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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Space. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
LATEST China Science NEWS

Did a bowl of millet help end a migrant crisis in China 1,500 years ago?

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Artefacts from the Sixteen Kingdoms period in Xian, Shaanxi province. Photo: China Cultural Relics News

China to define lunar time with world’s first timekeeping software for the moon

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Chinese scientists have developed a world-first tool to accurately synchronise time on the moon with clocks on Earth, to help with space missions and precision location landing. Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto

China applies to put up 200,000 satellites after calling Starlink a crash risk

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Several Chinese firms have applied to the International Telecommunication Union to put internet satellites in space as China and the US in a race to build megaconstellations. Illustration: Shutterstock

China offers full-time job to top European immunologist Andrew Macpherson

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On January 1, 2026, Andrew Macpherson (left), a professor at Switzerland’s University of Bern and its university hospital, joined the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) on a full-time basis. Photo: handout

China turns mega-project failure into defining moment in modern engineering

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The 6.4km (4-mile) Jiangyin-Jingjiang Yangtze River Tunnel is a major infrastructure project in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. Photo: Handout
MORE China Science NEWS
A CCTV report on January 9 quotes an expert who says concept “space-sky integrated” fighter jets in China’s sci-fi Nantianmen Project will eventually become reality. Photo: CCTV
China's military weapons

Chinese state media repositions sci-fi space, air combat aircraft as tech target

Military analyst on CCTV says frontier technologies reflect ‘expectations for future aerospace and space superiority’.

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Science

China applies to put up 200,000 satellites after calling Starlink a crash risk

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Science

Why Chinese space station is studying how gravity affects battery performance

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International Space Station (ISS)

Nasa to carry out first-ever space medical evacuation for astronaut

US-Japanese-Russian crew of four at the International Space Station will return to Earth within days, earlier than planned.

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The International Space Station (ISS) orbiting Earth. Photo: Nasa via dpa
Science

SpaceX will move 4,400 satellites to a lower orbit after China cited safety risk

Starlink’s Michael Nicolls declares ‘significant reconfiguration’ to be coordinated with regulators, other operators and US Space Command.

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Science

2026 is a stellar year for supermoons and eclipses: what to look out for

The coming year is packed with cosmic events, from a ‘ring of fire’ eclipse to two six-planet line-ups to several supermoons.

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Iran

Iran launches 3 satellites into space from Russia

Iran’s space programme and related entities have been targeted by US sanctions, but Iran insists the satellites are intended for ‘observation’.

A rocket blasts off from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia on Sunday. Photo: Roscosmos via AFP
Japan

Can Japan’s space industry regain thrust after H3 rocket failure?

Failure is inevitable, aerospace experts say, so Japan needs to be less afraid of making mistakes and move on.

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Japan

Video | Japanese rocket fails to launch satellite into orbit

The Michibiki satellite is the sixth in a seven-orbiter geolocation system aimed at giving Japan highly accurate positioning services.

Science

Second reusable rocket recovery failure in a month puts China 10 years behind US

Chinese state-owned and commercial developers are racing to catch up on a decade of the technology’s deployment.

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China’s Long March 12A, the country’s first state-owned reusable rocket, has failed on its debut launch on Tuesday morning. Photo: Weibo
Japan

Japan’s H3 rocket fails to deploy geolocation satellite after engine cuts out

The Michibiki satellite is the sixth in a seven-orbiter geolocation system aimed at giving Japan highly accurate positioning services.

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Japan’s H3 rocket carrying the Michibiki No 5 satellite lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on Monday. Photo: Kyodo
United States

German engineer becomes first wheelchair user to blast into space

Michaela Benthaus had thought her dreams of being an astronaut were over after she was badly injured in a mountain bike accident.

Donald Trump

Trump’s space plan envisages US moon base amid race with China

Trump calls for moon landing in 2028, lunar base thereafter, as China targets the end of the decade for its first crewed landing.

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United States

Musk ally Isaacman confirmed as Nasa chief amid moon race with China

The US billionaire with a passion for space, was nominated by Trump for a second time after a previous bid fell through.

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Jared Isaacman speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill on December 3. Photo: AP
Science

Open Questions | Sci-fi writer Liu Cixin on why he’ll be happy if AI surpasses humans

Acclaimed author of the Three-Body trilogy also discusses his ‘dark forest’ theory, and the struggle to come up with original ideas.

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Illustration: Davies Christian
Open Questions series

Open Questions | Why sci-fi’s Liu Cixin hopes AI surpasses humanity

The Three-Body Problem author on technology’s remorseless progress, why superintelligence isn’t a given and the decline of science fiction literature.

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US-China relations

Trump’s Nasa pick vows US will beat China back to the moon

Isaacman says Washington must move quickly to stay ahead of Beijing amid intensifying rivalry in space exploration.

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Science

China’s first reusable rocket Zhuque-3 fails recovery, leaving US in the lead

Designer LandSpace says it is investigating after lower stage of the rocket appeared to catch fire before crashing near the recovery site.

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The rocket’s first stage crashed back to Earth. Photo: Weibo/ 航天爱好者网
Aerospace: Science

China’s Xingyan ‘Star Eye’ network to track satellites and space debris

The web of 156 orbiting sensors will form the country’s second space situational awareness constellation designed to bring down the risk of collisions.

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Taiwan

Hong Kong fire, Trump calls in Japan-China row, Macron visit

This week: Hong Kong fire kills at least 128, Trump speaks to Xi and Takaichi amid Japan-China row, Bessent says Xi and Trump may meet four times in 2026. Next week: France’s Macron visits China, EU economic security doctrine, November factory activity, and more.

Open Questions series

Open Questions | Ex-PLA colonel on Taiwan, the Ukraine war, China-US ties

Zhou Bo ponders Japanese PM Takaichi’s recent remarks, lessons from the Ukraine conflict and why China won’t be world’s policeman.

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
Science

Lightning on Mars? Scientists believe they have captured its sound on tape

Nasa’s Perseverance rover has picked up the crackling of electrical discharges on its microphone.

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The US rover Perseverance has recorded data showing that there is also lightening on Mars. Photo: Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/dpa
South Korea

‘Turning point’: South Korea’s largest satellite launched on Nuri rocket

This is the country’s first primarily home-grown space launch vehicle – previous launches had relied heavily on technology from other nations.

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Technology

Opinion | How AI, quantum and space technologies will define the Asian century

Together, they form an engine that will determine which nations shape the century ahead and which struggle to keep pace.

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China's space programme

Explainer | Why China’s space sector is grabbing attention – including from Elon Musk

Chinese start-up LandSpace is set to launch its first reusable rocket on Saturday. If it succeeds, it will give China’s space sector a major boost.

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The Zhuque-3 rocket completes a launch test at a site in China’s northwestern Gansu province last year. The device is one of several reusable rockets under development in China. Photo: Getty Images
Obituaries

Joan Branson, wife of British billionaire Richard Branson, dies at 80

The Virgin Atlantic founder called his spouse his best friend, rock, and his guiding light in a social media post about her death.

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Richard Branson and his wife, Joan, attend an event in Beverly Hills in February 2016. Photo: TNS
Science

China’s first emergency space launch: vessel with repair kit reaches Tiangong

Shenzhou-22’s arrival at the Tiangong station will come as a relief for the crew after another return ship was damaged by space debris.

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Nasa

Nasa shares new images of 3I/ATLAS and rejects alien spacecraft ‘rumours’

US space agency officials say that 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever observed, is a comet.

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