Research Spotlight

Spotlight highlights recent groundbreaking scientific studies and discoveries in space science. It covers innovative research, key findings, and their implications for our understanding of the universe.

Issue 88 | Breaking Space News: Feb 2 - 8, 2026

Feb 9, 2026

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57 min read

Issue 88 | Breaking Space News: Feb 2 - 8, 2026

Does Dark Matter Exist, or Is Gravity Behaving Differently at Cosmic Scales? The Week in Space News: SpaceX–xAI Merge, Chile Halts Industrial Complex Over Risks to Earth’s Darkest Skies, Scientists Call for Research on Human Reproduction in Space, Soil‐Building Bacteria Survive Toxic Materials in Martian Regolith, Artemis II Delayed to March, UK Physics and Astronomy Face Major Funding Cuts, and SmallSat Alliance Shifts From LEO Advocacy to Integrating U.S. Military Satellite Networks. Plus: Hegseth Visits Blue Origin, Pentagon Highlights Golden Dome as Testbed for Acquisition Reform and Commercial Space Integration, China Conducts Secretive Spaceplane Launch and AI Finds Hundreds of Previously Unidentified Cosmic Anomalies.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 86 | Breaking Space News: Jan 19 - 25, 2026

Jan 26, 2026

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61 min read

Issue 86 | Breaking Space News: Jan 19 - 25, 2026

Atlantic Council Warns that U.S. Faces High Risk of Russian Nuclear and Counterspace Escalation in Orbit, and More Evidence Suggests that Mars Once Had a Large Ocean.The Week in Space: NASA Ends Funding for Planetary Science Advisory Groups, China's Xuntian Telescope Readies for Launch, Earth Hit by Strongest Solar Radiation in Decades, US Space Force Funding Boosted to $40 Billion, Resilient GPS Cancelled, Starfish Space Tapped for End‐of‐Life Satellite Disposal Service. Plus: Blue Origin Announces Enterprise Facing TerraWave Constellation, Open Cosmos Secures Broadband License for Europe, Rocket Lab's Neutron Test Suffers an Implosion, Earthquake Sensors Enable Near‐Real‐Time Tracking of Space Debris and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 84 | Breaking Space News: Jan 5 - 11, 2026

Jan 12, 2026

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45 min read

Issue 84 | Breaking Space News: Jan 5 - 11, 2026

RNA May Have Assembled Under Ancient Prebiotic Earth Conditions Without Enzymes Or Cells. The Week In Space: US Lawmakers Have Approved A $24.4 Billion NASA Budget For FY 2026, Rejecting Trump Administration’s Proposed Science Cuts. Cave Training For Chinese Astronauts, The Fastest-Spinning Asteroid, Starless Dark-Matter, And NASA Preps Early Astronaut Return From ISS Due To Medical Emergency. Plus: FCC Has Approved 7,500 More Starlink Satellites, SecWar Hegseth On His "Arsenal Of Freedom" Tour, India’s Unsuccessful PSLV Launch, SkyFi’s On-Demand Access To Vantor’s Imagery And More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 83 | Breaking Space News: Dec 29, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026

Jan 5, 2026

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46 min read

Issue 83 | Breaking Space News: Dec 29, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026

US Scientific Capacity May Take a Hit as Trump Admin Moves to Break-Up NCAR for "Climate Alarmism." The Week in Space: More Space Debris Incidents, ESA Hit by a Cyberattack, Iran, UAE Launch Satellites on a Russian Rideshare, Chinese Launch Updates, and Space Force's Vandenberg Expansion Plans for Heavy-Lift Vehicles. Plus: First-Ever Furnace Ignited in Space at 1000°C and Free‐Floating Exoplanet Detected and Measured.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 79 | Breaking Space News: Dec 1 - 7, 2025

Dec 8, 2025

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55 min read

Issue 79 | Breaking Space News: Dec 1 - 7, 2025

Menstrual Cups Successfully Tested in Spaceflight. This Week in Space News: Clocks on Mars Run Faster Than on Earth, ISS Hosts Eight Spacecraft, Microbes Could Transform Martian Soil for 3D‐Printed Habitats, Sugars and Polymers Found on Bennu, and Solar Insights Unearthed from Ancient Chinese Texts. Plus: Russian Cosmonaut Removed from SpaceX Flight, Missile Defense Agency Awards Contracts to Over 1,000 Companies, and Hypersonics, GEO Satellites, Nuclear Microreactors Draw Major Space and Defense Investment.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 78 | Breaking Space News: Nov 24 - 30, 2025

