Category Archives: Cislunar Space Development

Tuesday / 6 October 2015

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Moonspike Endeavor Reflects Growing International, Global Urgency To ‘Touch The Moon’

MoonspikeNewSpace Enterprise To Send Full Scale Rocket To Moon & Embed 1 Gram Payload ‘Moonspike’ Into Lunar Surface Developed Entirely With Private Funding; Founded By Kristian von Bengtson (L) Of Denmark & Chris Larmour (R), Primary Goal Is To Build Full Scale Rockets Capable Of Performing Moon Missions; Mission Will Consist Of 4 Stages: Launch, Orbit & Transit, Course Corrections As Needed, Landing At High Speed To Embed Moonspike; Other Moon Initiatives From India, Japan & China With Current On-Going & Near-Term Projections Corroborate International Desire To Return To Moon; USA Shackleton Energy Company Considering Near-Term Precursor Mission & Moon Express GLXP Launch Possible For 2017

Credit: Moonspike, Kristian von Bengtson

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 2-5 October 2015

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Moon South & North Pole Craters Confirmed As ‘Traps’ For Water Ice Deposited By Asteroids

1032015Valery Shuvalov Of Moscow Institute Of Physics & Technology Study Shows Common Asteroids Are Up To 10% H2O & Crystal Lattice Of Minerals Keeps H2O Protected From Heat; 1/3 Of Asteroids Fall On Moon At 14/km/s, 30-40% Remain Intact After Oblique Impact, 60-70% From Vertical Impact; LRO, Chandrayaan & Cassini Missions Providing Data Of Water & Hydroxyl Buried Under Moon Soil; Russia LEND, Mounted On LRO Mapping Flux Of Neutrons To Search For Water Ice In Polar Regions In “Cold Traps”; Presence Of Water Ice Vital For Human Settlement

Credit: NASA, MIPT, LRO

Friday / 2 October 2015

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Moon Express Purchases Rocket Labs Launches For 3 Moon Missions Starting 2017

Moon Express Launch

ME MX-1 Lunar Lander Planning To Fly To LEO On Rocket Labs Electron Rocket (Under Development) From New Zealand Launch Pad Or KSC Florida In 2017; MX-1 Powered By Hydrogen Peroxide Propulsion, Would Use Phase-Looping Trajectory To Get To Moon, Land On Surface, Hop 500 Meters To Fulfill GLXP Requirements; 2 Launches Planned For 2017, 1 For 2018, With Option Of 4th & 5th Launch Thereafter; Lander Is Being Scaled Down To 200kg (Including Fuel); Rocket Labs Launch List Price Is US$4.9M; Agreement May Extend GLXP Deadline To 31 Dec 2017

Credit: ME, NASA, Goddard/NSTA Web Seminars, Rocket Labs

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 25-28 September 2015

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Total Lunar Eclipse To Inspire Astronomy From, On, Of The Moon

9262015Chang’e-3 Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope On Moon Surface At Sinus Iridum / Mare Imbrium, 44.12°N 19.51°W Will Attempt Observations During 74-Minute Total Lunar Eclipse Beginning 27 September 16:10 HST; Through MoU With NAOC, ILOA Supporting Unique Milky Way / Other Galaxy Imaging Opportunities From Moon Surface; ILOA Working To Establish Observatory At Moon South Pole, Lunar Base Build-Out; LRO Diviner Instrument Will Collect Data From Orbit, Professional & Enthusiast Groups To Observe / Study Eclipse

Credit: NASA, CNSA, NAOC-CAS, CCTV, Higherlearning.com

Tuesday / 15 September 2015

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India Considers RTG For Upcoming Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission

9152015ISRO Work Pace Increases With Goal Of ~2017-18 Launch Of Chandrayaan-2, India Inaugural Soft Landing On Lunar Surface; Second Lunar Mission May Get Boost With Non-Fission Nuclear Energy Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG); Chandrayaan Project Director, Mylswamy Annadurai Affirms ISRO Success With Chandrayaan-1 Confirming Water Traces On Moon & Second Mission To Include Configuration Changes To Orbiter To Accommodate Lander

