Mars Orbiting Satellites

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  The Next Space Frontier May Be Just 100 km Above Earth, Not the Moon or Mars

  As low Earth orbit becomes crowded, very low Earth orbit satellites are emerging as a promising alternative. Operating closer to Earth, they offer faster communication, sharper imaging, and better weather data. Advances in propulsion are helping overcome atmospheric drag, opening the door to wider use of this challenging but valuable orbital region...

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  Blue Origin Joins SpaceX in Orbital Booster Reuse Era With New Glenn’s Successful Launch and Landing

  Blue Origin’s New Glenn successfully launched NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars on November 13, 2025, marking its second flight and its first ocean booster landing on the ship Jacklyn. The mission deploys twin satellites built by Rocket Lab to study how the solar wind strips Mars’ atmosphere during a 22-month journey to the Red Planet.

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  NASA’s ESCAPADE Mission Will Send Twin Probes to Uncover Mars’s Atmospheric Secrets

  NASA’s ESCAPADE mission will launch twin mini-satellites, Blue and Gold, to Mars aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn. The probes will study how solar wind stripped away Mars’s atmosphere and water, helping scientists understand the Red Planet’s lost climate and its transformation into the dry world we see today.

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  SpaceX Starship Aces 10th Flight, Takes Major Step Toward Reusability

  SpaceX’s Starship rocket has scored a landmark success on its 10th test flight. On Aug. 26, 2025, the 400-foot booster launched flawlessly, completed hot-stage separation, and deployed eight dummy Starlink satellites — its first-ever payload. The upper stage then re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, surviving long enough to reignite an engine and s...

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  Mars Satellite Images Reveal Giant 'Kidney Beans,' Sparking Hints of Water and Life

  NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured images of frozen sand dunes in Mars' northern hemisphere, revealing unique formations halted by carbon dioxide frost during winter. Unlike Earth's desert dunes, which shift with wind, these Martian dunes remain stationary until spring thaw releases their icy grip. Scientists study these features to unders...

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  Japan's Wooden Satellite LignoSat Launched: Everything You Need to Know

  Japan has launched LignoSat, the world’s first wooden satellite, into orbit, marking a step toward sustainable space technology. Developed by JAXA, the satellite is crafted from honoki magnolia wood, chosen for its durability and resistance to environmental stress. Sensors onboard will monitor temperature, radiation, and physical strain to assess...

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  European Space Agency Shares Pic Of 'Smiley Face' Spotted On Mars

  The European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a Martian satellite on a quest to uncover signs of life on the Red Planet, shared the images.

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  NASA Test Payload Launches Into Space Onboard US Satellite for Improved Weather Forecasting

  A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 satellite and the NASA test payload lifted off on Thursday from California. JPSS-2 was placed into an orbit that circles the Earth from pole to pole, joining previously launched satellites in a system designed to improve weather forecasting and climate monitoring.

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  ISRO Plans to Explore Dark Side of the Moon With Japan, to Send Probe to Mars

  ISRO, the country's space agency, will team up with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for sending a lunar rover to explore the permanent shadow region of the moon, the space agency has announced. The success of the lunar rover on board Chandrayaan-3 was crucial as it would be used again in the mission with JAXA, according to ISRO.

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  ISRO Loses Link With Mars Orbiter Mission as Satellite's Battery Gets Drained

  India's Mars Orbiter craft has run out of propellant and its battery drained beyond the safe limit, fuelling speculation that the country's maiden interplanetary mission Mangalyaan may have finally completed its long innings. The Rs. 450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission was launched onboard PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013, and the MOM spacecraft was success...

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  UAE to Send Astronaut on 6-Month Mission to Space Station

  The United Arab Emirates has purchased a seat on a SpaceX rocket for an Emirati astronaut to journey to the International Space Station for a six-month stay, officials said Friday, the oil-rich federation’s first long-term mission as it advances its ambitions in space.

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  NASA Turns Mars Sniffer MAVEN Into Data-Relay Satellite For Rovers

  NASA's atmosphere-sniffing Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has embarked on a new campaign to tighten its orbit around the red planet to become a data-relay satellite for the US space agency's Mars 2020 rover.

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  NASA Mars Satellite Shifts Course To Avoid Hitting Planet's Moon

  A NASA science satellite orbiting Mars was forced to make a rare evasive manoeuvre to avoid a collision next week with one of the planet's two small moons, the US space agency said on Thursday.

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  ISRO's Record Launch of 104 Satellites on Single Rocket Set for Today

  PSLV will first launch the 714 kg CARTOSAT-2 Series satellite for earth observation and then inject 103 co-passenger satellites.

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  ISRO to Attempt World Record Satellite Launch on Wednesday

  Separately, under the space sciences section, the budget mentions provisions "for Mars Orbiter Mission II and Mission to Venus".