Congratulations to Yutu-2

By January 3rd 2020 (if all goes well)

China's rover will have been operational

on the Moon for an entire year.

Link to: "China's Yutu-2 rover sets new record for longest time working on the Moon."

Goodbye Ryugu

Having successfully completed its tasks in outer space,

the Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 

is on its way back a little earlier than originally scheduled.

Link to: "Japan's Hayabusa2 leaves asteroid to deliver samples to Earth in 2020"

News from the Luxembourg Space Agency

The tiny landlocked Grand Duchy in the middle of Europe 

keeps on slowly but steadily expanding its space resources initiative.

Link to: "Luxembourg to set up space resources innovation centre"

Link to: "Luxembourg signs two new international partnerships on space"

Link to: "LSA 2019 Space Directory"

NEO Surveillance Mission

NASA's proposed infrared telescope 

Near-Earth Object Surveillance Mission

is primarily geared towards planetary defence

rather than being part of a pure science programme.

Link to: Paul Voosen's related article for sciencemag.org

From Australia up into space

The Australian Government has recently reviewed

its space industry related regulatory framework

so as to make it clearer, more flexible and better suited 

to a more innovative global environment.

Link to: Australian Space Agency news

Focus on Biomining in space

Scientists postulate that specific bacteria could be taken to space

 in order to help mankind mine for metals there.

Link to: SPACE STATION RESEARCH - Harnessing the power of microbes for mining in space

Link to: University of Colorado - CU Boulder explores mining in space with bacteria

Planetary Society all set to go solar sailing

The sail (about the size of a boxing ring) has been successfully deployed;

now let the photons do their part of the job!

Link to: Article by Jason Davis

Chandrayaan-2 on its way to the moon

India's spacecraft Chandrayaan-2,

which will explore areas near the south pole of the moon,

is presently journeying towards its destination.

Link to: Department of Space Indian Space Research Organisation

OSIRIS-REx now even nearer the surface of Bennu

Until August of this year OSIRIS-REx will be in Orbital B

at only 680 metres above the surface of asteroid Bennu.

Link to: News from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Why waste satellite junk?

Keith Volkert, the CEO of Satellite Consulting Inc.,

is seriously considering a scheme for taking big defunct satellites

from their current graveyard orbits

into new parking places in lunar orbit

for future recycling on the moon,

though he admits that " he still has to fill in some blank spaces in his plan".

Link to: June 13th article by Alan Boyle for GeekWire

USA and LSA share business-friendly cosmic vision

The United States of America and Luxembourg

have now signed 

a memorandum of understanding

on space co-operation.

Link to: "Joint press release by the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy, Luxembourg."

Zoom in on Hubble's Wide View of the Evolving Universe

265,000 galaxies

and 13.3 billion years of history

in this fantastic mosaic

 of 7,500 Hubble exposures

Link to: Zoomable image of Hubble’s Spectacular Wide View of the Universe

Link to: hubblesite.org

A copper cylinder from planet Earth has hit an asteroid

And all that for the sake of kicking up a bit of dust?

Link to: www.sciencenews.org 

 Hayabusa2 has blasted the surface of asteroid Ryugu to make a crater

Latest news from Jaxa on Hayabusa2 status

A few teething problems 

but no major complications so far

up there on Ryugu.

Link to: http://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/news/status/

(Check: Feb. 27, 2019

★ Hayabusa2 status (week of 2019.2.18) ★ )

Words of wisdom on the future use of space resources

Issues in Science and Technology

has just published a rather exhaustive article

providing an up-to-date tour d'horizon

on the complex subject of what is often commonly referred to as

"space mining".

Link to: Christensen, Ian, Ian Lange, George Sowers, Angel Abbud-Madrid, and Morgan Bazilian. “New Policies Needed to Advance Space Mining.” Issues in Science and Technology 35, no. 2 (Winter 2019): 26–30.

PTScientists are back in the news

German company PTScientists GmbH 

(originally known as "Part-Time Scientists")

have just issued their latest press release entitled:

"PTScientists to examine future ESA mission on in-situ resource utilisation on the Moon".

Link to: 21st January 2019 press release

DSI becomes BSI

Like Planetary Resources Inc. a few months ago,

Deep Space Industries has now also changed hands;

the company has become part of the Bradford Space group.

DSI's former asteroid mining ambitions

meanwhile seem to have gone into hibernation,
(while China's Chang'e-4 has successfully landed on the far side of the moon!)

Link to: Jeff Foust's article in SpaceNews

Link to: Article by Jason Davis for the Planetary Society