ESA

NASA has put a key component of its Orion deep-space probe through its paces, conducting a static firing of the main engine. The purpose of the 12-minute test of the qualification version of the propulsion system was to demonstrate its ability to return the capsule safely to Earth in an emergency.

Last week the European Space Agency (ESA) completed the first rollout test of its 90 meter (295 ft) tall mobile gantry, where the next generation of Ariane rockets will be assembled and protected at the launch zone prior to blasting off.

A new electronic tag has been attached to four tiger sharks in the Caribbean in a test of a new satellite-connected fish tracking system. Described by co-developer ESA as cheaper and more animal friendly, the new tags will help to monitor the sharks' migration patterns for years.

Lockheed Martin says that it has completed the final assembly phase​ of the first full Orion spacecraft. At a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, US Vice President Mike Pence made the public announcement at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Space engineers have long considered lunar soil as locally available material for building outposts on the Moon, and now ESA researchers are considering it as a means to store energy to generate electricity during the 14-day night and protect equipment against freezing.

When the Apollo 11 astronauts set foot on the Moon, one of their main tasks was to break out a special tool kit that they used for collecting samples of rock and soil for return to Earth. Now Comex is working to create an updated version to be used by the next generation of lunar explorers.

The Gateway deep-space station is still years away, but planners are zeroing in on the orbit it will travel in cis-lunar space. Called a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit, it promises both cheaper missions to the Moon and beyond, as well as regular timetables for visiting astronauts.

A few months ago, the asteroid 2006 QV89 grabbed headlines thanks to a slim chance of striking Earth this September. But now the potentially-hazardous space rock has missed its appointment. ESA has confirmed that the asteroid hasn’t appeared in the sky yet, ruling out an impact any time soon.

We've seen robots that can walk, trot, run, and even do backflips, but now a student team is working on a rover robot prototype that is designed to travel in lunar gravity by controlled bounds into space where all four legs leave the ground.

Space travel is conducive to injuries. Now researchers from Dresden Technical University (TUD) have developed a 3D bioprinting method for use in space, creating new skin and bone tissue out of resources that might be available to astronauts.

ESA has given the green light to launch a mission designed to make the first flyby of a comet visiting the inner solar system for the first time. The "Comet Interceptor" mission will be set in a standby orbit, where it will wait for the discovery of an incoming comet to intercept.

Last year astronomers discovered a gigantic “ghost” galaxy, named Antlia 2, orbiting the Milky Way. Now, new research led by Rochester University has found that the bizarre galaxy may have been involved in a hit-and-run that left the Milky Way with a wobbly galactic disc.