Category Archives: Human Moon Missions

Friday / 7 November 2025

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3 Lunar Rovers: Alike Yet Different

NASA-specified Lunar Terrain Vehicle selection NET end-of-2025 for awards from total US$4.6B available; requirements include: minimum ~1250km yearly / ~19km daily operation while hauling ~800kg, robotic construction arm with interchangeable tools, remote / autonomous / driver operation, LIDAR / camera “vision”, NASA-developed electrodynamic dust shielding, micrometeorite shielding, several years’ life through temperatures +121° to -246°C; Lunar Outpost Eagle has joystick steering for seated Astronauts, 25kph top speed, Goodyear metal-mesh tires; Astrolab FLEX has joystick for standing operators driving front- or rear-forward, Venturi wheels of heated silicone / glass / steel, horseshoe chassis, system redundancy; Intuitive Machines Moon Racer has seated-joystick operation with handrail / winch entry, Michelin tires tested to -195°C, trailer-hauling system

Image Credits: NASA – Dave Scott on Apollo 15, (CW) Lunar Outpost, Intuitive Machines, Astrolab

Tuesday / 4 November 2025

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Duffy or Isaacman? Who is Better for Urgent Moon Goals?

NASA Interim Administrator Sean Duffy announces Human Landing System contract reopened, proposes NASA become part of US Department of Transportation, discusses with NASA-contracted space industry companies desire to maintain status quo, deals with Air Traffic Controller crisis from government shutdown; entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, builder of 2 multibillion-dollar companies, financier / astronaut for 2 space flights, tweets need for private capital to fund space for pharmaceutical formulations / asteroid mining / orbital computing, sponsors “Athena plan” given to Duffy / leaked to reporters that gives equal kudos to SpaceX / Blue Origin, wants NASA to again achieve “the near-impossible” / lead the world in human space exploration / ignite the space economy / be a force multiplier for science

Image Credits: Duffy (L) – NASA / Bill Ingalls; NASA; Isaacman (R) – John Kraus

Friday / 3 October 2025

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Europe Moves Forward with International Collaboration on Moon Missions for Exploration, Monitoring, Mining

Airbus (Netherlands / France, with German / USA / China / Canada offices) supplies European Service Module for Artemis II Orion spacecraft, providing life-support, avionics, solar power, propulsion; ESA Argonaut lunar lander planned to launch NET 2031; Blue Origin (USA / Luxembourg) teams with Luxembourg government / ESRIC / GOMSpace to create Oasis-1 orbiter to map water ice / H3 / rare minierals, before sending Blue Alchemist mining rig; Space Applications Services (Belgium) designing 300kg rover; ispace Europe awaits ESA approval for MAGPIE 30kg rover to analyze subsurface geology, hydrogen forms, et al

Image Credits: Airbus, Blue Origin, NASA

Tuesday / 30 September 2025

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NASA Awards Blue Origin US$190M VIPER Delivery Contract

Blue Origin will now deliver NASA lunar rover to the Moon South Pole using Blue Moon Mark 1 lander; targeting late 2027, the 100-day mission will seek water ice and volatiles, supporting Artemis; Blue Origin $3B Space Coast facility, including the 18,600 m² Lunar Plant 1, will build the lander, employing 1,500 workers; the New Glenn heavy-lift rocket will enable lunar deliveries, while Blue Origin advances its Human Landing System for Artemis V

Image Credits: Blue Origin

Friday / 5 September 2025

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Hearing in USA Senate Re-Emphasizes Moon Goals, While India and China Expand Focus from Moon to Complete Solar System

Senate Commerce Committee with 28 members held 3 Sep hearing with 4 testifiers including Mike Gold (L), who advocates accelerating Moon landing, need for Gateway and funding, no major changes to Artemis (estimated cost through 2025 US$93B); NASA appoints Amit Kshatriya as Associate Administrator, elevating from Moon-to-Mars program; Moon is crucial stepping stone for complete Solar System exploration; India PM Modi (R): “We have reached the Moon and Mars, we must peek into Deep Space, where lie secrets to benefit humanity“; China quickly advancing long-range vision with its Chang-E lunar missions and Tianwen program to Uranus + beyond

