Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Unnoticed for 60 Years: Astronomers Discover Quasi-Moon Beside Earth
Earth has a new quasi-moon, which is called 2025 PN7. A new paper has revealed
that it has been orbiting near our planet undetected for about 60 years. According to the lead author, this tiny asteroid is the "smallest and the least stable" of Earth's seven known quasi-moons. Quasi-moons aren't traditional moons; they don't orbit Earth directly. Instead, they follow an orbit around the Sun that is synchronised with Earth's, creating the illusion they're accompanying our planet. It is approximately 62 feet (19 metres) in diameter, which means it is quite small; however, it's bright enough to be spotted by using a high-quality telescope only. This quasi-Moon follows an Earth-like path around the Sun, staying between 2.8 million and 37 million miles from Earth.
NASA to Explore the Solar System’s Edge: Where Sunlight Meets the Unknown
NASA is set to launch its new Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) on September 23, 2025, to explore the enigmatic boundary of the solar system known as the heliosphere. This giant protective bubble, created by the Sun’s solar wind, extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune and shields life in our solar system from harmful cosmic radiation and high-energy particles. The IMAP mission will provide humanity with an unprecedented view of the heliosphere by mapping its vast boundaries and studying how it interacts with particles, magnetic fields, and dust from interstellar space.
Elon Musk Wants Space Travel as Easy as Flying, Airport-Style Spaceports Coming
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is preparing for a major operational overhaul as it ramps up the launch of Falcon-9 and Starship Super Heavy in the coming months. The aerospace giant wants to create spaceports that operate like bustling airports, capable of handling multiple launches in a single day. This ambitious approach aims to make rocket launches as routine and efficient as airplane takeoffs, supporting humanity’s expanding presence in space and accelerating access for new global players. SpaceX, in an update, said astronauts aboard the Fram2 mission witnessed a Falcon 9 launch while en route to their own rocket liftoff, which was a glimpse of SpaceX’s high-frequency launch future.
Akatsuki Bids Farewell: Earth’s Final Eyes on Venus Go Dark
Japan’s pioneering Akatsuki spacecraft, the last active probe orbiting Venus, has bid its final farewell. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officially terminated the Venus Climate Orbiter’s mission on September 18, 2025, drawing the curtain on an extraordinary scientific journey spanning over a decade. Launched from Tanegashima Space Center on May 21, 2010, Akatsuki (meaning “Dawn”) faced adversity from the outset. Its first attempt to enter Venus orbit in December 2010 failed due to an engine malfunction, sending the probe looping around the Sun for five years. Akatsuki also revealed new details of the planet’s super-rotating winds, where the upper atmosphere circles Venus far faster than its surface. By pioneering data assimilation techniques, commonplace in terrestrial weather research, Akatsuki advanced the study of extraterrestrial climate systems in ways never seen before.
