• Mars rover finds potential sign of past life: NASA revealed that a Martian rock sample contains “potential biosignatures” – organic compounds and mineral patterns hinting ancient microbial life may have existed nasa.gov. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy called it “the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars… a groundbreaking discovery” nasa.gov.
• Webb telescope probes Earth-like exoplanet: New JWST data show the Earth-sized planet TRAPPIST-1e lacks a thick hydrogen atmosphere, hinting it either has a denser secondary atmosphere (like nitrogen) or none at all space.com. “TRAPPIST-1e has long been considered one of the best habitable zone planets to search for an atmosphere,” said astronomer Ryan MacDonald, adding that so far they “cannot yet rule out a bare rock with no atmosphere” space.com space.com.
• SpaceX’s back-to-back launches: SpaceX prepared two Falcon 9 launches within 24 hours. In Florida, after three days of storm scrubs, a Falcon 9 was reset for Sept. 11 to carry Indonesia’s Nusantara Lima broadband satellite to orbit spaceflightnow.com. Meanwhile on Sept. 10 in California, SpaceX successfully launched 21 satellites for the U.S. Space Development Agency’s new mesh-network constellation, deploying them into orbit for the Pentagon’s “Proliferated Warfighter” communications layer ts2.tech. “The start of Tranche 1 delivery… is a remarkable accomplishment… it will enhance our strategic advantage by serving the joint warfighting force with operational capabilities previously thought infeasible from LEO,” said SDA acting director G.P. Sandhoo ssc.spaceforce.mil.
• Blue Origin’s lunar tech milestone: Blue Origin announced its “Blue Alchemist” in-situ resource system – designed to turn Moon dust into solar panels, oxygen, metals and more – passed a critical design review blueorigin.com. “Blue Alchemist changes everything about how we approach space. It is the foundation for a sustainable robotic and human presence across the solar system,” said Pat Remias, Blue Origin’s VP of Advanced Concepts blueorigin.com. This breakthrough brings permanent Moon bases a step closer, as the tech aims to make breathable oxygen, rocket fuel, and building materials from lunar regolith.
• Space station resupply traffic: The International Space Station saw heavy logistics activity. Russia’s Progress 91 cargo ship undocked on Sept. 9 carrying trash to burn up on reentry ts2.tech, and a fresh Progress 93 was rolled out for launch on Sept. 11 with 2.8 tons of food, fuel and supplies bound for the ISS ts2.tech. On the U.S. side, NASA and Northrop Grumman unveiled the new “Cygnus XL” cargo module – a stretched supply ship – set to launch Sept. 14 on a Falcon 9 (after the Antares rocket’s retirement) ts2.tech. The upgraded Cygnus will deliver over 5,000 kg of experiments and gear to the ISS, helping keep crews stocked as two uncrewed freighters arrive days apart.
• U.S. space policy showdown: A major budget battle is brewing over NASA’s exploration program. The White House’s FY2026 proposal seeks to cancel the SLS Moon rocket, Orion capsule, and Gateway station after Artemis III, shifting to commercially provided launch systems ts2.tech. Congress, however, is pushing back hard – lawmakers of both parties moved to block these cuts and preserve funding to keep SLS/Orion through at least Artemis V ts2.tech. The tussle highlights debates over cost vs. commercial alternatives: the administration eyes newer private rockets for deep space missions, while Congress argues to continue NASA’s owned vehicles.
• International space moves: China expanded its orbital fleet with a Long March 7A launch on Sept. 9 (Beijing time), lofting a classified Yaogan-45 reconnaissance satellite into medium Earth orbit ts2.tech. The mission – China’s fourth CZ-7A this year – underscores an aggressive launch cadence, bolstering Beijing’s military surveillance from space. China also announced plans to establish Guangdong province as a high-tech commercial space hub ts2.tech. In Europe, Sweden’s Esrange spaceport emerged as key to future EU launch plans ts2.tech, offering a new polar launch site. And India, fresh off recent lunar and solar missions, formally declared space a core pillar of its national security strategy ts2.tech, signaling intent to boost its space capabilities and international collaborations.

Martian Rover Hints at Ancient Life

NASA’s Perseverance rover has delivered what might be the most tantalizing evidence of past life on Mars to date. Researchers revealed that a rock sample nicknamed “Sapphire Canyon,” collected in Jezero Crater, contains organic molecules and unusual mineral patterns that could be “potential biosignatures” – in other words, possible chemical traces of ancient microbial activity nasa.gov. These findings underwent rigorous peer review and were just published in Nature, indicating the data’s validity.

