Deep Space

Space industry coverage tagged Deep Space from Outer Space Today.

• Chandra Data Reveals a New Class of Cosmic Objects Hiding in Six Galaxies

  September 10, 2026

  Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered a previously unseen class of objects that emit unusually low-energy X-rays alongside intense ultraviolet radiation. The finding, published Wednesday in Nature Astronomy, identifies 84 of these objects across six galaxies and could help resolve two long-standing questions in astrophysics. The team, led by Mustafa Muhibullah of the University of Alabama, spotted the objects by combing through publicly available data in the Chandra

• Hubble Reveals a 10-Sided Wave Taking Shape Over Saturn's South Pole

  September 4, 2026

  NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has identified a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave circling Saturn's south pole, the first time scientists have observed a large, regularly shaped jet pattern in the planet's southern hemisphere. The structure, described as a decagon, appears to have formed only in the past few years and is still strengthening, giving researchers a rare chance to watch a giant atmospheric pattern develop in real time. The findings were published in the journal Science Advanc

• NASA Taps Blue Origin to Build Mars Telecommunications Network in $700 Million Deal

  September 1, 2026

  NASA awarded Blue Origin a contract Tuesday to develop the agency's Mars Telecommunications Network, a next-generation system designed to provide reliable, high-bandwidth communications and navigation services for current and future Mars missions. The firm-fixed-price contract carries a maximum potential value of approximately $700 million and requires delivery of a high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiter no later than December 31, 2028. The award marks a milestone in NASA's strategy t

• Nonprofit Targets $15 Million Mission to Alpha Centauri by 2029

  September 1, 2026

  A new nonprofit called Fermi Explorer announced plans on September 1, 2026, to launch humanity's first mission to Alpha Centauri by the end of 2029, on a budget of less than $15 million. The mission, founded by the co-founders of Starcloud, aims to succeed where Breakthrough Starshot struggled, sending a cubesat-sized spacecraft toward a star roughly four light-years away. The mission began with a conversation. Starcloud CEO and co-founder Philip Johnston, now also Fermi Explorer president and

• Gravity Data Reveals Mars Is Hundreds of Degrees Hotter in the South

  August 31, 2026

  Researchers have found a major temperature imbalance deep inside Mars, with the planet's southern interior appearing significantly hotter than its northern half and possibly partially molten. The discovery, drawn from decades of gravity measurements, offers a new window into the Red Planet's geologic history, including periods when Mars may have had environments capable of supporting life. Mars has long been known to look very different across its two hemispheres. The southern surface is domina

• NASA's Roman Space Telescope Lifts Off on Falcon Heavy for Survey of Two Billion Galaxies

  August 30, 2026

  NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday, August 30, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The $4.3 billion observatory is bound for a point 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where it will begin a five to ten year science mission mapping more than two billion galaxies and probing the nature of dark energy and dark matter. Roman is NASA's next flagship observatory after the James Webb Space Telescope, and its arrival at the launch pad foll

• NASA Glenn Advances SR-1 Freedom, Billed as First Nuclear Fission-Powered Interplanetary Spacecraft

  August 29, 2026

  NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is playing a key role in developing Space Reactor-1 Freedom, described as the first nuclear fission-powered interplanetary spacecraft. The vehicle is designed to travel to Mars and deliver a payload of three helicopters, then remain in space for testing of its nuclear power module. The project builds on NASA's prior work in nuclear power, which the agency has funded over many years. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed SR-1 as a cost-conscious effort

• Roman Space Telescope Set for Sunday Falcon Heavy Launch from Kennedy

  August 28, 2026

  NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, August 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The observatory pairs spy satellite optical technology with sophisticated infrared detectors, delivering a field of view 100 times wider than Hubble's. When operational early next year, it will become NASA's third major flagship space observatory currently active. Roman is designed to map the sky 1,000 times faster than Hubbl

• NASA Activates New 34-Meter Antenna at Goldstone, Expanding Deep Space Network

  August 26, 2026

  NASA has added a new 34-meter (114-foot) radio frequency antenna to its Deep Space Network at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California. The new dish, Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23), began operations on August 3 and strengthens the communications and navigation system that supports more than 40 spacecraft across the solar system and interstellar space. DSS-23 is the latest antenna added under the Deep Space Network's Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 20

• Tianwen-2 Delivers First Close View of Kamoʻoalewa After 400-Day Chase

  August 26, 2026

  China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has returned the first close-up image of the near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, photographing the object from about 20 kilometres away on 2 July 2026 after a 400-day heliocentric transfer covering roughly one billion kilometres. The China National Space Administration released the image on 6 July, showing an elongated grey body against black space with a 10-metre scale bar. It was the first close view of an object that telescopes had previously recorded as little more

• Roman Space Telescope Cleared for Aug. 30 Falcon Heavy Launch from Kennedy

  August 24, 2026

  NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has completed its Flight Readiness Review and is being prepared for liftoff aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Aug. 30, from Launch Complex 39A, sending the observatory on a mission to study dark energy, search for exoplanets, and investigate the physics of distant stars. Roman is described as NASA's next great observatory, positioned to lead the next generat

• Japan Sets October 20 Launch for Mission to Return Samples From a Martian Moon

  August 20, 2026

  Japan's space agency confirmed on August 20 that its mission to collect and return samples from one of Mars' moons will launch on October 20. If successful, it would mark the first sample return from the Martian system. The mission is designed to collect material from either Phobos or Deimos and bring it back to Earth. The confirmed launch date establishes a near-term milestone for a mission that aims to deliver Martian system samples without the greater risk of landing on the planet's surface.