Image Credits: NASA, Office of the Prime Minister

Friday / 22 August 2025

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Artemis 2 Lunar Flyby Set to Make History Taking 1st Woman to Moon NLT April 2026 (NET Feb 2026)

Christina Koch—1st woman to Moon vicinity—on epic fly-by alongside Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen in Orion spacecraft as soon as 6 months from now; all are training rigorously, mastering simulators, suit-ups, life-support, spash-downs; global unity shines, with Hansen from Canada and European Service Module of Orion built in Germany with components from 10 countries to provide propulsion, power, thermal control and life support via 33 thrusters, 4 solar arrays, 11 km of wiring and 8600 kg of fuel just loaded, ready to perform trans-lunar injection burn to send Orion around the Moon after ~US$4B SLS launch, with Artemis 3 mid-2027 to set boots on the Moon of 1st woman

Image Credits: NASA  

Tuesday / 19 August 2025

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Artemis II On-Track for Lunar Flyby NET April 2026

Artemis II Mission 4 astronauts practicing night launch scenario, Christina Koch and Victor Glover (pictured), Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, walking to craft, as well as emergency evacuation from pad; NASA Marshall in Huntsville “Rocket City” shipping to Florida the Orion stage adapter, 1.5 meters by 5.5 meters tall, built there, to be stacked on SLS rocket to connect to Orion craft; adapter will carry 4, and up to 17, CubeSats; 25 finalists from 10 countries are in the running for Moon Mascot plush toy zero-gravity indicator to be created by NASA, including one of Artemis herself

Image Credits:  NASA, NASA/Freelancer/collectSPACE.com, Derek Lacey/Axios

Friday / 15 August 2025

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LSIC Leverages Collaboration Among Academy / Commercial / Government Innovators for Moon Infrastructure

Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) advances foundational technology required for Artemis Moon missions and establishing long-term lunar presence; a one-day NASA meeting in 2020 is now 3,500+ collaborators from 1,200+ organizations, from all 50 states and 40+ countries; Director Jamie Porter invites participants; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) provides leadership, integration, documents / reports, as well as 12+ videos for engineers about lunar surface environments, challenges, design considerations; LSIC focus groups include ISRU, surface power, construction, and dust / temperature mitigation; Fall Meeting is 5-6 Nov at Georgia Tech in Atlanta

Image Credits:  LSIC

Friday / 1 August 2025

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Artemis II Astronauts Focused on the Importance of Mission

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen on Artemis 2 mission around Moon NET April 2026; “We absolutely have the team … [to] make Artemis 2 a success,” said Wiseman; Glover expresses full confidence in Orion spacecraft, “entry and heat shields … parachutes”; “A true American success story: heat shield technology,” Hansen added, reducing ~2,760°C reentry temp to ~24°C inside; Koch said, “We have to keep asking hard questions”; they are focused on proving to the world that NASA and USA are capable of returning humans to the Moon; China is committed to landing people on Moon in 2020s

Image Credits: NASA, Canadian Space Agency; Pictured CW from upper L: Wiseman, Commander; Glover, Pilot; Koch, Specialist; Hansen, Specialist

Tuesday / 29 July 2025

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IM Re-Sets 3rd Landing to 2026, Pushing Forward on LTV, International Collaboration

Intuitive Machines (IM) is networking / outreaching internationally, working with companies in Norway, Germany, Hungary, and inspiring Mohamed Al Aseeri, CEO of Bahrain Space Agency, who signed the Artemis Accords for his country with goals of global collaboration / staying apprised of lunar tech; IM will add NASA-chosen Infrared Spectrometer (AIRES) developed at ASU Tempe and Microwave Spectrometer (L-MAPS) developed at UH Manoa to its Lunar Terrain Vehicle competing for NASA award to be announced NLT 31 Dec; IM CTO Tim Crain expects full IM-3 success via redundant laser rangefinders, lunar crater maps, 12 pre-landing orbits

Credits: NASA, IM