Feb. 9, 2026
SpaceX Shifts to Moon: The New Lunar Space Race Begins | Astronomy Daily
Welcome to Astronomy Daily! Today we explore the new lunar space race as SpaceX shifts focus from Mars to the Moon, Europe establishes its Moonport company, and NASA continues Artemis II preparations. Plus, scientists solve the mystery behind auroras, explain Uranus's radiation anomaly from 1986, and SpaceX returns to flight after a brief stand-down.
Join hosts Anna and Avery for your daily dose of space and astronomy news!
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### Featured Stories
**[00:00] Introduction**
Your hosts Anna and Avery preview today's Moon-focused episode
**[01:15] SpaceX Pivots from Mars to Moon**
- Elon Musk announces strategic shift to lunar settlement
- Moon city achievable in under 10 years vs 20+ for Mars
- Launch windows: Moon every 10 days vs Mars every 26 months
- Alignment with Trump's space policy and Artemis program
- Mars plans delayed but not abandoned (5-7 year timeline)
- History of Musk's changing Mars predictions
**[05:30] Europe's Moonport Ambitions**
- German aerospace company OHB establishes European Moonport Company
- Consolidating lunar mission activities and future infrastructure
- Involvement in ESA's Argonaut lander and Gateway ESPRIT module
- Moon base concept developed with Munich Airport International
- European funding commitments at ESA Ministerial Council
- Italy leads Moon exploration funding at €284 million
**[09:45] NASA Artemis II Progress Report**
- Technicians replace seals after hydrogen leak detection
- Tail service mast umbilical repairs and testing
- Operational changes for next wet dress rehearsal
- Extended countdown hold times for troubleshooting
- Crew training continues: Wiseman, Glover, Koch, Hansen
- March launch window still under consideration
**[13:00] Aurora Power Source Discovered**
- International team solves decades-old mystery
- Alfvén waves act as natural particle accelerators
- Analysis of Van Allen Probes and THEMIS mission data
- Universal model applicable to other planets
- Collaboration between HKU and UCLA researchers
- Applications for Jupiter, Saturn, and exoplanet studies
**[15:30] Uranus Radiation Mystery Solved**
- Voyager 2's 1986 anomaly explained after 40 years
- Co-rotating interaction region (CIR) supercharged radiation belts
- Comparative analysis with Earth's space weather events
- Southwest Research Institute breakthrough
- Implications for future Uranus orbiter missions
- Similar applications for Neptune studies
**[18:00] SpaceX Falcon 9 Returns to Flight**
- Successful Starlink launch from Vandenberg after 5-day stand-down
- 25 satellites deployed to orbit (Group 17-33)
- Booster 1088 completes 13th flight with successful landing
- February 2nd upper stage anomaly explained
- Gas bubble prevented deorbit burn
- FAA clearance after corrective actions implemented
- Starlink constellation exceeds 9,600 active satellites
- SpaceX's 15th launch of 2026
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WEBVTT
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Welcome to Astronomy Daily, your source for the latest space
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and astronomy news.
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I'm anna and i'm aby. It's Monday, February ninth, twenty
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twenty six, and we've got a fascinating lineup for you today.
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We certainly do, and there's a definite theme emerging in
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our first three stories. It seems everyone's headed to the Moon.
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We're talking SpaceX, European Aerospace, and NASA's Artemis program, all
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making lunar headlines.
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That's right beyond the moon focus. We'll also explore new
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discoveries about auroras, solve a forty year mystery about Uranus,
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and catch up with SpaceX's return to flight after a
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brief grounding.
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Let's dive right in with what might be the biggest
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surprise in space news this week.
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In a major strategic pivot, Elon Musk announced Sunday that
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SpaceX is putting its long standing Mars colonization plans on
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the back burner to prioritize establishing a settlement on the Moon.
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This is quite the reversal a for years, Musk has
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been the biggest cheerleader for Mars, making it almost synonymous
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with SpaceX's identity. What prompted this shift.
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It comes down to practicality and timelines. According to Musk
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post on X, SpaceX believes they can achieve a self
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growing city on the Moon in less than ten years,
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whereas Mars would take twenty plus years. The key difference
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is launch windows right.
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The orbital mechanics are completely different. You can only travel
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to Mars when the planets align every twenty six months,
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but launches to the Moon can happen every ten days.
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That's a massive advantage for rapid iteration and development exactly.
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Musk said. Easier access means they can iterate much faster
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to complete a Moon city than a Mars city. And
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this isn't just about SpaceX's preferences. It also aligns with
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President Trump's Space policy directive from late last year, which
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focused on getting Americans to the Moon by twenty twenty
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eight under the Art Program.
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BaseX is a major contractor for Artemis, so this alignment
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makes perfect business sense. But I have to ask, what
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about all those Mars promises. Musk has blown through several
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previous estimates before he has.
