after stepping down from Robinhood’s CEO role in 2020. His goal: make space-based solar power affordable and practical, with plans to begin beaming solar energy down to Earth in as little as a year.

NASA is planning crewed missions to Mars within the next decade, but the 140-million-mile journey could take several months to years using current rocket technology. The long transit time is due to traditional chemical rocket fuel, but there’s a faster alternative in development: nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP). This technology, powered by nuclear fission, could potentially cut the trip to Mars in half.

Nuclear fission, the process of splitting an atom to release immense energy, is already widely used in power generation and nuclear submarines. NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are now collaborating to bring this technology to space. They aim to demonstrate a prototype NTP system in space by 2027, which would be a groundbreaking achievement for U.S. space exploration.

Sierra Space has successfully tested its Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, achieving the first automated extraction of oxygen from simulated lunar soil in a lunar-like environment. This milestone represents a major step forward in developing space technologies essential for sustaining life beyond Earth.

Once scaled, the technology will be capable of producing large amounts of oxygen, supporting one of NASA’s primary goals for the Artemis program: establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon. Through Artemis missions, NASA aims to land the first woman and person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for long-term lunar habitation and setting the stage for future missions to Mars.

In 1961, astronomer Frank Drake introduced his famous equation to estimate the number of civilizations in the Milky Way capable of communicating with us. However, our understanding of planetary science has evolved considerably since then. Now, a team of scientists has proposed crucial adjustments to the equation that might explain the Great Silence—the puzzling lack of contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

The Drake Equation, while popular and intuitive, has faced criticism for its broad assumptions and ambiguous parameters. It often produces an overly optimistic estimate for the value of N—the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which we might communicate. This has fueled the Fermi Paradox: If intelligent life is common, why haven’t we found evidence of it? Recent research published in Scientific Reports offers a potential solution by introducing two new factors into the equation.