NASA\u2019s solar sailing spacecraft has deployed.\u00a0<\/strong>The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3), which launched into Earth orbit in April, has fully deployed its solar sails. The spacecraft\u2019s attitude control system was turned off for sail deployment, so the spacecraft is slowly tumbling as it orbits. The mission team plans to turn it on and attempt controlled solar sailing once some things are better understood. In particular, there appears to be a slight bend in one of the four booms that hold the sails in place. Pictured: Views from the four cameras aboard the ACS3 spacecraft. At the top of each image is one of the spacecraft\u2019s solar panels, and at the bottom its reflective sails. Image credit: NASA.<\/i><\/p>\n ISRO is planning a lunar sample return mission.<\/strong> The Indian Space Research Organization recently announced plans for its Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return mission, which will launch no earlier than 2028 and land on the Moon\u2019s southern hemisphere. The mission will collect samples from the surface as well as by drilling to a depth of around 2 meters (around 6.5 feet) to sample the lunar subsurface.<\/p>\n A new report shows how much NASA contributes to the U.S. economy.<\/strong> NASA recently released its third economic impact report, which shows that the agency\u2019s various activities generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output in fiscal year 2023. This is in part due to the whopping 304,803 jobs that NASA missions support nationwide.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Chandra and Hubble missions are facing cuts, but not just yet.<\/strong> In response to budget pressures, the agency\u2019s 2025 budget request included major cuts to both space telescopes, potentially threatening their ability to continue operations. However, NASA has delayed making any actual changes to the missions\u2019 operations until the agency receives its final budget appropriations for fiscal year 2025. It is unclear when that will happen, especially given the uncertainty posed by the upcoming federal election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Moon\"](\"https:\/\/planetary.s3.amazonaws.com\/sites\/planetary\/images\/image_library_moon.png\")
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