Expedition 41 crew selfie portrait on the International Space Station

Expedition 41 crew portrait on the International Space Station. 

From left: ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst, Roscosmos cosmonauts Elena Serova, Maxim Suraev and Alexander Samokutyaev, and NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Barry Wilmore.

The rear astronauts are dressed in the Sokol suits they will wear in their Soyuz spacecraft that will take them back to Earth on 9 November. Alexander, Max and Reid were making sure their suits still fit and have no leaks after having been stored on arrival at the Station almost six months ago.

Yelena, Alexander Samokutyaev and Barry will continue working in the weightless research centre, but they will not feel lonely for long.

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov will join their colleagues on 24 November.

Alexander Gerst commented on this image: “The International Space Station Expedition 41 crew. My favourite selfie in space!”

ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst greets Soyuz Progress M-24M cargo spacecraft

A still image taken June 13, 2014 from a NASA video shows US astronauts Reid Wiseman (L) and Steve Swanson (R) and German astronaut Alexander Gerst at the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA

A cargo craft successfully docked with the International Space Station, the Russian space agency Roskosmos said Thursday.

Meanwhile controllers encountered problems with a separate research satellite when its engines failed to fire, Russian news agencies reported.

The Russian Progress M-24M cargo craft automatically docked with the International Space Station at 0331 GMT with more than 2.3 tonnes of supplies after having lifted off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan six hours previously.

The ISS currently hosts a crew of three Russian cosmonauts, two US astronauts, and one German.

Separately, engineers at Progress were trying to save a research satellite after it failed to respond to commands, which has left it in an improper orbit, Russian news agencies said.

The Foton-M satellite was launched on July 19 on a two-month mission to study the effect of weightlessness on plants and insects.

The satellite carries containers with living organisms, including five geckos, fruit flies and fungi, which are supposed to be jettisoned after two months in orbit and land in Russia.

There is no update on the status of the living cargo, since the containers are not designed to broadcast any telemetry while in space.

The mishap is the latest in series of setbacks that has plagued Russia's once-famed space programme.

Containers with biological experiment equipment being loaded into the Foton-M satellite. 

Photo by the Institute for Biomedical Problems. 

Soyuz TMA-13M rocket is launched with Expedition 40 on board

The Soyuz TMA-13M rocket is launched with Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev, of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst, of the European Space Agency, ESA, and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA in the early hours of Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Suraev, Gerst, and Wiseman will spend the next five and a half months aboard the International Space Station.

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Baikonur Cosmodrome: Expedition 39 Soyuz TMA-12M Rollout

The sun rises behind the Soyuz launch pad shortly before the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sunday, March, 23, 2014. 

Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for March 26 (5:17 p.m. U.S. EDT on March 25) and will send Expedition 39 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, Flight Engineer Steven Swanson of NASA, and Flight Engineer Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos on a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Unpacking Cargo from Expedition 38 Soyuz Landing

Engineers document cargo as it is unloaded from the Soyuz TMA-10M spacecraft after it landed with Expedition 38 Commander Oleg Kotov of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, and Flight Engineers: Mike Hopkins of NASA, and, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. 

Hopkins, Kotov and Ryazanskiy returned to Earth after five and a half months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 37 and 38 crews.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Russia launches Proton-M rocket with military satellite

This file photo shows a Proton-M rocket, seen being rised to the launch pad at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, on March 27, 2012 

Russia successfully launched a Proton-M rocket carrying a military satellite in the early hours of Tuesday from its Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch took place at 03:46 Moscow time (23:46 GMT) carrying a satellite for the Russian defence ministry, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. 

Russia restarted launches of Proton rockets in September after a pause to investigate why one exploded on takeoff on July 2.

The Proton-M rocket is Russia's most popular for commercial satellite launches.

Roscomos chief Vladimir Popovkin was dismissed in October after two and a half years, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev complaining of a "whole number of problems" in the space agency's work.

