THE NEW SPACE RACE: China is taking a keen interest in lava tubes as possible lunar habitats: China’s lunar plans should be a wake up call to NASA, according to lunar scientist.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China to test lunar-soil bricks in space to pave the way for its planned moon base.

Samples of bricks made of varying compositions from lunar soil simulant will be launched to the Tiangong space station aboard the upcoming Tianzhou 8 cargo mission, according to a report from Chinese state media CCTV.

The bricks will be subjected to three years of exposure tests in space. They will be bombarded by ultraviolet light and cosmic rays and subjected to temperature differences. This will test the strength and durability of bricks in extreme environments and how the materials behave in the vacuum of space.

The experiment is designed to give insight into which composition and which methods of producing bricks from lunar soil will be most suitable for building structures on the moon.

China is not messing around with landing — and staying — on the moon.

EDIT: I’d left the “not” out originally. Sorry for the confusion!

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Elon Musk Set a Timeline for Landing on Mars and I’m Slack-Jawed.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China’s secretive reusable spaceplane lands after 267 days in orbit.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: China to launch Mars sample return mission in 2028, will follow planetary protection guidelines. “NASA is working on its own, more complex Mars sample return mission. However the program is being reassessed, following projected cost overruns. Studies are being conducted to identify concepts that can deliver samples faster and cheaper than current plans.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Life On A Jupiter Moon? NASA And SpaceX Confirm Launch Plans — What To Know.

NASA and SpaceX have announced that their Europa Clipper mission, which will help planetary scientists determine if Europa could support life, will launch on Thursday, Oct. 10.

The mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA confirmed in an email to media.

Europa—the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 79 moons—has intrigued scientists since a liquid ocean was discovered beneath its icy shell.

The Europa Clipper mission will help scientists determine if Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, could support life. It will reach the Jupiter system in April 2030 and will spend four years studying Europa during at least 32 close flybys. It will photograph the moon’s icy surface in high resolution during each pass.

The largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission, Clipper is about 16 feet tall and 100 feet wide—roughly the size of a basketball court—primarily thanks to its massive solar arrays.

Flybyes are fine. Just attempt no landing there.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Senegal among new members of China’s ILRS moon base project.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: After Starliner, NASA has another big human spaceflight decision to make.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Last Vega rocket readied for ESA’s Copernicus satellite launch.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Houston, You Have Another Problem? “It looks more and more like China might beat NASA back to the moon.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Evolution Space tests rocket on Spaceport Company sea-based platform.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: NASA selects Intuitive Machines for south pole lunar lander mission.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Galactic Energy launches six satellites with third sea launch. “China’s Galactic Energy conducted its third Ceres-1 solid rocket sea launch Thursday, successfully sending six satellites into orbit. . . . Three of the satellites were Yunyao-1 spacecraft, equipped with GNSS occultation (GNSS-RO) and infrared imaging payloads, intended to provide meteorological data for commercial firm Yunyao Yuhang. Also aboard was Jitian-A03, the first satellite for Suzhou Jitian Xingzhou Space Technology Co. Ltd. The satellite is equipped with a hyperspectral remote sensing payload for high-resolution optical remote sensing technology verification. Hyperspectral sensors capture data across hundreds of narrow, contiguous spectral bands, allowing these sensors to distinguish between materials, making these useful for applications including mineral exploration, agriculture, and environmental monitoring.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Space Force No. 2 Says There Is Risk of China or Russia Launching Large-Scale Attack in Orbit.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: With successful airlock test, Lockheed Martin invests in inflatable space structures.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn astronaut launch until at least Aug. 30 due to bad weather. “Polaris Dawn was originally scheduled to launch early Monday morning (Aug. 26) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but SpaceX pushed things back a day to perform more preflight checkouts. The company then called the planned Tuesday (Aug. 27) attempt off after detecting a helium leak, targeting Wednesday (Aug. 28) instead. But now Mother Nature has foiled that plan.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Amazon expands Kennedy Space Center facility to accelerate satellite deployments.

Plus: SpaceX Private Spacewalk Mission Launches Tonight. Or maybe it counts as early tomorrow morning. “The Polaris Dawn mission, a commercial spaceflight backed by American billionaire Jared Isaacman that will attempt the first private spacewalk, is currently scheduled to launch on Tuesday, Aug. 27, on a Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 GMT) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX shows off Dragon capsules for Polaris Dawn flight.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Norwegian spaceport receives government license.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SLS contract extension hints at additional Artemis delays.

NASA, in an Aug. 14 procurement filing, announced its intent to extend that contract to at least September 2026. That would allow Teledyne Brown to c