Deep Space
Stories about missions throughout solar system and beyond.
Mars Rover Drives with the Help of Anthropic AI
AI is everywhere these days—even on Mars.
Engineers at JPL announced Friday that they had successfully used Anthropic’s AI model, called Claude, to map a 450-meter Martian path for NASA’s Perseverance rover.
New Glenn Launches ESCAPADE, a NASA Mission to Mars
After a five-year gap in new missions focused on Mars, NASA is on its way back.
Yesterday afternoon at 3:55pm, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launched for the second time, carrying its first NASA mission—the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers project, better known as ESCAPADE.
Venus Exploration Hangs in the Balance
Earth’s sulfuric, fiery, evil twin has been the subject of study for a long line of spacecraft over decades. But—while Venus remains a fascinating subject for planetary science and a candidate in the search for life away from home—there’s going to be a gap in our up-close study. The last spacecraft studying Venus up close, Japan’s Akatsuki orbiter, is officially out of commission.
UK Funds Design Review of New Autophage Spacecraft
Reality is starting to look a lot like science fiction.
Dragonfly Mission Progresses Despite Cost Overruns
NASA is developing on a nuclear-powered rotorcraft, called Dragonfly, to explore Saturn’s moon Titan. How’s it going? Depends on who you ask.
Duffy Selects 20-Year NASA Vet as His Number Two
By promoting Kshatriya, Duffy is following through on his commitment to “move away” from Earth sciences in favor of greater space exploration.
Can the TERP RAPTOR Replace NASA’s Apophis Explorer?
NASA’s budget cuts may force the space agency to miss the chance to study the asteroid Apophis when it makes a close fly-by of Earth—but academia isn’t giving up on the opportunity.
SmallSats Could Have Big Role in Solar Exploration, Too
Small sats have historically mainly made their homes in LEO, but more and more operators are shrinking the size of the platforms they send to GEO and beyond.
Zeno Power Hires NASA’s Former Chief Technologist
Charania, who also recently signed on as an advisor for Balerion Space Ventures, brings 25+ years of experience at many of the biggest names in the space industry.
Italy is Hitching a Ride to Mars with SpaceX
The proposed agreement with SpaceX will send multiple payloads to the Martian surface, including a plant growth experiment, a meteorological monitoring station, and a radiation sensor.
For Pulsar Fusion, Business is Bigger in Texas
UK nuclear propulsion startup Pulsar Fusion has dreams of ferrying rockets to the Moon, Mars, and Saturn—but first, they’re headed to Texas.
Lockheed Martin Hands Over Orion for Artemis II
It is scheduled to carry four astronauts around the Moon in early 2026.