ESA ExoMars 2016 set to complete construction

ESA's mission to Mars in 2016 has entered the final stage of construction with the signature of a contract today with Thales Alenia Space at the Paris Air & Space Show.

ExoMars will fly two missions, in 2016 and 2018, in a partnership between ESA and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.

Its main goal is to answer one of the outstanding scientific questions of our time: has life ever existed on Mars?

In addition, ExoMars will develop new European technical capabilities in landing, roving, drilling and preparing samples to pave the way for a future Mars sample-return mission in the 2020s.

The first mission will be launched in 2016 and will include the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) to search for evidence of methane and other atmospheric gases that could be signs of active biological or geological processes.

It will also deliver the Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) to the surface of Mars, to demonstrate key technologies needed for the 2018 mission and future landing missions.

The 2018 mission will land a rover on Mars – the first with the capability of drilling to depths of 2 m to collect samples that have been shielded from the harsh conditions on the surface, where radiation and oxidants can destroy organic materials.

In addition, the 2018 mission carries a Surface Platform with scientific instruments to investigate the martian environment.

The agreement, signed today in the ESA pavilion at the Paris Air & Space Show, marks a major milestone for the mission and for Thales Alenia Space, the industrial prime contractor on ExoMars.

Signature of Rider 1 to ESA Contract for Exomars. Credit: ESA

The agreement was signed by the old brigade of European Space Programs; Prof Giménez and Vincenzo Giorgio, Vice President Exploration & Science of Thales Alenia Space during a ceremony attended by the Agency's Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain.

Also attending were Maria Carrozza, the Italian Minister for Education, Universities and Research, Enrico Saggese, President of the Italian space agency, and Jean-Loïc Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space.

ROSCOSMOS: Russia's Eneregia to build Oka-T-MKS Space Station

Russia's Energia Corp. space manufacturer has won an $11 million contract to design an orbital space laboratory, the national procurement agency says.

Energia was the only bidder when Russia's Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos announced a tender for the contract in mid-October 2012.

The proposed multipurpose Oka-T-MKS space lab will operate autonomously in orbit, periodically docking with the International Space Station for the ISS crew to service its scientific research equipment and conduct refueling and other operations.

Capable of carrying 1,800 pounds of equipment, the space lab will perform research in space materials study, plasma physics, biology and medicine.

Oka-T-MKS will be able to work autonomously for as long as 180 days between required dockings with the ISS, officials said.

The space lab was to have been ready for a 2015 launch but that has been put back by two to three years "due to the lack of concrete scientific research projects, as well as clients," Roscosmos deputy head Vitaly Davydov said.

Soyuz Progress (47P) M-15M Cargo Ship Fails to Dock with ISS

The Russian Progress M-15M resupply spacecraft, also known by its US designation of 47P, was set to dock to the International Space Station (ISS) for the second time at 9:57 PM EDT Monday night/1:57 AM GMT Tuesday morning, to test a new antenna for the Kurs automated rendezvous and docking system. However, a failure with the system has postponed the test until the 29th (1am UTC).

On July 22, the Progress M-15M cargo ship undocked from the International Space Station in preparation for a test of its new automated docking system, the Kurs-Na. It was supposed to use Kurs-Na to redock on July 23. It failed.

“The test was proceeding normally until about the time that the new Kurs-NA rendezvous system was to be engaged,” NASA officials said in a statement. “As commands were being issued to activate the Kurs system, a failure was annunciated, triggering a passive abort.”

Roscosmos has not announced the cause of the failure. The vessel has been maneuvered into a position that would allow for another attempt on July 29, after the Japanese HTV-3 resupply vessel is manually docked to the station.

Although Progress M-15M originally docked with ISS using the usual Kurs system when it first arrived in April, that system cannot be used this time. On May 9, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka disconnected Kurs in order to bring Kurs-Na online in preparation for this test.

If Roscosmos is unable to successfully dock the vessel using the Kurs-Na system, the vessel has already been prepared to leave the station. All cargo has been removed and its hold loaded with waste to be burned up in the atmosphere as soon as testing is complete.

