Space Race 2045: South Korea's Grand Mars Ambition

South Korea has unveiled an ambitious plan to land on Mars by 2045, investing 100 trillion won in space exploration. The newly launched Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) will spearhead this mission, aiming to position South Korea among the world’s top five space powers by leveraging contributions from hundreds of enterprises.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

South Korea plans Mars landing in 2045 as it launches first space agency

South Korea plans to make a Mars landing by 2045 and spend 100 trillion won ($72.6 billion) until then on space exploration, President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday at the launch of the country's first space agency. The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) will lead the country's "space economy," with hundreds of businesses and enterprises working to catapult South Korea into the ranks of the world's top five space powers, Yoon said.

NASA's Lucy spacecraft unlocks asteroid Dinkinesh's dynamic history

A little asteroid called Dinkinesh - visited last November by NASA's Lucy spacecraft - has a surprisingly dynamic history, according to scientists, along with its moonlet Selam that is comprised of two bodies that gently melded into one. Dinkinesh and Selam are the smallest asteroids from our solar system's main asteroid belt, located between the planets Mars and Jupiter, ever seen up close by a spacecraft. Lucy observed ridges, trough structures and other characteristics on Dinkinesh that hint at a complicated past for the asteroid and its companion, the researchers said on Wednesday.

China's Galactic Energy launches rocket carrying satellites, state media reports

Chinese company Galactic Energy successfully launched its Ceres-1 rocket carrying satellites into orbit on Wednesday, state media reported, in the latest sign of the growing strength of China's commercial space sector. The Beijing-based company was forced to apologise to its customers last September after a failed launch of a Ceres-1 rocket, which is capable of delivering a 300kg payload to a 500km sun-synchronous orbit.

Indian space startup Agnikul launches country's second privately built rocket

India's Agnikul Cosmos launched its Agnibaan rocket for the first time on Thursday, powered by the only Indian rocket engine to use both gas and liquid fuel in the country's second flight of a privately built rocket. The Agnibaan's first flight had been called off four times in the last two months because of technical issues. The most recent cancellation was Tuesday, when launch was aborted five seconds before lift-off.

Startup Ursa Major advances US hypersonic capabilities with new engine

Ursa Major, a startup rocket motor maker, has successfully test-fired its new Draper engine more than 50 times on the ground, the company said on Thursday, marking a significant advance in U.S. hypersonic and in-space propulsion technologies. Berthoud, Colorado-based Ursa Major's testing is the latest achievement by U.S. companies scrambling to build more advanced engines for missiles and spacecraft that American officials see as crucial deterrents to threats from adversaries such as hypersonic weapons - those that move more than five times the speed of sound - in and beyond Earth's atmosphere.

Venus has more volcanism than previously known, new analysis finds

Venus appears to be more volcanically active than previously known, according to scientists whose new analysis of decades-old radar images has spotted evidence of eruptions at two additional sites on the surface of Earth's inhospitable planetary neighbor. Radar images obtained by NASA's Magellan spacecraft from 1990 to 1992 indicated large lava flows at these two locations in the Venusian northern hemisphere at the time of the observations, the researchers said. These findings, coupled with previous studies, indicate that the planet's volcanic activity is comparable to Earth's, they added.

Italy's Vega-C rocket a step closer to returning to flight after successful engine test

Italy's Vega-C rocket is closer to flying again after a successful test of its engines carried out at the end of May, its manufacturer Avio said on Tuesday. Vega-C launchers are expected to return to flight in late 2024 after implementing fixes recommended by an independent panel of the European Space Agency (ESA) following a failed satellite launch.

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