Mars orbiters

SpaceX is conducting the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket, with the vehicle heading toward orbit from its launch site in Texas. Live coverage of the launch is drawing large audiences as watchers follow the progress of the most powerful rocket ever built. The flight is part of SpaceX's iterative testing programme toward future Moon and Mars missions.

A color-enhanced close-up image of Stickney Crater, the largest crater on Mars' moon Phobos, has been shared online, credited to NASA's HiRISE camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. The image highlights the surface detail of the massive impact feature and is drawing attention from space enthusiasts discussing Mars exploration imagery.

A long, strange cloud stretching off Mars's Arsia Mons volcano has puzzled scientists since it was spotted recurring each Martian morning. New analysis indicates the cloud cannot be explained by dust alone, deepening the mystery around how it forms and endures. Researchers continue to study the phenomenon using data from Mars orbiters, and the finding is drawing attention from space enthusiasts and planetary scientists alike.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured images of intricately eroded, light-toned layered deposits in Mars's Arabia Terra region. The oddly shaped formations, photographed by the HiRISE camera, preserve a record of the planet's ancient climate, with layers of similar thickness and brightness hinting at the conditions under which they formed.

Attention is turning to humanity's shift from operating in Earth orbit toward missions into deep space, including exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond. The framing highlights the next phase of space activity, in which governments and space agencies are moving past low Earth orbit programs toward more ambitious long-range exploration goals.

SpaceX has completed the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket, sending the vehicle to low Earth orbit. The flight is another step in the company's campaign to prove out the massive rocket it intends to use for Moon and Mars missions and heavy satellite launches. Coverage has spread across financial and general news outlets tracking SpaceX progress.

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket, which reached orbit before exploding over the ocean. The test flight is being widely followed as Starship is central to SpaceX's ambitions for deep space missions, including plans for Moon and Mars travel. Explosions are common in the rocket's test programme, which uses each launch to gather data for future attempts.

The European Space Agency reports new findings from its Mars Express orbiter suggesting the elongated cloud known as the Armiche Cloud, which forms over a Martian volcano, may be even more unusual than previously believed. The study refines scientists' understanding of how the long cloud repeatedly forms and dissipates in the thin Martian atmosphere, drawing interest from space and weather watchers alike.

NASA is developing humanoid robots intended for use on future Moon and Mars missions. The robots would assist astronauts with tasks on the lunar surface and, eventually, on the Red Planet. Details about timelines and capabilities were not provided, but the programme highlights NASA's growing investment in robotics to support human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

SpaceX is readying Starship Ship 43 for the Flight 16 test launch from Starbase, Florida, with the vehicle undergoing final preparations ahead of liftoff. The mission continues SpaceX's rapid iteration campaign for the Starship system, as space watchers track each test flight for progress toward orbital capability and eventual lunar and Mars missions.