The Kurs-Na system requires half as many antennae as the current system and is reported to require less power, has updated electronics, and improves safety. Russia may have another opportunity to test the system since Progress M-16M is scheduled to launch on August 1, just a few weeks away.

Progress M-16M is also known as Progress 48, since it is the 48th such resupply vessel to be launched. That vessel will not be relying on the new technology for its primary mission.

Russia agrees deal with Europe to save ExoMars

Russia's space agency Roscosmos has confirmed it is willing to help Europe explore Mars, putting the ExoMars project back on track after NASA pulled out.

Head of Roscosmos Vladimir Popovkin met Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) on Friday to discuss combining forces.

The two men signed a memorandum of understanding which will be followed by a formal agreement in November after further discussions on funding the missions.

Popovkin’s spokeswoman Anna Vedishcheva said: "The sides consider this project feasible and promising. They are to sign the deal by year-end."

Participation by the eastern power was also approved last week by the space council of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Their agreement comes after preliminary talks at an Ariane 5 launch at Kourou, French Guiana last month. It follows NASA's decision to pull out as a partner in February as a result of swingeing cuts to the US space budget. This removed $2 billion of funding from the joint project.

Two missions are planned under the ExoMars banner. ESA is due to take the lead in 2016 with an orbiting satellite that will study methane and trace gases in the martian atmosphere, and an Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) that would hopefully become Europe's first craft to touch down successfully on Mars.

Two years later, NASA was to have taken charge with a mission that would carry two rovers, one from the US and the other from ESA, to land at the same spot on Mars. Astrium's UK division has been carrying extensive tests developing prototypes for Europe's rover.

As well as a stereoscopic camera acting as the rover's eyes, the rover's experiments will include Life Marker Chip, developed by Professor Mark Sims at the UK's University of Leicester, that has been compared to a pregnancy test. It will study samples of Martian soil drilled from beneath the surface for molecules associated with life, such as amino acids.

Russia had already been indicating late last year that it would like to get involved with ExoMars before it suffered the disastrous loss of its own probe Phobos-Grunt which was meant to bring back a sample of a martian moon but which failed to escape Earth orbit.

Now it wants to fill the void left by NASA and to supply Proton rockets to launch the ExoMars missions plus other equipment in return for sharing the scientific data gained from them.

ESA has allocated a one billion euro budget for its share of spending on ExoMars. Funds for Russia's contribution are expected to come partly from insurance payouts for the loss of Phobos-Grunt.

A NASA rover, Mars Science Laboratory, or Curiosity, is currently en route to Mars and is due to land on August 6.

NASA ISS EVA - Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Expedition 30 flight engineer, participates in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) to continue outfitting the International Space Station.

During the six-hour, 15-minute spacewalk, Kononenko and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (out of frame), flight engineer, moved the Strela-1 crane from the Pirs Docking Compartment to begin preparing the Pirs for its replacement next year with a new laboratory and docking module.

The duo used another boom, the Strela-2, to move the hand-operated crane to the Poisk module for future assembly and maintenance work. Both telescoping booms extend like fishing rods and are used to move massive components outside the station.

On the exterior of the Poisk Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2), they also installed the Vinoslivost Materials Sample Experiment, which will investigate the influence of space on the mechanical properties of the materials.

The spacewalkers also collected a test sample from underneath the insulation on the Zvezda Service Module to search for any signs of living organisms.

Both spacewalkers wore Russian Orlan spacesuits bearing blue stripes and equipped with NASA helmet cameras.

ISS Astronauts Prepare for Arrival of ESA ATV-3, Edoardo Amaldi

ESA Astronaut André Kuipers and Russian Expedition 30 flight engineer, Oleg Kononenko Practicing together for the docking of ESA's cargo spacecraft ATV3. Slated for launch on 23rd March.