At a Sept. 10 briefing, top NASA scientists and officials highlighted the significance of this discovery. Acting Administrator Sean Duffy emphasized how remarkable it is, saying “this finding… is the closest we have ever come to discovering life on Mars. The identification of a potential biosignature on the Red Planet is a groundbreaking discovery” nasa.gov. Mission scientists caution that “potential” biosignatures are not proof of life – such signals could also come from non-biological processes. However, the sample’s chemistry is intriguing: Perseverance found a mix of clay, sulfates, phosphorous, oxidized iron (rust) and carbon compounds in a fine-grained mudstone that’s excellent at preserving fossils nasa.gov. The rover’s instruments spotted “leopard spot” patterns of certain iron minerals (vivianite and greigite) that on Earth often form via microbial activity nasa.gov.

Taken together, these clues suggest Mars had habitable conditions in this locale billions of years ago – and if microbes were present, this rock could have captured their chemical “fingerprints.” “The combination of chemical compounds we found… could have been a rich source of energy for microbial metabolisms,” said Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University, lead author of the study nasa.gov. It’s a tantalizing hint that Mars “could have been habitable for a longer period… than previously thought”, potentially even later into Mars’s history nasa.gov. NASA officials stress more analysis is needed to confirm any biological origin – ideally by returning these samples to Earth through the planned Mars Sample Return mission. Still, this discovery has energized the scientific community, marking a major milestone in the search for life beyond Earth nasa.gov.

Webb Telescope Reveals Exoplanet Atmosphere Secrets

In other science news, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been busy studying one of the most Earth-like exoplanets known: TRAPPIST-1e. Located ~40 light-years away in its star’s habitable zone, TRAPPIST-1e has long fueled hopes of finding an Earth-like atmosphere. Now, initial Webb observations suggest the planet does not have a thick, hydrogen-rich “primordial” atmosphere – a positive sign for habitability, since a puffy hydrogen envelope would likely make the surface inhospitable universetoday.com. Instead, TRAPPIST-1e might have a much thinner secondary atmosphere (dominated by heavier gases like nitrogen) or possibly no atmosphere at all universetoday.com.

Webb’s spectroscopic data came from watching the planet cross in front of its red dwarf star four times and analyzing starlight filtering through any air. These early results were “nowhere near as clear” as scientists would like due to interference from the star itself, which has active sunspots and flares universetoday.com universetoday.com. Still, the team was able to rule out certain scenarios. A massive hydrogen/helium atmosphere (like a mini-Neptune) is virtually impossible, since that would have produced obvious signals Webb did not see universetoday.com universetoday.com. Likewise, a dense carbon-dioxide blanket (like Venus or Mars have) appears unlikely or very thin universetoday.com.

What’s left are intriguing possibilities. One is a “secondary atmosphere” – perhaps similar to Earth’s, composed of nitrogen, oxygen, etc., built up after the planet’s original atmosphere was stripped away by stellar flares universetoday.com universetoday.com. “TRAPPIST-1e has long been considered one of the best habitable zone planets to search for an atmosphere,” noted team member Ryan MacDonald space.com. “The most exciting possibility is that TRAPPIST-1e could have a so-called secondary atmosphere containing heavy gases like nitrogen. But our initial observations cannot yet rule out a bare rock with no atmosphere,” he explained space.com. In other words, the planet might be an airless, moon-like world – or it could possess a thin, perhaps Earth-like atmosphere that Webb just hasn’t detected conclusively yet.

To find out which, astronomers are continuing the TRAPPIST-1e campaign. “In the coming years, we will go from four JWST observations of TRAPPIST-1e to nearly 20,” MacDonald said, looking ahead to more telescope time space.com. Each additional transit observation will refine the spectrum and could reveal subtler gases (like oxygen or methane) if present. This study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters on Sept. 8, marks a significant step in probing a potentially habitable exoplanet’s atmosphere space.com. It’s a preview of how Webb is transforming the search for life beyond our solar system, one distant world at a time.

SpaceX Launches Two Missions in One Day (Almost)

It’s been a busy 48 hours for SpaceX, showcasing the company’s rapid launch cadence with a potential doubleheader. After a string of delays, SpaceX aimed to launch two Falcon 9 rockets within a 24-hour span – one from each U.S. coast – carrying both commercial and national security payloads.