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Indeed, back in twenty sixteen, he said passengers could take
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off for Mars as soon as twenty twenty four, and
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in twenty eleven he told The Wall Street Journal it
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would be ten to twenty years. But he's not completely
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abandoning Mars. Musk says SpaceX will still strive to build
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a Mars city and will begin doing so in about
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five to seven years.
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So it's more of a reprioritization than a complete abandonment.
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The Moon becomes the proving ground, the place where they
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perfect the technologies and techniques needed for off world settlement,
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and then those lessons get applied to Mars.
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That's the plan. It's actually a more measured approach than
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what we've heard from Musk in the past. Let reality
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and results guide the timeline rather than ambitious prediction.
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While SpaceX refocuses on the Moon, Europe is also making
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moves in that direction. German space technology company OHB announced
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it has established a new subsidiary called the European Moonport Company.
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This is interesting timing. The company was actually founded back
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in May twenty twenty five, but they only made it
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public on February fourth. The CEO, Marco Fuchs said they're
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supporting Europe's ambition to establish a permanent presence on the Moon. Independently.
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Independently is the keyword there. What exactly will this company.
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Do in the near term. It's primarily consolidating ohb's existing
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Moon related activities. They're already involved as a subcontractor on
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several European lunar missions, including providing subsystems for European Space
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Agency's Argonaut Lunar Lander, which is expected to launch in
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twenty thirty.
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One, and they're also working on the Spree module for
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NASA's Lunar Gateway space station.
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Right correct. These contributions are part of Europe's barter arrangements
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with NASA to secure flight opportunities for European astronauts to
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the Gateway. But OHB has bigger visions. They unveiled the
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concept for a central launch and landing base on the
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lunar surface, developed with Munich Airport International.
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An airport on the Moon. Though I imagine its more concept
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than concrete plan at this stage.
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You're right. The article describes it as a high level concept,
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basically a model used for the press event. But here's
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where it gets politically interesting. Ohb's press release claimed Germany
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took a lead role in lunar exploration at isa's November
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twenty twenty five Ministerial Council meeting.
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I sent some skepticism in that phrasing.
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Well, the evidence doesn't quite support that claim. While Germany
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contributed the largest single share to exploration at eight hundred
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and eighty five million euros, that contribution was made at
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the program level rather than being specifically earmarked for the Moon.
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Based on element level commitments, Italy actually committed the largest
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share to issa's Moon Exploration element at two hundred and
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eighty four million euros.
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So perhaps more aspiration than actual leadership at this point. Still,
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it shows Europe recognizes the Moon's strategic importance and doesn't
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want to be left behind.
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Absolutely. This is the second such specialized company OHB has
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founded recently. They established the European Spaceport Company in November
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twenty twenty five. It shows they're serious about building infrastructure
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for the new space economy.
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Speaking of getting to the Moon, let's check in on
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NASA's Artemis two mission. There have been some developments since
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the wet dress rehearsal that concluded on February third.
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Yes, and it's a bit of good news bad news.
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Situation technicians discovered higher than allowable hydrogen gas concentrations during
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the test and have been working to address the issue.
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What exactly was the problem on.
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The elevated gas levels were found in the tail service
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mass umbilical on the mobile launcher. Once the rocket's tanks
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were drained of cryogenic propellant, technicians immediately access the area
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and replace two seals around the fueling lines.
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These tail service masts are pretty critical right. They're about
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three stories tall and provide the cryogenic propellant lines and
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electrical connections to the core stage exactly.
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They tilt back before launch and include quick disconnect mechanisms
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that instantaneously separate at liftoff. Getting these seals right is
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crucial for a safe launch. Engineers are analyzing the removed
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seals and developing plans to address all issues ahead of
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the next wet dress rehearsal.
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When did they expect to complete the repairs.
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Reconnecting the interfaces is expected to be complete today February ninth.
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They're also planning testing at NASA's Stenson Space Center in
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Mississippi to evaluate additional dynamics of the plates, and they're
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reviewing options to test the repair work prior to the
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next wet dress rehearsal.
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I notice they're also making some operational changes for the
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next rehearsal.
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Right, they're streamlining to focus on fueling activities. The Orion
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crew module hatch will be closed prior to the test,
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and the closeout crew won't be deployed to the launch pad.
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The crew access arm won't be retracted since they successfully
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demonstrated the ground launch sequencer can retract it during the countdown.
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And they've added extra hold time.
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Yes, thirty minutes of extra time during each of two
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planned holds in the countdown, giving them more troubleshooting capacity.
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The total countdown increases by one hour, but it won't
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affect the crew's timeline on launch day.
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What about the astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Coach,
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and Jeremy Hansen must be eager to get going.
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They've emerged from quarantine and continuing training activities, reviewing flight
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day details and ensuring their familiarity with Orion systems is
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second nature. NASA still eyes March as a next potential
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launch opportunity, but they won't set a targeted until after
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a successful wet dress rehearsal and data review.
