#Arctic sees unprecedented heat as climate impacts cascade.

The Arctic has experienced its hottest year since records began, a U.S. science agency announced Tuesday, as climate change triggers cascading impacts from melting glaciers and sea ice to greening landscapes and disruptions to global weather.

Between October 2024 and September 2025, temperatures were 1.60 degrees Celsius above the 1991–2020 mean, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its annual Arctic Report Card, which draws on data going back to 1900.

Co-author Tom Ballinger of the University of Alaska told AFP it was “certainly alarming” to see such rapid warming over so short a timespan, calling the trend “seemingly unprecedented in recent times and maybe back thousands of years.”

The year included the Arctic’s warmest autumn, second-warmest winter, and third-warmest summer since 1900, the report said.

Driven by human-caused burning of fossil fuels, the Arctic is warming significantly far faster than the global average, with a number of reinforcing feedback loops -- a phenomenon known as “Arctic Amplification.”

For example, rising temperatures increase water vapor in the atmosphere, which acts like a blanket absorbing heat and preventing it from escaping into space.

At the same time, the loss of bright, reflective sea ice exposes darker ocean waters that absorb more heat from the Sun.
Sea-ice retreat

Springtime -- when Arctic sea ice reaches its annual maximum -- saw the smallest peak in the 47-year satellite record in March 2025.

That’s an “immediate issue for polar bears and for seals and for walrus, that they use the ice as a platform for transportation, for hunting, for birthing pups,” co-author Walt Meier of the National Snow and Ice Data Center told AFP.

Modeling suggests the Arctic could see its first summer with virtually no sea ice by 2040 or even sooner.

The loss of Arctic sea ice also disrupts ocean circulation by injecting freshwater into the North Atlantic through melting ice and increased rainfall.

This makes surface waters less dense and salty, hindering their ability to sink and drive the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation -- including the Gulf Stream -- which help keep Europe’s winters milder.

Ongoing melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet also adds freshwater to the North Atlantic Ocean, boosting plankton productivity but also creating mismatches between when food is available and when the species that depend on it are able to feed.

Greenland’s land-based ice loss is also a major contributor to global sea-level rise, exacerbating coastal erosion and storm-driven flooding.
More Arctic blasts

And as the Arctic warms faster than the rest of the planet, it weakens the temperature contrast that helps keep cold air bottled up near the pole, allowing outbreaks of frigid weather to spill more frequently into lower latitudes, according to some research.

The Arctic’s hydrological cycle is also intensifying. The October 2024 - September 2025 period -- also known as the 2024/25 “water year” -- saw record-high spring precipitation and ranked among the five wettest years for other seasons in records going back to 1950.

Warmer, wetter conditions are driving the “borealization,” or greening, of large swaths of Arctic tundra. In 2025, circumpolar mean maximum tundra greenness was the third highest in the 26-year modern satellite record, with the five highest values all occurring in the past six years.

Permafrost thaw, meanwhile, is triggering biogeochemical changes, such as the “rusting rivers” phenomenon caused by iron released from thawing soils.

This year’s report card used satellite observations to identify more than 200 discolored streams and rivers that appeared visibly orange, degrading water quality through increased acidity and metal concentrations and contributing to the loss of aquatic biodiversity.

By Issam Ahmed

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Space Force Association, a nonprofit advocacy group, announced plans to create a virtual education and analysis hub aimed at improving how U.S. leaders understand space as a military domain.

#WASHINGTON — A Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched a technology demonstration satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency on Dec. 13 as the company reshuffles its launch manifest.

The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 10:09 p.m. Eastern. The payload, JAXA’s Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite-4, or RAISE-4, was deployed into a 540-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit nearly 55 minutes later.

The 110-kilogram RAISE-4 carries eight payloads to test advanced technologies, ranging from propulsion and communications to a drag sail designed to aid deorbiting. The satellite was originally slated to launch on Japan’s Epsilon-S rocket, but that vehicle has been grounded since a launch failure in 2022. Its return to flight has been delayed further by failures of upgraded solid rocket motors during ground tests.

Rocket Lab said in October it signed a contract with JAXA for two Electron launches: one for RAISE-4 and another for a set of eight cubesats that will also test advanced technologies. Those cubesats were originally planned to fly with RAISE-4 on a single Epsilon-S but will now launch on a separate Electron in early 2026.

“This dedicated mission delivered precision and reliability for one of the world’s most respected space agencies, and we couldn’t be prouder of supporting JAXA with the dedicated access to space needed to support the growth of Japan’s aerospace economy,” Rocket Lab Chief Executive Peter Beck said in a statement after the launch.

Billionaire spacewalker is back before the U.S. Senate seeking NASA’s top job.

Isaacman appeared before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington eight months after his first nomination hearing. The tech entrepreneur who’s rocketed into orbit twice with SpaceX stressed the need for “full-time leadership” at NASA as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to the moon early next year.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been filling in as NASA’s acting administrator since summer.