First up was the Nusantara Lima mission in Florida. This is a 4.5-ton Indonesian telecommunications satellite (also called N5 or SATRIA-2) meant to expand broadband internet across Indonesia’s vast archipelago spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. Originally scheduled for early September, its launch attempts were scrubbed on Sept. 8, 9, and 10 due to Florida’s stormy weather and even a technical glitch on one try spaceflightnow.com. “Deep atmospheric moisture… will continue to elevate chances of showers and storms for the primary launch opportunity,” Air Force weather officers warned mid-week spaceflightnow.com. SpaceX stood down repeatedly with the Falcon 9 on the pad, waiting for a clear window. By Sept. 11, conditions looked marginally better, and the team targeted an evening liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 7:59 p.m. EDT spaceflightnow.com. If all went well, the Falcon 9 would boost Nusantara Lima to a geostationary transfer orbit ~27 minutes after launch spaceflightnow.com, and then the veteran first-stage booster (on its 23rd flight) would land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic spaceflightnow.com. For Indonesia, this satellite is crucial – it will provide 160 Gbps of Ka-band connectivity to rural regions, augmenting the country’s SATRIA-1 satellite launched in 2023 spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. After deployment, Nusantara Lima will maneuver to its orbital slot at 113° East and should begin service by early 2026 spaceflightnow.com.

The second mission took place on the opposite coast less than a day apart. On the morning of Sept. 10 (Pacific time), SpaceX launched 21 small satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California ts2.tech. This Falcon 9 carried the first operational batch of the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer – a new military constellation. The 21 satellites, built by York Space Systems, are part of a planned “mesh network” of hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit that will relay data for the U.S. military ts2.tech. About an hour after launch, all satellites were successfully deployed into polar orbit ts2.tech. The mission marks the debut of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, the Pentagon’s strategy to use many inexpensive satellites for resilient global communications and missile tracking ts2.tech. “This mission is the first of six Tranche 1 flights… providing assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide,” noted SDA deputy director Gurpatap “GP” Sandhoo before launch ts2.tech. He explained that these orbiting nodes will extend tactical communication links “beyond line-of-sight” – for example, “we can use space to go from Hawaii out to Guam… using a space layer as a relay,” instead of relying on terrestrial radio range ts2.tech. In this launch, SpaceX once again demonstrated its reusability prowess: the Falcon’s first stage (making its 6th flight) landed safely on the Pacific drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, while the second stage executed a careful deployment sequence, releasing the 21 satellites one by one over the course of an hour ts2.tech.

Pulling off two orbital launches in roughly one day is no small feat, but it’s becoming closer to routine for SpaceX. By early September, the company had already surpassed 80 launches in 2025. In fact, just a few days prior, SpaceX’s running tally of Starlink missions hit a milestone – over 2,000 Starlink internet satellites launched this year alone spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com – reflecting a torrid pace. The attempted double launch day of Sept 10–11 further solidifies SpaceX’s reputation for swift, high-volume operations, even as they juggle a range of customers from commercial telecom providers to the U.S. Space Force.

Blue Origin’s Big Leap Toward Lunar Bases

Not to be overshadowed by launch news, Blue Origin made headlines with a technological breakthrough aimed at the Moon. On Sept. 10, Jeff Bezos’s space company announced that “Blue Alchemist” – its in-situ resource utilization system – has successfully completed Critical Design Review (CDR) blueorigin.com. This milestone means the project’s engineering design is validated and deemed feasible, clearing the way for prototyping and testing in lunar-like conditions in 2026 blueorigin.com.

So what is Blue Alchemist? It’s a pioneering system that seeks to turn lunar regolith (moon dust) into vital resources: solar panels, metal alloys, silicone, and even oxygen for breathing and rocket fuel blueorigin.com blueorigin.com. Instead of hauling tons of materials from Earth at enormous cost, future astronauts could “live off the land” on the Moon. Blue Alchemist uses a process called molten regolith electrolysis, which essentially melts lunar soil and zaps it with electricity to break chemical bonds blueorigin.com. The output: pure silicon (to make solar cells and electronics), various metals (for construction), and large amounts of oxygen blueorigin.com. Oxygen is not only breathable for crews but can be liquefied into oxidizer for rockets – a game-changer for refueling depots on the Moon or even Mars. According to Blue Origin, this approach could make lunar landings up to 60% cheaper by reducing what needs to be launched from Earth blueorigin.com. It could also cut the mass of batteries or fuel cells carried, by refueling those systems with locally produced oxygen blueorigin.com.

“Blue Alchemist changes everything about how we approach space,” said Pat Remias, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Advanced Concepts, “It is the foundation for a sustainable robotic and human presence across the solar system” blueorigin.com. Each kilogram of oxygen made on the Moon is one less that has to be lifted from Earth’s gravity well – “a giant leap toward permanent settlements,” Remias added blueorigin.com. The company envisions that with Blue Alchemist, future missions will build what they need on-site: turning lunar dust into solar power farms, breathable air, water (from oxygen combined with imported hydrogen), and structural materials for habitats blueorigin.com blueorigin.com. Impressively, the same tech could work on Mars as well, since martian soil has similar oxides. Blue Origin’s initiative even has terrestrial spinoffs: they noted the process can make solar cells with no carbon emissions, using common Earth materials like desert sand blueorigin.com.