Credit: ESA/NASA

Roscosmos: Russia to launch new ISS module in 2013 as scheduled

Russia's federal space agency Roscosmos denied reports Friday of a delay to the launch of the new multi-purpose Nauka lab for the International Space Station (ISS).

"The launch has been planned for the second half of 2013. No decisions about a delay have been made," said Alexei Krasnov, head of Roscosmos' department for manned flights.

Earlier Friday, a source in the Russian space rocket industry reported the launch had been pushed back until at least spring 2014 but gave no reason.

Initially, the 20-ton Nauka lab was scheduled to launch in 2007 but it has been postponed several times due to underfinancing and re-design works.

The module will enable the Russian-manned Soyuz and Progress cargo ships to dock with the ISS, transfer fuel, control the station's orientation and store cargo. It is to replace the Pirs module, which will be decommissioned after undocking from the ISS.

Russia's ROSKOSMOS Plans To Send Man To The Moon By 2030

Russia has set forth an ambitious space plan to send cosmonauts to the moon and unmanned probes to Jupiter and Venus and build a network of research stations on Mars, all by 2030.

The blueprint was revealed in a leaked strategy document from Russia's space agency, Roskosmos, published in Kommersant, a business daily newspaper.

The strategy document lays out the space agency's plans for the next 18 years, including a moon landing for cosmonauts.

"Conduct a demonstrative manned circumlunar test flight with the subsequent landing of cosmonauts on surface and their return to Earth," it reads.

According to the leaked document Russia will replace the Soyuz with the six-seater Angara craft by 2020 as the spaceship that launches Russian payloads.

It will launch from the new Vostochny cosmodrome that is scheduled for completion in 2018. The Vostochny cosmodrome will replace the old Soviet Baikonur facility in Kazakhstan as the choice launch site.

Russia will send robots to the moon to collect samples by 2030. In addition to the planned moon landing, Roskosmos is planning to explore other planets in the solar system and perhaps a follow-up to the International Space Station.

The bold strategy is a sign of Russia's continued commitment to space exploration. The Soviet Union was the first country to send a man in orbit but eventually lost out to the U.S. when NASA successfully landed a man on the moon.

Russia's space program has been in decline since then. It's Mars probe Phobos-Grunt had an immediate engine failure after launch and was stuck in orbit around Earth before eventually crashing back to the planet.

Yury Karash, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, says Russia should focus on sending manned flights to Mars, the next plum goal of many space agencies. NASA has plans to send astronauts to Mars by 2030.

"Back in the 1960s the Soviet Union was competing head-to-head with the United States," he told The Telegraph. "But it is hard to find a better way to hurt Russian prestige and emphasise Russian technological backwardness than by sending cosmonauts to the Moon around 2030, 60 years after Apollo."

Star City in Winter

Star City in Winter

Damaged Russian Spaceship: Launch Delay for Next ISS Crew Uplift

A botched pressure test of a Russian space capsule slated to launch the next crew to the International Space Station has forced NASA and its partners to delay the planned liftoff for more than a month.

The Russian Soyuz spacecraft launch was originally slated for March 29, but now is targeted for no earlier than May 15, NASA's International Space Station program manager Mike Suffredini told reporters today (Feb. 2).

The Soyuz's crew capsule, one of three modules that make up the entire Soyuz TMA-04M vehicle, has been scrapped after an accident during testing caused it to spring a leak in one of its descent module's rocket thruster fuel tanks. Now Russia's main space contractor, RSC Energia, is readying the next spaceship on the line, though the issue will cause a lengthy delay.

"This particular event is very unfortunate, but you know this is a complicated business and things happen," Suffredini said. "To me this is not indicative of some overarching problem at the Energia corporation. I have every confidence that they'll figure out the cause of this and rectify it for the future."

Roscosmos: Manned Moon Shot Possible by 2020

A crewed mission to the moon is possible by 2020, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin, said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Thursday.

"Today science is ripe for using the moon. I think that by 2020 a man will land on the moon," Popovkin said.

