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NASA Welcomes Paraguay as 67th Artemis Accords Signatory
May 07, 2026
The Republic of Paraguay signed the Artemis Accords on Thursday during a ceremony in Asunción, becoming the latest nation to commit to the shared principles guiding civil space exploration.
“Today, I am proud to welcome Paraguay as the 67th signatory to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“They join an ever-growing coalition of like-minded nations committed to the peaceful, transparent, and responsible exploration of space. Established by President Trump in his first term, the Artemis Accords provided the principles for how we explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Now, with his national space policy, we are putting the Artemis Accords into practice with our Moon Base. We are creating opportunities for all Artemis Accords signatories, including Paraguay, to join us on the lunar surface and advance our shared objectives in this next era of exploration.”
U.S. Embassy Asunción Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Aaron Pratt shared Isaacman’s remarks during the ceremony. Minister President of the Paraguayan Space Agency Osvaldo Almirón Riveros signed on behalf of Paraguay.
“The signing of the Artemis Accords represents a historic milestone for Paraguay and reflects our commitment to international cooperation, the peaceful use of outer space, scientific development, and the advancement of national space capabilities,” said Almirón Riveros.
“This step strengthens Paraguay’s position within the global space community and opens new opportunities for research, innovation, and sustainable development.”
The Paraguayan Space Agency was established in 2014 and has worked to develop capabilities in satellite technology and Earth observation, including with international partners. Its first satellite, GuaraníSat‑1, launched from the International Space Station in 2021.
The agency now is preparing to launch its second satellite, GuaraníSat‑2, in October aboard a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission was developed with collaborators from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other partners.
In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.
The Artemis Accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety and coordination between like-minded nations as they explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Signing the Artemis Accords means committing to explore peaceably and transparently, to render aid to those in need, to enable access to scientific data that all of humanity can learn from, to ensure activities do not interfere with those of others, and to preserve historically significant sites and artifacts by developing best practices for space exploration for the benefit of all.
More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues its work to establish a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space.
https://www.nasa.gov/organizations/oiir/artemis-accords/nasa-welcomes-paraguay-as-67th-artemis-accords-signatory/
extra NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/meet-the-fleet-nasa-armstrong-continues-legacy-of-flight-research/
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/mars/nasa-pushes-next-gen-mars-helicopter-rotor-blades-past-mach-1/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/05/07/dna-inspired-treatments-space-agriculture-top-crews-research-schedule/
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/tracy-arms-post-tsunami-landscape/
NASA Names Brian Hughes to Launch Operations Role
May 08, 2026
NASA announced Friday that Brian Hughes will return to the agency as senior director of launch operations, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In this role, Hughes will provide enterprise-level leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for NASA’s launch infrastructure.
Reporting to NASA Headquarters in Washington, Hughes will have direct responsibility for launch operations at NASA Kennedy, as well as the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
He will work across government, industry, and local leadership to strengthen coordination among stakeholders supporting NASA’s spaceports, enable increased launch cadence, and support execution of the President’s National Space Policy to ensure continued American leadership in space.
“Brian brings a unique combination of operational expertise, strategic leadership, and public service experience at the highest levels of government,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“His track record leading complex organizations and executing high-stakes missions makes him exceptionally well-suited to help shape the future of NASA’s launch operations as we accelerate into a new era of exploration and innovation.”
Most recently, Hughes served as NASA’s chief of staff, where he helped drive agencywide priorities and decision-making.
Prior to NASA, he served as deputy national security advisor for Strategic Communications at the White House, helping shape policy and communications on national security matters.
Hughes also served as chief administrative officer for the City of Jacksonville, overseeing a workforce of more than 7,000 employees and managing a multi-billion-dollar budget across public safety, infrastructure, and emergency management operations.
Earlier in his career, he served as chief of staff to former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and as chief executive officer of the Downtown Investment Authority, leading economic development initiatives across the city.
A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Hughes served as a KC-135 aircrew member during operations over the Middle East in support of the Gulf War.
His return comes as NASA continues advancing a growing portfolio of civil, commercial, and national security launch activities across its spaceport infrastructure.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-names-brian-hughes-to-launch-operations-role/
https://nasawatch.com/trumpspace/the-red-wedding-has-begun-at-nasa/
extra extra NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/goes-program-director-pam-sullivan-receives-presidential-rank-award/
https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasa-regenerative-fuel-cell-testing/
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/glowing-views-from-the-space-station/
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2052725954590482883
ESA Begins Developing Replacements for NASA’s Contributions to LISA
May 8, 2026
The European Space Agency has begun mitigation efforts for key elements of its LISA mission after a White House budget proposal sought, for the second year running, to eliminate most of NASA’s planned support.
One of these mitigation efforts was formalised on 5 May, when ESA awarded a €26.1 million contract to Thales Alenia Space for the development of the mission’s telescopes.