Credit:  ISRO

Friday / 11 September 2015

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SLS Moon / Deep Space Rocket Developers Hoping For Upper Stage Funding

NASA SLS 2021

Exploration Mission-2, First U.S. Gov Declared Human Moon Mission Since Apollo 17 In 1972, Planned For 2021 Dependent On Proposed Budget Request Of Additional ~US$500M With $50-100M Devoted To Enhanced Upper Stage For Fiscal Year 2016 (Begins 1 Oct); Bill Hill Of NASA Exploration Systems Development Says With Current $1.356B Budget EM-2 Would Be Pushed Back; Boeing Company To Develop Core / Upper Stages; EM-1 Set For Nov 2018 To Use 1 RL10 Engine Modeled On ULA Delta 4; EM-2 To Use 4 RL10 Engines

Credit: NASA, Spaceflightnow

Thursday / 10 September 2015

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India GSLV Mk2 Success Boosts Chandrayaan-2 Timeline

9102015Chandrayaan-2 Lander / Rover Moon Mission Set To Launch 2017-18; India Space Research Organization (ISRO) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Demonstrates Reliability & Versatile Orbit Capacity To Enable Chandrayaan-2 Launch Into Lunar Orbit Insertion Via Earth Parking Orbit (EPO) Of 170 x 18,500 Km; Scientific Objective To Understand Origin / Evolution Of Moon & Perform In-Situ Analysis Of Lunar Samples

Credit: ISRO, NASA

Wednesday / 9 September 2015

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Galaxy Forum China 2015 “Astronomy From The Moon” At NAOC

9092015ILOA Event On 9 Sep Features (L-R) NAOC Prof. Jianyan Wei And Dr. Jing Wang Discussing LUT Findings & Performance, Univ. Of Hawaii Dr. R. Pierre Martin On Galaxy Exploration From The Moon, ILOA Founding Director Steve Durst On 21st Century Education, Exploration & Enterprise; Moon-Based Observatory Missions To Complement Earth / Space-Based Astronomy; ILOA Collaborating With National Astronomical Observatories – Chinese Academy Of Science (NAOC) Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT) On Chang’e-3 As Only Mission Operating On Lunar Surface

Credit: ILOA, NAOC

Friday / 4 September 2015

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Astronomy From The Moon:
Further Establishing The New Frontier

MSPA ILOA 2015 SepILOA Collaborating With National Astronomical Observatories – Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT) Aboard Chang’e-3 Moon Lander At 44°N 20°W – Only Spacecraft Operating On Lunar Surface, 1st To Land On Moon In Almost 40 Years; ILOA Pursuing Moon-Based Observatory Missions, Seeks To Advance 21st Century Galaxy Imaging With ILO-1 2-Meter Radio Antenna To Malapert Mt. 86°S 2.7°E Near Moon South Pole, With ILO-X Precursor Mission Aboard GLXP Lander, With Human Service Mission To ILO-1 / Robotic Village New World Frontier

Credit: Copyright ILOA, Michael Carroll, NAOC/CAS, CNSA

Friday / 28 August 2015

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GSLV Mk 2 Success Leading India Toward Vital Launch Independence & Advanced Moon, Space, Human Missions ISRO GSLV

India GSLV Rocket With Indigenous Cryogenic 3rd Stage Will Be Declared Fully Operational After Recent Launch Of GSAT-6 Communication To Successful Orbit According To K Sivan, Director Of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre; GSLV Mk 2, Capable Of Carrying 2,500kg To GTO, Scheduled To Launch Chandrayaan-2 In 2017 & Subsequent Moon Missions; GSLV Mk 3, Capable Of Launching 4,000kg To GTO, First Flight Expected Dec 2016 With First Human Mission In 2021

Credit: ISRO, NASA, GSFC