Today is December the 2nd, 2025. I'm Alice Carruth and this is T-minus. T-minus. 22nd to LOS, T-dred. Open aboard. T-minus. T-minus. T-minus. 22nd to LOS, T-dred. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. Open aboard. After today's headlines we'll be hearing from Christina Omri, director for special programs for Cybexa Technologies. Cybexa has partnered with the European Space Agency on their space cyber range. Our producer Liz Stokes met with Christina in Tallinn, Estonia yesterday and we'll be bringing you that chat later on. Happy Tuesday everyone. On yesterday's show we opened up with a new funding announcement by the European Space Agency Member States and said it will be bringing you updates when those funds started being spent. Well, here we are already. The European Space Agency has approved a new three-year 1.3 billion euros, that's 1.6 billion dollars spending plan, to support space defence programmes across its 23 member states. The announcement follows the trend in Europe to include space in more defence plans. The council released a statement saying, "The clear mandate for use of space applications for non-aggressive defence purposes signifies a historic change for ESA. Non-dependence in technology is key to advancing Europe's ambitions in space, alongside its guaranteed access to space." Now some of you may be thinking, "Have we heard about this before?" Well, yes you have, but not from the Space Agency, but from the European Union and their European resilience from space effort known as ERS. Although there looks to be some crossover, ESA is independent from the EU and has other plans for its spending that may run with or independent of the ERS. Check out the breaking news article included in today's selected reading section of the show notes for more details. And what of Europe's lunar ambitions? It seems that they're still strong, and now we know the nationality of the ESA astronaut that would join the first global Artemis mission. The European Space Agency has said that a German astronaut will be the first European to fly to the moon with a future NASA-led Artemis mission. It isn't a big surprise, as Germany is the largest contributor to the ESA coffers. It begs the question of who, and right now it's anyone's guess. Germany has two experienced astronauts among the ESA Astronaut Corp. And both have spent months at the International Space Station. They also have two astronauts in ESA's reserve team. However, neither have flown to space yet, making the two veterans the most likely contenders for that coveted Artemis foreseet. Deloitte has contracted SPIER Global to design, build and operate eight satellites. The satellites, when complete, will support Deloitte's on-orbit cyber payloads, as well as its space data capabilities for commercial and government clients. The eight satellites will carry advanced radio frequency and geolocation payloads, and will serve as a platform for advancing Deloitte's silent shield mission to further innovate in satellite vehicle defence and resilience. SPIER has collaborated with Deloitte to test and validate Deloitte's cyber-intusion detection system payload for satellites in orbit. It aims to strengthen the resilience and security of space systems against cyber threats. Silent Shield utilises SPIER's advanced satellite technology, helping Deloitte study real-time satellite signalling patterns and evaluate the detection and mitigation of cyber anomalies. And that's not the only big news for SPIER. They've also been selected by GIST Research to provide its soil moisture insights for a study mapping climate-driven pastoralist movement in Ethiopia's Somali region. GIST is an independent research and advisory consultancy specialising in fragile and climate affected contexts. The data will feed into the International Organisation for Migration's Transhumanance Tracking Tool, a system designed by the UN Agency to observe herder movements and mitigate conflict risks. The pilot aims to strengthen early warning systems that monitor environmental and livelihood stress in one of Africa's most climate-exposed regions, where scarce resources can heighten competition and foster tensions between communities. The resulting insights are expected to inform evidence-based policies, guide authorities and partners in their interventions, and contribute to conflict prevention efforts. It's an amazing example of how space continues to aid us here on Spaceship Earth. Iridium has been awarded a contract from the US Space Forces Space Systems Command Commercial Space Office with a potential value of up to $85.8 million. The five-year IDIQ System Infrastructure Transformation and Hybridisation contract enables technological refreshes, lifecycle upgrades and security enhancements to the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services Service Centre, Technical Support Centre and Defence Ground Station. The contract is a follow-on to the Gateway Evolution contract awarded to Eredium in 2019. That wraps up today's headlines, but there's other stories that we're keeping an eye on. NTK's lead audio engineer Tre Hester joins us now with a look at those stories. What do you have for us, Trey? Hey, Alice. We've included three additional articles in today's selected reading. The first one comes from the South China Morning Post on how China pulled off its recent Shenzhou Rescue Mission, and then there's announcements from One Bo River on their investment in Odyssey Space Research and another with Achealon partnering with iSci to create 3D operational terrain visualizations. And as a reminder, those links can be found on our website, space.ntuk.com. Regular listeners know that every day at the end of each T-minus, our host Maria Varmasas reads the names of all the people who work on this show. It's a big team effort to get this show published every day, and you, dear listener, play a very important role too. Every time you share an episode of T-minus with colleagues or on social media, that not only helps us grow, but more importantly, it shows us how our work is useful and interesting to you. If you enjoy T-minus, don't keep us hidden. Share our show in your social and professional networks. It helps us grow and makes T-minus even better every day. Thanks for being part of the T-minus crew. [Music] Our producer Liz Stokes has been in Estonia this week with host Maria Varmazis. We were invited by NATO to witness a cybersecurity exercise. There's going to be a lot more on that in the coming weeks. While in Tallinn, Liz