A poem for Artemis II. By yours truly.

What an incredible machine. This is the power of NASA Science and Technology in action, improving life on Earth for all of us. Congrats to the X-59 team on a successful first flight! 📸 by Jared M Hamilton.

H3 launches first HTV-X cargo spacecraft Japan launched the first of a new generation of cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station, with potential applications beyond low Earth orbit.

With Artemis II approaching I know a lot of news outlets are starting to look for in depth photos and knowledge of this mission. I have a significant backlog of photos already available from the Artemis Program and will be on site covering the mission in the lead up to the launch in February.

Check out my new article for @spacescout.bsky.social! www.spacescout.info/2025/09/afte...

We face an uncertain future with spaceflight in the next 10 years, but do not forget that in our exploration of space we must continually reflect on who we are and why we go. Do our motivations for space accurately guide us, or lead us astray?

Where are America's space stations? The CLD program continues to hit snags in its development, threatening future leadership. Read more here: www.spacescout.info/2025/06/wher...

Everyone's dogfighting in space. These RPOs were separate from the SPADEX. Speaking of, the SPADEX included a power transfer from 1 sat to the other; it "involved operating a heater element in one of the satellites through power from the other satellite" www.ndtv.com/india-news/i...

NASA: TRACERS Mission Now Targeting No Earlier Than Summer for Launch science.nasa.gov/blogs/tracer...

First Quarter Moon on Sunday evening at 6.21 PM (UTC+7).

Rep. Chu Sounds Alarm on White House’s Proposed Budget Cuts to Mars Sample Return chu.house.gov/media-center... #Mars #NASA #Astrobiology

The launch of Minotaur this afternoon from Vandy is a powerful reminder of non-proliferation. When that vehicle was built, it was hopefully never going to be used - a delivery mechanism for nuclear warheads now turned into an orbital launch vehicle.

Planetary Defense remains a policy area with an incredible degree of unknowns. We must engage in proactive, multilateral cooperation to ensure the safety of the planet against hazardous NEO threats.

Attempting to spin up the writing gears for a new Medium article, stay tuned folks....

This weekend NASA lifted the Core Stage of the second SLS rocket into place on Mobile Launcher 1. This 212 foot tall stage is the backbone of the SLS rocket, and is responsible for the majority of the energy needed to reach orbit. 📸NASA

2024 YR4’s odds of hitting Earth continue to go up. It is not a certain impact yet, but it is a reminder that planetary defense requires a global response with a wide range of impact studies. The impact and potential deflection are only a part of a critical chain of events.

I wrote about a tragedy that was way too close to home. The crash of AA5432 and PAT25 is a watershed moment. Read more here: nikproxima.medium.com/a-reflection...

It is a fundamentally strange experience living in DC and experiencing the culture shift. Space policy work continues, but to what end? It feels beyond bizarre to be here.

I wrote about a tragedy that was way too close to home. The crash of AA5432 and PAT25 is a watershed moment. Read more here: nikproxima.medium.com/a-reflection...

#SBAG - What HWO might look like keeping in mind too that what we thought JWST would look like when it started was a far cry from what got launched.

Well. I feel like I’ve been thrown in a new direction. Two possible paths forward: a skycrane derived, JPL led approach or a commercial option to get the MAV to the surface. A watershed moment for science policy, that’s for sure.

Chromata, one of the four Diamond Cities of the Cassini Dependencies. While most Saturnian void cities are made from parked asteroids, Chromata and her sister orbitals are built out of deconstructed moonlets within Saturn's ring system. #hibourverse

I don’t pretend to know what’ll come of the Jan. 7 MSR announcement, but it is absolutely a shift for planetary science. This flagship mission is now an experiment for how we conduct the kind of cutting edge research required by a sample return mission, and execute on programs.

Astranis has launched their first operational batch of MicroGEO satellites, beginning a wave of deployment in GEO. Read more from @nik-proxima.bsky.social here: www.spacescout.info/2024/12/astr...

