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News & Analysis · Science & Technology · Space Science & Exploration

Syllabus-mapped editorials, PIB updates, reports, judgments, and policy news for prelims and mains revision.

25 July 2026

GS-3News & Analysis25 Jul 2026thehindu.com

SpaceX launches Starship on another test flight, this time with the most advanced Starlinks

SpaceX successfully launched its Starship rocket, the world's largest and most powerful, on another test flight. This flight included advanced Starlink satellites designed for inter-satellite laser communication and tested Starship's heat shield robustness. The Starship is crucial for NASA's Artemis III mission as a lunar lander and is intended by Elon Musk for future Mars colonization. The test focused on reusability and advanced space technologies, with both the booster and spacecraft ditching into the sea after the flight.

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03 July 2026

GS-3News & Analysis03 Jul 2026thehindu.com

Indian team discovers rare ‘bow and arrow’ radio galaxy two billion light years from Earth

An Indian-led team of researchers has discovered a rare, bow-and-arrow shaped radio galaxy, named RAD-BAARG, approximately two billion light-years from Earth. This unique structure, 1.8 million light-years wide, was identified using the LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey. The discovery, published in the 'Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society', was made by the RAD@home Astronomy Collaboratory, India's first citizen science platform in astronomy. The unusual morphology is attributed to the interaction of the galaxy's radio plasma with a large bow-shock structure formed as the host galaxy falls through hot gas towards a cluster of galaxies. The structure was named after Manipur's Loktak Lake.

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24 May 2026

GS-3News & Analysis24 May 2026thehindu.com

China to send astronaut on year-long space mission as it eyes 2030 moon landing

China is launching its Shenzhou-23 mission, sending an astronaut for a record year-long stay on the Tiangong space station to study long-duration human physiology in space. This mission is part of China's ambitious goal for a crewed moon landing by 2030 and establishing a permanent lunar base by 2035 with Russia. The article highlights the accelerating space race with the U.S., whose NASA aims for a crewed moon landing by 2028 with its Artemis program, supported by advancements like SpaceX's Starship. China is developing new hardware like the Long March-10 rockets, Mengzhou spacecraft, and Lanyue lunar lander, and is also conducting experiments on human stem cells in space.

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23 May 2026

GS-3News & Analysis23 May 2026thehindu.com

SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on test flight

SpaceX successfully launched its upgraded Starship V3, the largest and most powerful version yet, on a test flight from Texas. This mega-rocket is crucial for NASA's Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the moon and establish a lunar base near the south pole. The article highlights Starship's fully reusable design, its role alongside Blue Origin's Blue Moon in NASA's lunar lander competition, and its potential for future private space tourism to the moon and Mars. The launch involved releasing mock Starlink satellites and was the 12th test flight for Starship, following previous attempts that ended in explosions.

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