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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the space missions desk.
science
NASA says the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has completed its observatory checkout and entered science commissioning. Teams are now testing performance, calibrating the instruments and refining image quality before science operations.
technology
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has highlighted a mission pipeline that includes a 2027 solar radio observatory and Mars helicopter and lunar drone missions targeted for 2028. Its portfolio also spans asteroid detection and Earth science.
science
JAXA’s MMX mission is targeting an October 2026 launch to study Mars’ moons and return a sample from Phobos. NASA is contributing a composition-measuring instrument, sampler technology, communications support and scientific expertise.
science
ESA says BepiColombo is scheduled to separate its Mercury Transfer Module on 3 September 2026, beginning the mission’s Mercury arrival phase. Mercury orbit insertion is planned for November, followed by separation of the ESA and JAXA science orbiters in December.
science
NASA’s six-satellite SunRISE radio astronomy mission is targeting launch no earlier than mid-2027. Flying slightly above geosynchronous orbit, the satellites will work together to track radio bursts from the Sun’s corona.