Spacebit Aims to Restore Ukraine as Space Leader via International Commercial Moon Missions
CEO Pavlo Tanasyuk indicates UK company Spacebit will plant Ukraine national flag on Moon, held aloft by Ukrainian-mined titanium pole along with radiation and thermal sensors; Comments given during National Day at Expo 2020 Dubai (a 182-day event hosted on 4.4 km2 grounds in UAE) were unclear on which lander will be booked for mission, with Astrobotic to deliver 1.4-kg Asagumo walking rover on Peregrine and unspecified Spacebit payload on Intuitive Machines IM-1; Both CLPS providers striving for Q1 2022 launch
Engineers at UArizona developing robot swarm mining techniques for lunar application under NASA Minority University Research and Education Project Space Technology Artemis Research (M-STAR) fund; Human and Explainable Autonomous Robotic System (HEART) is collaboration between Moe Momayez (L) of Mining & Geological and Jekan Thanga of Aerospace & Mechanical engineering departments aimed at melding excavation, ISRU, machine learning, economical 3D printing in support of robotic and human exploration; Efforts may be precursor to Von Neumann-style self-replication
Astrobotic now employs 150+ from Pittsburgh HQ, from which Peregrine lander (100kg capacity) to be controlled as it descends onto and operates from Lacus Mortis in 2022; AON3D of Montreal to supply additive 3D printed components, funded by $11.5M investment round; CAES of Arlington providing avionics flight control processor; Griffin lander (500kg capacity) to deliver VIPER / Neutron Spectrometer System by 2024; PRISM-identified science missions 1A to Reiner Gamma, 1B to Schrödinger crater in 2024; 2A with 6° of MSP, 2B to Gruthuisen Domes in 2025 yet to be awarded to CLPS providers
Israel nonprofit prepares for Beresheet-2, an ambitious 3-craft mission; 2 landers (120kg wet) are to study Moon from Near and Far Sides, while “Mothership” will remain in orbit for nominal 2-year duration to facilitate science and student communication; US$70M of estimated total $100M cost being provided by philanthropists Patrick Drahi, Morris Kahn, Martin Moshal; SpaceIL now led by Shimon Sarid, formerly of IAF, and will again partner with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, Space Agency and Ministry of Science & Technology
Lunar Landing Sites Under Consideration At Global Space Exploration Conference 2021 In St Petersburg, Russia Include 5-km Peak Malapert Mountain (86°S, 0°); Possessing Numerous Attributes Conducive To Scientific Observation, Communication, IRSU, Habitation; Containing Areas Of Near (90%+) Continuous Illumination And Shadowed Cold-Traps Possibly Harboring Water Ice; Earth Line-Of-Sight From Peak Rarely Interrupted; Shielded Far Side Flank Appropriate For Radio Astronomy; As USA President Biden And Russia President Putin Meet Today In Geneva, And China-Russia International Research Station Is Presented, Malapert Could Be Focus Of Cooperation Between Space Powers
Payloads And Research Investigations On The Surface Of The Moon (PRISM) Selections Include 2 Far Side Deployments To Schrödinger Crater (75.0°S, 132.4°E): Farside Seismic Suite (FSS), Containing Very Broadband Seismometer And Short Period Sensor, Investigating Subsurface Structure / Tectonics Over Several Lunar Days / Nights With Internal Thermal Regulation; Lunar Interior Temperature And Materials Suite (LITMS) To Study Internal Heat Transfer; Nearside Payload Lunar Vertex Lander / Rover To Measure Lunar Swirl Reiner Gamma (7.5°N 59.0°W) Via Magnetometer; CLPS Transport Provider(s) TBD 
ispace Of Japan, Under CLPS-like Contract From JAXA, To Carry Small (80mm Diameter, 250g Mass) 2-wheeled Spherical Rover To Moon; Hakuto-R Mission 1 Is Slated To Launch To Lacus Somniorum (37.56°N / 30.8°E), Possibly In Competition With USA Enterprises Astrobotic And Intuitive Machines For Historic First Private Landing On Another World; ispace Is Also Scheduled In 2022 To Deliver 10kg Rashid Rover For UAE Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, Instruments From Mission Control Space Services, Canadensys And NGC Of Canada Through US$124M Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program; CSA-ASC / NASA Rover By 2026