Dec 1, 2025

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62 min read

Issue 78 | Breaking Space News: Nov 24 - 30, 2025

Now Germany Wants to Militarize Space, to "Limit the Use of Space by Adversaries." This Week in Space News: We May Have Finally Spotted Dark Matter, New Insight on What Space Weather Does to Our Protective Shield. Plus: US-China Space-Race Heats Up with the RACE Act And Regulatory Changes in China, ESA Approves Massive Funding, US to Prototype Space-Based Interceptors, Amazon's Starlink Competition and Much More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 76 | Breaking Space News: Nov 09 - 16, 2025

Nov 17, 2025

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59 min read

Issue 76 | Breaking Space News: Nov 09 - 16, 2025

Massive Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun, Triggered Geomagnetic Turbulence, Auroras and Disruption in the Space Industry. This Week in Space News — The Fall of Icarus, Scars from a Martian Ice Age, Volcanic Plumes, Food from Thin Air in Spaceflight, Soft‐Robotic Exosuits, and Planets Generating Their Own Water. Also: Amazon’s Project Kuiper Rebrand, China’s Launch Record, Orbital Manufacturing, Dream Chaser Updates, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 74 | Breaking Space News: Oct 26 - Nov 01, 2025

Nov 2, 2025

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36 min read

Issue 74 | Breaking Space News: Oct 26 - Nov 01, 2025

Earth is on the Brink as Pace of Climate Change Outstrips Mitigation Efforts. This Week in Space News: Behold the Eye of Melissa and the Red Spider Nebula. First 3D Exoplanet Atmosphere Map, 3I/ATLAS Updates and the End of Human Activity at Venus. Plus: SpaceX and Cards Against Humanity Settle Trespassing Lawsuit, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 73 | Breaking Space News: Oct 19 - 25, 2025

Oct 26, 2025

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36 min read

Issue 73 | Breaking Space News: Oct 19 - 25, 2025

In Militarization of Space, Apex, a US Defense Contractor, Wants to Demonstrate Storage and Deployment of Missiles in Orbit. This Week in Space News: Beautiful, Haunting Images of Glacier Retreat in Chile, Smoking Space Debris in Australia and the Largest Galaxy Cluster Catalog Yet. Risks of Orbital Mirrors and Sunlight Dimming. Plus: NASA Wants to Rethink SpaceX's Artemis III Contract, Impossible Chemistry on Titan, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 72 | Breaking Space News: Oct 12 - 18, 2025

Oct 19, 2025

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52 min read

Issue 72 | Breaking Space News: Oct 12 - 18, 2025

Low Earth Orbit Nears Satellite Congestion Tipping Point (Unsurprisingly). New Space Armor Promises Protection Against Debris at 17,000 MPH. This Week in Space: Dark Object Photographed, Record Ocean Swells, Expanding Magnetic Weak Spots, and Indian Citizen Scientists Spot a Massive ORC. Plus JPL Layoffs, EU and US Defense Updates, Impulse’s New Lander, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 69 | Breaking Space News: Sept 21 - 27, 2025

Sep 28, 2025

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46 min read

Issue 69 | Breaking Space News: Sept 21 - 27, 2025

The Largest-Ever Simulation of the Universe Contains 3.4 Billion Galaxies — This Week in Space News: Glimpse of an Eclipse from Space, Space-Based Tsunami Detection, Deep Space Laser Links Across 218 Million Miles, Russia's "Noah's Ark" Capsule and US Concerns Over China's Growth in Space. Plus: Liquid Uranium Propulsion and Nuclear Batteries, a Space‐Based Semiconductor Supply Chain and the Nearest ET Intelligence May be 33,000 Light Years Away.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 68 | Breaking Space News: Sept 14 - 20, 2025

Sep 21, 2025

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53 min read

Issue 68 | Breaking Space News: Sept 14 - 20, 2025

A New AI Tool That Models the Universe on a Laptop, and a New Way to Knock Space Junk Out of Orbit. This Week in Space: Space Travel Accelerates Aging, a 3D Map of Our Cosmic Neighborhood, Rising Exoplanet Counts, and Hayabusa’s 2031 Sojourn to a Tiny Asteroid. Plus: Ukraine Destroys Russia-Controlled Telescope, US–UK Satellite Maneuver, Axiom’s On-Orbit Datacenters, Maxar–Ecopia Mapping, VIPER’s Revival, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 67 | Breaking Space News: Sept 07 - 13, 2025

