SpaceX has set a new mark for the number of satellites deployed with a single launch, with 143 spacecraft placed in orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket in the company's first dedicated rideshare mission, Transporter-1. SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare service will add to the competition among providers of launches for smaller, low-cost satellites.

The world's first iodine-fuelled electric propulsion system has been tested in space aboard a Spacety satellite. Developed by French start-up ThrustMe, the system is unusual in using iodine, which is cheaper than alternatives as well as non-toxic and stable. Advocates say the system could also solve the problem of space debris, since when a satellite is no longer needed, the thruster could change its orbit, causing the spacecraft to fall into the atmosphere and burn up.

BluShift Aerospace, a US start-up aiming to develop small launch vehicles, has successfully tested a hybrid rocket motor with the first commercial launch of a rocket powered by biofuel. The Stardust launch vehicle tested the use of nitrous oxide and a proprietary organically-derived solid fuel that the company says can be sourced from farms around the world, is completely non-toxic and carbon neutral, and costs less than traditional rocket fuel.

With the Hope mission returning its first image of Mars, the United Arab Emirates has become the first Arab nation to conduct a scientific mission to the planet's orbit, with the aim of studying the weather and climate systems. China's Tianwen-1 orbiter has also sent back its first images of Mars, ahead of a scheduled landing of a rover on the planet's surface in May or June.

NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Italian space agency ASI have signed an agreement to co-operate on a mission to search for ice deposits beneath the surface of Mars. The International Mars Ice Mapper mission, which would see a spacecraft launched no earlier than 2026, would pave the way for human missions to the planet. Under the agreement, the agencies will study concepts for the mission and assess potential roles and responsibilities.

Dubai has established a Court of Space to adjudicate on international space disputes. A global initiative that will operate in parallel to the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, which deal with corporate and investor litigation, the forum will be based on common law and the British court system, and is independent of United Arab Emirates law. The court will specifically focus on commercial space disputes, with the judges being trained in deciding space litigation.

Small payload launch provider Astra plans to go public on the Nasdaq exchange by merging with special-purpose acquisition company Holicity, a deal expected to close in the second quarter. Astra is set to raise up to $489m, which would value it at $2.1bn, and plans to use the proceeds to ramp up production. It currently has 50 customer launches planned and contracts worth more than $150m.

Investment will continue flowing into space companies from government agencies, private equity firms and public markets as some investors in the sector look for exits while others seek opportunities for growth, according to industry participants and finance providers. In the past year, private equity firms have acquired space companies including Blue Canyon Technologies, Braxton Science & Technology, NanoRacks and Tethers Unlimited, while venture capital has poured into Iceye, Kymeta and Relativity Space. Special purpose acquisition companies that offer companies a short cut to going public are also courting space businesses.

SpaceX has widened the scope of the public beta test of its Starlink satellite internet service and is now accepting $99 pre-orders from potential customers in the US, UK and Canada, although capacity is limited. CEO Elon Musk has confirmed that Starlink is likely to go public once its cash flow is predictable, noting that SpaceX faces a period of deep negative cash flow over the next couple of years while Starlink becomes financially viable.

The European Space Agency and the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence are launching ESA_Lab@DFKI, a joint technology transfer lab at Kaiserslautern in Germany. Scientists from the two organisations will work together on AI systems in areas such as satellite autonomy, the interpretation of complex data gathered by space missions, and collision avoidance.

The Turkish government has unveiled an ambitious 10-year space programme as part of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's vision to develop an expanded regional and global role. The plan includes missions to the Moon as early as 2023, sending Turkish astronauts into space, and developing a spaceport.