Returning astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years will be “a challenging endeavor to say the least,” Isaacman told the committee led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

NASA is targeting early next year for a lunar flyaround by four astronauts. They won’t land on the moon; that would happen in another mission. The goal is to beat the Chinese there by the end of the decade.

“This is not the time for delay but a time for action because if we fall behind -- if we make a mistake -- we may never catch up, and the consequences could shift the balance of power here on Earth,” Isaacman told the committee.

Cruz agreed. “NASA cannot take its eyes off the ball,” he said, referring to China’s looming moon plans. “The United States must remain the unquestioned leader in space exploration.”

Isaacman was within days of being confirmed by the Senate as NASA’s 15th administrator when Trump pulled his nomination in May. The move came soon after Trump’s falling out with SpaceX’s Elon Musk. The president renominated Isaacman last month.

Cruz said Isaacman’s second appearance “feels a bit like Groundhog Day” and hopes to have him confirmed by the end of the year.

The 42-year-old founder of the payment processing company Shift4 performed the world’s first private spacewalk last fall. He bankrolled both of his spaceflights. Several astronauts were present for the hearing, including some of Isaacman’s own crewmates.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press

BREMEN – The European Space Agency’s Human and Robotic Exploration (HRE) program fell short of its budget request at the ministerial, with member nations agreeing to contribute 2.98 billion euros ($3.08 billion), accounting for roughly 70% of the 3.77 billion euro ask. ESA set its overall budget at 22.1 billion euros — a significant increase compared to the €16.9 billion approved in 2022.

#BERLIN — The Baiknour pad used for the launch of the latest crew to the International Space Station has sustained damage, raising questions about its ability to support upcoming missions to the station.

#BERLIN — A Falcon 9 launched 140 payloads on its latest dedicated rideshare mission Nov. 28, ranging from European government spacecraft to a private astronomy satellite.

Europe secures record space budget to boost independence. The European Space Agency announced Thursday it had secured a record budget of 22.1 billion euros to fund its programs for the next three years, as the continent seeks greater independence in space.

The ESA also approved a plan to bolster defence cooperation and laid out plans for scientific space missions at a ministerial council meeting in the German city of Bremen.

The agency’s 23 member states committed five billion euros more than 2022’s budget, with the total representing almost all of the 22.2-billion-euro (US$25.7 billion) funding sought by the agency.

“This has never happened before,” ESA director general Josef Aschbacher told the meeting.

The amount of funding “speaks volumes -- it’s a sign of confidence in the agency, Aschbacher AFP in an interview.

At the heart of the discussions in Bremen was the European Resilience from Space program, which includes Earth observation, navigation and telecommunications.

The program, with an estimated 1.35-billion-euro budget, has both civilian and military applications.

“Defence is always a matter of national sovereignty,” said Aschbacher. “But pooling and sharing assets also has a European dimension.”

One example was increasing “the number of observations and satellite images for intelligence and surveillance purposes”, he said.

If the United States and China continue building huge constellations of satellites and Europe does nothing, Aschbacher feared “the same thing will happen as with Starlink: there will be a dominant U.S. company threatening our European companies and our position”.

Germany was the biggest contributor to the total budget with more than five billion euros, followed by France with 3.7 billion.
Rockets and telescopes

The industry has changed significantly in recent years as billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX has risen to dominate space launches.

Europe lost an independent way to launch its missions into space after Russia pulled its rockets following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

After repeated delays, Europe’s new heavy lift Ariane 6 rocket finally blasted off last year. However the rocket is not reusable, unlike SpaceX’s Falcon 9 workhorse.

So the ESA is planning to contract out the job of developing the continent’s first reusable rocket, having named a shortlist of potential companies.

In Bremen, the European Launcher Challenge received more than 900 million euros in contributions -- twice what had been proposed, Aschbacher said.

The funding boost for ESA comes as U.S. space agency NASA faces stiff budget cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump.

However, the ESA said this week that NASA had confirmed it would contribute to Europe’s Martian rover Rosalind Franklin.

The mission is scheduled to launch in 2028 aiming to drill into the surface of Mars looking for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Among the scientific projects the ESA has proposed for the future -- but have not yet been approved -- is the first space-based laser observatory aiming to study gravitational waves, which are ripples in spacetime first predicted by Albert Einstein.

Another is the X-ray telescope NewAthena, which would study extreme events in the universe such as supermassive black holes.

There is also a plan to send a spacecraft to Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which scientists suspect could have a liquid ocean under its icy shell that might be able to host life.

The ESA also has a joint proposal with Japan to send a spacecraft called Ramses to study the asteroid Apophis as it zings past Earth in 2029, hoping to learn more about how to fend off dangerous space rocks in the future.
European astronauts to the Moon?

Also on Thursday, the ESA announced that the first European astronauts to participate in NASA’s Artemis program -- which aims to return humans to the Moon -- will be from Germany, France and Italy.

