Category Archives: Cislunar Space Development

Wednesday / 10 June 2015

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USA Advancing ‘NextSTEP’
Lunar Mission Concepts

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Cislunar Space To Be Center Of NASA Activity In 2020s As Country / Agency Develop Technologies / Experience To Conduct Long-Duration, Deep Space Missions; Companies Such As Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Bigelow Advancing Cislunar Habitat Concepts Under NASA NextSTEP Awards; Plans Incorporating Likelihood Of Cooperation From International & Commercial Partners Which May Lead To Lunar Surface Missions / Lunar Base Buildout; Sense Of Urgency To Define / Plan These Missions Growing As SLS / Orion Era Fast Approaching

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin, Bigelow Aerospace

Friday / 5 June 2015

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Japan SLIM Moon Mission Now Planned For NET Oct 2019

JAXA SLIM

JAXA First Mission To Moon Surface – 120kg Smart Lander For Investigating Moon (SLIM) – Likely To Be Launched To Moon South Pole In Second Half Of Fiscal Year 2019 To Test Landing Capability Within A Few Hundred Meters; Will Launch On Epsilon Rocket From Tanegashima Space Center At 30.4° N, 130.97° E; Mission Will Advance Technologies Needed For Future Human Missions

Image Credit: JAXA

Thursday / 4 June 2015

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New Horizons May Shed Light On Earth-Moon System Formation

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New Horizons Mission May Facilitate Better Understanding Of  Formation Of Earth-Moon System, Says Mission PI Alan Stern, As Charon Believed To Have Been Formed Through Similar Process; His Efforts To Study Pluto, Its Satellites & Kuiper Belt With New Horizons Mission Should Garner More Attention / Support & Help In Preparations To Achieve Human Missions To Earth’s Moon Via Golden Spike Company Of Which Stern Is Co-Founder

Image Credit: NASA, Golden Spike Company

Wednesday / 3 June 2015

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Canada Space Program Announcement
Sets Stage For Lunar Exploration Involvement

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Canada Industry Minister James Moore & Commander Chris Hadfield Unveil Plans For Country To Continue To Participate In ISS Through 2024, Promote Innovation / Cutting-Edge Technology & Participate With International Partners On Major Projects; With NASA And Other Partners Shifting Exploration Focus To Cislunar Space, Canada Will Likely Have Opportunities To Showcase Expertise In Robotics & Space / Lunar Mining In Coming Decade, The 2 Current Canada Astronauts May Participate In Moon Orbit Or Surface Missions; CSA Annual Space Budget A Modest US$260M

Image Credit: CSA, NASA, canadianbusiness.com

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 May – 1 June 2015

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International Lunar Decade Initiative
Gaining Momentum

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Initiative Of NSS, ILEWG, & FOTONIKA-LV Garnering Increased Attention After Being Featured At Several Conferences Including ISDC2015; ILD 2017-2029 Seeks To Foster International Collaboration Leading To Industrial Development Of Moon & Cislunar Space Enabling Self-Sustaining Space Economy; Next Step Is To Achieve Support Of COPUOS & UN General Assembly – 58th COPUOS Session 10-19 June In Vienna; Architects Of Initiative Seeking Aggregate 10-Year Investment Of US$150B From Main Spacefaring Powers

Image Credit: NASA, FOTONIKA-LV, cislunarnext.org

Friday / 29 May 2015

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India SRM University Preparing For
2018 Moon Satellite Mission

India Moon Satellite

Sri Ramaswamy Memorial (SRM) University Of Chennai, India To Develop 10-20kg Nanosatellite To Study Moon Rocks & Chemistry Of Surface; Craft Will Contain Onboard Ignition System, Take 3 Months To Achieve Lunar Orbit From Earth Polar Orbit After Piggybacking On ISRO Rocket Launch; 1st SRM Satellite “SRMSat” Continues Operating In LEO, Team Also Participating In University Rover Challenge 28-30 May In Utah, USA

Image Credit: SRM University, SRMSat, ISRO, NASA

Wednesday / 27 May 2015

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Lunar Initiatives Newsletter LunarCube Mission Opportunities, Upcoming Events

LunarInitiatives

Deep Space CubeSat Missions – Including LunarCubes – Is One Of The Fastest-Growing Elements In Space Exploration, The Lunar Initiatives / Workshops Continue To Organize Events To Support The Growth Of This Field; Its Latest Newsletter Includes Updates Of Upcoming LunarCubes Workshop On 6-9 Oct In San Jose CA, The 2nd International Workshop On Scientific Opportunities In Cislunar Space On 8 Nov, & News From Recent LSA 5 Workshop

Image Credit: lunar-cubes.com, Flexure Engineering

Thursday / 21 May 2015

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ISDC 2015 Focusing On Breakthrough Technologies For Lunar / Space Exploration

ISDC2015

Over 1,000 Attendees Meeting At NSS International Space Development Conference In Toronto, Canada 20-24 May; Robert Richards Of Moon Express To Speak Today On ‘Breakthrough Technologies Shaping Our Future’; Friday To Feature Presentations On The International Lunar Decade By Dave Dunlop & Vid Beldavs, Plus A Keynote Presentation By Apollo 11 Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin; Lunar Workshop To Include Presentations On Lunar Surface Solar Power / Power Beaming, Supporting A Cislunar Econosphere, Mapping Lunar Lava Tubes

Image Credit: National Space Society, Canadian Space Commerce Association, Moon Express, LinkedIn

Friday / 15 May 2015

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Honeybee To Develop Lunar Heat Flow Probe & Craft For ISRU / Space Exploration Honeybee CubeSats Lunar Probe

Honeybee Robotics Of Brooklyn NY Receiving NASA Small Business Phase 1 Contracts Worth Up To US$125K Each To Design: Advanced Lunar Probe (Similar To Apollo 15 & 17 Instrument) For Measuring Moon Endogenic Heat Flow, Thermal Gradient & Conductivity; 3D-Printed Harvester CubeSat With Cold-Gas Thrusters Which Can Continue To Refuel Itself For ‘Eternal’ Moon / Asteroid / Mars / Europa Missions; ISRU Volatiles Extractor For Moon / Mars / Asteroids; Hermetically-Sealed Canisters For Sample Return Missions

Image Credit: NASA, Honeybee, ESA / The Science Office Ltd.

Friday / 8 May 2015

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Moon Express Advances Moon Mission At Kennedy Space Center

Moon Express 2015

Moon Express Testing Lunar Lander Test Vehicle MTV-1X At Shuttle Landing Facility / Company’s New Home At KSC In Florida; Bob Richards States KSC Has Communications, Safety & Hazard-Field Infrastructure, Talent / People, Room To Expand For Moon Mission Development; Company Seeks To Win Google Lunar XPrize, Build New Propulsion System, New Vehicles, Series Of Private Robots To Bring Resources Of Moon To Earth & Solve Current Earth-Moon Transportation Challenges

Image Credit: NASA/Lunar CATALYST Initiative, Ben Smegelsky, Moon Express Inc.