With CDR done, Blue Alchemist moves to the next phase – an autonomous demo in a simulated lunar environment next year blueorigin.com. NASA has supported this project under its Tipping Point program, seeing it as enabling infrastructure for Artemis-era moon bases blueorigin.com. If Blue Origin can prove the concept at scale, it could furnish a crucial piece of the Artemis puzzle: how to build a permanent, sustainable human outpost on the Moon. Lunar astronauts of the late 2020s might be breathing and working with resources derived from the very ground beneath their boots.

Traffic at the Space Station: Cargo In, Cargo Out

Up in low Earth orbit, the International Space Station (ISS) saw a flurry of logistics action during this period, as both Russia and the U.S. managed comings and goings of uncrewed cargo ships.

On Sept. 9, a Russian Progress freighter – designated Progress MS-31 (or 91P in NASA’s counting) – undocked from the ISS after completing its half-year mission ts2.tech. Progress 91 had arrived in March loaded with supplies, and after six months attached to the Zvezda module, it was filled with bags of trash, used equipment, and other discardables. Cosmonauts closed its hatches and the craft smoothly separated from the station. A few hours later, Progress 91 fired its engines in a deliberate deorbit burn, sending it plunging into Earth’s atmosphere where it burned up over the Pacific Ocean – a routine but important disposal method for station waste ts2.tech. This frees up the docking port for the next supply ship.

Hot on its heels, Progress MS-32 (93P) was rolled out to the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome. Russia scheduled this next cargo launch for Sept. 11, aiming to deliver about 2.8 tons of food, fuel, water, and scientific gear to the station ts2.tech. If launch goes to plan, Progress 93 will reach orbit and autonomously dock with the ISS on Sept. 13 ts2.tech, bringing fresh provisions. (Russian mission controllers always have cosmonauts ready to take manual control if the automated docking system misbehaves, and this week crew members Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky practiced those manual rendezvous techniques as a backup ts2.tech.) With the new Progress inbound, the orbital lab’s residents can look forward to fresh deliveries – and more coffee, given that these ships often carry care packages along with essentials!

Meanwhile, the U.S. side of the ISS is preparing for an unusual cargo mission of its own. Northrop Grumman’s next Cygnus resupply craft (NG-23) will fly in a new configuration dubbed “Cygnus XL”, and notably, it will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ts2.tech. This arrangement arises from necessity: Northrop’s Antares rocket (which normally launched Cygnus from Virginia) was retired last year, and a replacement version is in development with Firefly Aerospace for 2025+. To avoid a gap, NASA booked a Falcon 9 to loft Cygnus this time. The Cygnus XL capsule is a stretched variant, about 1.2 meters longer than before, allowing it to carry an extra 1,300 kg of cargo ts2.tech. Packed to the brim with over 11,000 pounds of experiments, crew supplies, and hardware, NG-23 is scheduled to lift off no earlier than Sept. 14 from Cape Canaveral ts2.tech. Among its payloads are scientific investigations ranging from medical research to plant-growing experiments in microgravity ts2.tech. In honor of the late Space Shuttle Columbia astronaut William “Willie” McCool, the spacecraft has been named S.S. Willie McCool. After a two-day transit, Cygnus XL will be captured by the ISS’s robotic arm around Sept. 17 and berthed to the Unity node ts2.tech.

With two cargo ships arriving just days apart (Progress 93 and Cygnus NG-23), the 7-member ISS crew faces a busy period of unpacking and stowing supplies. It’s a well-rehearsed ballet: as one vehicle departs, another arrives, ensuring the orbiting laboratory remains well-stocked. These steady resupply missions also exemplify the international collaboration that keeps the ISS running – a symbiosis of Russian launch vehicles and spacecraft, American rockets and capsules, and contributions from Japan, Europe and Canada, all keeping humanity’s longest-lived space habitat in business.

