Author Archives: LED Editor

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 11-14 March 2022

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Lunar Fleet Buildup Advances as 7 Landers and 3 Orbital Missions Prepare for Launch

Wet Dress Rehearsal (propellant loading, countdown sequencing) of flagship ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ SLS expected 17 March at KSC Launch Pad 39B pending NASA test readiness review / subsequent press conference March 14 and inaugural launch to Moon orbit NET May; Rocket Lab Capstone orbiter launch window now set for 3-15 May; Intuitive Machines IM-1 launching NET June; Roscosmos Luna-25 NET 23 July; ISRO Chandrayaan-3 NET Aug; Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter NET 1 Aug; ispace HAKUTO-R NET Oct, Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One NET Nov; IM-2 NET Dec, JAXA SLIM launching late 2022

Credits: NASA, Rocket Lab, IM, Roscosmos, ISRO, KARI, ispace, Astrobotic; JAXA

Friday / 11 March 2022

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China Forging Ahead with Chang’e Lunar Exploration while Human Moon Landings with LM-5DY on Horizon

Chief Designer Wu Weiren (TL) proceeding with phase 4 of China Lunar Exploration Program including Chang’e-6 MSP 1-2kg sample return; Chang’e-7 polar exploration mission may involve relay satellite, orbiter, lander, rover, hopper and possible coordination with RSC Luna-Resource-1 orbiter (Luna-27); Chang’e-8 establishment of robotic lunar station with ISRU; LM-5DY development will make Human landings possible prior to 2030 possible per CALT Designer Jiang Jie (BL) speaking at National People’s Congress in Beijing; Jielong-3 / Smart Dragon-3 commercial-focused solid rocket to launch from Shandong China Eastern Seaport NET September

Credits: Xinhua, CGTN, People’s Daily Online, CNSA, MVA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 4-7 March 2022

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USA Policymakers Consider Firm Timeline, Cost Structure for Artemis III Human Moon Return — NLT 2026 July 4?

2026 is realistic goal for First Woman on the Moon near MSP, per NASA IG Paul Martin speaking to congressional Space and Aeronautics subcommittee hearing on Artemis Initiative crewed lunar landings; Originally slated for 2028, then accelerated to 2024 goal under previous administration, ‘technical risk’ now points to NLT 4 July 2026, which would appropriately coincide with USA Quarter-millennial; SLS launches anticipated to cost US$4.1B/ea, while total development spending to reach $93B through 2025 (total Apollo spending ~$257B inflation adjusted); Artemis organizational management, xEMU / flight suits, mobile SLS launchers, Orion, Astronaut Corps among areas of testimony focus; RFI for NASA Consolidated Applications and Platform Services cost reductions due 10 March

Credits: NASA

Friday / 4 March 2022

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Errant Rocket Stage of Disputed Origin Hurtling Toward Moon to Impact Lunar Farside Friday

Astrodynamic modelling suggests 4 ton object of uncertain origin most likely is spent upper stage of LM-3C, used during Chang’e 5-T1 test mission, and will strike Moon at ~2.58 km/s; 18th Space Control Squadron, charged space tracking for USSF, confirms rocket did not reenter Earth atmosphere but tells Space News “we cannot confirm the [rocket’s] country of origin”; NASA LRO documents predicted impact site within Hertzsprung Crater for scientific comparison once impact occurs 4 March 02:25 HST; X-band signal emanating from Chang’e-5 spacecraft reveals it occupies Distant Retrograde Orbit, pre-empting USA plans to pathfind strategic trajectory

Credits: NASA, ASU

Tuesday / 1 March 2022

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Space Agencies Looking for Next Generation of Lunar Vehicles May Consider Tapping Electric Car Industry

2 USA commercial teams, 1 composed of Northrop Grumman, AVL, Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, Michelin (with Moon workers Harrison Schmitt and Charles Duke serving in advisory roles) and partnership between Lockheed Martin, General Motors compete for contract to build modern Lunar Terrain Vehicle; JAXA works with Nissan and Toyota on electric and hydrogen powered concepts; Researchers at Keck Institute for Space Studies (Caltech) promote utilization of off-the-shelf components from production electric automobiles to minimize R&D cost of bespoke vehicles

