April 10, 2026

Simulated Organs to Sent to Space on Artemis II (Source: Mass Live)
As the Artemis II crew rockets back toward Earth after a record-setting journey around the moon, a small gray box aboard the capsule is quietly making history. Inside is technology built by a Boston startup that has just crossed milestones of its own.

Emulate Bio, a Boston company, worked with the Wyss Institute at Harvard and Space Tango of Kentucky to launch the experiment, dubbed AVATAR, aboard the mission. It’s the first time that “organ on a chip” technology, which aims to mimic the way human tissues and organs function, has flown into deep space.

The goal? To get insights into how microgravity, radiation, and other aspects of long-distance space flight will impact the human body. And what’s interesting about this experiment is that it uses living bone marrow cells from the four astronauts flying on Artemis II, obtained during a pre-launch blood draw. (4/9)

Oxygen Made From Moon Dust for First Time (Source: The Telegraph)
Breathable oxygen has been created from Moon dust in a world first that paves the way for a lunar base. Blue Origin, a company founded by Jeff Bezos, the American billionaire, announced this week that it had developed a reactor that could successfully release oxygen from lunar soil by using an electric current.

Almost half of Moon dust – the thin layer of rock that blankets the lunar surface – is oxygen, but it is bound to metals such as iron and titanium. Scientists and engineers want to extract the oxygen to repurpose it as breathable air or rocket fuel. Transporting oxygen to space from Earth would be too dangerous and expensive, so making it on the Moon is seen as a key step for long-term habitation. (4/9)

Artemis Astronauts to Shed Light on Space Health Risks (Source: AFP)
Earth's magnetosphere offers some protection against radioactive cosmic rays and solar particles to the orbiting ISS, but no such cover on the Moon. Studying the impacts of radiation is essential as NASA hopes to eventually build a Moon base and send astronauts on the long trip to Mars.

The US space agency installed radiation sensors on the Orion capsule and took blood samples of the astronauts before takeoff to compare with samples post-trip. The crew's saliva samples are gathered throughout the journey and their health is monitored via smartwatches. NASA has also placed state-of-the-art computer chips in the capsule that can replicate certain physiological functions, like that of an organ. Mission planners chose to mimic bone marrow. (4/10)

Shooting $100 Billion in Taxpayer Funds to the Moon is Not a Win (Source: Washington Post)
As Americans grapple with stubbornly high prices, stagnant real wages, geopolitical uncertainty and a housing market that has locked out a generation, Washington is throwing a party in orbit. The launch of Artemis II, NASA’s crewed lunar flyby, will cost about $4.1 billion. The entire program is expected to exceed $100 billion by the time astronauts are scheduled to step on the lunar surface once again in 2028. That is enough to send every American a check for roughly $300. Instead, that money is being aimed at the moon.

The mixed track record of government-run space programs makes one thing clear: There are better uses for taxpayer resources. SpaceX has already shown the way, cutting launch costs, capturing the majority of global payload mass and building a satellite network that has proved itself on battlefields. It is time for the market, not Washington, to lead humanity into space. (4/9)

Orion Helium Leak No Threat to Artemis II Reentry but Will Require Redesign (Source: Ars Technica)
Ground controllers revamped the timeline Wednesday as the Artemis II astronauts zoomed toward Earth after a close encounter with the Moon earlier this week. The four astronauts were supposed to take manual control of their Orion spacecraft for a piloting demonstration Wednesday night. Instead, mission managers canceled the demo to make time for an additional test of the ship’s propulsion system.

The goal was to gather data on a “small leak” of helium gas, which Orion uses to push propellant through a series of tanks and pipes to feed the spacecraft’s rocket engines, said Jeff Radigan, NASA’s lead flight director for the Artemis II mission. The spacecraft burns hydrazine fuel mixed with an oxidizer, nitrogen tetroxide, to power its main engine and thrusters for in-space maneuvers. The leak on Artemis II is in the helium pressure supply to the oxidizer side. (4/9)

Space Travel Is Futile, So Let’s Divert the Resources to Saving Earth (Source: Region)
For a confessed sci-fi, space opera nut who grew up watching the Apollo missions and devouring Asimov, Clarke and Bradbury, the realization that the space program is a futile and colossal waste of resources has not come easily. I still watched the launch of the Artemis mission to the Moon and its progress, and I can admire the technical genius of sending a human crew in a tin can around our only satellite.

