NASA Advancing Small, Mid-Size, And Human-Size Lunar Landers
NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program Funding Small Lunar Landers, Seeking Larger Lander For Payloads Of 300-500 Kg To Fly By 2022; Jason Crusan (L), Head Of NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Division, Studying Three-Piece Human Landers With 15-Ton Components Designed To Use Commercial Launchers; Lockheed Martin Promotes Plan For Reusable Lunar Lander With Empty Mass Of 22 Tons And Fueled Mass Of 62 Tons; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (R) Hopes To Test Elements Of Human Lunar Lander By 2024 And Land People On Moon By End Of 2020s, Though China May Go Earlier
Credits: NASA, Lockheed Martin, Moon Express
South Korea Successfully Launches Locally Built Rocket Engine To Altitude Of 209 Km, First Launch Since 2013 Orbital Flight On Budget About US$670M; Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle (KSLV-2) To Carry Satellites, Lunar Orbiter And Lander With Rover In Separate Launches; Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) Carrying NASA ShadowCam Preparing For Dec 2020 Launch On Falcon 9; Ukraine, One Of 10 Nations With Full-Cycle Rocket Production Capability, Assisting With Engineering; South Korea Hosting Light Dark International Forum On Astronomy 17-21 Dec In Daejeon And Preparing For International Astronomical Union Meeting In 2021
0.2 Grams Of Lunar Sample Returned By Luna 16 In 1970 Sell At NYC Auction 29 November For US$885K; Long-Delayed Russia Luna-Glob (Luna-25) Mission Targeting Boguslavsky Crater Near Lunar South Pole; Yevgeny Mirkin, Energia Space Rocket Corporation Deputy CEO, Reveals Moon Plans: Russia Completing ISS Segment By 2022, Launching Module Into Lunar Orbit In 2025, Testing Human Lunar Landers From 2025 To 2035, And Constructing Lunar Base After 2035; Dmitry Rogozin, Head Of Roscosmos, States That A Woman Will Likely Head First Lunar Mission
China Establishes Science Teams For Chang’e-4 Lunar Mission; Four Research Groups Devoted To Data Processing, Geological Background, Lunar Surface Morphology, And Low-Frequency Radio Environment; Launch Of Chang’e-4 Planned For 8 December, To Land In Von Karman Crater At 47° South Latitude On Lunar Farside 30-31 Dec; India Chandrayaan-2 Launch Moved To 31 Jan, Planned As First Landing In South Polar Region At 70° South Latitude; Chandrayaan-2 Sensors Being Tested In Aircraft Flying Over Analog Site: “Science City” Of Challakere In Karnataka State Hosts ISRO Research Center
Two Most Populous Earth Nations Aiming For Moon; China Chang’e 4 Prepares For Launch From Xichang Satellite Launch Centre 8 December And Landing 30-31 Dec; First Ever To Land On Lunar Farside; India Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 3 Successfully Launches GSAT-29 To Orbit, GSLV Mk 3 Will Launch Next Moon Mission; Chandrayaan 2 Has Launch Window From 3 Jan To 16 Feb; 3.8 Ton Spacecraft Consists Of Orbiter, Lander And Rover; Will Be First To Land Near South Pole
Observing End Of First World War, Paris Peace Forum 11-13 November Attended By 60 Heads Of State Plus ESA Astronauts Claudie Haigneré (L) And Frank De Winne; Haigneré, Experienced With Missions To Mir And ISS, States That Lunar Return Is Question Of Who And When; ESA Moon Village Shares Global Vision, Peaceful Values And Objectives Of Peace Forum; Haigneré Concludes That Moon Is Not Temporary Adventure Or Nomadic Exploration But A True Sustainable Endeavour; ESA Director-General Jan Wörner (R) Also Promotes Moon Village At Paris Peace Forum