https://www.scmp.com/rss/325304/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin China is the United States’ “most consequential threat and competitor in space,” leveraging its capabilities “as a tool of diplomacy and influence”, US lawmakers were told at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, as the two countries’ race to the moon intensifies. The US and China are locked in a high-stakes space race, with both nations aiming to put astronauts on the moon in the coming years. While China has set a 2030 target for its first crewed lunar landing, the US’ Artemis programme aims... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351922/us-lawmakers-warn-china-top-space-rival-race-moon-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351922/us-lawmakers-warn-china-top-space-rival-race-moon-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:30:18 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang The United States has “no defence against hypersonic weapons or cruise missiles”, a senior Pentagon official told Congress on Monday, as US President Donald Trump’s US$185 billion Golden Dome missile shield faces continued scepticism. “The Golden Dome will strengthen deterrence by denying adversaries the ability to achieve their objectives through coercion or aggression,” Marc Berkowitz, the assistant secretary of defence for missile defence and deterrence policy, told a Senate hearing on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351626/trumps-golden-dome-will-combat-chinas-hypersonic-weapons-cruise-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3351626/trumps-golden-dome-will-combat-chinas-hypersonic-weapons-cruise-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 23:28:59 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen When US special forces raided Caracas and abducted president Nicolas Maduro and his wife in early January, the Venezuelan capital was hit by widespread power outages and communication blackouts. Yet, within hours of the attacks, connectivity began to return – not from paralysed ground infrastructure, but from space. Elon Musk’s Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, activated communications services across Venezuela via its vast constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites on terminals residents... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3351345/will-future-world-order-be-determined-who-controls-low-earth-orbit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3351345/will-future-world-order-be-determined-who-controls-low-earth-orbit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings With bad loans and repayment collateral in focus, Chinese banks are increasingly using satellites to evaluate their clients’ terrestrial assets, mounting a hi-tech offensive to safeguard against rising credit risks. China Merchants Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank started making use of satellites this year, following a 2022 launch by Ping An Bank and a 2020 move into satellite remote-sensing technology by Zhejiang E-Commerce Bank. Furthering the trend, the Postal Savings Bank of China... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351315/default-our-stars-chinas-banks-use-satellites-track-assets-sky-high-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351315/default-our-stars-chinas-banks-use-satellites-track-assets-sky-high-scrutiny?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 02:00:11 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin For years, Nasa funded a project called SpiderFab – a spider-like robot that would crawl through orbit, weaving solar power stations and giant antennas from spools of carbon fibre – creating structures too large for any rocket to carry whole. Although SpiderFab never ended up in space, scientists from the Shenyang Institute of Automation in northern China say they have built the key technologies to reach a similar goal. The team first made the building blocks from a carbon-fibre composite,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351085/can-chinese-scientists-bring-nasas-space-spider-dream-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351085/can-chinese-scientists-bring-nasas-space-spider-dream-life?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 06:00:11 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik China has named the two Pakistani astronauts selected to train for a mission to its space station this year. After undergoing assessments, one of the men would serve as a payload specialist on a space mission alongside the Chinese crew to become the first foreign astronaut to enter the Tiangong space station, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. Muhammad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud will soon arrive in China for their training, according to the China Manned Space Agency. They were... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351043/china-names-2-pakistani-astronauts-chosen-train-tiangong-space-station-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3351043/china-names-2-pakistani-astronauts-chosen-train-tiangong-space-station-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:41:50 +0000 SCMP Style Reporter SCMP Style Reporter On April 1, as Nasa’s Artemis II set off on humanity’s first crewed lunar voyage in more than 50 years, all four astronauts on the mission did so wearing the Omega Speedmaster X-33 – a modern instrument for a new era, rooted in a legacy stretching back six decades. That story began with a far simpler mechanical chronograph that proved its ability to survive where few other timepieces could. In 1965, after a series of punishing trials designed to replicate the extremes of space travel, Nasa... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3350717/style-edit-omega-speedmasters-60-year-legacy-apollo-11-artemis-ii?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3350717/style-edit-omega-speedmasters-60-year-legacy-apollo-11-artemis-ii?