Category Archives: Cislunar Space Development

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 26-29 Jan 2018

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Emerging USA Policies Could Support Human Moon Missions Early 2020s

Upcoming 2018 Presidential State Of Union Address 30 January May Give Indication Of Future Lunar / Space Exploration, National Space Council, Space Policy Directive 1, ISS; 2019 Fiscal Budget Expected Release Early February; Possibility Of Public-Private Lunar Exploration Catalyzed By US$200M Allocation; NASA Budget Could End ISS Funding By 2024, Currently About $4B Out Of Total $19.65B, To Develop International Deep Space Gateway; National Focus Would Shift To Cislunar Space, Mars And Beyond Utilizing Space Launch System And Orion Crew Vehicle

Credits: NASA, Boeing, CNN

Friday / 26 Jan 2018

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New Views Of The Moon 2 – Asia To Contribute To Synthesized International Database On Lunar Research

Multinational Lunar Experts Will Share Cutting Edge Data And Research At 2018 New Views Of The Moon 2 Being Held At University of Aizu, Japan 18-20 April; Following Successful Meetings In Europe (Germany) And USA (Houston TX) The 2008-2018 NVM2 Initiative Consists Of Topical Workshops, Special Meeting Sessions And Web-based Resource Collections, Leading To A Published Book; Featured Speakers Include (L-R) Clive Neal, Makiko Ohtake, Chip Shearer, Lisa Gaddis, Sam Lawrence, Steve Mackwell, Naru Hirata

Credits: NVM2, LPI, University of Mexico, University of Aizu, JSC / NASA

Wednesday / 24 Jan 2018

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Chandrayaan-2 To Attempt India 1st Touchdown On Another World

Chandrayaan-2 (Sanskrit “Moon Vehicle”) Indigenous US$93M Mission Consisting Of Orbiter, Lander, Rover At 3,250 kg Expected To Launch March-April On GSLV Mk 2; Orbiter To Maintain 100-km Lunar Polar Orbit; Mission Will Collect Data From Water-Ice, Lunar Topography, Mineralogy, Elements, Exosphere; Solar Powered 20-kg Rover Has 3D Vision, Laser-Induced Breakdown And Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectroscopes; Project Director Mylswamy Annadurai States 1,250-kg Lander To Take First On-Site Measurements Near South Pole Region With First Of Its Kind Radio Anatomy Instrument (RAMBHA)

Image Credits: ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 19-22 Jan 2018

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Russia Luna-27 Lander, ESA Lunar Ice Drill Progressing Toward Moon South Pole Launch 2021

Roscosmos Advancing Luna-Resurs Lander (Luna-27) With ESA Contract On Surface Drill (PROSPECT) Design, Planned 2021 Launch; Drill With 1-2 Meter Penetration Capability Through Frozen Regolith Being Tested At -140° C, Lunar Shadowed Surfaces Could Reach -240° C; ESA To Also Provide High Resolution Cameras With LIDAR & Precise and Intelligent Landing using Onboard Technologies (PILOT) System To Assist Landing; Luna-25 2019 Lander To Test Soft-Landing Technologies; Neutron Detector On Luna-26 Launching 2020 To Map Subsurface Ice; Sample Return Planned For Luna-28 In 2023; Luna-29 Lander And Rover In 2025 Could See Human Missions / Future Moon Base

Credits: NPO Lavochkin, Anatoly Zak, RussianSpaceWeb, Roscosmos, NASA, ESA, LROC, Ivanov et al., 2015

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 12-15 Jan 2018

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Rocket Lab Second Test Launch Set For NET Jan 20, Could Determine GLXP Finale

Electron Second Test Flight ‘Still Testing’ Planned During 9-Day Launch Window Starting 20 January Could Be Significant Determiner In Google Lunar XPrize 31 March Deadline Further Extension Or GLXP End; Team Indus / ISRO PSLV Contract Cancelled Making It Virtually Impossible To Secure New Contract, Raise Funds, Integrate Lander & Launch Before Deadline; This Leaves Moon Express (Rocket Lab), Synergy Moon (Interorbital Untested Launch Vehicle Neptune), SpaceIL (SpaceX – Team Noted It Needed US$7.5M By 20 Dec 2017) And Team Hakuto (Working To Stay In Competition) To Attempt To Win US$20M Grand Prize

Pictured: Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO; Credits: Rocket Lab, Moon Express, GLXP

