Peaks and troughs

ESA is preparing its newest asteroid-hunting telescope. The Flyeye-1 telescope, which passed initial imaging tests in May, will image regions of the sky more than 200 times as large as the full Moon, a wider field of view than most telescopes. Flyeye-1 will work with other telescopes around the world to survey the night sky in search of near-Earth asteroids. Pictured: Flyeye-1 imaged the Andromeda galaxy during its tests. Image credit: ESA.

Last week’s ispace lunar landing attempt failed. The commercial Japanese mission made its second attempt to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon on June 5, but lost telemetry when the spacecraft was 192 meters (630 feet) from the surface and moving more quickly than expected.

NASA is pulling out of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The annual planetary science conference is the largest in the field and has been a joint effort between NASA and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) since 1970. LPI will continue to host the conference on its own. NASA cited budget concerns in its decision to withdraw financial support from the conference and from the 2025 ISS Research and Development Conference, which was cancelled.

The feud between President Trump and Elon Musk may have consequences for space. Last week, Musk threatened to decommission the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which includes Cargo Dragon (one of two American spacecraft capable of delivering supplies to the International Space Station) and Crew Dragon (the only operational American spacecraft for carrying astronauts to and from the ISS). While Musk later withdrew that threat, it highlighted the potential impact that the rift between the two men could have on the U.S. space program.

Catch up on Planetary Radio. In this week’s episode, host Sarah Al-Ahmed chats with science journalist Sarah Cruddas about what it takes to become a leading voice in space media and why she believes storytelling is essential to the future of exploration. Then, on the latest Planetary Radio: Space Policy Edition, host Casey Dreier talks with former NASA chief economist Akhil Rao about why NASA needs economic expertise to navigate the complex — and often misunderstood — market forces that will determine the success or failure of its private partnerships. Pictured: The full Moon imaged by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station — a mission that currently relies heavily on private partnerships. Image credit: NASA.

Visualize the threat to NASA and NASA science. We've released a new set of high-quality charts and data that detail the unique threat posed to NASA and space science in the 2026 budget proposal. Many of the charts are available below in the resources section of our budget action center, but we've also prepared a single reference that highlights the key charts, including cuts to the agency, science, and program cancellations: NASA's disastrous 2026 budget proposal in seven charts.

Watch an expert Q&A about NASA’s budget. The Planetary Society's Chief of Space Policy, Casey Dreier, and Director of Government Relations, Jack Kiraly, joined Planetary Society members this week to provide an in-depth breakdown of what's going on with the FY2026 budget request for NASA, and what this could mean for the future of space science. Watch now.

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