Author Archives: LED Editor

Friday / 24 May 2019

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Funding Moon, Mars & Beyond: 0.1% Annual Increase Of USA National Budget Through 2024

NASA Budget Remains <1% Since 1993; Agency Is Tasked With Landing The First Woman On The Moon In 2024 & Developing Sustainable Return To Moon Architecture; Request Of ‘Additional’ US$1.6B Dubbed As ‘Down Payment’ For Artemis Program By Administrator Bridenstine; Current Allotment Of ~0.5% Federal Budget Gaining 0.1% Per Year Would Give NASA 1% By 2024 – Which Would Align Visionary Ambitions With True Commitment, Real Support

Credits: Office of Management and Budget, Chart by Andrew Witherspoon / Axios with additions by SPC, NASA

Tuesday / 21 May 2019

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PRC Space Experts Note USA Artemis News 

Zhongguo China National Space Agency Experts Respond To USA Artemis Program; Chang’e-6 And Chang’e-7 Planned To Land At South Pole; Senior Scientist Ye Peijian (R) Says “Children Will Blame Us” If We Can Go To The Moon But Fail To Act; Pang Zhihao States That Lunar Base Can Be Used For Science Including Astronomy; Wu Weiren (L) Chief Architect Of Lunar Exploration Project, States That Chinese Footprints Will Be On Moon In About 10 Years

Credits: Xinhua News, CNSA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 17-20 May 2019

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Apollo 10: Fifty Years Downrange With Aquarius Age Rising — First Women Soon To South Pole Moon

USA Artemis Program, Named For Apollo’s Twin Sister, Works To Land First Women At Moon South Pole ASAP, By 2024; Commitment To Appropriate Federal Funding Of 1% Could Double NASA Budget With Little Effect On DoD – Advancing Celestial Aspirations Of Apollo Missions In The Spirit Of ‘In Peace For All’ And Aquarius Age Consciousness Of 1960s; NASA Announces 11 Companies Chosen For Human Lander Prototypes, Plans Scaled-Back Lunar Gateway & Sustainable International Moon Base

Credits: NASA, SPC, ILOA

Friday / 17 May 2019

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Luna Firma Update From Chang’e-4, Beresheet, Future Chandrayaan-2

Zhongguo Chang’e-4 Is In Sleep Mode For Fifth Lunar Night; Yutu-2 Rover May Confirm First Signs Of Moon’s Hidden Mantle In South Pole-Aitken Basin; NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds Beresheet Crash Site, Will Search For Signs Of Laser Retroreflector; SpaceIL To Build Beresheet-2 With Private Funding And Technical Help From NASA; India Chandrayaan-2 Scheduled For Launch To South Polar Region NET 9 Jul, Will Carry Another NASA-Built Retroreflector For Measuring Earth-Moon Distance

Credits: NASA, ISRO, CNSA

Tuesday / 14 May 2019

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European Lunar Symposium Draws NASA And International Scientists 

The 7th European Lunar Symposium Opens 21-23 May At Museum Of Science And Industry In Manchester UK; On Opening Day NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green (L) Will Talk About The Importance Of The Moon; Astronomer Tim O’Brien (R) Will Describe The 76-m Lovell Radio Telescope At Jodrell Bank And Its Historic Role Tracking Lunar Missions; On 23 May Emily Law Will Talk About Lunar Laser Retroreflectors; The Symposium Is Sponsored By ESA And The NASA-Created Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, A Worldwide Collaboration

Credits: NASA, Earth Science Information Partners, BBC

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 May 2019

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NASA Working On Increased Investment In Moon And Beyond

Following Jeff Bezos Announcement Of Blue Moon Lander, USA Administration Working On Plan And Budget For Human Lunar Return; NASA Facing Planetary Defense Challenge Of Asteroid Apophis Approaching Earth In 2029; Human Mars Landing Proposed For 2030s In Addition To Lunar Missions; Doubling NASA Investment To 1% Of Federal Budget Is Unimplemented Proposal From First Bush Administration; Increasing NASA Budget Would Fund Renaissance Of Moon, Mars And Asteroid Missions

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin

Friday / 10 May 2019

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Chang’e-4 Lunar Far Side Missions Continue On Surface, NCLE Astronomy Payload At L2 Likely Collecting Data

Von Kármán Crater Inhabitants Chang’e-4 Lander And Yutu-2 Rover Operating Nominally In Lunar Day 5, Are Estimated To Enter Hibernation 11 May, Before Sunset 12 May At ‘Statio Tianhe’; Low Frequency Spectrometer And Lunar Lander Neutrons & Dosimetry Experiments Running On Lander; Official Confirmation Awaited For NCLE Low-Frequency Astronomy Payload Aboard Queqiao Satellite, Which Now Should Be Observing Cosmic ‘Dark Ages’ And Solar System According To Timeline Since Rover Exceeded Its Lifetime Of 3 Months

Credits: CNSA, CLEP, Radboud Univ., ISIS, ASTRON, NASA, et al

Thursday / 9 May 2019

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Korea Space Agency And NASA To Cooperate On Lunar Payloads And Science

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) And NASA Agree To Jointly Develop Lunar Payloads And Launch Exploration Science Working Group; Stephen Clarke Of NASA Signs Agreement In Gwacheon With Choi Won-Ho And Choi Young-Jun Of KASI; Korea Scientists Will Develop Three Types Of Payload For Nine Privately Developed NASA Lunar Landers Starting In 2020; Soyeon Yi (L) Is Only Korea National Astronaut So Far; Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Planned For Dec 2020 Launch On SpaceX Falcon 9

Credits: NASA, Ministry of Science, Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Tuesday / 7 May 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 Planned For July Launch To Moon South Pole Region 

Indian Space Research Organization Chief K Sivan States Chandrayaan-2 To Launch Between 9 July And 16 July For Landing 6 Sep; Will Be Carried By Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III; First Mission To South Polar Region Will Land Between Manzinus C And Simpelius N Craters At 70° S Latitude; Times Of India Newspaper Reports That Only Orbiter Is Ready For Flight; Vikram Lander And Pragyan Rover Are Testing At Lunar Terrain Facility In Byalalu

Credits: ISRO, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 3-6 May 2019

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Apollo 10 ‘Snoopy’ Ascent Stage May Be Future Target Of Rendezvous

50th Observation Of Apollo 10 Launch Is 18 May; UK Astronomers Assisted By Former Apollo Flight Controllers Find Lunar Module ‘Snoopy’ In Space; Ascent Stage Named For ‘Peanuts’ Beagle Remains In Orbit After Descending To 14.4 km From Surface And Returning In 1969; Surviving Mission Commander Tom Stafford Recalls Having No Idea Where Module Went; Nick Howes Of Royal Astronomical Society Thinks The Unique Historic Crewed Spacecraft Is Future Target For Rendezvous Mission

Credits: NASA, Charles Schulz Museum