This blog brings you the latest space research news in a one-liner format, making it easy to remember. Stay updated on new satellites, moon missions, Mars explorations, and space station updates with this exam-friendly article. These topics are frequently asked in general awareness and current affairs sections of competitive exams.
- Department of Consumer Affairs, CSIR-NPL & ISRO drafted the Legal Metrology (IST) Rules, 2025 to mandate Indian Standard Time (IST) adoption nationwide.
- ISRO launched the latest FEAST software, developed by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), for structural analysis across multiple engineering sectors.
- IIT Madras & ISRO developed an indigenous semiconductor chip, marking a major step in advanced technology indigenization.
- ISRO to collaborate with Chhattisgarh for space-based applications and technological advancements.
- Daksh Malik, a 14-year-old student, discovered an asteroid ‘2023 OG40’ in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter under a NASA project.
- NASA discovered “LID-568”, a supermassive black hole, challenging current theories of black hole formation and growth.
- Shubhanshu Shukla was selected as a pilot for Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), announced by NASA.
- Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams set a record for the longest total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, reaching 62 hours and 6 minutes.
- NASA identified asteroid ‘2024 YR4’ with a 1% chance of Earth impact in 2032.
- NASA chose SpaceX to launch the Pandora mission, studying at least 20 known exoplanets and their host stars.
- Blue Origin completed its 29th New Shepard mission, experiencing two minutes of lunar gravity forces.
- ESA’s Euclid space telescope discovered an Einstein ring, a rare ring of light around a galaxy 590 million light-years away.
- Pakistan (SUPARCO) signed an MoU with China (CNSA) to send its first lunar rover on China’s Chang’e-8 mission in 2028.
- Gujarat‘s Water Resources Department has signed an MoU with Space Applications Centre-ISRO to improve water resources management through space technology.
- ISRO launched the PSLV-C60 rocket, carrying the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), deploying two spacecraft, SDX01 and SDX02, referred to as Chaser and Target, respectively.
- South Korea successfully launched its third surveillance satellite, equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
- NASA unveiled the design of the “Mars Chopper”, which will play a vital role in Mars exploration and data collection.
- Students from Dyal Singh Public School, Karnal were honored by NASA’s International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) for discovering a Main-Belt Asteroid (MBA) TD40 using data from the pan-STARRS telescope.
- V Narayanan has been appointed as the new Chairman of ISRO.
- Blue Origin will launch its first orbital rocket, New Glenn, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
- Space Kidz plans to have an all-women scientific lunar mission by September 2026, involving girl students from 108 countries.
- ISRO’s LVM3 rocket will launch BlueBird Block-2 satellites, associated with AST SpaceMobile, which aims to provide space-based cellular broadband network services.
- Pixxel successfully launched India’s first private satellite constellation (Firefly) aboard the Transporter-12 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
- India became the fourth country in the world to successfully achieve space docking with ISRO.
- ISRO successfully germinated Lobia (black-eyed pea) seeds in space as part of its ‘CROPS’ Module, where C stands for Compact (Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies).
- The Vikas Engine was conceived and developed by Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), named in honor of Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai.
- The NVS-02 satellite, part of the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), was designed, developed, and integrated at U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru.
- Janet E. Petro has been appointed as the acting administrator of NASA, becoming the first woman to lead the organization.
ISRO
- ISRO’s Shukrayaan mission for Venus is set to launch in 2028, with government approval granted.
- ISRO’s PSLV successfully launched European Space Agency (ESA)‘s Proba-3 satellites.
- ISRO signed a Technical Implementing Plan (TIP) with European Space Agency (ESA) for Gaganyaan’s ground tracking.
- ISRO successfully tested the CE20 cryogenic engine, designed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Bengaluru.
- ISRO and European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement for astronaut training, mission implementation, and research experiments.
- ISRO initiated the Gaganyaan-G1 uncrewed mission campaign; HLVM3 can carry up to 10 tonnes into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
ESA
- ISRO’s PSLV successfully launched ESA’s Proba-3 satellites.
- ESA and the European Commission partnered to develop the IRIS² constellation, with a budget of €10.6 billion.
- The third Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite, part of ESA’s program, was successfully launched.
NASA
- NASA’s ‘Sensing with Independent Micro-swimmers (SWIM)’ mission aims to explore ocean worlds, with autonomous navigation tests conducted at Caltech.
- NASA discovered exoplanet TOI-3261 b using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)
- The Subaru Telescope, operated by NAOJ, captured interacting galaxies NGC 5257 and NGC 5258.
ISRO
- ISRO partnered with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to test metabolic supplements and microalgae reactions under microgravity at the International Space Station (ISS).
- ISRO will launch its first indigenously developed electric propulsion system satellite, TDS-01, in December 2024.
- ISRO and IIT Madras collaborated to establish a Centre of Excellence in Fluid and Thermal Sciences.
- The NISAR satellite, a joint mission by ISRO and NASA, will monitor Earth’s surface movement and scan areas every 12 days, launching in early 2025.
- ISRO collaborated with SpaceX for the first time to launch the GSAT-N2 (GSAT-20) communication satellite.
- ISRO signed an Implementation Agreement (IA) with the Australian Space Agency (ASA) to enhance space activity cooperation.
NASA
- NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detected Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) on Charon, Pluto’s largest moon.
- NASA and Microsoft partnered to create “Earth Copilot,” an AI-driven chatbot for Earth Science data access.
ASA
- ISRO signed an Implementation Agreement (IA) with the Australian Space Agency (ASA) to strengthen space collaboration.
ESA
- India will launch the Proba-3 mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) in December 2024.