Live coverage: Mission control loses contact with Indian moon lander

An Ariane 5 rocket lifted two communications satellites to space Wednesday to connect rural Australians with the rest of the world through high-speed Internet and extend television and data services over India, then completed experiments in orbit aimed at helping designers craft Europe’s next-generation launcher.

NASA’s Perseverance rover will soon release a small rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars and drive a safe distance away to observe a series of historic test flights in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere, which could begin around April 8, officials said this week.

Douglas Loverro, a veteran manager with broad experience in national security space operations, has been selected by NASA to lead the agency’s human space flight programs. He takes over at a critical moment as the agency assesses the readiness of new commercial crew ships amid a full-court press to land astronauts on the moon in 2024.