Following Public Comments Encouraging International Public And Independent / Commercial Lunar Efforts To ‘Plug Into Architecture’ Of Human Lunar Landing Program Artemis, Jim Bridenstine Has Indicated That He Will Be Speaking To Media; Meeting With Various Heads Of National Space Programs At 53rd International Paris Air Show To Discuss Partnerships To Further 2024 Moon Initiative
Credits: NASA, IPAS
Study Conducted By Irina Kitiashvili Of NASA Ames Research Center Indicates Upcoming 11 Year Solar Cycle Least Active In 2 Centuries, Solar Sunspots At 2025 Maximum Estimated 30-50% Less Frequent Than 2013 Solar Maximum, Reducing Risk Of Deleterious Solar Storm Radiation For Artemis Mission Instrumentation And Astronauts, Including First Women On The Moon
Credits: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, ESA
In Support Of First Planned Human Moon Landings 2024 & Potential Lunar Base, Projected Late 2020 Uncrewed Artemis 1 First Flight Of SLS Will Carry 6 Secondary Payloads To Study Lunar Ice, Hydrogen, Radiation, Spectroscopy, Thermography, Test Cislunar Propulsion Methods; LRO Reaching 10 Full Years / Entering 11th Year At Moon Next Week, Remains In Polar Mapping Orbit Since 2015; LRO Combined Data With 2011-12 GRAIL Mission Shows Potential Metal Deposit 5x Size Of Hawai’i Island Beneath South Pole-Aitken Basin
Credits: NASA, LRO, GRAIL, JPL, SPC, ILOA
Orbit Beyond Of Edison, New Jersey, Selected By NASA As One Of Three Companies To Land Scientific Payloads On Moon In About 2 Years; Z-01 Lander Has Earliest Planned Date Of September 2020 With Up To 4 NASA Payloads; International Partnership With Team Indus Allows Orbit Beyond Lander To Be Engineered In India; Other Partners Include Honeybee Robotics Advanced Space, Ceres Robotics And Apollo Fusion; Chief Science Officer Jon Morse, Former NASA Director Of Astrophysics, Points To Annegrit Crater Near Mare Imbrium And Apollo 15 Landing Site
Credits: Orbit Beyond, NASA
Wealthiest Individual Jeff Bezos Says ‘Civilization Needs Moon’ And Space Habitation Critical To ‘Save Earth’, Hours Before NASA Administrator Bridenstine Declares 2024 Lunar Landing ‘Off The Table’ If Additional US$1.6B Congressional Funding Fails To Materialize; Given Existential Motivation For Humanization Of Space, New Form Of Public / Private Partnership Could Realize Artemis Moon Mission If Political Will Falters
Credits: NASA, Twitter
Artemis Program For Human Lunar Landings Seeking Extra Investment Of US$1.6B; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (L) States That Campaign For Artemis Funding Only Beginning, Enlists Democrat Former Senator And Space Shuttle Traveler Bill Nelson (TR) To Join NASA Advisory Council; Nelson Emphasizes That NASA Is Not Only Bipartisan But A Nonpartisan Agency; Jerry Moran (LR), Chair Of Key Senate Subcommittee, Vows To “Make Certain NASA Has The Resources To Land The First Woman On The Moon”
Credits: NASA, US Senate
NEEMO-23 (TR) In Aquarius Underwater Lab Off Florida Coast Occurs 10-19 June With Commander Samantha Cristoforetti, Astronaut Candidate Jessica Watkins, Shirley Pomponi & Csilla D’Agostino; First Woman In Space, Valentina Tereshkova, Being Honored 16 June – Alongside Sally Ride (1st Woman From USA 18 June) And Liu Yang (1st Woman From China 16 June); Highlighting Significance Of Landing Women On Moon Surface, International Lunar Observatory Association, With Moon Village Association, Launch ‘2019 First Women On The Moon Essay Contest’ Week Of 17 June: Flying Grand Prize Winner To Galaxy Forum Hainan 2020: China 25-28 Feb At Hilton Wenchang
Credits: NASA, NOAA, ILOA, MVA, Roscosmos, CNSA, USF / Csilla Ari / National Geographic Open Explorer, Pat Rawlings
India Chandrayaan-2, Named For Moon Deity Chandra, Aims For First Landing In Lunar South Polar Region; Indian Space Research Organization Schedules Launch For 9-16 July And Landing ~6 Sep; ISRO Chairman K. Sivan States, “When Nobody Has Gone Near That Area, Some New Science Might Be There” About South Pole; Orbiter, ‘Vikram’ Lander And ‘Pragyan’ Rover Will Carry 14 Payloads Including Spectrometers, Solar X-ray Monitor, Radar, Seismometer And NASA Laser Retroreflector
Credits: ISRO
American Astronomical Society President Megan Donahue States Organization Decides Against Taking Official Position On Artemis So Far, And Voices Concerns Over Potential Budgetary Shifts, Transfer Authority & Undefined Science Program; Astronautic Return To Moon Should Include New Astronomy Opportunities From New Frontier Of Moon South Pole Such As That Of ILOA; Identifying Artemis Program 2024+ Astronomy & Science Instruments To Be Positioned, Enhanced By Humans On Stable Lunar Platform May Inspire Approval From More Communities
Credits: AAS, NASA, Bill Ingalls, International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA)
University of Hawaii At Manoa Research Finds A Way To Liberate Water From Lunar Regolith; UH Scientists Use Laser To ‘Zap’ Moon Dust, Making Water Available For Human Use; Germany Laser Zentrum Hanover And Institute Of Space Systems Develop MOONRISE Laser To Melt Regolith For 3D Printing, Will Send 3-kg System To Moon With PTScientists Lander And Rover During 2021 In Tandem With International Lunar Missions
Credits: Laser Zentrum Hanover