caught up with Christina Omri, director of special programs for cyber exo technologies. They're the company that has partnered with ESA on the cyber range. I'll let Christina explain in further detail. [Music] Cybexer is a Estonian-based or hair-quartered company, but we do operate globally. There are approximately 55 countries in which we have conducted different cybersecurity-related projects, or sold our technology. We are a cybersecurity company on the preparedness side of cybersecurity. Do you guys provide cyber ranges for NATO and ESA? What do those entail exactly? Cyber range technology comes historically from military, from the need to train and exercise also on the digital battlefield. Use the tools they would be using in the actual operations, but to do it in a simulated environment so that the real systems do not get harmed. And how do you research for cyber instances in space? So, space is interesting to main. How did we get into the space project once through the military? At some point, military started asking besides the other domain, also for the elements from the space. Because as also the current conflicts around the world and war, has shown that the space-based assets are crucial for the information. Yeah, exactly. Can you go a little bit further into like that? How do you guys defend against those types of things? So, first of all, it usually goes and how we do it. We bring the technologies to the cyber range, so to the simulation environment, where we build up an infrastructure or digital twins of different technologies. And this is what we do also in the space domain. So, we build it in, we build an infrastructure containing then a satellite, ground control station, mission control station, and also different other technologies when they make it relevant for the specific use case. Do you have any examples of problems solved using the cyberspace range? The first aim of our solution is to improve the capabilities and skills in cybersecurity. Because, first of all, in general in cybersecurity, there's a great lack of cybersecurity specialists around the world. There are millions of unfulfilled jobplaces, because there's just lack of suitable potential employees then. And when we even look it closer to the space segment, the gap there is also quite big. So, we have space engineers, we have IT people, we have cybersecurity specialists. But how to combine those skills so that the cybersecurity specialists that come out of the universities would have understanding of space engineering or vice versa, that the space engineers would already get from the beginning the basics, key elements of cybersecurity. And maybe this is one of the specifics of space industry is that the systems will be up there and running for quite a long time on the orbit once you finish them. You cannot take them down and relaunch it usually. So, it has to be taken into account when engineering, but also designing the systems. What do you want space companies to know about space and cybersecurity? Like, what are you trying to explain to them? So, we are a bit in a situation when everyone knows that they should pay attention on cybersecurity, but quite often there are so many other things to worry about. And at the same time, maybe also a bit of lack of knowledge, what and how should we do it? So, there's a bit of an elephant in the room. We know that there are a lot of legacy systems in the space industry. There have not been that many attacks that have been spoken openly about. There are few, but it is a bit like a situation where the understanding and the perception can change very easily when something big happens. What we nowadays do not think, and probably you don't think that you rely every day in your work on space systems, but we both do. When using the basic satellite information for the GPS, but also for the weather forecast to see if it's snowy the next day or not, so this information we get through space. So, it's not about only for the space industry, but it's part of the way we live nowadays. Right. And I see there are a ton of televisions to our left here. Would you mind telling our audience what's going on on these televisions? Explain them a little bit more. Yes, so the TVs here present different wheels from the cyber range. So, cyber range is a platform for the hands-on learning of cyber skills. We build up the virtual environments, let's say digital twins, networks, everything. And the aim of the trainees there, be it a team-based exercise or individual-based exercise, is to go and see, depending on the scope of course, where are the vulnerabilities, what can I do to repair it, and so on and so forth. So, this is one part of it, that it's about the skills development, and hence we can also take out the analytics, where are they good at, what are the areas of improvement. What we say is it's never about pass and fail, it's about improving and learning. And this is also what we do, we can, on the cyber range, we can clone the systems. So, if we do and run a big military exercise, we clone the systems, the game nets for each team, so that they would each get their playing field and get the learning experience. We can also do of course the shared targets, if it's desired, but to have in mind this learning, learning then it's best if everyone gets the same game net and has their tasks and defence actions to be taken there. Walk me through that process, what's that like? So, if we talk about the exercise, and let's say it's a team-based exercise, then usually we prepare on the cyber range those game nets. We make sure with the customer, what are the necessary infrastructure components. Are there any of the security monitoring systems, internal networks, what are the other special systems that we connect to, if we talk about the space, then is there a, let's say, a flat set, any of the mission control, surround control segments that need to be as part of the game net. And then once we have it ready, those are real virtual machines. So, when the participant actually, when the exercise starts, they log in, and everything looks as it's real. So, we do not compete with the ones who provide the cybersecurity training on paper-based and theoretical materials, so we are really hands-on. What made you think that Telen was one of the best places to start this company, to build up from here? I mean, you think of space and you think of cyber, and I think most people don't come to Estonia to think of that. So, what made this place the best for you guys? Well, Telen