The Arcadia Times

Sol 1 · Mars Year 39 · 30 September 2026 Sample edition, set by hand from real wires, before the presses existSample edition

Special editionHappy new year: Mars Year 39 begins today

SpaceX

Crew-13 is go for launch to the space station

A Falcon 9 is set to lift four astronauts from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, the first of four SpaceX launches this week.

A raw close-up image from Perseverance's SHERLOC context camera on Mars. — Raw image, sol 1994. → Perseverance looks closely, sol 1994 NASA/JPL-Caltech · original

NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission is scheduled to launch on 1 October at 15:10 UTC from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, on a Falcon 9. Launch Library 2 lists the launch as go.

The Crew Dragon is due to dock autonomously with the International Space Station the next day, carrying four astronauts. NASA will stream prelaunch, launch and docking coverage.

It is a busy week for the company: NASASpaceflight expects four orbital launches, all of them by SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, including a Falcon Heavy mission for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Sources NASA: NASA Sets Crew-13 Launch, Docking Coverage NASASpaceflight: Launch Preview: Crew-13 to launch to ISS, Falcon Heavy to launch mission for the NRO The Space Devs: Launch Library 2

Perseverance looks closely, sol 1994

The rover's arm-mounted camera took a close-up late on its evening of 29 September.

NASA's Perseverance rover took this image with the SHERLOC Autofocus and Context Imager, the camera on the turret at the end of its robotic arm.

It was acquired on 29 September 2026, sol 1994 of the mission, at 21:29 local mean solar time in Jezero crater.

Sources NASA/JPL-Caltech: Mars Perseverance Sol 1994: SHERLOC ACI Camera

Relativity Space

New Glenn 9×4 joins NASA's launch catalogue

Blue Origin's larger rocket follows Relativity's Terran R onto the same contract this month.

NASA has added Blue Origin's New Glenn 9×4 launch service to its NASA Launch Services II contract, under the contract's on-ramp clause, so the agency's Launch Services Program can use it for future missions.

Three weeks earlier, on 9 September, Relativity Space's Terran R was added to the same contract through the same on-ramp provision.

Sources NASA: NASA Adds Blue Origin New Glenn 9×4 to Launch Services Contract NASA: NASA Adds Relativity Space's Terran R to Launch Services Contract

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab disputes a NASA Mars spacecraft award

The company says the decision does not match NASA's own eligibility criteria.

Rocket Lab has objected to a NASA award decision on a Mars spacecraft. "NASA's award decision appears to be inconsistent with the eligibility criteria," the company said, as reported by Ars Technica.

Sources Ars Technica: Rocket Lab is seeing red about NASA's decision on a Mars spacecraft

Next off the pad

1 Oct 15:10 UTC Falcon 9 Block 5 | Crew-13 SpaceX · Go
1 Oct 18:18 UTC Falcon 9 Block 5 | Transporter 18 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare) SpaceX · Go
2 Oct 03:53 UTC Falcon Heavy | NROL-97 SpaceX · Go
5 Oct 00:00 UTC SR75 | Flight 2 HyImpulse · TBD

Source The Space Devs: Launch Library 2

Weather at Gale crater

−71/−5°C

Sky: Sunny
Pressure: 777 Pa
Report: sol 4995, 25 Aug

Curiosity's REMS station, 2,700 km from the hab. Air pressure about 0.8% of Earth's.

Source Centro de Astrobiología / NASA: Curiosity REMS weather

Who's talking to Earth

Voyager 1Goldstone · DSS25
Mars OdysseyMadrid · DSS53
DanuriMadrid · DSS65
Parker Solar ProbeCanberra · DSS35
New HorizonsCanberra · DSS43

Deep Space Network antennas with a live link at press time.

Source NASA: DSN Now

From the belt

SpaceX Crew-13 is go for launch on Thursday
Relativity Space Terran R added to NASA's launch services contract
Rocket Lab Rocket Lab's Hungry Hippo completes testing

Companies I own a piece of; public holdings only.

Source The Space Devs: Spaceflight News API

Classifieds

Fiction, by nature. Rates: free; the hab accepts coffee.

WANTED: a seat on the next Starship. Serious offers only. — M.W.
FOR SALE: one window wiper, lightly dusted. Works every sol. Buyer collects from Arcadia. — The hab
NOTICE: the lamp stays on. Visitors welcome after dark. — M.W.

On the stand