NASA's Psyche mission launched on 13 October 2023 on a journey to explore what could be the exposed metallic core of an ancient planet.

Riding along on board the Psyche spacecraft is an additional technology demonstration. NASA's Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) demonstration will test the use of lasers to transmit and receive more data with distant spacecraft than is possible with the radio waves currently in use.

Using a narrow laser beam to communicate with a spacecraft located 300 million km away presents a challenge on both interplanetary and quantum scales. However, if successful, the DSOC demonstration could unlock a world of new possibilities for future deep space missions.

ESA will participate in the DSOC demonstration in 2025 and work has begun to develop the required cutting-edge laser technology and ground infrastructure in Europe.

Blue Origin launched its first rocket in more than a year on Tuesday, reviving the US company's fortunes with a successful return to space following an uncrewed crash in 2022.

Though mission NS-24 carried a payload of science experiments, not people, it paves the way for Jeff Bezos' aerospace enterprise to resume taking wealthy thrill-seekers to the final frontier.

The New Shepard suborbital rocket blasted off from the pad at Launch Site One, near Van Horn, Texas, at 10:43 am local time (1643 GMT).

After separating from the booster, the gumdrop-shaped capsule attained a peak altitude of 66.5 miles (107 kilometers) above sea level, well above the internationally-recognized boundary of space known as the Karman line, which is 62 miles high.

The booster then successfully landed vertically on the launchpad, against the majestic backdrop of the Sierra Diablo mountains, followed a few minutes later by the capsule floating serenely to the desert floor on three giant parachutes.