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall A US move to freeze the Lunar Gateway orbiting space station could render Japan’s new technologies redundant – but its space agency is expected to be diplomatic in its response. The Lunar Gateway project was initially planned as an installation that would orbit the moon as part of the United States’ Artemis programme, which recently made headlines for a record-breaking journey that went deeper into space than anyone had ever flown before. Artemis’ aim is to return astronauts to the moon’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3350662/japan-focus-lunar-rover-after-us-halts-moon-space-station?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3350662/japan-focus-lunar-rover-after-us-halts-moon-space-station?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 04:00:12 +0000 dpa dpa Video game developer Capcom brought forward the release date for its long-awaited space sci-fi adventure Pragmata to April 17 amid global excitement over the successful Artemis II moon mission. Players slip into the spacesuit of Hugh Williams, a spacecraft engineer in the near future who travels to the Cradle moon station run by the Delphi Corporation. The base was founded to mine and research the raw material Lunafilament, which is used to expand the base and to build support robots using 3D... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3350400/pragmata-review-moon-set-game-released-early-amid-artemis-ii-buzz-amazing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3350400/pragmata-review-moon-set-game-released-early-amid-artemis-ii-buzz-amazing?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 SCMP Style Reporter SCMP Style Reporter IWC Schaffhausen takes to the skies this year as the Swiss luxury watch brand celebrates 90 years of one of its most seminal designs, the Pilot’s Watch. For this year’s festivities, the brand goes literally above and beyond, as two of its major Pilot’s Watch releases take watchmaking “beyond the sky and into space”. The Pilot’s Venturer Vertical Drive takes IWC’s 90 years of aviation watch excellence to the extreme, especially after the manufacturer’s participation in the Inspiration4 and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3350131/style-edit-iwc-schaffhausen-celebrates-its-pilots-watchs-90th-anniversary-cosmic-new-designs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3350131/style-edit-iwc-schaffhausen-celebrates-its-pilots-watchs-90th-anniversary-cosmic-new-designs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 02:00:15 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press For the first time, scientists have measured the instantaneous mind-blowing power of jets blasting from a black hole. The jet power from this relatively close black hole-star system is equivalent to 10,000 suns, an international research team reported on Thursday. They also tracked the jet speed: roughly 540 million km/h (355 million mph) – half the speed of light. Located 7,200 light-years away, Cygnus X-1 features not only a black hole – the first one ever identified more than a half-century... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3350375/mind-blowing-power-and-speed-black-hole-jets-measured-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3350375/mind-blowing-power-and-speed-black-hole-jets-measured-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:33 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Still marvelling over their moon mission, the Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home on Saturday from hundreds who took part in Nasa’s lunar comeback that set a record for deep space travel. The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego where they splashed down just offshore the evening before. After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, the astronauts took the hangar stage, surrounded by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349765/over-moon-artemis-ii-astronauts-make-emotional-homecoming-after-record-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349765/over-moon-artemis-ii-astronauts-make-emotional-homecoming-after-record-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:20:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Artemis II capsule and its four-member crew streaked through Earth’s ⁠atmosphere and safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday after nearly 10 days in space, capping the first voyage by humans to the vicinity of the moon in over half a century. Nasa’s gumdrop-shaped Orion capsule, dubbed Integrity, parachuted gently into the sea off the Southern California coast shortly after 5pm, concluding a mission that took the astronauts deeper into space than anyone had flown before. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349718/watch-artemis-ii-astronauts-hurtle-home-moon-towards-splashdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349718/watch-artemis-ii-astronauts-hurtle-home-moon-towards-splashdown?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 23:09:41 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China plans to launch its first rocket from open waters in the South China Sea, in a display of a more flexible, long-range maritime launch capability. The 31-metre (102-foot) tall, solid-fuelled Jielong-3 is expected to lift off at 7.30pm on Saturday from the Dong Fang Hang Tian Gang, a converted barge operating in international waters, according to a leaked schedule circulating on Chinese social media. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all the islands and rock features in the South China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3349638/china-about-launch-rocket-south-china-sea-international-waters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3349638/china-about-launch-rocket-south-china-sea-international-waters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 08:02:37 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial In an ideal world, China and the United States, the two pre-eminent spacefaring nations, would cooperate to explore humanity’s final frontier. In the real world, though, the two countries have started a new space race just as they compete in everything else. That’s one reason why Nasa’s latest Artemis mission to the moon has gained worldwide attention, not least from China’s space science community. While both sides are trying to beat the other to return humans to the moon, the stakes are even... