Space Exploration News 28 December 2025 - 28 January 2026

NASA began moving its Artemis II Moon rocket and Orion capsule to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center early Saturday. The agency targets Feb. 6 as the earliest launch window, pending final tests. Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will join three NASA crewmates, becoming the first Canadian on a Moon mission.

SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Friday at 4:41 p.m. EST on a Falcon 9 rocket. The booster, flying for the 29th time, landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. U.S. regulators approved 7,500 more Starlink satellites, raising the authorized total to 15,000.

Astronomers using the Green Bank Telescope detected no radio technosignatures from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, supporting its natural origin. Gemini North released an image showing the comet’s green glow from gases near the Sun. NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft observed the comet’s tails in ultraviolet, with some features still unexplained, researchers said.

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft detected hydrogen and oxygen in the coma of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using its ultraviolet spectrograph in November, the SETI Institute said Tuesday. The comet, only the third known interstellar object to pass through the solar system, showed no signs of breaking apart. Europe’s JUICE mission and the Green Bank Telescope also observed the comet last fall. No artificial radio signals were found.

Breakthrough Listen researchers found no credible radio technosignatures from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS after a five-hour Green Bank Telescope search on Dec. 18. The null result comes as scientists examine unusual jet features in Hubble images. NASA confirmed the comet posed no threat, passing 270 million km from Earth. The object was first reported by the ATLAS survey in Chile on July 1, 2025.

SOHO spacecraft data show interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS released water at a peak rate of 3.17 x 10^29 molecules per second after perihelion, then declined as it moved outward. A Breakthrough Listen radio search using the Green Bank Telescope found no artificial signals from the object. NASA says the comet posed no threat to Earth and is already leaving the solar system.

Breakthrough Listen found no artificial radio signals from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS after scanning it with the Green Bank Telescope, researchers reported. Harvard’s Avi Loeb highlighted unusual jet patterns in Hubble images and called for further study. NASA maintains the object is a natural comet and poses no threat. The comet is already leaving the solar system, limiting further observations.

The Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia conducted a six-hour chemical survey of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS early Saturday. Previous radio searches, including a Breakthrough Listen scan on Dec. 18, found no technosignatures. NASA and other agencies say the comet is natural and poses no threat. 3I/ATLAS remains visible from Earth until spring 2026.

NASA is targeting an initial Artemis II launch window opening Feb. 5, with backup dates through April 2026. The mission will send four astronauts, including Christina Koch and Canadian Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day lunar flyby aboard the SLS rocket and Orion capsule. NASA may move the rocket to the pad as early as January. Artemis II marks the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion.

New Hubble images reveal three evenly spaced jets on interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb said Friday. The comet, which passed closest to Earth on Dec. 19, is now leaving the solar system. A recent Breakthrough Listen search using the Green Bank Telescope detected no candidate radio signals from the object.

Breakthrough Listen researchers found no artificial radio signals from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during a deep scan with the Green Bank Telescope on Dec. 18. The comet passed Earth at 1.8 astronomical units in December and is now fading. No technosignatures were detected across multiple observatories. Astronomers continue tracking the object to refine orbital measurements.

Iran said three satellites—Paya, Zafar-2, and Kowsar—were launched into low Earth orbit from Russia using a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Iranian state media reported the satellites will monitor agriculture and the environment. Western governments have raised concerns about dual-use rocket technology. The launch follows a similar Iranian satellite mission from Russia in July.

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS—also known by its comet designation C/2025 N1 (ATLAS)—is already on its way out of our solar system. But in the final weeks of 2025, it’s still delivering surprises: a rare “anti-tail” that appears to point toward the Sun, jets that wobble with a clock-like rhythm, and a fresh wave of results from some of humanity’s most sensitive searches for unusual signals. 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object ever observed passing through our celestial neighborhood—after ‘Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019)—and it’s giving scientists an unprecedented chance to study material forged around another star. NASA Science+1 Below is what’s new, what it means, and where this