But the notion of this being part of humanity’s destined march to the stars, the final frontier and all that, rings as hollow as an empty space capsule. It’s so seductive, raised as we are on the great (European) explorers ‘discovering’ new oceans and lands, but at least that was within our own bespoke biosphere.

The Artemis mission is pitched as a return to the Moon, where humans will establish a permanent base, from which to mount the really big voyage to Mars, and back, presumably. Not much is said of the obstacles to achieving this – these are put on the shelf as engineering problems that human ingenuity will eventually solve. For many, thanks to the boundaryless expanse of imagination, they have already been solved. (4/10)

A Different Moon From the One We’ve Known (Source: The Atlantic)
This week, we got a different moon—the Artemis moon. The moon captured by America’s first mission there in generations is not the moon I look for every time I step outside. It is not the moon I grew up with or the one my parents learned about during the Apollo missions.

On Monday—the moon’s day—we were introduced to a brown, battered world. Whole regions of its scarred far side did not appear a brilliant lunar white, but a much more familiar, homey hue. Mushroom, chestnut, hazel, cocoa, coffee, tea-stained, russet, brown: earth tones. Straight lines running over the moon’s surface; concentric rings that look like companion coffee-cup rings. (4/10)

ESA Launches 7 New Missions to Supercharge Space Data Transfer (Source: Universe Today)
On March 30, 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) supported a series of eight CubeSats and one specialized payload on SpaceX’s Transporter-16 rideshare mission with the overarching goals of testing high-throughput laser communication, inter-satellite networking, and in-orbit artificial intelligence processing to make space data transfer faster, more secure, and vastly more efficient.

Five of the CubeSats aboard Transporter-16 were developed under ESA’s Greek Connectivity Programme and focused on building up the country’s space-based optical capabilities. OptiSat, operated by Planetek Hellas, is a cereal-box sized CubeSat flying a SCOT20 laser communication terminal built by German manufacturer TESAT. Its primary mission is to establish secure, high speed laser links with other small satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Another satellite, PeakSat, was entirely developed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. It features an ATLAS-1 laser terminal from the Lithuanian company Astrolight, and intends to demonstrate improved space-to-ground laser communications by beaming data down to newly upgraded optical ground stations in Greece. (4/10)

Kongsberg Targets LEO Constellation Market With SpinLaunch (Source: Aviation Week)
Norway’s Kongsberg is looking to enter the increasingly heated market for providing low Earth orbit satellite communications capabilities through a teaming agreement with SpinLaunch. Kongsberg would provide expertise from secure ground stations to spacecraft systems, while SpinLaunch would contribute its Meridian LEO constellation. The agreement follows Kongsberg taking a stake in SpinLaunch in a funding round a year ago.

Kongsberg NanoAvionics is working with SpinLaunch on 280 satellites for the initial Meridian constellation due for launch in October on a SpaceX Falcon 9. SpinLaunch has said it plans to deploy more than 1,000 satellites. SpinLaunch last month unveiled its Meridian Defense concept, adapting its commercially focused concept for the national security market. The company says space-based routing with intersatellite links will enable connectivity without the need for distributed ground stations. (4/8)

Xoople and L3Harris are Co-developing a Space-Borne Measurement System Designed for the AI Era (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Xoople and L3Harris Technologies announced the co-development of a first of its kind satellite constellation designed and optimized for the AI era. The milestone, the result of seven years of design and R&D work, advances the companies’ shared vision to deliver real-world context into every decision for a more sustainable, safer world. The Xoople constellation, with its unprecedented optical and sensor design which maximizes data quality, is a foundational layer of the company’s data infrastructure, designed to improve spatial intelligence by delivering orders-of-magnitude improvements in precision and speed compared to existing commercial Earth observation. (4/10)