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3349475/new-space-race-should-be-recognised-marathon-not-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3349475/new-space-race-should-be-recognised-marathon-not-sprint?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:45:08 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela Scholar and author Sheng-Wei Wang discusses how studying an ancient Chinese world map led her to conclude China explored and mapped the world before the European Age of Discovery and how the legacy of colonialism and a Eurocentric record of global history continue to affect power dynamics today. SCMP Plus readers get early access to articles in the Open Questions series. What first made you suspect that it was Chinese explorers and not Europeans who launched the true Age of Discovery? The... https://www.scmp.com/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3349523/china-always-connector-unlike-europes-colonisers-scholar-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/economy/china-economy/article/3349523/china-always-connector-unlike-europes-colonisers-scholar-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:17:24 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji As Nasa’s Artemis II crew loops around the moon, the mission involving four astronauts from the US and Canada is set to reignite India’s ambition to grow its space sector and launch future lunar missions. The Orion spacecraft used in the Artemis II mission reached a maximum distance of 406,780km (252,760 miles) from Earth, surpassing the record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. The close approach to the moon was the climax of the mission launched on April 1, with the astronauts scheduled to return to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349387/indias-space-ambition-set-soar-after-artemis-ii-moon-missions-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349387/indias-space-ambition-set-soar-after-artemis-ii-moon-missions-success?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:00:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Artemis II astronauts were jetting towards Earth and sharing their lunar fly-by souvenirs on Tuesday, delighting colleagues both at home and in space with captivating tales of their historic journey. Of note was their stunning shot of an Earthset, the moment when Earth drops below the rugged lunar horizon. The image was a deliberate nod to the iconic Earthrise image taken during the Apollo 8 mission in 1968, a shot that helped capture the public’s imagination as humans travelled around the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349308/nasas-artemis-crew-snaps-historic-earthset-photo-way-home-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349308/nasas-artemis-crew-snaps-historic-earthset-photo-way-home-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:00:45 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nasa’s four Artemis astronauts swung behind the moon and were headed back to Earth, in a journey that shattered space travel distance records and brought people the closest they have been to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. “All of your flight controllers and your flight director have flipped their Artemis II patches around. We are Earth-bound and ready to bring you home,” Jenni Gibbons, a Canadian space agency astronaut and backup crew member for Artemis II, told the astronauts as they... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349192/nasa-artemis-ii-astronauts-fly-moons-far-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349192/nasa-artemis-ii-astronauts-fly-moons-far-side?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:55:46 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeper into space than even the Apollo astronauts. On the downside, their toilet is on the blink again. The three Americans and one Canadian are set to reach their destination Monday, photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It is the first moon-bound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where Nasa’s Apollo programme left off. “The Earth is quite small, and... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/science-technology/article/3349061/us-artemis-iis-moon-trip-faces-challenging-toilet-mission-again-over-flushing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/science-technology/article/3349061/us-artemis-iis-moon-trip-faces-challenging-toilet-mission-again-over-flushing?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 03:49:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse They are sipping smoothies, snapping phone pics, dealing with crashed email and fixing broken toilets: astronauts, they are just like us. The four crew members zipping through space towards the moon are carrying out a mission unlike any before it, but they are also still muddling on through life’s mundanities – all while they float around together in a square footage equivalent to two minivans. Mission specialist Christina Koch, the first woman to venture into deep space, said preparing for the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349013/space-plumber-rescue-artemis-astronauts-navigate-life-aboard-orion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349013/space-plumber-rescue-artemis-astronauts-navigate-life-aboard-orion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 02:40:03 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. Nasa released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1½ days into the first astronaut moon shot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth in one of the capsule’s windows. The second shows the entire globe with the oceans topped by swirling white tendrils of clouds As of midmorning on Friday, Wiseman and his crew... