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TOPIC

Space

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NASA
Space
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Space. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
LATEST China Science NEWS

Chinese nuclear giant CNNC sets new benchmark in uranium exploration

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Uranium is growing in importance and demand as a fuel in China. Photo: Shutterstock

Brain disorder no match for young Chinese prodigy at maths Olympiad

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High school student Xu Qiming (right) overcame the limits of cerebral palsy to help Team China reclaim the crown at this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad held in Australia. Photo: Handout

China-Singapore team’s nanovaccine suppresses cancer recurrence and spread

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Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Nanoscience and the National University of Singapore are working on a cancer treatment that uses nanotechnology to attack tumours. Photo: Shutterstock

Why China is surging ahead of Trump’s US in green energy race

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Solar panels and wind turbines at a new energy power generation project in Binzhou, in China’s eastern Shandong province. Photo: AFP

Chinese pterosaur’s last meal feeds dino-sized diet debate

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Pterosaurs are an extinct group of flying reptiles that lived from the Late Triassic period to the end of the Cretaceous period around 66 million years ago. Image: Getty Images
MORE China Science NEWS
The pope looks through a large telescope at the Vatican astronomical observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world. Photo: IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa
Pope Leo XIV

Pope visits observatory, calls Buzz Aldrin to mark 1969 US moon landing

The American pontiff spoke with the famed Apollo 11 astronaut, reflecting on human ingenuity and the ‘mystery and greatness of Creation’.

Aviation accidents

Felix Baumgartner, famed for skydive from edge of space, dies in crash in Italy

Science

How does space affect the mind? China sends ‘mini-brain’ to Tiangong to find out

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United States

Astronomers observe birth of a solar system for the first time

Unprecedented observation of planets beginning to form 1,300 light-years away offers vital clues about how Earth and other planets originated.

This image shows a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. Photo: AP
Science

China’s Tianlong-3 rocket passes critical test a year after explosive mishap

Space Pioneer unveils plan to allow ordinary people to ‘take a rocket like they take a plane, making global one-hour travel possible’.

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Aerospace: Companies

Opinion | A few small steps for Hong Kong, a giant leap for China’s space sector

The city is well suited to advance China’s commercial ambitions in the cosmos and play a leading role in reforming outdated legal frameworks.

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Science

What are China’s plans for deep space exploration … and beyond?

The United States has long held the lead in the space race, but the Chinese programme is catching up fast.

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Chinese researchers test the escape flight functions of China’s new-generation manned spacecraft Mengzhou in northwest China. Photo: Xinhua
Science

Chang’e-6 study shows asteroid strike may have altered moon’s far-side mantle

Meanwhile, researchers across Nasa and American government departments may be locked out from Chinese findings due to US budget cuts.

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SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans share sale that would lift value to US$400 billion

That would mark the largest-ever valuation for a privately held US company, surpassing SpaceX’s previous record of US$350 billion.

China's space programme

Explainer | China is making rapid space tech gains. Here’s how the military could use them

From satellite navigation to spy probes, anti-sat weapons and reusable space planes, Chinese technology is advancing at a fast pace.

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Satellites destined for the Qianfan, or Thousand Sails, constellation blast off on a Long March 6 rocket from a launch site in central China in January. Photo: Xinhua
Science

Giant object from deep space spotted blazing through our solar system

Interstellar object headed towards Mars, but poses no threat to Earth, says head of planetary defence at the ESA.

The interstellar object captured on June 2, 2025. Photo: David Rankin, Saguaro Observatory via AFP
China's space programme

China could be about to attempt a landmark satellite refuelling test

Tracking images show Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 within extremely close range, suggesting docking then refuelling and servicing could be next.

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United States

Meet the meteorite hunters chasing space rocks that can fetch US$400 a gram

Meteorite hunters flocked to Georgia last week after a meteor disintegrated over the US state, but not everyone is in it for the money.

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India

India eyes lift-off for space economy after astronaut ISS milestone

Mission marks progress in India’s programme to become the fourth country to independently carry out human space flights.

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Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla with fellow astronauts aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. Shukla is India’s second astronaut going into space. Photo: Nasa via AP
Science

New Dawn: Pan Jianwei reveals high-orbit quantum satellite for global network

China’s ‘father of quantum’ tells German conference that project has laid groundwork to potentially redefine international basic unit of time.

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Leading Chinese physicist Pan Jianwei says China’s Dawn high-orbit quantum communication satellite will carry an optical atomic clock and be a new platform for quantum metrology research. Photo: Soho/星空军事
US-China relations

China moving ‘breathtakingly fast’ in space military tech: US general

America’s top space force official voices concern about Beijing’s growing capabilities, echoing previous warnings about ‘kill chain’.

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India

India, Poland and Hungary make space flight comeback with Axiom mission to ISS

Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla is the first Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma, who took part in a Soviet-led initiative in 1984.

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Japan

Japan firm blames faulty space laser for doomed moon mission

Despite back-to-back failures, ispace is planning its third moon landing attempt in 2027 with Nasa’s cooperation.

An image provided by ispace shows its Resilience lander circling the moon on June 4. Photo: ispace / AP
Elon Musk

How much of a future does Elon Musk really have in US politics?

The billionaire Tesla chief, after leaving Trump administration, has suggested founding a third political party. But would it succeed?

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United States

SpaceX Starship explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

A huge blast enveloped the rocket as it stood upright on a test stand in Texas.

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Science

China to lead global space weather monitoring and warning network

Latest agreements add to country’s initiative in long-term surveillance system to protect communications, power grids.

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Solar storms can severely disrupt satellite communications, navigation and power grids on Earth. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

Mengzhou spacecraft for China’s moon-landing mission passes landmark test flight

In safety test, safety capsule touched down with airbag cushioning to ensure astronauts survive during rocket failures at lift-off.

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An image from June 17 escape flight test shows China’s new-generation manned spacecraft Mengzhou. China said the successful test was an important step forward in its manned lunar exploration programme. Photo: Xinhua
China's space programme

Opinion | Threat of US-China land grab in space demands urgent legal reforms

Strengthening peaceful uses of space can only be done by negotiating with China and other nations bound by the same obligations as the US.

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Science

China’s landmark orbital refuelling mission: why US spy satellites hover nearby

Shijian-25 is expected to use its robotic arms to latch onto Shijian-21 and replenish its fuel.

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United States

Planetarium’s discovery about outer solar system shocks astronomers

‘Freak accident’ finding has changed thinking on shape of the Oort Cloud, a theoretical area of deep space believed to be a source of comets.

“Encounters in the Milky Way” is a planetarium show at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. While setting it up, experts noticed something that has changed astronomers’ thinking about an area of outer space. Photo: Instagram/amnh
SpaceX

Trump-Musk clash threatens to ground US space ambitions

US president’s threat to pull Musk contracts casts a shadow over critical Nasa, Pentagon and commercial space initiatives.

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Multiple space programmes could face dramatic changes in the fallout from Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s explosive feud. File photo: Reuters
Japan

Japan firm apologises after moon landing mission fails again

The company lost contact with the Resilience spacecraft, which was carrying a rover with a shovel to gather lunar dirt.

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Science

Milky Way’s cosmic collision: is it less likely than we thought?

A new study suggests our galaxy’s long-predicted merger with Andromeda is now essentially a coin flip.

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