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Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in 2022. Photo: Nasa via AP
Donald Trump

Trump’s space plan envisages US moon base amid race with China

Trump calls for moon landing in 2028, lunar base thereafter, as China targets the end of the decade for its first crewed landing.

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China Future Tech briefing

Aerospace | Lunar race pits China against US as humans seek return to moon

United States

Musk ally Isaacman confirmed as Nasa chief amid moon race with China

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US-China relations

Trump’s Nasa pick vows US will beat China back to the moon

Isaacman says Washington must move quickly to stay ahead of Beijing amid intensifying rivalry in space exploration.

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Jared Isaacman, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Nasa, during a hearing of the Senate commerce committee on Wednesday. Photo: AP
Science

Lightning on Mars? Scientists believe they have captured its sound on tape

Nasa’s Perseverance rover has picked up the crackling of electrical discharges on its microphone.

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Science

China’s Shenzhou 20 debris crisis: a catalyst for space war – or peace?

Crack in spacecraft window could signal a shift towards greater cooperation between Beijing and Washington over orbital junk, analysts say.

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Space

Nasa shares new images of 3I/ATLAS and rejects alien spacecraft ‘rumours’

US space agency officials say that 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever observed, is a comet.

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3I/ATLAS as it streaks through space. The image was taken from Manciano, Italy. Photo: Gianluca Masi via AP
Space

Race for first private space station heats up as Nasa plans 2030 ISS retirement

Companies like Vast, Axiom and Blue Origin are in a fierce competition to develop commercial space habitats.

United States

Bezos’ Blue Origin launches huge rocket for milestone Mars mission

In a remarkable first, Jeff Bezos’ company successfully recovered the New Glenn booster, matching the cost-saving achievement by rival SpaceX.

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Climate change

Explainer | As Cop30 begins, what’s the latest in climate science?

While US work to tackle our planet’s environmental challenges is being hit by Trump’s cuts, many other nations are spending more.

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A Marine helps a woman in a flooded street in Poza Rica in Mexico’s Veracruz state in October. Photo: AP
Science

China’s Mars orbiter Tianwen-1 snaps image of interstellar visitor 3I/Atlas

Spacecraft overcomes cosmic challenges to photograph curious object hurtling through solar system amid debate it could be alien tech.

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3I/Atlas, captured in this photograph on October 3 by China’s Tianwen-1 Mars probe, is a suspected comet that is only the third object ever detected entering our solar system. Photo: Handout
United States

Trump again nominates Musk ally Isaacman to be Nasa chief

The billionaire private astronaut was renominated six months after the US president withdrew his initial choice amid a bitter row with Elon Musk.

US-China relations

Top Democrat presses US budget chief on ceding scientific ground to Beijing

Raja Krishnamoorthi warns spending reductions could sap American competitiveness and drive talent towards China.

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Science

China-led moon mission’s water probe will be ‘first for humanity’: space agency

Seven international partners deliver experiments for Chang’e-7 as authorities report smooth progress towards 2026 launch.

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After winning the race to bring back samples from the moon’s far side, China’s mission to confirm the presence of water ice at the lunar south pole is likely to be another world first. Photo: Xinhua
Science

US fuels brain drain to China with Trump’s anti-science ‘Cultural Revolution’

Chinese-American researchers are finding similarities with chaotic period under Mao Zedong that targeted intellectuals in China.

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As the Donald Trump administration slashes research funding and brings institutes under broader political control, some Chinese-American scientists are drawing parallels with China’s Cultural Revolution. Photo: AFP
Space

Nasa opens US moon landing contract to rival bidders as SpaceX lags

Citing SpaceX delays, the US space agency is shifting strategy and inviting new proposals for a high-profile crewed moon mission.

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SpaceX

SpaceX launches another test flight of its mega Starship rocket

Nasa hopes to use the mammoth Starship - the world’s largest and most powerful rocket - to return astronauts to the moon.

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France

Ocean on Saturn moon ‘ticks all the boxes’ for life

Scientists confirmed complex organic molecules in Enceladus’s vast subsurface ocean, bolstering the case that the small world is habitable.

Ice erupting from the south pole of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. Photo: BBC
Donald Trump

Republicans urge Democrats to agree short-term bill to keep US government open

Trump said he believes Democrats want to reach an agreement. ‘If they don’t make a deal, the country closes,’ the US president said.

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Space

Editorial | The time may be ripe for China-US space cooperation

Research from both countries has contributed to major findings on Mars. Amid US funding cuts, the time may be ripe to join forces.

Science

US scientists find ‘critical gaps’ in Nasa plan to beat China on the moon

American pursuit of long-term human missions to the moon hampered by budget cuts to bioregenerative technologies, paper says.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
US-China relations

US’ X-37B space plane could be ‘killer’ in orbit, Chinese researchers warn

The United States is seeking to dominate space with its reusable shuttle-like craft, commentary says.

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The Boeing-built X-37B space plane is designed to be reusable. Photo: Handout
Science

Speckled rocks ‘clearest sign’ yet of ancient life on Mars, Nasa says

Scientists found vivianite and greigite in Martian rock; on Earth, these minerals are known to be formed by microbial life.

US-China relations

Nasa blocks Chinese citizens with US visas from its facilities

As race to the moon heats up, space agency spokeswoman says move is to ‘ensure the security of our work’.

Science

Mars should not have a solid inner core but it does, China-US study finds

Marsquake data gleaned by Chinese and US researchers could change long-held beliefs about red planet.

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Chinese and US scientists have discovered that Mars, also known as the red planet, has a solid inner core. Photo: Shutterstock
Trending in China

Blind China orphan turned US engineer recalls being pushed into lake by grandpa

Patrick is grateful for adopted mum’s love and support; completed secondary school, earned degrees in both music and aerospace engineering.

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A blind orphan, now an aircraft engineer in the US, recalled a painful incident when his grandfather pushed him into a lake for being born sightless. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote
Science

China designing mission to defend Earth from asteroids: top space researcher

If the project is successful, China will become the second country – after space rival US – to alter an asteroid’s orbit.

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Science

China pulled off high-orbit refuelling and may beat US to moon, ex-officials say

Chinese satellites conducted ‘largest single manoeuvre’ ever seen in geosynchronous orbit, former Space Command official tells senators.

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