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 5-8 Jan 2018

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New Year 2018 Likely To See Increased Lunar Activities Worldwide

Increasing Moon Efforts By USA, India, China, Europe, Japan, Russia, Canada, South Korea Reflected By Growing Number Of International Lunar Conferences: Lunar Science For Landed Missions Workshop At NASA Ames 10-12 Jan, New Views Of The Moon 2 – Asia In Japan 18-20 Apr, European Lunar Symposium In Toulouse 13-16 May, International MoonBase Summit In Hawai`i Oct, ILOA Galaxy Forum China In Hainan Nov With Themes “Astronomy From The Moon” & “International Human Moon Missions”

Credits: NASA, LPI, International MoonBase Alliance, ISRO

New Year 2018 Edition
Fri-Thur / 22 Dec 2017 – 4 Jan 2018

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2018 Could See Historic 1st Moon South Pole Landings, 1st Commercial Landings, While NASA LRO Continues FlagShip Mission

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter With 7 Instruments Providing Highest Resolution Data Ever At A Rate Of ~440 Gigabits Image Data Per Day – Is Now 8.5 Years Into Mission In Eccentric Polar Mapping Orbit (20-km Altitude South Pole, 165-km North Pole), Planned To Operate Through 2018 – Which May Be Most Favorable Year For Lunar Landings Since 1972; Chandrayaan 2 Moon South Pole Lander / Rover By India Set To Launch During Q1 2018; China Planning Chang’e-4 Far-Side Orbiter Launch May 2018, Followed By Far-Side South Pole Lander / Rover Oct 2018; Five Independent International Enterprises Look To Win Google Lunar XPrize, Aiming To Launch / Land On Moon Before 31 Mar 2018

Credits: NASA, LRO, ISRO, CNSA, SPC

Tuesday / 19 Dec 2017

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Japan Lunar Startup ispace Proceeds With Historic US$90M Investment From INCJ, Shimizu, JAL And Others

Lunar Resource Exploration Company ispace Raises 10 Billion JPY – Largest Ever Series A In Global Space Sector & Largest By Any Japanese Startup; Investors Include INCJ, DBJ, TBS, Shimizu, Suzuki, JAL & 6 Others; Planning Lunar Orbiter 2019 & Lander 2020; Lander Will Be Designed To Carry 30 kg Including 2 Rovers Each With Max 5-kg Payload; CEO Hakamada Hopes For 1000-Person Moon Base By 2040; ispace Runs GLXP Team Hakuto Aiming For 1st Japan Commercial Lunar Landing Q1 2018

Pictured: ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada; Credits: ispace, INCJ, DBJ, TBS, Shimizu, Suzuki, JAL

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 Dec 2017

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ISRO & Team Indus Preparing 2018 Q1 Launches Of India First Lunar Landers

ISRO Chandrayaan-2 Slated For March 2018 1st Deep-Space Launch Of GSLV Mk 2 Rocket; Its Lunar Orbiter To Carry 1st L-Band Radar Mapper To Orbit Moon; ~3.5-m Tall Lander To Cut Off Engine 2 Meters Above Surface For 1st Ever Landing Near Lunar South Pole; “Radio Anatomy Of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere & Atmosphere” Probe To Measure Near-Surface Plasma – Implications For Lunar Dust Levitation & Future Astronomy; Chandrayaan-2 Total Cost US$93M; Commercial Team Indus Looking To Find Another US$35M For Launch On PSLV Rocket By March GLXP Deadline

Pictured: ISRO Chief Kiran Kumar; Credits: All in One, Team Indus

Thursday / 14 Dec 2017

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Chang’e-3 Begins 5th Year On Moon Continuing LUT Astronomy While Chang’e-4 Prepares For 2018 Launches With VLF Antennas

Dec 14 Marks Full 4 Years Of Operating On Lunar Surface For Chang’e-3, Currently In 50th Lunar Night; China Plans To Launch Chang’e-4 Lander & Rover In Dec 2018 To Accomplish 1st Ever Lunar Far Side Mission, Likely In South-Pole Aitken Basin; Relay Satellite To Earth-Moon L2 To Be Launched First In June; Both Lander & Satellite To Carry 3 Orthogonal Low-Frequency Radio Spectrometer Antennas For Astronomical Measurements Below 30 MHz; Chang’e-5 Sample Return Mission Now Manifested For NET 2018

Credits: SASTIND, Wen Wei Po, CNSA