New Glenn was successfully static fired last night in preparation for its maiden flight, now targeting early 2025. This vehicle is a behemoth, the largest and most powerful rocket fired at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since Titan IV. Can’t wait to see this monster spread its wings.

Almost a year ago (Jan 20, 2024) one little JAXA lunar lander made a successful soft Moon landing... on its nose... 🛰️. And then promptly refused to stop analysing rocks through 3 lunar night that should have frozen it solid 🔭. SLIM mission operations are now over, and here is a summary 🧪.

A stack of 3 New Horizons images of very different depths, showing the bright solar-illuminated and faint Jupiter-shine hemispheres together. Deconvolved to bring out fine detail.

Happy #MapMonday. Here is a map of the 2028 US presidential election from a future where there was a meteor impact off the west coast.

The moon briefly in the DC area around midnight. Beautiful! My smart NASA astrobiologist friend @drfunkyspoon.bsky.social said something about the “23° degree arc.” So I googled it: “A ‘23 degree arc moon’ typically refers to a halo around the moon, specifically the edge of a ‘22 degree halo’..."

Nuclear fission surface power has been selected for a future crewed mission to Mars, as presented in the ACR24 White Papers released this morning. These crucial early decisions help the agency begin to plan a future expedition to the Red Planet

Focusing once again on writing weird futures, got to cook up this weird election map…

7:53:15 AM on Saturday, December 7, 2024, over the Indian Ocean.

Japan, Poland to join U.S. military satellite network Both nations have reached new agreements with the U.S. to gain access to the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellite system #ローアース軌道 #satellite #japan #poland #WGS

I do miss Alternate History immensely, but I do not miss the anxiety that writing to that caliber generated. Future projects from me will be much more relaxed, I think.

Artemis II will proceed in a crewed configuration - with a modified entry trajectory

Heading to NASA HQ today to sit in on the Artemis Campaign update, stay tuned folks!

"Astroscale UK is preparing for a critical design review early next year of a servicer that will attempt to remove a OneWeb broadband satellite from low Earth orbit (LEO) in 2026." Interesting piece on on-orbit servicing and active debris removal. #OOS #ADR #ISOS spacenews.com/astroscale-a...

Also, if any of you lovely SciComm folks needs someone to talk to about space policy, my DMs are open! Happy to help out :)

Whatever happens in Space Policy in the next four years, I know that we need to get serious about an ISS successor. The transition away from a continuous human presence in space is one we certainly cannot afford in this ever changing geopolitical sphere.

🛰️ Today, #BepiColombo performed its fifth flyby of #Mercury. The ESA/JAXA mission used the MERTIS radiometer and thermal infrared spectrometer for the first time. It will help scientists reveal what types of minerals are on the planet’s surface. Read more: www.spacevoyaging.com/news/2024/12...

Alien (1979): Patches by Ron Cobb

The ACR is a really wonderful look into the ways in which NASA’s lunar strategy is evolving, with some fun twists along the way. Go check it out!

Ahead of ACR24 product release, Bev takes a look at what we might expect to see from NASA’s Moon to Mars architecture. Read more here: www.spacescout.info/2024/11/nasa...

A part of me is drawn to writing another CLPS op-ed but Jesus, the semester’s remaining few weeks are daunting

Something I have realized is that Space Policy is neither predictable nor consistent, and the hard pivots we can see in the field come as a shock to many. It is, however, worth keeping a very close eye on to measure and respond to.

Getting cracking on a long piece for Space Scout about some potential trajectories for space under the next administration- stay tuned folks this’ll be a long one!

This year, I’m particularly thankful for all of those who have supported me on my journey and encouraged me even when I felt like giving up. I am so tremendously grateful for all of the support in my academic, professional and personal lives ❤️

NASA has selected SpaceX to launch the Dragonfly mission - a car sized rotorcraft designed to explore Saturn’s moon Titan. Read more about this mission here: www.spacescout.info/2024/03/drag...

The road is open. 📸 cred: Dave Limp/Blue Origin

China seeks to maintain leadership in the LEO ecosystem, should ISS be retired without a replacement ready. The CLD program, under current funding lines and planning, may not be enough to maintain capability parity.