“I can announce today that the first flight will be allocated to a German astronaut,” Aschbacher said on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting.

The program’s first crewed mission to the Moon -- which will not set foot on its surface -- is planned to launch in the first half of next year.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, one of his country’s leading candidates, said in Bremen that “it has never really been officially confirmed, so this is a positive.”

“It means that Europe has its place in this adventure,” he added.

South Korea’s largest #satellite launched on Nuri rocket in ambitious space mission.

The three-stage Nuri rocket lifted off from the country’s spaceport on an island off the southwestern coastal county of Goheung. Aerospace officials said the rocket placed a 516-kilogram (1,137-pound) science satellite and 12 microsatellites into a target orbit about 600 kilometres (372 miles) above Earth.

The Korea Aerospace Administration said the main satellite made successful contact with a South Korean ground station in Antarctica about 40 minutes after liftoff at 1:55 a.m., confirming that it was functioning normally, including the deployment of its solar panels. The 12 microsatellites will contact ground stations sequentially according to each device’s communication schedule.

Kyunghoon Bae, the country’s science minister, declared the launch a success and said it reaffirms that South Korea has acquired independent space launch and transport capability.

He said the launch represents a “turning point” for the country’s space industry, as it marked the first time a private company — Hanwha Aerospace — assembled the rocket under a technology transfer from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the national space agency.

“Building on today’s success, we will steadfastly pursue the development of next-generation launch vehicles, lunar exploration and deep-space missions,” Bae said.

The main satellite launched Thursday is equipped with a wide-range airglow camera to observe auroral activity and separate systems for measuring plasma and magnetic fields and for testing how life-science experiments perform in space.

The dozen smaller “cube” satellites, developed by university teams and research institutions, include GPS systems to study Earth’s atmosphere, infrared cameras to track plastic in the oceans, and systems for testing solar cells or communication equipment.

Thursday’s event was the country’s first launch involving a Nuri rocket since May 2023, when it successfully placed a 180-kilogram (397-pound) observation satellite into orbit, and the fourth overall since its first attempt in October 2021, which failed to deliver a dummy device.

Further launches are planned in 2026 and 2027 as part of a multiyear project to advance the country’s space technologies and industries, and to reduce the gap with leading Asian space powers, such as China, Japan and India.

Nuri is a three-stage rocket powered by five 75-ton-class engines in its first and second stages and a 7-ton-class engine in its third stage, which releases the payloads at the desired altitude. It’s the country’s first space launch vehicle built primarily with domestic technology, a core asset for a nation that had largely relied on other countries to launch its satellites since the 1990s.

The Naro Space Center, South Korea’s lone spaceport, saw its first successful launch in 2013 with a two-stage rocket built with Russian technology, following years of delays and repeated failures. The rocket reached its target altitude during its first test in 2009 but failed to deploy a #satellite, and then exploded shortly after liftoff during its second test in 2010.

Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press

#NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star.

Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit our corner of the cosmos from another star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month.

Three NASA spacecraft on and near the red planet zoomed in on the comet as it passed just 18 million miles (29 million kilometres) away, revealing a fuzzy white blob. The European Space Agency’s two satellites around Mars also made observations.

Other NASA spacecraft will remain on the lookout in the weeks ahead, including the Webb Space Telescope. At the same time, astronomers are aiming their ground telescopes at the approaching comet, which is about 190 million miles (307 million kilometres) from Earth. The Virtual Telescope Project’s Gianluca Masi zoomed in Wednesday from Italy.

The comet is visible from Earth in the predawn sky by using binoculars or a telescope.

“Everyone that is in control of a telescope wants to look at it because it’s a fascinating and rare opportunity,” said NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman.

The closest the comet will come to Earth is 167 million miles (269 million kilometres) in mid-December. Then it will hightail it back into interstellar space, never to return.

ESA’s Juice spacecraft, bound for Jupiter, has been training its cameras and scientific instruments on the comet all month, particularly after it made its closest pass to the sun. But scientists won’t get any of these observations back until February because Juice’s main antenna is serving as a heat shield while it’s near the sun, limiting the flow of data.

Named for the telescope in Chile that first spotted it, the comet is believed to be anywhere from 1,444 feet (440 metres) across to 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometres) across. Observations indicate that the exceptionally fast-moving comet may have originated in a star system older than our own -- “which gives me goose bumps to think about,” said NASA scientist Tom Statler.

“That means that 3I/Atlas is not just a window into another solar system, it’s a window into the deep past and so deep in the past that it predates even the formation of our Earth and our sun,” Statler told reporters.

NASA officials were quick to dispel rumors that this friendly solar system visitor, as they called it, might be an alien ship of some sort. They said that because of the federal government shutdown, they weren’t able to respond to all the theories cropping up in recent weeks.

The space agency is always on the hunt for life beyond Earth, “but 3I/Atlas is a comet,” said NASA’s associate administrator, Amit Kshatriya.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press