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349005/artemis-iis-moon-bound-astronauts-share-first-images-earths-brilliant-blue-beauty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349005/artemis-iis-moon-bound-astronauts-share-first-images-earths-brilliant-blue-beauty?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:33:26 +0000 Joshua Hendren Joshua Hendren Any discussion of watches in space inevitably begins with Omega. The brand’s Speedmaster, launched in 1957 and one of the most legendary and collectible watch models in the world, boasts an association with Nasa that dates back to the mid-1960s, when the iconic chronograph was subjected to a punishing series of tests and subsequently selected as official flight-qualified equipment for all manned missions. Sixty years on from that qualification, the Speedmaster’s role in space remains the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3348375/space-watches-redefined-new-era-exploration-omega-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3348375/space-watches-redefined-new-era-exploration-omega-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Four Artemis astronauts were zooming towards the moon on Thursday after a major engine firing, a milestone that commits Nasa to the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than half a century. With enough thrust to accelerate a stationary car to highway driving speed in less than three seconds, the Orion capsule engine blasted the astronauts on their trajectory towards the moon, which they now will loop as part of the 10-day Artemis II mission. “Human beings have left Earth orbit” for the first time... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348862/nasas-artemis-crew-gets-green-light-make-big-push-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348862/nasas-artemis-crew-gets-green-light-make-big-push-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:52:18 +0000 Reuters Reuters Four astronauts blasted off from ⁠Florida on Wednesday on Nasa’s Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States’ boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China. Nasa’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, topped with its Orion crew capsule, roared to life just before sunset at the agency’s Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying its debut crew - three US astronauts and a Canadian astronaut... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348724/historic-artemis-ii-moon-mission-lifts-amid-us-lunar-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348724/historic-artemis-ii-moon-mission-lifts-amid-us-lunar-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 22:41:22 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China’s commercial space sector has reached a cost milestone as its new rocket debuts for less than the ticket price of the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle. The Kinetica-2 Y1 carrier rocket, also known as the Lijian-2 Y1, took off on its inaugural flight on Monday before delivering three satellites into orbit, including a prototype commercial cargo spacecraft and a satellite to function as a mini-orbiting space lab. The rocket developed by Chinese commercial space firm CAS Space –... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348697/chinas-commercial-rocket-now-cheaper-elon-musks-spacex-falcon-9?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348697/chinas-commercial-rocket-now-cheaper-elon-musks-spacex-falcon-9?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:20 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Nasa began the countdown on Monday for humanity’s first launch to the moon in 53 years. The 32-storey Space Launch System rocket is poised to blast-off on Wednesday evening with four astronauts. After a day in orbit around Earth, the Orion capsule will propel the astronauts to the moon and back. There are no stops – just a quick U-turn around the moon. The nearly 10-day flight will end with a splashdown in the Pacific. Managers said the rocket is doing well following the latest round of repairs.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348459/nasa-begins-countdown-humanitys-first-launch-moon-53-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348459/nasa-begins-countdown-humanitys-first-launch-moon-53-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 21:36:21 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Chinese researchers say they have built an 11-satellite network for a jam-resistant, high-accuracy optical navigation system, designed to provide positioning where GPS is unavailable or disrupted, for everything from self-driving cars and drones to deep-space missions. Optical navigation has also been used in the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, helping drones developed by companies such as Asio Technologies and General Atomics operate in environments where GPS signals are jammed. While... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348318/lighthouses-space-chinese-jam-proof-satellite-network-fill-gps-gaps?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3348318/lighthouses-space-chinese-jam-proof-satellite-network-fill-gps-gaps?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:01:05 +0000 Jane Lee Jane Lee China’s 15th five-year plan is about to make commercial aerospace a mainstream pillar of national development, and Hong Kong cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Whether the city can translate this national push into concrete local strengths will become a test of its ability to integrate with – and contribute to – China’s next wave of strategic industries. Commercial aerospace has moved to a full-scale strategic policy in just a few years, sitting at the intersection of satellites,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3347794/can-hong-kong-hitch-ride-chinas-commercial-aerospace-wave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3347794/can-hong-kong-hitch-ride-chinas-commercial-aerospace-wave?