Pic of the Week: Martian Highlands

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): (ESA/DLR/FU Berlin)

This week’s image comes from the the European Space Agency (ESA). Captured by ESA’s orbiting Mars Express, you are looking at a portion of the crater-covered Arabia Terra, which is a large plain in Mars’s ancient highlands. You can read more about this Martian region by visiting this site.

Here is the ESA’s description of what you are viewing:

A high‑resolution overhead view of a rocky, desert‑like landscape on Mars. The surface is mostly reddish‑brown with patches of darker blue‑grey tones. Many circular impact craters of different sizes are scattered across the scene, some with raised rims and shadowed interiors. Subtle ridges, eroded valleys, and textured terrain patterns run diagonally through the image, giving a sense of ancient geological activity. The overall impression is of a dry, rugged, and heavily cratered Martian surface.

Second Launch by German Rocket Company Happens Soon

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Isar Aerospace.

You may remember the name Isar Aerospace from its attempt last year to launch a rocket from the Andoya Space Centre in Norway. It was the first test of the German company’s Spectrum two-stage rocket, and it lasted for less than a minute into launch. That’s how these tests often go.

The second launch, labeled “Onward and Upward,” is scheduled to happen shortly. While it was initially scheduled for January 21st, it has been delayed until March 19th due to pressurization valve issues.

This second time the Germans seem a little more confident given that the launch will include payloads – five CubeSats and one experiment. The company is also securing more space in Munich, Germany, Sweden (Esrange Space Center) and French Guyana (Guiana Space Centre).

When Dr. Markus Söder, Minister President of Bavaria, visited the Isar Aerospace facility last year, he stated:

The success story of our space program continues – and Isar Aerospace is playing a decisive role in writing it. …We are Germany’s Space Valley: Europe’s largest faculty for aerospace is being established at the Technical University of Munich – and 550 companies and 65,000 employees now work in this sector in Bavaria. The future looks bright. With the Bavarian high-tech agenda, we are investing a total of six billion euros in research and science. Live long and prosper, Isar Aerospace!”

Germany is no stranger to rocketry, which benefited the US in no small degree following WWII. With all of this energy directed towards the space industry, Germany and Europe become stronger players in this area and be somewhat less reliant on the US for future payloads.

Artemis II: Another Delay Until March

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft in front of the Moon, the ultimate target, on February 1, 2026. (NASA/Sam Lott)

It appears we will need to wait until next month for the Artemis II launch due to a liquid hydrogen leak during the wet dress rehearsal. As a result, the four astronauts can come our of quarantine and rejoin their families.

In its blog, NASA noted other issues as well:

In addition to the liquid hydrogen leak, a valve associated with Orion crew module hatch pressurization, which recently was replaced, required retorquing, and closeout operations took longer than planned. Cold weather that affected several cameras and other equipment didn’t impede wet dress rehearsal activities, but would have required additional attention on launch day. Finally, engineers have been troubleshooting dropouts of audio communication channels across ground teams in the past few weeks leading up to the test. Several dropouts reoccurred during the wet dress rehearsal. 

Such issues are not unusual, so we will just have to be patient. We are almost there.

As NASA Administrator Isaacman noted on Twitter:

This is just the beginning. It marks the start of an Artemis program that will evolve to support repeated and affordable missions to the Moon…Getting this mission right means returning to the Moon to stay and a future to Artemis 100 and beyond.

Artemis II Mission Delayed by NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA’s Artemis II mission preparations at Launch Complex 39B as of Thursday, January 29, 2026. (NASA/Jim Ross)

The cold weather on the East Coast continues to cause problems, this time for NASA and its planned launch of the Artemis II mission, which will take astronauts around the Moon. Originally scheduled for February 6th, the mission is being delayed two more days until February 8th to allow NASA more time for its wet dress rehearsal, otherwise known as its comprehensive pre-launch check. In the meantime, the four astronauts assigned to the mission will remain in quarantine.

Earlier today, NASA stated:

Over the past several days, engineers have been closely monitoring conditions as cold weather and winds move through Florida. Managers have assessed hardware capabilities against the projected forecast given the rare arctic outbreak affecting the state and decided to change the timeline. Teams and preparations at the launch pad remain ready for the wet dress rehearsal. However, adjusting the timeline for the test will position NASA for success during the rehearsal, as the expected weather this weekend would violate launch conditions.

It has already been an unusual winter, so none of this is a great surprise.

Fingers crossed for some warmer weather so NASA can complete this mission and then eventually land humans on the Moon once again with the next mission – Artemis III.

Pic of the Week: 40 Years Since the Challenger Shuttle Disaster

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Challenger Shuttle crew from left to right – Teacher-in-Space payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe; payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission commander; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Mike J. Smith, pilot; and Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist. (NASA)

This week’s image shows the seven members of the Challenger Shuttle crew who perished less than two minutes into their flight on January 18, 1986. NASA determined that a leak in one of two Solid Rocket Boosters ignited the main liquid fuel tank.

Following the disaster, President Ronald Reagan had this to say:

I’ve always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don’t hide our space program. We don’t keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That’s the way freedom is, and we wouldn’t change it for a minute. We’ll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: “Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it.’‘

You can learn more about each of the crew members at this NASA site.