Credits: NASA, Northrop Grumman

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 25-28 Feb 2022

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Flagship Boeing SLS and SpaceX Starship Race to Achieve Deep Space Ascendency as Global Fleet Preps for 2022 Moon Missions

NASA planning Artemis I wet dress rehearsal NET March, inaugural flight of US$17B Space Launch System within 3 defined windows: 7-21 May, 6-16 June, 29 June – 12 July; Human Moon flyby Artemis II NET May 2024; Starship (SN20 / BN4) undergoing engine reconfiguration, now with 33 Raptor 2 engine specification on Super Heavy; Initial SLS variant Block 1 anticipated to make ~ 4000t thrust, BN4 ~ 7500t, Saturn V by comparison made ~ 3500t; Roscosmos, ISRO, KARI, JAXA, ispace, Intuitive Machines, Astrobotic also striving for 2022 Moon exploration

Credits: NASA, SpaceX

Friday / 25 February 2022

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Phase 2 of ‘Watts on the Moon’ Opens 3-Segment, 30-Month, US$4.5M Challenge to Enable Lunar Surface Power Transmission & Energy Storage

Running on HeroX crowdsourcing platform, NASA Centennial Challenges calls for USA team proposals for energy infrastructure concepts supporting long-term Moon operations; Open 23 Feb 2022 with competition end scheduled 11 Sep 2024, 285 teams with 3.3K innovators registered so far; Phase 1 winners (21 May 2021, totaling 500K) were Astrobotic, Astrolight, KC Space Pirates, Michigan Tech University, UC Santa Barbara, Skycorp, Team FuelPod; International missions planned near Boguslawsky, Nobile, Shackleton Rim, Malapert Mountain, Haworth Crater, Simpelius N to help determine solar illumination & resources for crew landing projected 2025 / Artemis 3

Credits: NASA, HeroX

Wednesday / 23 February 2022

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JAXA-led Consortium Contracts with Ark Edge Space to Develop Cislunar Communication / Positioning Plan

Artemis member Japan advancing lunar network concept with Tokyo-based company Ark Edge Space, recently capitalized with US$3.5M seed investment, conducting study of lunar satellite constellation linked to Earth; Managed by JAXA with industry (Kiyohara Optical, ispace, KDDI Corp, Mitsubishi) and academic (University of Tokyo) partners, effort is part of ministerial STARDUST (Strategic Programs for Accelerating Research, Development and Utilization of Space Technology) initiative; ESA Moonlight, UK / SSTL Lunar Pathfinder, NASA LunaNet, IM Lunar Telemetry and Tracking Network striving to achieve similar functionality

Pictured: Takayoshi Fukuyo (L), Shuhei Matsushita (R)
Credits: NASA, JAXA, Ark Edge Space
 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Tues / 18-22 Feb 2022

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Leading Geostrategic DC Think Tank Emphasizes Importance of Cislunar Space, Chronicles Global Exploration Efforts

Deputy Director of Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Kaitlyn Johnson compiles international missions to Moon surface and surrounding space, 2022 highlights include: USA CAPSTONE orbiter (19 March); Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic CLPS missions; Artemis 1 lunar flyby + payloads Lunar Icecube, LunaH-Map and international rideshares from Japan (EQUULEUS, OMOTENASHI), Italy (ArgoMoon); Russia Luna 25 lander (MSP, May); India Chandrayaan-3 lander (August); Japan SLIM lander; Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter with USA rideshare ShadowCam; China Chang’e-3,4,5 operating on Moon + orbital relay satellite Queqiao, Chang’e-6,7,8 following

Credits: CSIS

Friday / 18 February 2022

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Precision Technology for Landing Within Shadowed Regions of Moon Surface Sought by NASA

Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge No. 1 offers ≤US$650,000/ea for 3 proposals on lunar landing sensing systems designed to function absent light from ≥250m altitude – a common condition especially in Moon polar regions rich in volatiles such as hydrogen, oxygen, water termed Permanently Shadowed Regions, cold traps on crater floors that are seldom / never illuminated; Hardware such as optical, radar and lidar sensors coupled with machine learning software are likely approaches to challenge; Submissions accepted until 19 May 17:00 PDT

Credits: NASA, Masten, Astrobotic