Crew of Tiny Worms Readies for April 11 Launch to ISS (Source: Space.com)
British scientists have packed a container full of worms aboard Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo vehicle, to be launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday morning (April 11), to study the effects of long-duration spaceflight on biological organisms. The researchers hope the results will help mission planners keep human astronauts healthy on future space trips. (4/9)

Russia’s Lunar Program Suffers Delay Setbacks as Rival US’s Artemis II Mission Heads Home (Source: Spacewatch Global)
Russia has postponed its planned Luna-28, Luna-29, and Luna-30 missions to the Moon till between 2032 and 2036, marking another major delay in its lunar program as NASA's Artemis II astronauts becomes the first persons to orbit the moon in over 50 years. (4/9)

North Carolina Views Defense Industry as Key Growth Area (Source: Axios)
Much like batteries and semiconductors during the Biden administration, North Carolina economic development officials say they see increased momentum in the defense industry under the Trump administration. Federal policies can have a big impact on which jobs expansions occur throughout the country, and North Carolina landed several large expansions from clean energy and semiconductor firms due to provisions like the Inflation Reduction Act or the CHIPS Act during the Biden days.

One of Trump's policy changes — a move to shore up the production of rare-earth magnets away from China — has already brought jobs to North Carolina. The Trump administration's decision to take a stake in the rare-earth magnet maker Vulcan Elements as well as funding from the Department of War led to a pledge for 1,000 jobs in Johnston County. The state was also in contention for a 4,000-job expansion from Anduril, an autonomous defense tech company that has benefited greatly from defense contracts. (4/9)

Orbital Edge Accelerator 2026 Launches to Unlock Space and Capital for Ambitious Founders (Source: CASIS)
The ISS National Laboratory is launching the 2026 Orbital Edge Accelerator, now in its second year. This program is in partnership with returning global investment partners Cook Inlet Region, Inc., E2MC, and Stellar Ventures and welcomes new partners Context Ventures, Draper Associates, and Draper University, alongside leading industry participants and sponsors.

Orbital Edge is a one-of-a-kind accelerator that provides early-stage startups with access to low Earth orbit and $500,000 to $750,000 in private capital funding per startup. In addition to venture investment and access to orbital flight platforms, the program delivers targeted mentorship and programming focused on spaceflight technology development, business building, and product commercialization. (4/7)

China's Next Lunar Lander Arrives at Spaceport (Source: Space News)
China's next robotic lunar lander has arrived at its launch site. Chang'e-7 will be prepared for launch on a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang spaceport, with earlier reports suggesting launch in August. The mission consists of an orbiter, lander, rover and a unique hopping probe to seek out evidence of water ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar south pole. The Chang'e-7 mission, together with Chang'e-8, scheduled for around 2029, will form a basic outline of the China-led International Lunar Research Base. (4/10)

Isar's Andoya Launch Scrubbed for Leak (Source: Space.com)
German launch startup Isar Aerospace scrubbed another attempt to launch its Spectrum rocket Thursday. The company called off the launch from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway after detecting a leak in a composite overwrapped pressure vessel in the rocket. The company did not disclose a new launch date. This would be the second flight of Spectrum after the first crashed shortly after liftoff in March 2025. (4/10)

Proposed Budget Again Threatens TraCSS (Source: Space News)
A Commerce Department budget proposal has raised new questions about the future of the TraCSS space traffic coordination system. A high-level budget proposal last week included $11 million for the Office of Space Commerce for fiscal year 2027, but did not include any further details about those funds. The 2026 budget proposal included $10 million for the office but nothing for TraCSS, a cut that House and Senate appropriators sought to reverse. Industry sources said the 2027 budget proposal appears to be another attempt to either cancel TraCSS or severely curtail it. (4/10)