Sep 14, 2025

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51 min read

Issue 67 | Breaking Space News: Sept 07 - 13, 2025

Most Compelling Evidence of Past Life on Mars and Earth's AI-Driven Digital Twin. This Week in Space: China’s Apophis Mission, Water on Ryugu, Black Hole Recoil, NASA Protests, and Kazakhstan Space Updates. Plus: Anduril's Defense Role, Rocket Cargo Delivery, Hypersonic Tracking, Mixed Reality Military Gear, Boeing's 3D Printed Solar Array Substrate, Apex Space's Unicorn Status, Retrofitting OneWeb, D2D Updates, Intense Solar Flares, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 66 | Breaking Space News: Aug 31 - Sept 06, 2025

Sep 7, 2025

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49 min read

Issue 66 | Breaking Space News: Aug 31 - Sept 06, 2025

We Now Have a Simpler Way to Make Oxygen in Space. This Week in Space: A Rectangular Telescope, 3I/ATLAS’ Growing Tail, ISRO’s Parachute Test, New NASA Administrator, and the US-China Lunar Race. Plus: Starship Launch Concerns in Florida, Space Force’s AI and Smallsat Strategy, China’s Military Parade, Kuiper’s First Airline Client, ExxonMobil’s Methane Monitoring, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 65 | Breaking Space News: Aug 24 - 30, 2025

Aug 31, 2025

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49 min read

Issue 65 | Breaking Space News: Aug 24 - 30, 2025

White House Removes Labor Protections for NASA Workforce; Harassment Crisis Unfolds in Antarctica. This Week in Space: A Newborn Planet, Solar Flares Imaging, and NASA-IBM's AI Model to Predict Space Weather. Plus: Ryugu’s Ancient Chemistry, Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS, and a New Dark Matter Detector. Mouse Stem Cells Survive Spaceflight and Birth Healthy Pups. China’s Guangdong Unveils Bold Space Plans; AFWERX and DoD Expand Funding. Also: Starship’s Milestone Flight, Belgian Aerspacelab’s IRIS2 Bid, Rocket Lab’s U.S. Expansion, Hypervelocity White Dwarfs, Collapsing Exoplanets, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 64 | Breaking Space News: Aug 17 - 23, 2025

Aug 24, 2025

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43 min read

Issue 64 | Breaking Space News: Aug 17 - 23, 2025

A Comet May be Responsible Earth’s Water & Starlink to Help Cut Astronomy Interference — This Week in Space: Sun‐Synchronous Orbits, Sinus Issues on the ISS, Uranus’s New Moon; Russian Biosatellite Launch, Korean Cubesat on Artemis 2, Mexican ThumbSat on China’s CAS Space Launch. Plus: Portuguese Spaceport; NASA to Reduce Focus on Climate Science; Schriever Wargames Updates, X‐37B Launch, Space Cotan‐Firefly MoU, Platinum Equity‐Anuvu Takeover, Ancient Starburst Galaxy, Mysterious Radio Bursts & More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 62 | Breaking Space News: Aug 03 - 09, 2025

Aug 10, 2025

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44 min read

Issue 62 | Breaking Space News: Aug 03 - 09, 2025

The Most Massive Black Hole Ever Detected Weighs 36 Billion Suns — This Week in Space: A 70-Year Probe to a Black Hole, Solar Mirrors for Asteroid Detection, Spectral Contamination Repurposed, China's Lunar Lander Test & Mars Sample Return, Moon Reactor Plans, & Golden Dome Updates. Plus: Commercial Space Stations, Astroscale’s Patent, NASA’s OTV Contracts, Skyrora’s UK License, Global Bluetooth Network & More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 61 | Breaking Space News: July 27 - Aug 02, 2025

Aug 3, 2025

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53 min read

Issue 61 | Breaking Space News: July 27 - Aug 02, 2025

Unprecedented Widespread Freshwater Decline Is Impacting 75% of the Global Population, & Prebiotic Chemistry Is Detected in Space — This Week in Space: Explore the GEO Belt, Exploding Glaciers, Blazars, Starlink’s Astronomical Impact, Super Earth K2-18 Updates, & the NASA–Roscosmos Meeting. Plus: X-37B’s New Mission, Slingshot’s Autonomous AI Agent, Launch Updates from iSpace & Gilmour, a Reinvented Double-Slit Experiment, & More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 60 | Breaking Space News: July 20 - 26, 2025

