*Update: the launch has been rescheduled from Saturday 26 August to Monday 28 August*

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 28 August 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the Universe and the structure of spacetime.

XRISM is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with significant participation from ESA. The launch will be streamed live in Japanese and English on JAXA’s YouTube channel.

Image: A month after fires ravaged the island of Rhodes in July 2023, more fires have ripped through Greece this week as southern Europe swelters under a late summer heatwave. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the ongoing blaze near Alexandroupoli in the Evros region of northeast Greece – close

Video: 00:00:26

Animation showing the Orion spacecraft, powered by the European Service Module-4, with I-Hab for the Gateway.

The mega Moon rocket SLS will propel four astronauts inside Orion to the Moon on Artemis IV as well as deliver the I-Hab module to the lunar Gateway.

The international habitat or, I-Hab for short, is one of ESA’s many contributions to the lunar Gateway – an outpost that will orbit the Moon as part of the Artemis programme.

The I-Hab is a pressurised module that will provide living quarters for astronauts visiting the Gateway, including multiple docking ports for berthing vehicles as well

Video: 00:00:41

Animation showing the Orion spacecraft, powered by the European Service Module-5, delivering the Esprit to the Gateway, not shown is the lunar landing system that will also be docked to Gateway on arrival.

The mega Moon rocket SLS will propel four astronauts inside Orion to the Moon on Artemis V as well as deliver the Esprit module to the lunar Gateway.

Orion and the European Service Module will tug Esprit into position around the Moon and dock with the Gateway, pushing Esprit into position.

The Esprit refuelling module is part of the Gateway’s core structure. The module is 4.6 m

Image: Huginn launch

Video: 00:03:31

Hera is complete. ESA’s asteroid mission for planetary defence was built and prepared in two halves, but now, through a painstaking operation, they have been mated together to make a single spacecraft, ready for full-scale testing of its readiness for space.

The mating took place at OHB Bremen in Germany, with Hera’s Core Module raised more than 3 m above its Propulsion Module then gradually and carefully slotted into place, over a three-hour period. The modules had been placed in cages to ensure their correct alignment relative to each other down to a few tenths of a millimetre.

Washington DC (SPX) Aug 24, 2023
NASA has selected the geology team that will develop the surface science plan for the first crewed lunar landing mission in more than 50 years. NASA's Artemis III mission will land astronauts, including the first woman to land on the Moon, near the lunar South Pole to advance scientific discovery and pave the way for long-term lunar exploration. "Science is one of the pillars of Artemis,"

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 24, 2023
Joining the likes of NASA, weather intelligence company Tomorrow.io said Thursday its radar satellites have the unique ability to monitor precipitation intensity from space. "This achievement places Tomorrow.io alongside NASA and JAXA (The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) as the only entities to have ever taken such measurements from orbit," the company announced. Tomorrow.io