Latest Articles

Latest published articles from SpaceOne Times.

Lunar Bases

Robots Could Build Lunar Bases With Unprocessed Stones

A new study in npj Space Exploration presents a computational design method for building lunar infrastructure with unprocessed stones found on the Moon. The method uses robotic planning, 3D digital stone models and stability simulations to assemble arches, domes and walls while reducing the need for energy-intensive regolith processing. A laboratory wall-building experiment achieved a 95% robotic placement success rate, showing promise for future lunar construction systems.

Moon

Millions of Small Craters May Be Reshaping Moon Ice

A new study in npj Space Exploration examines how impacts may disturb, bury, or redistribute water ice in the Moon’s permanently shadowed south polar regions. Using crater mapping and impact simulations, researchers estimate that around 24 million small craters may exist within key lunar polar cold traps.

Space AI

AI Framework Maps Moon and Mars Craters with Deep Learning

A 2026 study in npj Space Exploration presents a deep-learning framework for detecting and classifying impact craters on the Moon and Mars. The research compares YOLO, CNN and ResNet-50 models, showing that each performs differently depending on crater size and dataset balance.

Space Weather

How Space Weather Accelerates Orbital Decay of LEO Satellites

Researchers from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have developed a new method to better model how space weather increases atmospheric drag on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and debris. Using observed solar and geomagnetic activity from January to June 2024, the study found that severe geomagnetic storms dramatically accelerated orbital decay rates, especially for satellites below 600 km altitude. The work could improve long-term orbit prediction, collision avoidance, and space sustainability efforts.

Cosmic Rays

AI-Powered RadMap Telescope Could Improve Space Radiation Monitoring

Researchers have developed a neural-network framework capable of tracking and identifying cosmic-ray nuclei inside the RadMap Telescope, a compact radiation-monitoring instrument designed for space missions. Using GEANT4 simulations and deep-learning models, the system demonstrated high accuracy in reconstructing particle trajectories, nuclear charge, and energy, potentially improving astronaut radiation exposure assessment during future deep-space missions.

Moon

NASA Shifts Artemis Toward Moon Base and Nuclear Mars Flight

NASA has announced a broad agencywide shift toward a phased Moon base, more frequent lunar surface missions, and a new strategy for low Earth orbit after the International Space Station. The plan also includes Space Reactor-1 Freedom, a nuclear electric propulsion mission targeted for Mars before the end of 2028.

Mars

NASA’s Mars Samples Could Reveal Its Ancient Past

NASA’s Perseverance rover is collecting carefully selected Martian rock, regolith, and atmospheric samples from Jezero Crater. These samples could help scientists study ancient habitable environments, Mars’ geological evolution, and the long-standing question of whether microbial life once existed on the Red Planet.

Astrophysics

Could a Sub-Solar Black Hole Merger Reveal Primordial Dark Matter?

A new study examines whether the gravitational-wave event candidate S251112cm, detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration, could represent the first confirmed merger involving a sub-solar mass black hole. Because conventional stellar evolution cannot easily produce black holes below one solar mass, the event has renewed interest in primordial black holes as a possible component of dark matter. The research suggests that a population of primordial black holes formed in the early Universe could plausibly explain the observed signal rate.

Space News

How the Sun’s 11-Year Cycle Drives Solar Flares and Space Weather

The Sun may appear calm from Earth, but beneath its surface, powerful magnetic forces constantly shift and evolve. Scientists have long observed an approximately 11-year solar cycle that controls sunspots, solar flares, and massive plasma eruptions known as coronal mass ejections. Understanding this cycle is critical for predicting space weather events that can affect satellites, astronauts, communications systems, and power infrastructure on Earth.

Space Weather

Japan’s Red Auroras Reveal Compressed Magnetosphere

A new study reports faint red auroras seen from Japan during 2024 and 2025, including four events over Hokkaido during only moderately intense magnetic storms. The researchers found that compressed magnetospheric conditions, high solar wind density, and unusually large auroral altitudes may help explain why red auroras became visible from lower latitudes.

Astrobiology

Curiosity Reveals Most Diverse Organic Molecules Yet Found on Mars

NASA’s Curiosity rover has identified the widest variety of organic molecules ever detected on Mars after years of laboratory analysis of a drilled rock sample collected inside Gale Crater. The findings strengthen evidence that ancient Mars once hosted complex chemical environments capable of supporting prebiotic chemistry, although the discovery does not confirm past life on the planet.

Planetary Science

Curiosity Rover Accidentally Lifts Entire Martian Rock During Drilling

NASA’s Curiosity rover unexpectedly lifted and carried an entire Martian rock while collecting a drill sample in Gale Crater, marking a first for the mission. The unusual event occurred after the rover drilled into a rock nicknamed “Atacama,” which remained attached to Curiosity’s drill sleeve for several days before finally breaking free. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used a series of controlled arm movements and drill vibrations to safely detach the rock.

Space Mission Design

New Study Proposes Lower-Cost Earth–Moon Transfers Through L1 Gateway Orbit

Researchers have developed a new Earth-to-Moon transfer strategy using the Earth–Moon L1 Lagrangian point and the Theory of Functional Connections (TFC). The method uses stable and unstable orbital manifolds around Lyapunov orbits to reduce fuel requirements for lunar missions. According to the study, the approach can save at least 58.80 m/s in delta-v compared to similar transfer methods previously reported in scientific literature.

Space News

Inside NASA’s Roman Space Telescope: History, Science, and the Mission to Explore the Invisible Universe

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope represents decades of planning, scientific ambition, and technological development aimed at understanding the universe at the largest scales. From its origins as a dark energy mission to its evolution into a major infrared survey observatory, Roman is designed to investigate dark energy, discover exoplanets, and map the cosmos with unprecedented efficiency.

Space News

NASA Targets Early September 2026 for Roman Telescope Launch

NASA is targeting as soon as early September 2026 for the launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The observatory will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center to study dark energy, exoplanets, and the infrared universe.

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