Jul 27, 2025

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52 min read

Issue 60 | Breaking Space News: July 20 - 26, 2025

Snowfall in a Chilean Desert & a Newborn Planet — This Week in Space: Betelgeuse Has a Mate, CosmoCube, and the First Antimatter Qubit — Plus: NASA–ISRO, Russia–Iran Launches, South Korean Lunar Base, the Climate Tipping Point, Ocean Heatwaves, Marine Protection Outcomes, Spain's Thirty Meter Telescope Interest, China’s Oversight Standards, Bioplastics for Space & More

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 59 | Breaking Space News: July 13 - 19, 2025

Jul 20, 2025

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50 min read

Issue 59 | Breaking Space News: July 13 - 19, 2025

Earth-Size Worlds May Be Less Common Than Expected — This Week in Space: INVICTUS Spaceplane, Record Breaking Cargo Shipment to the Chinese Space Station, Oxygen & Water From Lunar Soil, Black Hole Merger, & TRACERS Mission. Plus: Trump Admin Makes Climate Report Unavailable, Science Budget Debate in the US, NASA Protest, Space Force Updates, AX-4 Return, Satellite Services & UK's GDP, SES-Intelsat Merger.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 58 | Breaking Space News: July 06 - 12, 2025

Jul 13, 2025

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49 min read

Issue 58 | Breaking Space News: July 06 - 12, 2025

Aliens Might Be Listening to Earth’s Airports — Or We’re in a Quiet Cosmic Neighborhood. This Week in Space: China’s Orbital Servicing & Neptune Mission, NASA’s Asteroid Deflection Hurdle, a New Interstellar Visitor, Budgetary Support for NASA & TRACSS, Starlink in India, Space Force Exercises, GAO Oversight, Japan's Expansion in Space, and More.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 57 | Breaking Space News: June 29 - July 05, 2025

Jul 7, 2025

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30 min read

Issue 57 | Breaking Space News: June 29 - July 05, 2025

Google, Bezos Funded Climate-Monitoring Satellite Fails Prematurely — This Week in Space News: Images of a Stellar Detonation, Magma Pulsations Under Ethiopia, Ryugu Updates, TraCSS Heading for Cancellation, DARPA's Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Program, USAF Hypersonic Rocket Cargo Project Updates, Organic Molecules in Deep Space & More

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 56 | Breaking Space News: June 22 - 28, 2025

Jun 29, 2025

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51 min read

Issue 56 | Breaking Space News: June 22 - 28, 2025

World’s Firsts: Images From World's Largest Digital Camera & Photographed Exoplanets — This Week in Space: Bolivian Forests, Mexico-SpaceX Fallout, Shoes Designed in Orbit, NSF Eviction, Uninsured Satellites, Space Force Budget, ULA's Government Compliant Chatbot -RocketGPT, Maxar’s Sentry, Lunar Dust, Radiation-Proof Lichens & More

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 55 | Breaking Space News: June 15 - 21, 2025

Jun 22, 2025

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56 min read

Issue 55 | Breaking Space News: June 15 - 21, 2025

An Australian Moth Uses the Milky Way & Earth's Magnetism to Complete an Epic Migration — This Week in Space: Satellite Streaks & Stunning Astro-Imagery. Neural Networks aid in Black Hole Discoveries, China’s Landspace & Japan’s Honda Edge Closer to Reusable Launch Systems. Also Inside: The World’s Largest Digital Camera Prepares for Cosmic Duty, Zero-G Gets Theatrical, & Updates on Astroscale, Ursa Major & Eutelsat’s Defense Contracts. From Orbital Factories to Antarctic Radio Pulses & a Dramatic Starship Anomaly — This Week’s Orbit Is Packed.

Lagrangian Despatch

Issue 54 | Breaking Space News: June 07 - 14, 2025

Jun 15, 2025

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46 min read

Issue 54 | Breaking Space News: June 07 - 14, 2025

First-Ever Look at the Sun’s South Pole — This Week in Space: The Kármán Line, Concerning Development From Antarctica, Vantablack & Satellite Reflectivity Solutions, Lunar Landing Innovations & China's Collab with Italy, Austria. Plus, NASA Budget Ripples Reach Europe, US Defense Funding Trends, Non-Toxic Propulsion, SES-Intelsat Merger, and More.

Maharshi Bhattacharya