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 21:30:10 +0000 Genevieve Donnellon-May Genevieve Donnellon-May Amid turmoil in the Middle East, including the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil passes, Beijing is pressing ahead with its Zhuri (sun-chasing) project to build solar power stations in space. Chinese Academy of Engineering academician and senior rocket scientist Long Lehao likened this space-based solar power programme to putting the Three Gorges Dam into geostationary orbit, underscoring its extraordinary scale and ambition.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347692/why-chinas-space-based-solar-power-next-frontier-green-energy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347692/why-chinas-space-based-solar-power-next-frontier-green-energy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The astronaut who prompted Nasa’s first medical evacuation earlier this year said on Friday that doctors still do not know why he suddenly fell sick at the International Space Station. Four-time space flier Mike Fincke said he was eating dinner on January 7 after prepping for a spacewalk the next day when it happened. He could not talk and remembers no pain, but his anxious crewmates jumped into action after seeing him in distress and requested help from flight surgeons on the ground. “It was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348216/us-astronaut-says-illness-cut-short-space-mission-made-him-unable-talk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348216/us-astronaut-says-illness-cut-short-space-mission-made-him-unable-talk?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:51:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Scientists have used a tiny plastic “obstacle course” to test how much sperm would struggle to navigate during sex in the weightlessness of space. Some particularly resilient sperm still made it through the course, suggesting that conceiving children in space will still be possible, according to research published on Thursday. However, a bigger problem could be that the development of embryos after fertilisation was harmed by a lack of gravity, the Australian team of researchers found. With... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3348051/sex-space-sperm-struggles-navigate-without-gravity-scientists-find?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3348051/sex-space-sperm-struggles-navigate-without-gravity-scientists-find?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 17:45:48 +0000 Reuters Reuters Nasa announced on Tuesday it ⁠has cancelled plans to deploy a space station in lunar orbit and ⁠would instead use components from the project to build a US$20 billion base on the moon’s surface, while also planning to send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars. US space agency chief Jared Isaacman, an appointee of US President Donald Trump who took charge at Nasa in December, announced an unprecedented array of changes to the Artemis moon programme that would expand humanity’s footprint in space,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347793/nasa-abandons-orbital-lunar-station-plans-moon-base-and-nuclear-spacecraft?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3347793/nasa-abandons-orbital-lunar-station-plans-moon-base-and-nuclear-spacecraft?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 03:54:02 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Scientists in China and Germany have identified four possible landing sites for China’s first crewed mission to the moon in an area that has also been of interest to Nasa. The Rimae Bode region on the lunar nearside is favoured for its diverse geological samples, including volcanic debris, for studying lunar volcanism and its relatively flat ground for safe astronaut access. “Rimae Bode lies in an easily accessible, low-latitude, nearside location with generally flat, traversable terrain,” they... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346056/chinas-2030-moon-landing-scientists-suggest-site-has-long-been-nasas-radar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346056/chinas-2030-moon-landing-scientists-suggest-site-has-long-been-nasas-radar?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:00:11 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China should not follow SpaceX in launching artificial intelligence data centres into orbit, but instead focus on more practical near-term space-based computing, a senior researcher has said. Gao Wen, a computer scientist at Peking University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said on Thursday that electricity demand was not a major bottleneck for AI data centres in China, meaning there was little reason to move them into space. In a Sina News interview during the annual “two... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345685/china-cant-buy-elon-musks-theory-space-based-ai-centres-experts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345685/china-cant-buy-elon-musks-theory-space-based-ai-centres-experts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:30:08 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng The priorities outlined in drafts of China’s 2026 budget and next five-year plan overlap heavily with the ambitious projects championed by Elon Musk, including the Starlink constellation, electric vehicles, Neuralink interfaces and artificial intelligence. With Beijing allocating 426.42 billion yuan (US$61.7 billion) for the sector, it is positioning frontiers such as future energy, brain-computer interfaces and satellite internet as China’s future industries, with the nation doubling down on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345576/does-chinas-science-budget-boost-confirm-it-listening-everything-elon-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345576/does-chinas-science-budget-boost-confirm-it-listening-everything-elon-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:03:58 +0000 Reuters Reuters Japan’s Space One said its Kairos rocket terminated its flight after lift-off on Thursday, failing to achieve the country’s first entirely commercial satellite launch on its third attempt in a row. Three months after another state-run rocket launch ‌failure, the unsuccessful flight dealt a fresh blow to Japan’s efforts to establish domestic launch options and reduce its reliance on American rockets amid rising space-security needs to counter China. Kairos, the 18-metre (59 ft) solid-propellant... