2022 Moon Fleet Preparations Continue in USA and Around the World
NASA SLS Mega Moon Rocket set to resume WDR at KSC Launch Pad 39B as Axiom-1 private mission heads to ISS on Crew Dragon Endeavour; 12U cubesat CAPSTONE to test near-rectilinear halo lunar orbit with Rocket Lab launch window opening 3 May at Mahia, NZ; Intuitive Machines 1st lander aims for NET June launch; Roscosmos Luna-25 lander on track for 23 July launch from Vostochny after Doppler radar-based landing system test success; ISRO Chandrayaan-3 lander and Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter NET Aug; Intuitive Machines still set to deliver TRIDENT drill / MSolo spectrometer NLT December
Astrobotic working to complete Peregrine lander at 4,645-m2 Pittsburgh HQ, flight model to be unveiled at 
NASA Artemis 1 undergoing 45-hour WDR at KSC 39B ahead of June Moon launch, LOX/LH2 core propellent tank fill-up set for 3 April (06:40 EDT); CAPSTONE launch window 3-15 May, Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter launching NET Aug; Intuitive Machines partnering with Jeff Koons: Moon Phases NFT project to land sculpture within Oceanus Procellarum via Nova-C NET June; Roscosmos Luna-25 still officially set for July; ISRO Chandrayaan-3 on track for Q3 launch; Astrobotic Peregrine to be unveiled at Keystone Space Conference 20-21 April, launching NET Nov; ispace and JAXA SLIM launching Q4
On track for Q3 landing near Moon South Pole (70.9°S), Chandrayaan-3 may be the first India space mission to take advantage of ESA-operated 35-m (Australia, Argentina, Spain) and 15-m (French Guiana) Estrack antennae as well as 32-m commercial Goonhilly in England, all coordinated by 24/7/365 European Space Operations Centre (Germany); Aditya-L1 solar observatory and Gaganyaan human spaceflight will also utilize Estrack ground stations, as has CNSA during Chang’e mission sequence; In-kind use of ISRO ground stations will be available for future ESA deep space activities 
Recipients of first 3 CLPS Task Orders, scheduled to land on Moon within 2022, Astrobotic of Pittsburgh (TO-1 / Lacus Mortis / US$79.5M) and Intuitive Machines of Houston (TO-2 / Vallis Schröteri / $77M, TO-3 / MSP / $47M) leading effort to return USA robotic landers to Moon surface; Astrobotic awaiting flight readiness of ULA Vulcan Centaur, itself waiting on pair of Blue Origin BE-4 engines 
First space debris to strike Moon, likely upper stage of LM-3C used to deliver Chang’e-5 T1 to lunar free return trajectory, will “use its cameras to attempt to identify the impact site”; LRO 20x165km eccentric polar selenocentric orbit is calibrated to reach perilune over the Moon South Pole (now pinpointed to “halfway between 10 and 11 o’clock” of an imaginary clock superimposed over Shackleton Crater), requiring “weeks to months” to achieve favorable conditions; Impact may be visible in Release 50C (15 June) or 51A (15 July) 
SLS stacked with Orion Crew Capsule on KSC Launch Pad 39B awaiting Wet Dress Rehearsal, with NET May launch to orbit Moon; Rocket Lab Capstone rectilinear halo orbit pathfinder to launch between 3-15 May; Dubai Week reports Roscosmos and ISRO on track for August launch to Boguslavsky crater (Luna-25) and summer launch to a plain between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters (Chandrayaan-3); ispace HAKUTO-R (NET Oct), Astrobotic Peregrine (NET Nov) landers to be powered by Agile Space Industries thrusters
Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) VP Arnulf Kjeldsen tells 
Speaking to TOI, ISRO Chair S Somanath reiterates commitment to reaching lunar surface NLT year end, claiming place in history as 4th nation with a Moon landing mission after USSR, USA, China; “Final call” on launch date will depend on orbital parameters following craft testing, including drop test / landing simulation to be carried out at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota similar to testing of Chandrayaan-2 in Mahendragiri with 100-m crane / bungee cord used to simulate 1/6 Moon gravity, testing maneuvering; Somanath has also made clear that Chandrayaan-3 will include a stripped-down orbiter in addition to lander and rover, despite early reports that ISRO would forgo orbiter