ESA’s Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) consists of three spacecraft working in tandem to detect gravitational waves from significant events in the Universe, such as when two black holes collide.
When ESA adopted the mission in early 2024, NASA was expected to provide several critical LISA subsystems, including laser systems, telescopes, and devices to reduce disturbances from electromagnetic charges.
In May 2025, just months after Donald Trump took office, the White House’s proposed FY2026 NASA budget sought to cut the agency’s science funding by almost 50%, which included eliminating the agency’s support for ESA’s LISA mission.
While Congress later rejected the proposal and allocated $80.5 million for the mission, the White House has once again proposed cutting the majority of NASA’s support in its FY2027 budget.
The request includes just $2.4 million for Physics of the Cosmos Supporting Research and Technology, which would support technology development efforts for several missions, including LISA.
In June 2025, following ESA’s 334th Council meeting, the agency’s Director of Science said ESA had identified 19 missions that could be affected by the proposed NASA budget cuts.
She said the impact on 16 of those missions could be mitigated through “good planning”, while three, LISA, EnVision, and NewAthena, would require specific recovery actions.
Although Congress later rejected the proposed cuts, ESA nonetheless moved ahead with recovery actions as uncertainty over NASA’s long-term support remained unresolved.
On 30 September 2025, ESA issued a call for proposals covering the development of LISA’s telescopes.
The agency outlined a four-phase development process that would begin with initial testing of a breadboard model, followed by delivery of a qualification model, one flight-ready telescope, and, finally, telescopes for all three spacecraft.
Each phase includes decision points, allowing time for NASA to resolve uncertainty around its commitments while still enabling ESA to pursue European replacements.
On 5 May 2026, Thales Alenia Space announced that it had been awarded a contract to begin the first phase of LISA telescope development.
In response to questions from European Spaceflight, ESA explained that, while NASA was still involved in the mission, ongoing budget uncertainty had prompted the mitigation actions.
“NASA is still involved in LISA, but budget discussions are ongoing. We have been informed that some projects may be impacted,” explained an ESA spokesperson.
“In light of this, ESA has taken the decision, supported by our member states, to initiate risk mitigation actions on LISA. This TAS contract is the result of one of the actions.”
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which is responsible for developing LISA’s telescopes, acknowledged a request for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
The Thales Alenia Space telescope contract is one of several planned mitigation efforts. A tender for a European-developed Charge Management Device (CMD) was announced in November 2025.
The call explains that the agency’s executive considers it “prudent to take action now to limit any potential damage to the programme stemming from the unstable situation with NASA.”
The CMD initiative is currently under evaluation, suggesting an award is imminent.
https://europeanspaceflight.com/esa-begins-developing-replacements-for-nasas-contributions-to-lisa/
extra ESA
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/05/ESA_and_JAXA_deepen_collaboration_in_planetary_defence
https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Planetary_Defence/ESA_and_JAXA_team_up_on_planetary_defence_Ramses_mission_to_asteroid_Apophis
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/05/Earth_from_Space_Greenland_s_changing_ice
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Earth_observation_data_for_the_policymaking_of_tomorrow
https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Watch_live_selected_sessions_from_the_ESA_CommEO_Forum
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Week_in_images/Week_in_images_04-08_May_2026
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spaceflight-from-the-uk
wow
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BREAKING 🔥 First drop of new UFO videos has been posted - all here:
Last edited 5:20 AM · May 8, 2026
https://x.com/wow36932525/status/2052725432445743341
https://x.com/HighEarthOrbit_/status/2052737479229190290
https://x.com/HighEarthOrbit_/status/2052719611016032660
https://www.dvidshub.net/search/?q=uap&view=grid&sort=publishdate
Kiev must take ‘one serious step’ before new trilateral talks – Kremlin aide
7 May, 2026 18:16 | Updated 7 May, 2026 19:20
Moscow sees no point in continuing the trilateral contacts with Ukraine and the US until Kiev makes “one serious step,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov has said.
The senior official was apparently referring to the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the parts of Donbass still under Ukrainian control, a move long demanded by Russia and consistently rejected by Kiev.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ushakov admitted that the US-mediated contacts with Ukraine have halted to a grind following the latest meeting that was held in Geneva in February.
Since then, the “American participants have been preoccupied with a different, more serious problem,” he added, apparently referring to the crisis in the Middle East.
The discussions have effectively boiled down to “one serious step” Kiev must take to greatly advance the settlement process. While Ushakov did not explicitly name said step, he was likely referring to the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from parts of Donbass they still control.
“Everyone understands, including, I would say, Ukrainian negotiators, that Kiev now needs to take just one serious step, after which, firstly, military action will cease, and secondly, prospects for serious discussions of a further long-term resolution of this issue will open,” Ushakov stated.
The status of Donbass, which voted to join Russia in 2022, has remained one of the key obstacles to peace negotiations, with Moscow and Kiev maintaining opposing positions on the matter.