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3345501/failure-launch-japans-space-one-aborts-kairos-flight-after-lift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3345501/failure-launch-japans-space-one-aborts-kairos-flight-after-lift?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 03:01:48 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China should accelerate development of a space-based solar power station, as the technology could one day do far more than beam clean energy to Earth, it might even help tame typhoons, according to a senior Chinese engineer. Duan Baoyan, the lead scientist behind the ambitious “Zhuri” project – which aims to hold a megawatt-class demonstration in the Earth’s orbit by 2030 – said microwave beams generated by such a station to transmit electricity back to Earth could potentially be directed to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345240/change-typhoon-intensity-and-path-china-team-mulls-hitting-cyclones-space-beam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3345240/change-typhoon-intensity-and-path-china-team-mulls-hitting-cyclones-space-beam?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 09:00:10 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nasa is shaking up its Artemis mission to the moon, cancelling a multibillion-dollar Boeing upgrade to the centrepiece SLS rocket and slotting in a test flight closer to Earth as the programme remains beset by delays and cost overruns. The changes announced on Friday mean that Nasa is essentially swapping the actual moon landing for an additional test mission staged closer to Earth – while insisting the 2028 deadline for a lunar touchdown remains unchanged. Artemis III, which was supposed to be... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344936/nasa-overhauls-artemis-mission-amid-setbacks-moon-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344936/nasa-overhauls-artemis-mission-amid-setbacks-moon-race-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:18:17 +0000 Seong Hyeon Choi Seong Hyeon Choi The United States needs to go on the offensive in space to be able to “turn around and punch” back at China’s rapidly expanding surveillance satellite network, according to a US Space Force general. According to the US military news website The War Zone, Lieutenant General Gregory Gagnon said China had built “the second-best remote sensing architecture in the world from outer space”. He said China had expanded from fewer than 100 satellites in 2013, when Chinese President Xi Jinping first came... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3344873/us-must-be-able-turn-around-and-punch-space-china-boosts-satellites-general?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3344873/us-must-be-able-turn-around-and-punch-space-china-boosts-satellites-general?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:15:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Nasa’s new moon rocket suffered another setback on Saturday, almost certain to bump astronauts’ first lunar trip in decades into spring. The space agency revealed the latest problem just one day after targeting March 6 for the Artemis II mission, humanity’s first flight to the moon in more than half a century. Overnight, the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage was interrupted, officials said. Solid helium flow is essential for purging the engines and pressurising the fuel tanks. This... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344230/nasa-moon-rocket-hit-new-problem-putting-march-launch-astronauts-jeopardy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344230/nasa-moon-rocket-hit-new-problem-putting-march-launch-astronauts-jeopardy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 17:20:58 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Nasa aims to send astronauts to the moon in March after completing the latest rocket fuelling test. Administrator Jared Isaacman said on Friday that launch teams made “major progress” between the first countdown rehearsal, which was disrupted by hydrogen leaks earlier this month, and the second test, which was completed without significant seepage on Thursday night. The test was “a big step towards America’s return to the lunar environment”, Isaacman said on social media. Nasa could launch four... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344184/nasa-aims-send-astronauts-moon-march-after-successful-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344184/nasa-aims-send-astronauts-moon-march-after-successful-test?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:24:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nasa on Thursday blamed what it called engineering vulnerabilities in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft along with internal agency mistakes in a sharply critical report assessing a botched mission that left two astronauts stranded in space. The US space agency labelled the 2024 test flight of the Starliner capsule a “Type A” mishap - the same classification of the deadly Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters - a category that reflects the “potential for a significant mishap,” it said. