Articles by SpaceAge

October 6-12, 2025 / Vol 44, No 40 / Hawai`i Island, USA
Lunar Broadcast Precursor: Terrestrial Edition

October 6-12, 2025 / Hawai`i Island, USA

Vol 44, No 40: Lunar Broadcast Precursor: Terrestrial Edition

Dubai Space-Comm Expo 2025 Promoting Space Partnerships to Address Global Challenges

Space-Comm Expo Dubai, October 8-9 at Dubai World Trade Centre, is one of the largest space industry gatherings in the Middle East / West Asia. Hub Exhibitions is organizing the event with UAE Space Agency. This trade-only expo, accessible via space-comm.me, attracts Astronauts, CEOs and innovators for B2B deals, technology demonstrations and keynotes. The expo aligns with UAE National Space Strategy 2030, which outlines 6 objectives, 21 programs and 79 initiatives to position UAE among the top 5 space powers by 2030. Crown Prince Hamdan bin Al Maktoum, Chairman of Supreme Space Council, drives public-private partnerships to diversify the AED د.إ.20 billion (US$5.4 billion) space sector, projected to triple by 2030. November 17-21, Dubai Airshow highlights advanced aviation and strategic partnerships. Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre launched the 750-kg MBZ-SAT, a high-resolution Earth-observation satellite, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in January 2025 with 90% local manufacturing. Emirates Mission to the Main Asteroid Belt, launching in 2028, will flyby 6 asteroids and land on 269 Justitia in 2034. January 2024 NASA agreement will fly an Emirati Astronaut to the lunar orbit Gateway, featuring a UAE-built Emirates Airlock. Yahsat has AED د.إ.25.1 billion in future contracts. EOS-X Space offers suborbital flights from Abu Dhabi for AED د.إ.600,000. MBRSC Rashid 2 Rover targets a 2026 far-side-Moon landing via Firefly Blue Ghost lander. (Image Credits: Govt. of Dubai Media Office)

The Many Missions of Blue Origin

October 8, Blue Origin launches 36th New Shepard suborbital, and bridges space tourism with human expansion across the Solar System via many other projects. New partnership fostered by Blue Origin Luxembourg office with GOMSpace, ESRIC and that country’s national space agency is for Project Oasis that will integrate the Blue Origin Blue Alchemist ISRU project to manufacture on the Moon surface, processing regolith into oxygen and solar cells. US$190M NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services award is to deliver Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to Moon South Pole NET 2027, reviving the water-hunting mission previously canceled, after first Blue Origin robotic Moon lander late 2025. For VIPER, Blue Origin will modify Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander to mount VIPER ~450 kilograms and offload it onto Moon surface. Mark 1 flies via Blue Origin New Glenn rocket, ~45,000 kg, ~98 meters tall (with Starship ~120), seven BE-4 engines in the reusable 1st stage and two BE-3U engines in the 2nd stage. 2nd New Glenn launch, NET October 13 from Cape Canaveral, sends NASA twin Mars orbital probes Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) to study magnetosphere, atmosphere and solar wind at the 4th planet, advancing humanity toward a multiworld future. (Image Credits: Blue Origin, NASA)

Humans in Space

⭐ International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 73 seven-member crew are performing maintenance on life support and electronics, sequencing DNA, studying the digestive system in microgravity, conducting the yearly inspection inside the Roscosmos modules for moisture / corrosion / damage, installing / activating a new dehumidifying system and operating an Electrostatic Levitation Furnace to heat materials to ultra-high temperature and then measure them with physics sensors.

⭐ Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 20 three-member crew 4th spacewalk (SZ-20 EVA-4) ties the record for most EVAs by a Tiangong crew as they inspect its 3 modules and 2 docked spacecraft and install more panels for space debris protection; crew continues to test the Wukong Artificial Intelligence model, which has a Q&A system designed to give timely and effective support during complicated tasks such as preparing for a spacewalk, thus reducing Taikonaut stress.

🌔 Lunar News: Weekly lunar advisories [coming soon]

☄ Near-Earth Objects Close Approaches – Tues Oct 7: Apollo Asteroid 2025 SM15 (0.020 AU); Wed Oct 8: Apollo Asteroid 2022 TU1 (0.043 AU); Thu Oct 9: Aten Asteroid 2020 QU5 (0.018 AU).

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