The moon, Mars and the Pleiades form a stunning lineup before dawn on July 11. Here's how to see it

space.com Jul 10, 2026

The moon, Mars and the Pleiades form a stunning lineup before dawn on July 11. Here’s how to see it

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Jul 10, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Before sunrise on July 11, observers in the eastern sky will see a striking alignment of the waning crescent Moon, planet Mars, the red giant Aldebaran and the Pleiades and Hyades clusters low in the east‑northeast. The Moon, 14 % illuminated, rises around 02:00 local time, its earthshine casting a faint glow. Mars follows at about 02:40, sitting roughly five degrees below the Moon and brightening slowly as it approaches perihelion, currently magnitude +1.3. Aldebaran, the fourteenth brightest star, sits 5.5 degrees below Mars, shining twice as bright as the planet. The display offers a chance to compare earthshine with color, and photographers can capture scene with equipment.

💡 Why It Matters

· The rare pre‑dawn tableau lets casual skywatchers experience lunar earthshine alongside planetary hues, a visual lesson in how sunlight reflects through the solar system.

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China becomes second country to recover orbital booster with Long March 10B

China successfully launched and recovered the first stage of its Long March 10B rocket on July 10, becoming the second country after the U.S. to achieve this feat. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation confirmed the recovery using a sea platform with a net capture system, eliminating the need for landing legs. The mission also placed an unnamed satellite into orbit, advancing China’s reusable rocket technology and lunar ambitions.

💡 China’s net-based recovery system represents a novel approach to reusability, differing from the leg-based landings used by SpaceX and Blue Origin. This method could streamline future missions by reducing hardware complexity and potentially lowering costs.

space.com · Jul 10

Making history! China lands rocket during an orbital launch for 1st time…

China achieved a historic space milestone on July 10, 2026, by recovering a rocket during an orbital launch for the first time. The Long March 10B’s first stage was successfully captured in a net system on a ship at sea after a vertical return. The mission, launched from Hainan, marked China’s first controlled recovery of a launch vehicle and the world’s first network-based recovery. The nation plans to reuse the stage by year’s end.

💡 This achievement positions China as a serious contender in the global reusable rocket race, challenging SpaceX’s dominance. By demonstrating a novel recovery method, China could streamline future launches and reduce costs, accelerating its ambitions in space exploration and commercial satellite deployment.

spacenews.com · Jul 10

ElevationSpace advances work on commercial reentry vehicle

ElevationSpace, a Japanese startup, is advancing its commercial reentry vehicle development with a partnership with Luxembourg-based Space Cargo Unlimited. The companies will explore using ElevationSpace’s vehicles to return Space Cargo Unlimited’s BentoBox experiment platform from space. ElevationSpace is working on the ELS-R and ELS-RS spacecraft, which use lift-controlled reentry to safely return sensitive payloads. The company plans a mid-2027 test flight and has raised $63.5 million. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s recent Starfall test flight signals growing competition in the reentry market.

💡 The collaboration between ElevationSpace and Space Cargo Unlimited highlights the growing need for reliable, gentle reentry solutions to support microgravity research and commercial space manufacturing. As SpaceX enters the market with its Starfall vehicle, the industry is at a turning point, with multiple players now vying to fill a critical gap in global space logistics.

spacenews.com · Jul 10

Space capitalism needs more than a bull market

The commercial space sector is experiencing rapid growth, marked by executive actions from Washington and a historic $2 trillion SpaceX IPO. While regulatory and market developments signal optimism, key challenges remain, including unresolved legal frameworks for space governance, property rights, and debris management. The sector’s long-term success depends on durable institutional change rather than short-term policy shifts or market enthusiasm.

💡 As space becomes a new frontier for economic and strategic competition, the absence of clear legal and regulatory structures risks stifling innovation and inviting conflict. Without institutional foundations to govern activities like asteroid mining and orbital traffic, the U.S. could lose its competitive edge to nations like China, which are actively building their own space capabilities.

spacenews.com · Jul 10

Startup testing nuclear battery technology in orbit

A Florida startup, City Labs, launched the BOHR cubesat on SpaceX’s Transporter‑17 rideshare on July 7, marking the first commercial in‑orbit test of its NanoTritium betavoltaic power system. The device uses tritium decay to generate microwatts of electricity, intended to keep low‑power payloads running for years without sunlight. While the satellite bus still relies on solar panels, the betavoltaic unit powers the experimental payload, demonstrating a safe, low‑radiation nuclear source approved under the FAA’s new radioactive‑material launch framework. The mission, funded in part by NASA and Pentagon contracts, seeks to validate the technology for future deep‑space, lunar‑shadow, and contested‑environment missions. City Labs plans a tritium‑based heater unit test in 2027 and aims to commercialize long‑duration micro‑power solutions.

💡 It proves a regulatory pathway for commercial nuclear micro‑power in space, opening markets for missions where solar energy is impractical.

spacenews.com · Jul 10

The space industry is weighing ambitious hiring against heritage

The space industry is experiencing a surge in venture capital funding for startups with little to no prior aerospace experience, challenging the traditional reliance on operational heritage. Companies like Orbital and Cowboy Space have secured millions in investment and achieved billion-dollar valuations despite lacking deployed hardware or founder backgrounds in rocket science. Investors are prioritizing ambitious concepts, such as orbital data centers, over proven track records. Analysts note that while hiring from legacy firms like SpaceX helps acquire indirect knowledge, it does not instantly confer the credibility required for high-stakes launch markets. However, severe launch capacity shortages and SpaceX’s near-monopoly have shifted investment criteria, driving capital toward new entrants like Stoke Space and Isar Aerospace. This trend reflects a broader market appetite for innovation, particularly in Earth observation and climate-focused technologies, where novelty often outweighs historical reliability in securing funding rounds.

💡 This shift decouples financial success from technical validation, creating a high-risk environment where capital flows to unproven concepts before hardware exists. It forces legacy players to compete not just on reliability, but on speed and innovation, fundamentally altering the industry's risk-reward calculus.