[MUSIC] >> Today is March 26, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazis and this is T-minus. [MUSIC] Rocket Lab to launch a dedicated Aurora Tech mission from New Zealand as early as Thursday. >> Four. >> Pylenor Technologies has signed an MOU with Take Me to Space to develop and test low energy nuclear reaction compute modules in space. >> Three. >> Sierra Space and URI have signed an agreement for a new space-based medical research mission. >> Two. >> Citelliot has received a 13.8 million euro investment from the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation. >> One. >> The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity has released a new report on the threat landscape in space. [MUSIC] >> It is Wednesday everybody, I hope you're having a good one. Let's dive into today's intelligence briefing. [MUSIC] >> We're kicking off today's show at the cornerstone of N2K Network's area of interest and expertise, cyber and space. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, also known as ENESA, has released a new report on the threat landscape in space. The document focuses on the cybersecurity challenges faced by commercial satellites specifically, examining cybersecurity aspects across all phases of a satellite's life cycle, from development, deployment, to operations and decommissioning. NNESA warned of potentially cascading effects, stemming from attacks on satellites, including financial losses for businesses relying on satellites and potential disruption to essential services, causing societal harm and even loss of life. The report identifies various cybersecurity challenges facing the commercial satellite industry, including risks introduced by increasingly complex international supply chains and commercial off-the-shelf parts, as well as ongoing and developing threats from nation states, cyber criminals and even insiders. And most importantly, it also provides suggested remediations for the various risk factors that it outlines. The document presents detailed risk assessment scenarios which illustrate potential attack vectors and their impacts on satellite operations, and we should note that there is a sense of urgency in the report, which NNESA says is aiming to enhance the resilience of commercial satellite operations by providing stakeholders with insights into current and emerging cybersecurity threats, aiding, understanding, and mitigating risks. And we do hope that all satellite operators take note and work now to avoid potential pitfalls. Staying in Europe, Satellite has received a 13.8 million euro investment from the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation. The funding was approved by the Spanish Government's Council of Ministers, and the Satellite Communications Company has just closed a series B funding round, which raised a total of 70 million euros. Satellite says the funds will be invested in a constellation of over 100 satellites, and they say the constellation is designed to ensure real-time connectivity in areas without signal coverage and will enable strategic applications across defense, security, logistics, and critical infrastructure management sectors. Sierra Space and Germany-based space biotech company URI have signed an agreement for one new science taxi biospin mission, and that mission will continue biological and medical research advancements and drug discovery in microgravity. The agreement builds on the partnership announced between the two companies in 2022 to deliver URI's science taxi incubator to the International Space Station. Under this expanded contract, Sierra Space will now serve as the primary provider of payload integration, logistics, and operational support for URI's science taxi throughout all mission phases. The culmination of the partnership will ultimately aim to provide scientific solutions for treating and curing diseases on Earth. Let's head on over to India now, where High Lennar Technologies has signed a memorandum of understanding with Take Me To Space. The companies are working to develop and test low-energy nuclear reactions or Lennar-powered compute modules in space. The company Take Me To Space says it's exploring multiple energy technologies, including Lennar, to assess efficient methods for heat extraction and potential reuse in its compute-focused satellites. The company say that Lennar is also a potential alternative to the traditionally used radioisotope-based thermoelectric generators or RTGs to power deep space missions. For their first collaboration, Take Me To Space will provide the satellite platform and subsystems required to test High Lennar's Lennar-based thermoelectric generator in space. No details were shared yet about the schedule for that mission. And let's zoom on over to New Zealand now, and Rocket Lab has announced the launch window for its next mission from New Zealand. The Finding Hot Wildfires Near You launch is scheduled for Thursday, March 27th. The dedicated Aurora Tech mission is Rocket Lab's first launch for the Germany-based Wildfire Detection Company. The launch is taking place on an accelerated timeline to meet the mission's time-sensitive requirements. Inspire-built satellites are aiming to enhance wildfire monitoring and detection, providing critical real-time data for fire response and prevention. [Music] That is it for our Intel briefing for this Wednesday. N2K Senior Producer, Alice Grooth, has some additional stories that didn't make today's top five. Alice? Thanks, Maria. Today we've included links to an update from ISAR Aerospace, who have now rescheduled their inaugural launch from Norway as early as tomorrow. Blue Halo has demonstrated their two-terminal long-haul multi-orbit laser communication system. There's a Reuters article on Airbus saying it's in defense and space talks amid a spending surge in Europe. And the last is an article from NASA on the nomination of Greg Autry for CFO at the agency. And as a reminder, everybody, you can find links to those stories in the selected reading section of the show notes in your podcast app and on our website, space.n2k.com. AT-Crew, if you find our podcast useful, please do us a favor and share a five-star rating and short review in your favorite podcast app. It'll help other space professionals like you to find the show and join the T-minus crew. Thank you for your support. We really appreciate it. [music] We'll be right back. [whoosh] [whoosh] Welcome back. For one of our final stories today, this news made us go, "Holy sheet hockey. They're going to grow mushrooms in space." Yeah, there's going to be a lot of puns in this one. Buckle up. Oyster mushrooms specifically are of interest for this story. In just a few weeks, we will see the lift off of Fram 2, which is SpaceX's human spaceflight mission sending crew into a polar orbit. That mission is expected to last three to five days. And of course, a lot of science will be happening for the busy crew aboard. Australian Eric Phillips will be leading the mushroom experiment among the many other things I'm sure he'll be doing. Hopefully, some oyster mushrooms will germinate, bloom, mushroom. And the experiment overall is to see how mushrooms, those nutritional powerhouses that they are, while how they do in microgravity compared to control groups on Earth. And it's Australian company Food IQ that's making this experiment possible. They sound like fun guys. Sorry. And all these experiments about growing food in space, well, a lot of it's in hopes that one day when humans are interplanetary, we'll have figured out some of the hard stuff about growing food off world so we don't have to try and brown bag entire missions. It'd be so, so nice if other worlds had food already growing there for us, or at least the ability to easily harbor life. And hopefully one day that's a discovery we'll all celebrate. But until then, a recent analysis of Martian rock thanks to NASA's Curiosity rover shows that prebiotic chemistry on the red planet may have gotten further along than we previously thought. New analysis of a rock sample currently stored in Curiosity shows the molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane, all fragments of fatty acids that can be the building blocks of life, though they don't have to be, so let's not get ahead of ourselves there. The thing is that these compounds are the most complex yet found in Mars samples. Previously, we'd only seen really simple, small organic molecules. So larger molecules like those mean more advanced organic chemistry existed on Mars. What that means to be determined. Was there once life on Mars? Can't entirely rule that one out yet. Still, exciting times. That's it for T-Mine is from March 26, 2025, brought to you by N2K Cyberwire. For additional resources from today's report, check out our show notes at space.n2k.com. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast, and you can email us at space@n2k.com or submit the survey in the show notes. Your feedback ensures we deliver the information that keeps you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. N2K's Strategic Workforce Intelligence optimizes the value of your biggest investment, your people. We make you smarter about your team, while making your team smarter. N2K's Senior Producer is Alice Carruth. Our Producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliott Peltzman and Tre Hester, with original music by Elliott Peltzman. Our Executive Producer is Jennifer Iben. Peter Kilpie is our publisher, and I am your host, Maria Varmazis. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow. [Music] [Music] T-minus. [Music] [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
