Space & Aerospace

ZIPAIR's Boeing 787-8 becomes the first ZIPAIR aircraft to receive the riblet coating technology inspired by shark skin. Learn how this biomimetic innovation reduces air resistance; estimates for the earlier JAL 787-9 point to roughly 154 tons of fuel saved annually. Discover Japan's approach to sustainable aviation developed by JAL, JAXA, and Orwell.

Explore Fujitsu's groundbreaking explainable AI "Kozuchi XAI" for solar flare impact prediction. Learn how this collaborative research with Nagoya University and JAXA aims to protect astronauts and critical infrastructure from space weather hazards.

UK startups are developing revolutionary "autophage" spacecraft that consume their own fuel tanks for propulsion. This self-eating rocket technology could enable low-cost deep space missions, with £150,000 funding secured in 2025 for lunar orbit capabilities. Learn how this innovation is reshaping space exploration.

Australian researchers have developed "thermoradiative diodes" that convert infrared radiation emitted from Earth into space at night into electricity. This reverse solar panel technology shows promise for satellite power and deep space missions. Explore the potential and challenges of this renewable energy breakthrough.

Japan's H3 rocket No. 8 failed on December 22, 2025. JAXA's investigation traced it to a fairing separation anomaly, and flights resumed in June 2026.

SETI researchers propose revolutionary communication protocols using AI and large language models for extraterrestrial contact. Learn how humanity's first interstellar conversation could happen through AI ambassadors carrying our knowledge across the cosmos.

JAXA's robust low-boom design technology aims to cut the sonic boom to less than half of Concorde's. A roughly 10-meter unmanned demonstrator is due to fly around 2028, with the results headed for ICAO's supersonic noise standard, expected in 2031. In the US, the X-59 flew supersonic for the first time in June 2026.

Japanese space startup ispace has been selected for JAXA's Space Strategy Fund, securing up to $130 million over about five years for a 2029 lunar south pole landing. The mission tackles precision landing, extended surface operations and relay satellite deployment. After a 2026 reshuffle it is now designated Mission 4.

JAXA, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and Tohoku University are working toward TSUKUYOMI, a radio telescope on the Moon. A prototype called LOPTA flies in the 2020s, with 10 or more antennas to follow by the late 2030s. The target is the 21-cm hydrogen line from the Cosmic Dark Ages, the first 100 million years after the Big Bang.