has a bit of history with cyber. From the 2007, the cyber attacks against Estonia, so against the governmental institutions, but not only, also commercials. So, it started with attacks against the president's website. Okay, if you're a citizen of Estonia and the website of the president does not function, you can still continue your everyday life, probably. But if your internet bank does not respond anymore, then you feel it, and it starts really having influence on your daily life. So, this was 2007, and from this attack and the large-scale attack, we learned it even more clear that we have to put more emphasizes on the cyber. And out of this experience, many good initiatives and things have grown out, like the NATO CCDOE in Telen, providing the collaborative platform for the NATO and other countries who have joined the CCDOE for those cybersecurity exercises and trainings. And hence, also, the private sector and cybersecurity companies started growing. They started growing already before, but this definitely was another push towards it. And this is also where our companies are a bit rooted in. So, in this need after a collaborative training platform, I spoke about the training of people and upskilling them, but this type of platforms can also be used for the technology testing. So, our core technology team has actually a background in NATO CCDOE. And hence, Telen is a good and very untypical place for the cyber ranges, because you can find different institutions and companies providing the cyber range solutions here. That's awesome. That's amazing. Is there anything that you want to kind of talk to my audience about and explain a little bit further? Is there anything that I missed? Well, it's a long topic, and especially with a space, maybe, angle, is that there's a lot to do, and we have noticed that there's a growing interest and understanding a bit, but there's still quite the understanding of the vulnerabilities. Also, at the same time, when we still have this legacy systems, as I mentioned before, there still are newer solutions coming up. Also, there are more commercial satellites up there with the commercial tasks. So, the level of digitalization also is higher there. And when we base our business models on those satellites, the information and the exchange of information, it just becomes part of our everyday living here. At least, this is one of the sites we want to explain and make more understandable to everyone. So, it's not only about the real Oslo now to go up there, it's about our old lives here on the planet Earth. We'll be right back. Welcome back. Here's a fun question for you. What do asteroids taste like? We've covered space smells before, but not thought to ask if you'd lick a rock. That's an actual thing, y'all. Just ask your neighborhood geologist. I shared the results of new findings from the asteroid Bennu. Remember the Osiris-REx mission? And NASA titled the findings "Sugars, Gum Stardust" found in NASA's asteroid Bennu samples. And it got the team laughing in this morning's meeting. Would you lick an asteroid? So I asked them. They tell me, would you lick an asteroid? Absolutely, with vigor. Jen, what's your feeling about this? I'm generally a cautious person, but I think I probably would do it. Kray, what do you think? I'd like to check with my scientist's girlfriend first, but I'm going to say yes. Good cautious answer. Mayan, what do you think? Would you lick an asteroid? Just for science, I think the answer is yes. I have to lick the asteroid. Elliot, what do you think? For me, it just depends on how fast this asteroid is moving past my face. If I'm like sticking out my tongue and it's like the bullet train speeding past, then no. But if I'm on the asteroid and I'm moving the same speed as it, yes, if it's safe, I definitely want to taste the asteroid, but I don't want to get hurt. Go on then, Tim. What do you think? Would you lick an asteroid? If there are other volunteers, I would not. I like that. Ethan, what do you think? Would you lick an asteroid? Never in a million years am I licking an asteroid. I'll let you all take one for the team. It'll happen. Would I lick an asteroid? Yeah, probably. Any excuse to get to space, but yeah, why not? I feel like the sugar gum stardust, why not? So what is it that's actually been found? Japanese researchers found sugars essential for biology, which presents in a gum-like substance not seen before in astro materials and an unexpectedly high abundance of dust produced by supernova explosions. The discovery of sugars known as ribose in asteroid samples is not a complete surprise. Ribose has previously been found in two meteorites recovered on Earth. What is important about Bennu's samples is that researchers did not find deoxyribose. Now, if you're like me and wondering what deoxyribose is, a quick Google search shared that deoxyribose is a five-carbon sugar that is a fundamental component of DNA, forming part of its backbone along with phosphoric groups. If Bennu is any indication, this means that ribose may have been more common than deoxyribose in environments of the early solar system. The Bennu samples also contained one of the most common forms of food or energy used by life on Earth, the sugar glucose, which is the first evidence that an important energy source for life as we know it was also present in the early solar system. It doesn't answer if there's other life in the universe, but it certainly increases the chances of it. And that's it for Team Ion, as brought to you by NTUK Cyberwire. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast, your feedback ensures that we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your own channel. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or send me an email to space@ntuk.com. We're proud that NTUK Cyberwire is part of the daily routine of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector, from the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies. NTUK helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection, we bring you the people, technology and ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how at N2K.com. N2K's producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliott Peltzman and Tre Hester with original music by Elliott Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Eiben. Peter Kilpie is our publisher. Our host is Maria Varmazis and I'm N2K Senior Producer Alice Carruth. Thanks for listening. [Music] T-minus. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