Commercial Capabilities Need "Battle Hardening" for DoD Use (Source: Space News)
Commercial space technologies are becoming central to the U.S. military's plans, a shift that brings with it new challenges. One concern raised by the military is the need for "battle hardening" of commercial technology, without stripping away the very attributes that made it valuable in the first place. One proposed solution has been the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve, or CASR, which the Space Force has been studying for years, modeled on a similar air reserve program. However, for commercial firms, participation could mean diverting bandwidth from paying customers. It raises unresolved questions about liability, compensation and exposure, with implications for companies involving insurance, investment and international business relationships. (4/10)

India Tests Gaganyaan Parachute (Source: The Print)
India's space agency ISRO has performed another Gaganyaan spacecraft parachute test. In the second Integrated Air Drop Test on Friday, a simulated Gaganyaan crew module was dropped from a helicopter at an altitude 3,000 meters to test the deployment of its parachutes. The capsule splashed down safely in the sea and was recovered by a ship. ISRO conducted a similar test last August ahead of uncrewed flight tests of the spacecraft later this year. The first crewed Gaganyaan mission is now planned for no earlier than 2027. (4/10)

Amazon Readies Leo Service Kickoff (Source: PC Magazine)
Amazon plans to begin limited commercial services with the broadband constellation this summer. In a letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon Leo services will begin in mid-2026. He claimed the service would provide better uplink and downlink speeds than "what customers have access to now," an apparent reference to Starlink, and be at a lower cost. Amazon currently has less than 10% of its full constellation in orbit, which would limit the availability of those services. (4/10)

FCC Plans Vote on Constellation Signal Strength Rules (Source: FCC)
The FCC plans to vote at its next commission meeting on a rule to adjust limits on signals from broadband constellations like Starlink and Amazon Leo. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said commissioners will take up a report and order to modify rules on equivalent power flux density that date back to the 1990s. Those rules limit the power at which low Earth orbit systems can operate to avoid interference with geostationary satellites. The FCC argues that new spectrum sharing technologies will allow LEO systems to operate at higher power levels, enabling better performance. (4/10)

Italy's Former Space Chief Joins Vast (Source: Vast)
A former president of the Italian space agency ASI is now leading commercial space station Vast's European office. Vast announced Friday it hired Giorgio Saccoccia as president for Europe. In his new role Saccoccia will work with European governments on future human spaceflight and science missions on Vast's commercial space stations. He will also support other international expansion activities by Vast outside Europe. (4/10)

Space: A New Frontier in Medicine (Source: Spectrum)
As the crew of Artemis II has ventured deeper into space than ever before, they’re also gathering data on how radiation affects individual astronauts. It’s part of a study known as “Avatar," which monitors astronauts’ tissue samples in space. The goal, Kris Lehnhardt explained, is to anticipate how an individual astronaut’s body will respond to radiation in space. Then, he said, “we might be then able to make countermeasures that are specific to that astronaut to help them deal with that radiation exposure.” 

But long-term space travel, Lehnhardt believes, will require technology that’s straight out of sci-fi. “We need to really start developing autonomous medical technologies,” he said. It may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. “Those technologies are all within reach with some of the new artificial intelligence work that's been going on,” said Lehnhardt. (4/9)

Space Travel is Futile, so Let's Divert the Resources to Saving Earth (Source: Region)
For a confessed sci-fi, space opera nut who grew up watching the Apollo missions and devouring Asimov, Clarke and Bradbury, the realization that the space program is a futile and colossal waste of resources has not come easily. I still watched the launch of the Artemis mission to the Moon and its progress, and I can admire the technical genius of sending a human crew in a tin can around our only satellite.

But the notion of this being part of humanity’s destined march to the stars, the final frontier and all that, rings as hollow as an empty space capsule. It’s so seductive, raised as we are on the great (European) explorers ‘discovering’ new oceans and lands, but at least that was within our own bespoke biosphere. (4/10)
 
Lockheed Martin Wins $105 Million Contract for GPS Ground Control System as OCX Winds Down (Source: Space News)
The U.S. Space Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $105 million contract to support ground control operations for the next generation of GPS satellites, as the Pentagon moves to wind down a long-delayed replacement program led by RTX. (4/10)