Space exploration

Rolls-Royce and the UK Space Agency study the potential for nuclear energy to be used in space exploration. The first contract between the two, the project will examine how nuclear energy can both power spacecraft and be used for deep-space propulsion.

Space exploration in 2021 will see some major milestones to look forward to. From maiden flights to fiery endings, long-awaited launches to history-making first steps, here are some of the biggest upcoming events in space exploration this year.

With space exploration becoming more accessible to more countries, cooperation will be key. NASA has outlined the principles for that peaceful future in the Artemis Accords, and now eight nations have signed on as founding members.

NASA is planning to launch a tiny satellite aboard one of the most powerful rockets ever constructed, to hunt for ice hiding deep inside craters on the Moon’s surface that are bathed in perennial shadow.

The introduction of 26 thousand new megaconstellation satellites could have a significant effect on ground-based astronomy, according to a new study commissioned by the European Southern Observatory.

On November 18, 2019, from aboard the International Space Station (ISS) 250 mi (400 km) above the Earth, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano took control of the prototype Analog-1 rover for a half-hour spin around its obstacle course in the Netherlands.

NASA has integrated the first RS-25 engine with the core stage of its upcoming super heavy Moon rocket – the Space Launch System (SLS). The engines are refurbished units that were built to power the now defunct Space Shuttle program.

ESA has released a tool that lets space enthusiasts track probes in real time as they communicate with ground stations on Earth.

With an annual budget of US$21.5 billion, over 17,000 employees and who knows how many geniuses, you'd think NASA could pretty much solve any problem. But NASA not only needs outside help, it encourages it, announcing 19 partnerships with US businesses to benefit the entire US space sector.

Almost 50 years to the day since Neil Armstrong uttered the words "the Eagle has landed" Lego will launch its Eagle Lunar Module set to celebrate the anniversary. Developed in cooperation with NASA, the set will be available from June 1 at a price of just under US$100.

On Sunday, July 20, 1969, the first thing ever written by a human while on a celestial body that wasn't our own planet Earth was jotted onto a page. That page was within a book known as "The Timeline Book" which is set to be auctioned at Christie's New York later this year.

To help put the first generation of space colonists on the right footing, Purdue University's Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats (RETH) Institute is building a one-quarter-scale space habitat similar to ones that may one day be built on the Moon and Mars.