Space Policy Clashes and Global Collaborations

Major developments on Earth could shape the future of space exploration as much as those in space. In Washington D.C., a policy showdown is underway over NASA’s Artemis Moon program and beyond. The Biden Administration’s FY2026 budget proposal contains a bombshell: it proposes cancelling the Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket, the Orion crew capsule, and the planned Gateway lunar station after Artemis III ts2.tech. In this scenario, NASA’s third Moon landing (Artemis III, slated for 2025) would be the last using SLS and Orion – subsequent missions would rely on commercially provided rockets and spacecraft. Essentially, the White House is signaling a pivot to newer, likely cheaper alternatives (for example, SpaceX’s Starship or other commercial heavy-lift rockets) rather than continuing to pour billions into the government-developed SLS system.

This proposal has ignited a firestorm in Congress, which has strongly supported SLS and Orion for years due to both strategic and economic reasons (the programs employ thousands across multiple states). Lawmakers from both parties immediately pushed back. Congressional committees have advanced spending bills that reject the administration’s SLS/Orion cuts, keeping funding near current levels and even adding money to ensure those vehicles continue through Artemis V and beyond ts2.tech. Essentially, Congress is moving to block the cancellation, framing SLS and Orion as critical national capabilities that shouldn’t be abandoned right after they’ve finally become operational. At stake is not only NASA’s Moon strategy but also jobs and industrial base in key states like Alabama (where SLS is managed) and Florida & Texas. The debate boils down to: should NASA “swap horses” to embrace 100% commercial transport to the Moon and deep space, or keep its own in-house transportation alongside commercial partners? As budget negotiations unfold, expect intense discussions – NASA’s long-term exploration roadmap could be radically reshaped depending on the outcome. For now, the legislative branch seems intent on preserving the status quo, setting up a clash with the executive branch’s new vision ts2.tech.

On the international front, the past two days saw a mix of cooperation and competition in space. China, in particular, continues to make bold moves. Early on Sept. 9 (local time), China launched a Long March 7A rocket from Wenchang spaceport, carrying the classified Yaogan-45 satellite to orbit ts2.tech. Yaogan satellites are believed to be military reconnaissance platforms (some for imaging, others for electronic intelligence), and China typically reveals few details. Notably, this was China’s 4th Long March 7A launch just this year, underscoring a rapid-fire launch cadence across its family of rockets ts2.tech. Beijing’s space program – both government and emerging private sector – is on track to exceed 60 launches in 2025, ranging from giant boosters sending navigation and spy satellites to clusters of small commercial satellites (often launched from sea-based platforms).

Beyond launching satellites, China announced plans to establish Guangdong Province as a new commercial space hub ts2.tech. Guangdong (a manufacturing powerhouse region) aims to attract space startups and build out infrastructure for rockets and satellites, in line with China’s goal to boost its homegrown space industry. This comes as China’s rival superpower ventures – like its Tiangong space station and planned international Moon base with Russia – continue to advance, sometimes prompting U.S. officials to voice concern. Indeed, space has increasingly become a domain of both collaboration and competition on the world stage.

In more positive collaboration news, Europe and India also made strides. The European Space Agency (ESA) highlighted progress at Esrange Space Center in Sweden, which is being developed into a launch site for small orbital rockets ts2.tech. With Europe’s access to space in flux (after Vega rocket failures and losing use of Russian Soyuz vehicles), Esrange will enable European-built microlaunchers to lift off from EU soil for the first time – a boon for European autonomy in space. And in India, officials announced a new national space policy that elevates space as a “key pillar of national security strategy” ts2.tech. This reflects India’s growing ambitions following its recent achievements (like the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing and Aditya-L1 solar probe launch). India is expanding military space capabilities (such as surveillance satellites and possibly anti-satellite tech) while also opening its space sector to private companies and partnering internationally – it joined the U.S.-led Artemis Accords last year to cooperate on lunar exploration.

Amid these developments, global cooperation in space remains strong in many areas. The ISS partnership endures between 15 nations despite geopolitical tensions. And NASA just hosted workshops with international partners on the upcoming Artemis III lunar landing plans. Yet, tensions inevitably creep in as more nations push into high-tech space endeavors. The U.S. and China often view each other’s moves warily – for example, China’s new Yaogan satellites and U.S. proposals for space security cooperation with allies each draw the other side’s scrutiny. Still, the period of Sept 10–11 shows that space is a big enough arena for both competition and collaboration. From potential life on Mars, to private rockets and lunar mines, to new spacefaring nations, the cosmos in 2025 is more dynamic than ever – and this week’s news captures that in full.

Sources: NASA Press Releases nasa.gov ssc.spaceforce.mil; NASA Science & News (Mars Perseverance, JWST) nasa.gov space.com; Spaceflight journalism (Space.com, Spaceflight Now, NASASpaceFlight) space.com ts2.tech; Blue Origin announcement blueorigin.com; TS2 Space News Brief ts2.tech ts2.tech.