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344068/nasa-ranks-2024-spacecraft-mishap-among-its-worst-disasters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344068/nasa-ranks-2024-spacecraft-mishap-among-its-worst-disasters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 03:50:26 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Steve Durst, a US space entrepreneur who spent decades building rare bridges with China’s space sector despite restrictions on official cooperation, has died aged 82. Durst, who founded the non-profit International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), was publishing on China’s astronaut training as early as 1980, when the country’s human space flight ambitions were still little known to the outside world. He died at his home in California last month, shortly after attending a workshop in Chiang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343571/steve-durst-us-citizen-space-diplomat-who-reached-out-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343571/steve-durst-us-citizen-space-diplomat-who-reached-out-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:00:07 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China’s first man in space, Yang Liwei, has officially retired from active duty, but he has not stopped training and remains ready to put on a spacesuit again if needed. He said in a CCTV interview on Saturday that the country’s first group of astronauts had been grounded in October according to regulations, but “if our motherland needs us, we can resume flights”. Yang, now a deputy chief designer for China’s crewed space programme, was the first Chinese national to reach Earth’s orbit in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343746/chinas-first-man-space-yang-liwei-officially-retires-active-duty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343746/chinas-first-man-space-yang-liwei-officially-retires-active-duty?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 10:00:57 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. SpaceX delivered the US, French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral. Last month’s medical evacuation was Nasa’s first in 65 years of human space flight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343602/4-astronauts-arrive-international-space-station-replace-nasas-evacuated-crew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343602/4-astronauts-arrive-international-space-station-replace-nasas-evacuated-crew?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 23:35:10 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China has successfully completed a crucial safety test and fired off a new-generation rocket as part of the country’s preparations for a crewed mission to the moon. Wednesday’s escape test on board the Mengzhou crew carrier was designed to ensure that astronauts could be safely returned to Earth if something went wrong during the launch. The Chinese space programme had already carried out a ground-level safety test in June, but the latest test was designed to check that crew members would be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343144/chinas-mengzhou-spacecraft-passes-key-test-2030-crewed-moon-mission-long-march-10-rocket?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3343144/chinas-mengzhou-spacecraft-passes-key-test-2030-crewed-moon-mission-long-march-10-rocket?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 03:58:21 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse SpaceX is putting its long-standing focus of sending humans to Mars on the back burner to prioritise establishing a settlement on the moon, founder Elon Musk said on Sunday. The South Africa-born billionaire’s space company has found massive success as a Nasa contractor, but critics have for years panned Musk’s Mars colonisation plans as overambitious. The move also puts Musk in alignment with US President Donald Trump’s shift away from sending Americans to Mars. The US faces intense competition... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342887/spacex-puts-mars-back-burner-focus-moon-city-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342887/spacex-puts-mars-back-burner-focus-moon-city-musk-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:43:47 +0000 Regina Ip Regina Ip At this time of year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s top priority is finalising the Hong Kong government’s budget for 2026-27, balancing requests for incentives and welfare against calls for a return to fiscal prudence. For decades, budget speeches have followed a familiar structure: a review of past performance, near- and medium-term forecasts, support measures for industries and social services, a report on the government’s fiscal position and financial estimates for the coming year.... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3342610/hong-kongs-budget-should-move-city-towards-inspirational-development?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3342610/hong-kongs-budget-should-move-city-towards-inspirational-development?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 01:30:08 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial The global space industry has rapidly evolved from the days when nations raced to the heavens in a quest for glory. Now space is a venue for competition to forge the world’s technological future. Hong Kong must follow these developments with solid planning if it hopes to tap into the opportunities of China’s “NewSpace” ambitions. NewSpace is an emerging industry where private firms are involved with satellite manufacturing, launch services, space law, tourism and other ventures concentrated in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3342632/hong-kong-need-not-wait-help-chinese-space-ambitions-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3342632/hong-kong-need-not-wait-help-chinese-space-ambitions-take?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2026 23:15:15 +0000