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Patients and precision. That's what it takes to safely send
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humans beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in
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over fifty years.
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From the Moon to phenomena much closer to home. An
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international research team has finally answered a question that's puzzled
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scientists for decades. What powers the electrical fields that accelerate
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particles to create auroras?
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The Northern and Southern lights are one of nature's most
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spectacular displays, but we're still learning about the fundamental physics
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behind them. What did they discover?
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Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and UCLA found
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that plasma waves traveling along verse magnetic field lines, called
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alphen waves, act as a natural accelerator. These waves supply
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the energy that drives charged particles into the atmosphere, producing auroras.
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How did they figure this out?
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They analyze data from multiple Earth orbiting satellite including NASA's
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Van Allen Probes and the Themis mission. The data showed
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how these alphin waves maintained the electric fields that would
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otherwise dissipate by continuously transferring energy to the acceleration region.
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Though it's a sustained process, not just a one time
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jolt of energy, exactly.
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Professor zong Hua Yao from HKU, who leads the team,
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said this discovery not only provides a definitive answer to
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the physics of Earth's aura, but also offers a universal
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model applicable to other planets in our Solar System and beyond.
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That's the really exciting part. His team has long focused
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on auroral processes of giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn.
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By applying that planetary knowledge to the high resolution data
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available near Earth, they've bridged the gap between Earth science
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and planetary exploration.
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It's a perfect example of how interdisciplinary expertise advances our understanding.
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The UCLA team brought deep knowledge of Earth's auroral fres physics,
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while the HKU team contributed their expertise in planetary magnetospheres.
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And now we can apply these insights to understanding auroras
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on Jupiter, Saturn, and potentially exoplanets with magnetic fields. It's
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fascinating how solving one mystery opens doors to understanding phenomena
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across the universe.
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Speaking of planetary mysteries, let's head to the outer Solar
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System and revisit an anomaly from nineteen eighty six. Remember
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when Voyager two flew past Uranus and detected unexpectedly high
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radiation levels.
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That flyby has puzzled scientists for nearly forty years. The
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radiation readings were much higher than anticipated based on our
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understanding of planetary radiation systems. What's the explanation?
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New research published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that Uranus
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was experiencing a rare space weather event during Voyager two's visit,
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a solar wind disturbance called a co rotating in interaction
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region or CIR.
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These are the same kind of events that affect Earth's
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radiation belts right exactly.
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Dirs occur when fast solar windstreams overtake slower ones, creating
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a region of increased energy. Doctor Robert Allen from the
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Southwest Research Institute led the study and said they took
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a comparative approach, looking at Voyager two data alongside Earth
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observations made in the decades since.
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So basically, Voyager two just happened to visit Uranus during
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a cosmic storm.
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That's the working theory. On Earth. These events can dramatically
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accelerate electrons in our radiation belts. Doctor Sarah Vines, a
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co author, pointed out that in twenty nineteen, Earth experienced
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one of these events that cause an immense amount of
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radiation belt electron acceleration. If a similar mechanism interacted with
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the Uranian system, it would explain the unexpected energy Voyager
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two detected.
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It's remarkable that we're still extracting new insights from data
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collected almost forty years ago. What are the implications for
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future missions?
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Doctor Allen says, this is just one more reason to
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send the mission targeting Urinus. The findings have important implications
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for similar systems like Neptune's magnetosphere. Understanding how solar wind
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and radiation belts interact across different planetary systems helps us
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refine our models of space weather throughout the Solar System, and.
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It reminds us that single flyby observations, while invaluable, can
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catch planets in unusual states. We need return missions to
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build a complete picture.
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Absolutely, Uranus remains one of the least understood planets in
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our Solar System, and this discovery makes the case for
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a dedicated orbiter mission even stronger.
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Finally, let's bring things back to current operations. SpaceX successfully
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resumed Falcon nine flights on Saturday, just five days after
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standing down due to an upper stage and noomal.
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The return to flight came with a starlink mission from
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Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Falcon nine lifted
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off at twelve fifty eight pm local time, carrying twenty
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five Starling.
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Satellites, and everything went smoothly.
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This time perfectly. The satellites were deployed as planned. About
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an hour after liftoff, the first stage booster, making its
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thirteenth flight, successfully landed on the Drone ship of course,
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I still Love you in the Pacific Ocean. Most importantly,
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the upper stage performed as expected.
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That's a relief after the February second incident. What exactly
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happened during that flight?
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After successfully deploying its Starling payload, the upper stage experienced
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what SpaceX called an off normal condition. A gas bubble
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formed in the transfer tube ahead of the planned the
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orbit burn, preventing the stage from reigniting. The vehicle then
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performed as designed to passivate the stage, which re entered
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over the Southern Indian Ocean about ten point five hours later.
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