Lunar Year Ahead: 3 National and 4 Independent Moon Landings Underway in 2022
New robotic landers are to join Chang’e-4 / Yutu-2 on lunar surface: NASA CLPS providers Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic lead Artemis Program with IM working on 2 Nova-C missions, IM-1 to Vallis Schröteri in Q1, IM-2 to Shackleton connecting ridge Q4; Astrobotic Mission One with Peregrine, likely mid-2022 per ULA; Roscosmos aiming to land Luna-25 at Boguslavsky crater in July; ISRO has similar timeframe and landing location for Chandrayaan-3 (70.9°S, 22.8°E) ~150km distant from Boguslavsky; JAXA SLIM targeting Shioli crater (13.3°S, 25.2°E); ispace HAKUTO-R Mission One heading to Lacus Somniorum
Humanity is set on a return to the Moon, with two major efforts: 
Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology studying 1,731g of regolith returned by Chang’e-5 for 3He, an isotope possessing 1 neutron / 2 protons used in medical diagnostics and cryogenics, and considered a fusion material candidate since 1986 by nuclear scientist Gerald Kulcinski, working in collaboration with Moonworker 
Seeking to establish commercial access to the lunar surface, pilot phase of Lunar Transportation / Exploration Program began November 24 with MoU signing specifying 15-kg lander payload space / 5-kg rover payload space on missions beginning 2024 if ESA evaluation panel approves partnership NET 2022; Arrangement would see ispace landers launched on Ariane 6 rockets; ArianeGroup currently enjoys good working relationship with ispace EU, building propulsion elements for series 1 lander set for late 2022 launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5
As prospects of sustained operations on the Moon nears, unique orbital mechanics of Earth-Moon system draw attention of mission planners and 
A world leader in terrestrial excavation technology, 
The first mission to explore surface of the lunar far side, already traversing ~840m, soon reaching 3rd full year since landing 3 Jan 2019, has sighted a novel structure on 36th lunar day and is now in transit to it, ~80m distant from present location NW of Chang’e-4 lander, as 
NASA Deputy Administrator Melroy declares “We are so ready for Artemis” during MSFC facility tour with Administrator Nelson, days prior to first meeting of revamped National Space Council led by VP Harris 1 Dec with focus on climate change mitigation, space conduct standards, STEM education; Space Priorities Framework specifies “landing the first woman and person of color on the Moon, advancing a robust cislunar ecosystem” as official goals of Biden administration; Northrop Grumman to build composite solid rocket boosters for Artemis 4-9 under US$3.19B / 10-year contract
Seeking to overcome range constraints of single-landing craft and speed limitations of ground rovers, international science engineering teams utilizing computer modelling promote alternative rocket ‘hopper’ concept first used on Lunar surface during Surveyor 6 (1967) and Pogo-stick style locomotion; NASA CLPS lunar lander provider Intuitive Machines is to carry Micro-Nova, capable of traversing 2.4km with 900 gram payload capacity, on IM-2 mission near Shackleton Rim; Micro-Nova may allow investigation of otherwise inaccessible PSRs, thought to contain water ice
9th National Space Council meeting since 2017 reinstitution to be presided over by (clockwise from top) VP Harris with support of Executive Secretary Chirag Parikh; Harris likely to highlight Earth observation benefits, commercial opportunities, and Artemis / USA Moon return; First Woman on the Moon championed as “incredible” by former NASA Administrator Bridenstine and First Person of Color on the Moon goal announced by Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk are foundational, multipartisan initiatives; Bhavya Lal, Associate Administrator for the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy may be nominated to UAG