Tag: Space Robotics
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Katalyst Selected to Build and Launch Orbital Power-Beaming Demonstrator for Pentagon
Katalyst Space has been selected by the Pentagon’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to develop and launch a robotic spacecraft that will assemble a large-format solar power-beaming system in low Earth orbit and transmit energy to Earth. Announced on September 21, the Advanced Scalable Growth Architecture for Robotic Deployment program will pair Katalyst’s NEXUS spacecraft…
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Venturi Space Unveils 300-Kilogram ALTA LUNA Crewed Lunar Utility Rover
Venturi Space unveiled ALTA LUNA, a 300-kilogram, single-person lunar utility vehicle designed for crewed and autonomous operations around future Moon bases, during the International Space Summit held in Paris on September 9–10. The compact tracked rover expands the European company’s lunar mobility portfolio beyond wheeled vehicles and is intended to support astronaut transport, payload movement,…
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LINK Spacecraft Approaches Within 15 Kilometers of Swift but Cannot Complete Orbital Rescue
Katalyst Space’s LINK servicing spacecraft approached within 12 to 15 kilometers of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after aligning its orbit with the aging telescope, but an attitude-control problem prevented the vehicle from attempting the capture and orbital boost originally planned to extend Swift’s mission. NASA said on September 4 that LINK would make no…
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ESA and ispace-Europe Formalize €65 Million MAGPIE Lunar Ice Rover Mission
The European Space Agency and ispace-Europe have formally signed the implementation agreement for MAGPIE, a commercially led rover mission designed to investigate water ice and subsurface geology near the Moon’s south pole. The Phase 2 agreement was signed on September 1, 2026, during ESA’s Space for Inspiration event in Copenhagen, Denmark. The ceremony followed ESA’s…
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Astrolab to Send Scientific Payloads to Lunar South Pole on FLIP Rover Mission
Astrolab is preparing to send a series of scientific payloads to the Moon later this year aboard its FLIP rover mission aimed at supporting future lunar exploration near the Moon’s south pole. The company said its FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform rover, known as FLIP, will carry multiple research instruments designed to study lunar surface conditions,…
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Thales Alenia Space Awards Astrobotic Contract For Wheels Of Lunar Habitat Module
Space manufacturer Thales Alenia Space has awarded a contract to U.S. robotics company Astrobotic to develop specialized wheels for a mobile lunar habitat under development for the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The wheels will be used on the Multi-Purpose Habitation Module, a concept designed to support human missions on the Moon as part of the…