Thursday, September 3, 2026

NASA selected Blue Origin for a $700 million contract to build the Mars Telecommunications Network, a spacecraft that will orbit Mars and relay science data, imagery, and navigation for future missions, with delivery expected by December 2028 and operations beginning by 2030.^[1]

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope successfully activated its Coronagraph Instrument, which will block starlight to directly observe planets and dusty disks around nearby stars, representing the most advanced technology of its kind ever flown in space.^[2]

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope discovered a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn's south pole, marking the first time a large, regular-sided jet pattern has been observed in the planet's southern hemisphere.^[3]

ESA's final Cluster satellite, Tango, successfully reentered Earth's atmosphere over the South Pacific Ocean on September 1, concluding 26 years of magnetosphere research and providing valuable data on controlled satellite disposal that will inform safer spacecraft design.^[4]

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and TU Munich have created an AI-designed protein transporter called STV-C8 that delivers RNA into cells more efficiently than current lipid nanoparticle methods, with successful tests in mice and pigs showing no toxic side effects.^[5]

A Hague-based arbitration panel ruled that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan remains fully binding and that India cannot unilaterally suspend it; India rejected the ruling, calling it beyond the court's jurisdiction.^[6]

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright oversaw the signing of investment deals worth tens of billions of dollars between Venezuela and energy companies including Chevron, ENI, and GE Vernova, aimed at ramping up energy production in the country.^[7]

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed history's sixth all-female spacewalk outside the International Space Station, installing a new retroflector for spacecraft navigation, replacing a high-definition camera, and collecting samples from the station's exterior.^[8]

Researchers discovered that Western Australia's iron-rich Pilbara rocks can naturally generate hydrogen, and the process may be enhanced to produce larger amounts, potentially becoming a major source of low-emission energy.^[9]