Category Archives: Lunar Communications

Holiday / New Year Edition
Wednesday – Monday
24 Dec 2025 – 5 Jan 2026

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Upcoming Artemis 2 Mission Reflects Apollo 8 Mission

Artemis 2 expects to take humans farther than any has yet traveled, >390,000 km, with 1st woman and 1st from outside USA, launching NET 5 Feb; Apollo 8 is recognized for being 1st to bring humans beyond Earth orbit, traveling 377,349 km away; Artemis 2 Astronauts will be absent communication with Earth ~45 minutes during Moon far side flight, learning from Apollo 8 Astronauts who experienced this 10 times in 20 orbits; ~1/4 of Earth humans saw television broadcast before Trans Earth Injection 25 December 1968, presaging Artemis 2 laser-based Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System “O2O” with 4K ultra-HD video livestream

Image Credits: NASA, Artemis 2 mission patch (L), Apollo 8 silver token (R)

Friday / 19 December 2025

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Astrobotic Clavius-S to Assist Lunar Surface and Cislunar Safety

Astrobotic of Pittsburgh PA, USA receives NASA funds for Small Business Innovation Research in development of night-surviving Clavius-S Moon-surface sensor to monitor objects in Low Lunar Orbit (LLO); Astrobotic to provide data as a service to government / companies; surface sensors to be integrated with multiple landers and Clavius orbiting sensors; surface unwanted light / reflection / glare is reduced / eliminated for enhanced tracking of LLO craft, including non-transmitting ones; 1 of 225 employees, Astrobotic Chief Research Scientist Andrew Horchler describes Clavius-S insights protecting critical Moon missions such as Artemis; NASA also awards ~US$600K of potential $4M for Astrobotic development by September 2027 of LiDAR-based dark-side navigation for safe / precise landings

Image Credits: Astrobotic Technology Inc., NASA

Tuesday / 16 December 2025

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Intuitive Machines Forges Ahead with US$4.82B Lunar Relay Network

Intuitive Machines (“IM”, Nasdaq “LUNR”), Houston TX, collaborates with Telespazio / Leonardo / Thales Alenia of ESA lunar communication / navigation program for interoperable infrastructures, secures NASA Near Space Network contract of up to US$4.82B for 5-satellite solar-powered constellation in lunar orbit, providing constant Moon South Pole connectivity via high-speed data relay; $150M initially, IM sells usage minutes to NASA, $1M / year projected; 1st satellite via IM-3 2026, all 5 by 2027 with 2 via IM-4; IM acquires KinetX for $30M to forward mission; Alphabet spinoff Aalyria also working on lunar connectivity

Image Credits: Intuitive Machines, Leonardo / Telespazio

Tuesday / 16 September 2025

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Space Calendar Offers to Land Your Message on the Moon

15 September announcement from Space Age Publishing Company communicates it will carry customer names and 100-character messages to Moon surface via Astrolab FLIP mission, landing near south pole in Nobile region NET late 2025, and via International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) ILO-1 mission in 2027; US$50 is the nominal fee for a limited time, see SpaceCalendar.com/MoonMessage; ILO-1 mission is to initiate 2-way lunar communications, adding real-time images from its lunar surface telescope to the weekly Space Calendar, published since 1976 and landed on Moon via a CLPS lander on 22 Feb 2024; Canadensys to build ILO-1 instrument

Image Credits: Space Age Publishing Company, International Lunar Observatory Association

Tuesday / 8 July 2025

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Space Age Publishing Company Announces Opportunity for Your Message to Reach Earth from Moon NET 2026

Space Age Publishing Company to offer broadcasting from the Moon for global outreach to ~8 Billion humans via ILOA ILO-1 Mission; build your brand, promote your name, logo, product, service, event; receive Mission Certificate, Mission Updates and free ad in ongoing Space Calendar terrestrial edition; Charter Advertisers / Broadcasting Pioneers are de facto supporters of expanding human activity beyond Earth with Aloha; opportunities to participate range US$50-$50,000; WE ARE GOING BACK TO THE MOON – BE PART OF IT

Credits: Space Age Publishing Company, International Lunar Observatory Association

4-7 July 2025
USA Holiday Weekend Edition

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International Lunar Observatory Association ILO-1 Flagship Mission to Fly on Astrolab FLEX Rover to Moon South Pole NET 2026

ILOA Hawai’i will have instruments for Milky Way Center observation and commercial 2-way communications mounted on light bar of Astrolab FLEX rover, targeted to launch on Starship NET Dec 2026 and land at 1 of 9 possible Artemis landing sites near Moon South Pole; aim is for at least 1 year of operations for ILO-1 payload to fulfill long-term astronomy, science and exploration goals, as well as provide commercial lunar broadcasting for Space Age Publishing Company / Space Calendar, and others

Credits: Astrolab, SpaceX, Smithsonian

Friday / 23 May 2025

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Astrobotic Announces Power Technology Breakthrough for Surviving Lunar Night

 Wireless charging is now commercially available for space applications, furthering Astrobotic goal “to make space accessible to the world”; 125W of power to rovers or astronaut-held tools will transfer from lander or Vertical Solar Array Technology platform, whether covered in 4cm of regolith dust, at -180°C, vibrating, or in an electromagnetic field with virtually no atmosphere; Astrobotic led WiBotic, Bosch, University of Washington and NASA Glenn in development, for ~54 months, under US$5.7M NASA Tipping Point contract; 400W system is in the works

Credits: Astrobotic

Tuesday / 29 April 2025

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Firefly Aerospace Shares Knowledge Gained from Blue Ghost Moon Lander

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost US$101M Mission 1 operated 2-16 Mar on Moon at Mare Crisium with 10 CLPS payloads; 7 automated engine burns navigated constantly changing center of gravity for landing; completed 100% of mission objectives, operated 14.4 days, 5 hours into lunar night; lunar noon at 121°C hotter than expected due to reflection off nearby crater wall, changing X-band antenna angle allowed shade to re-establish radio operation; radiators and more batteries could allow future landers to operate components through lunar night

Credits: Firefly Aerospace

Friday / 28 March 2025

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Lunar Commercial Communications Now and in the Future

Astrobotic Griffin-1 Moon lander, NET late 2025, will carry a Stamper Technology NanoFiche device with movie Miracle on 34th Street, Long Now world language translator and portions of Lunar Codex, et al.; aiming for a multimillion-year archive of human achievement, the device is made to survive thermal, mechanical and radiation extremes; Intuitive Machines (IM) and Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) are using NASA awards from a US$4.82B fund to build lunar communications commercial services, IM working with York Space Systems to build relay satellites, and KSAT with CPI Vertex Antennentechnik to build 20-meter Earth antennas expected to be operational late this year

Credits: Astrobotic, Stamper Technology, IM, KSAT, NASA

Friday / 7 March 2025

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Lunar Outpost Mobile Autonomous Prospecting Platform (MAPP) Now on Moon

Competing for NASA award to provide Artemis III rover, Lunar Outpost sent its MAPP to Moon and is currently awaiting orientation data from Intuitive Machines Athena IM-2 Lander to confirm whether the 45x38x40cm, 15kg MAPP becomes the 1st American rover to operate on the Moon; other firsts expected are lunar economy / commercialization via image of collected regolith sold to NASA for nominal amount US$1 and cellular network via Nokia (Finland) payload; other payloads from MIT (camera, tiny robots), Castrol (robot lubricant), and sports-oriented consortium (Italy and Germany); Lunar Outpost has offices in Colorado, Luxembourg, Australia

Credits: Lunar Outpost, NASA