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ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Parachute Baked Sterile at ESTEC Ahead of 2028 Mars Mission

- A 35 m diameter, 74 kg parachute for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover was heat-sterilised at ESA’s ESTEC in the Netherlands as part of planetary protection preparations. - Sterilisation completes a critical milestone ahead of the mission’s planned 2028 launch. - The procedure aimed to reduce biological contamination risk during descent through the Martian atmosphere. - The parachute is primarily constructed from nylon and other flight-grade materials and will be integrated with descent hardware for testing and verification.

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Photo by @daniel_pascoa / Unsplash

NASA crew briefly shelters inside Dragon capsule as Russia addresses new space station leaks

- NASA briefly directed four Crew-12 members and astronaut Chris Williams to shelter inside the SpaceX Dragon Freedom while Roscosmos carried out repairs on new leaks in the ISS Zvezda PrK tunnel. - The “safe haven” posture was ended a few hours later after Russian engineers chose to perform measurements

NASA head urges new launcher for Blue Origin’s moon landers to meet Artemis mission deadlines

- After Blue Origin’s New Glenn static-fire explosion damaged LC-36, NASA is seeking an alternative launcher for Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers. - Administrator Jared Isaacman said NASA is “de-coupling the lander from the launch vehicle and the pad” to keep lander development on schedule for Artemis 3

NASA head urges new launcher for Blue Origin’s moon landers to meet Artemis mission deadlines

- After Blue Origin’s New Glenn static fire explosion destroyed the rocket and damaged Launch Complex 36 on May 28, NASA is seeking an alternative launcher for Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 (cargo) and potentially Mark 2 (crewed) landers. - NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency

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