ICON

NASA has signed a contract with ICON to develop  technology to build off-world bases..

The contract is worth $57 million.

China

 China has launched a second crew to the Tiangong space station.

It will be the first crew changeover at the station.

Orion

 Artemis 1's Orion capsule reaches its maximum distance from Earth today.

It will be nearly 270,000 miles away.

Curosity

 On this date in 2011, NASA's Curiosity rover launched to Mars.

Curiosity is still roving, still exploring.

SGRB

 Astronomers gave traced 84 short gamma ray bursts to collisions of galaxies in the early universe.

SGRBs are among the most powerful events in nature.

TOS-1075 b

 Astronomers have found a super-Earth nearly ten times as massive as Earth.

It's designated TOS-1075 b.

Orion

 Artemis 1's Orion spacecraft is performing beautifully.

It recently flew within 80 miles of the lunar surface.

Power Beaming

 A charger rover on the Moon will beam power to robots exploring permanently shadowed areas.

It could be there by 2025.

Missiles

 North  Korea has test flown several missiles over the past few weeks.

The latest one was capable of reaching the United States.

Life

 Scientists have found fossils in Western Australia that  are 3.5 billion years old.

That makes them the oldest signs of life on Earth.

SBSP

 Airbus engineers say space-based solar power could work.

A space-based test could come next decade.

Artemis 1

 Artemis 1 successfully launched early this morning.

It used the most powerful rocket yet built.

Betelgeuse

 The giant star Betelgeuse has been mysteriously dimming.

Some scientists are now suggesting the dimming may be due to a passing black hole.

Apollo 12

 On this date in 1969, Apollo 12 launched.

Though struck by lightning seconds after liftoff. it continued to the Moon.

Falcon 9

 SpaceX successfully launched two satellite this morning.

It was the fifty-first Falcon 9 launch this year.

Giggles

 One biosignature JWST might  detect in the atmosphere of an exoplanet is nitrous oxide.

That's laughing gas.

Delay

 NASA has delayed the launch of Artemis 1 until at least November 15.

The delay is due to possible storms.

Araceibo

 The Araceibo radio telescope, destroyed in a hurricane, will not rebuilt.

It was perhaps the most famous scientific instrument in the world.

Wow!

 Astronomers are searching the vicinity of the origin of the famous Wow! signal for signs of alien life.

So far, nothing.

Contact

 Scientists and policy experts are working on protocols to guide humanity's response if we  receive a message from the stars.

At the moment, there might not be a unified human response.

UFOs

 U. S. intelligence officials are saying most recent UFOs are Chinese surveillance craft.

Others, they say, are weather balloons and optical illusions.

Black Holr

 A new study has found the closest known black hole-- 1.550 light years away.

It's a tiny one-- only 10 solar masses.

Laika

 On this date in 1957, the Soviets launched Laika the dog into space.

There was no plan to bring her home.

Plumes

 NASA has developed  an instrument that will automatically search for life in water plumes.

It can be used at worlds such as Europa or Enceladus.

Asteroid

 Astronomers have found a large asteroid that could potentially hit Earth at some point.

The mile-wide body would cause horrendous damage.