Russia has repeatedly outlined Ukraine’s full withdrawal from the region as an essential step for reaching a lasting ceasefire and paving the way for further discussions of a sustainable settlement.
The Ukrainian leadership, however, has repeatedly refused to cede any territory and has maintained that recapturing the regions incorporated into Russia remains one of its ultimate goals.
In March, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Washington had pressed Kiev into accepting Moscow’s terms, allegedly making its offer of security guarantees to Ukraine conditional on it ceding all the contested territory in Donbass to Russia.
Washington, however, has dismissed such claims, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing Zelensky’s assertions as a “lie.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/639587-russia-talks-ukraine-settlement/
extra RT
https://www.rt.com/news/639678-ukrainian-drone-greece-island/
https://www.rt.com/russia/639620-kiev-regime-mi6-nixon/
Drone Wave Hits Moscow, Rostov Defense Industry Zone and Major Russian Refineries
May 08, 2026 12:59 Updated May 08, 2026 13:47
Drone attacks overnight triggered explosions, fires, and airport disruptions across multiple regions of Russia, including Moscow, Yaroslavl, Rostov-on-Don, and Perm, as Russian authorities claimed to have intercepted 264 UAVs.
Flights were temporarily restricted at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports due to the drone threat, while fires broke out at industrial and oil-processing facilities hundreds of kilometers apart.
Yaroslavl oil refinery hit
Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck an oil-sector facility in Yaroslavl, located more than 700 kilometers from Ukraine’s border.
“Yaroslavl, more than 700 kilometers from Ukraine’s state border. An oil sector facility that was of great importance for financing Russia’s war,” Zelenskyy said.
“I thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine and our military intelligence for this manifestation of justice. Ukraine’s long-range sanctions continued in response to Russian strikes on our cities and villages.
Russia must choose genuine peace, and only strong pressure will ensure that.”
According to Ukrainian drone forces commander Robert Brovdi, the target was the Slavneft-YANOS refinery — one of the largest oil-processing facilities in Russia.
“YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl is burning. Birds of the 1st Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces worked the target jointly with HUR. Yaroslavnefteorgsintez is the fifth-largest refinery in the swamps,” Brovdi wrote.
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said the refinery has a projected processing capacity of 15 million tons of oil annually and produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, jet fuel, and other petroleum products.
Officials said a fire broke out on the refinery grounds following the strike, while the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
Rostov industrial zone ablaze
In Rostov-on-Don, explosions and a large fire were reported in an industrial area overnight, according to Russian media Astra and OSINT community Exilenova+.
Preliminary reports suggested the strike may have affected the Empils paint and chemical plant and a branch of the Radar Scientific and Technical Center, a company linked to Russia’s defense industry.
Empils is considered one of the largest paint and coatings manufacturers in southern Russia and the country’s biggest zinc oxide producer.
The Radar center, meanwhile, specializes in the development and servicing of specialized military systems.
Moscow airports restrict flights
Russian authorities temporarily restricted operations at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports as drones approached the capital overnight.
Residents reported hearing explosions and air defense activity around Moscow during the attack wave, though no confirmed strike targets in the city itself were officially announced.
Perm refinery hit again
Separately, Astra reported that drones struck the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez refinery in Perm for the third time in nine days.
The refinery is one of the largest in Russia, processing more than 13 million tons of oil annually.
Local authorities confirmed an attack on “one of the industrial enterprises” without naming the facility directly. A fire reportedly broke out at the site afterward, with smoke visible from long distances.
The plant produces gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, lubricants, and other petroleum products, while also processing associated petroleum gas.
Permnefteorgsintez is considered one of the key industrial assets in the Perm region and among the most technologically advanced refineries in Russia.
Earlier, Zelenskyy stated that Russia is not seriously considering a ceasefire and remains focused solely on safeguarding its Victory Day parade in Moscow.
https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/drone-wave-hits-moscow-rostov-defense-industry-zone-and-major-russian-refineries-18595
https://united24media.com/latest-news/drone-strike-on-rostov-air-navigation-facility-grounds-flights-at-13-russian-airports-18597
https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/drones-strike-russian-military-base-in-chechnya-as-explosions-rock-grozny-18600
other Russia and Ukraine still not ceasefiring
https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defence/08.05.2026-it-appears-there-were-actually-two-drone-strikes-at-latvian-fuel-depot.a646323/
https://kyivindependent.com/more-to-come-azov-corps-releases-footage-showing-renewed-ukrainian-drone-activity-in-russian-occupied-mariupol/
https://kyivindependent.com/confusion-surrounds-victory-day-ceasefire-as-both-sides-report-drone-attacks-front-line-fighting/
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/05/08/large-forest-fire-burning-in-chernobyl-exclusion-zone-after-drone-crash-kyiv-says
https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukrainian-drone-commander-says-kyiv-will-bypass-moscow-to-strike-vulnerable-energy-targets-18616