He also said Russia's previously announced cosmonaut recruitment drive will focus on preparing crews for a moon mission. The competition will be open for every Russian citizen with technical or medical education.

"I can say that this group will most likely be trained for a lunar mission," he said.

On January 19, Popovkin voiced plans to set up manned moon research bases with European and U.S. partners, saying that there were plans to either set up a moon base or to launch an orbital station. To that end, Russia is currently developing a "prospective manned transportation system" to be sent to the moon, he added.

Russia is also planning to send two unmanned moon missions by 2020, Luna-Glob (Lunar Sphere) and Luna-Resurs in 2015. The launch timeframe, however, may be reviewed because the two spacecraft are being built with the same technologies as Russia's failed mission to Phobos and are therefore vulnerable to cosmic radiation.

The moon base project has similarities Cold War-era plans to create a permanent outpost on the moon, which has been envisioned by some Soviet and U.S. scientists since the late 1950s.

A week after Popovkin's announcement of a moon base construction project, U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich promised to build a moon base by 2020 if he becomes the next U.S. president in November.

NASA, ESA, Roscosmos: Agencies Aim at Building Lunar Station

Moon colonies may exist for the next generation if officials with international space agencies have their way, according to reports.

Russian Space Agency Roscosmos officials said they are currently negotiating with NASA and the European Space Agency to build a visitors site on the moon.

"We don't want the man to just step on the Moon," Roscosmos Chief Vladimir Popovkin said Thursday during a radio interview, according to RIA Novosti, the Russian newswire.

"Today, we know enough about it, we know that there is water in its polar areas," he said, adding "we are now discussing how to begin [the Moon's] exploration with NASA and the European Space Agency."

The lunar base isn't the only option - another idea officials are floating would include a station that would orbit around the moon.

The colony would need an advanced manned transportation system, one that is currently under development, the Roscosmos chief said.

Beyond a possible moon station, Popovkin said Russian officials also plan to send two unmanned missions to the Moon by 2020, the Luna Glob and the Luna Resource.

The Global Exploration Roadmap, published in September by the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, outlined a timeline for lunar exploration.

The timeline doesn't give a direct estimate of when a lunar colony may become a reality, but the document, formed in conjunction with 14 international space agencies, estimates that it won't be until 20 years or more.

One of the greatest challenges with exploring or even colonizing the moon is: "Expenses associated with extended surface activities," according to the document.

U.S. and Russian space agencies have talked about developing a permanent lunar outposting since the 1950s, according to RIA Novosti.

Another Russian Soyuz-2 Rocket Fails to reach Orbit

An unmanned Soyuz-2 rocket carrying a Russian communications satellite lifted off from Russia's Plesetsk space center at 7:08 a.m. EST (1208 GMT), but failed to reach orbit after a third-stage engine failure.

The rocket and its payload crashed in Siberia, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

There was no immediate word about whether the Soyuz-2 failure will impact upcoming launches, including a Soyuz flight slated for Wednesday to put six Globalstar mobile communications satellites into orbit.

The engine on the Soyuz-2 rocket lost Friday is different than the one used on the rocket that launches space station cargo and crews, NASA said.

"This is unlikely to have any effect on operations to the International Space Station," said NASA spokesman Joshua Buck.

Armenian Observatory to monitor space debris in 2012

A new program kicks off at the Byurakan Observatory, with the support of Russian Federal Space Agency, to monitor space debris. It will start next January 2012, head of the Observatory Hayk Harutyunyan told journalists today.

The Observatory will be included in the global network, currently monitoring space debris and working on the prevention of dangerous situations in the near-Earth space.

More than ten states applied for an opportunity to participate in the program, which is sponsored by the UN.

The project, which is initiated by Russian Federal agency Rossotrudnichestvo (Russian State Cooperation), will be funded by the Russian Space Agency (ROSCosmos) and a total of $2 million will be invested.

This will enable five small telescopes to be purchased within the framework of the project.