Category Archives: Lunar Landers

Friday / 5 Oct 2018

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IAC 2018 Generating ‘Moon Rush’ Of Mission Agreements, MoUs, Collaborations

International Astronautical Congress 69th General Assembly Providing Major Opportunities For Lunar Advances: Moon Express & Canadian Space Agency MoU Establishes Potential Collaboration On Moon Landers, Orbiters, Payloads; Blue Origin Signs Letter Of Letter With Germany Companies OHB & MT Aerospace; Astrobotic Announces Deal With Space Agencies Of Ecuador (EXA) & Colombia (AEC) For Lunar Exploration Campaign Using Multiple Peregrine Missions; Tech Development Competition 2024 “Moon Race” To Be Detailed Soon; NASA Declares Intent To Contribute Laser Retroreflector Array To Israel 2019 Moon Lander

Credits: Moon Express, Blue Origin, Astrobotic, EXA, AEC, NASA, SpaceIL, Moon Race / Airbus, et al,

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 31 Aug – 3 Sep 2018

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Roscosmos, ESA Collaborate On Luna 27 Payload For Moon South Pole Resource Investigation

ESA Developing In-Situ Drill / Sample-Analysis Payload ‘PROSPECT’ To Reach Moon South Pole-Aitken Basin 2022-23 Aboard Roscosmos Luna 27 Lander; Design Phase Scheduled Early 2019; ProSEED Drill To Probe Lunar Ice Where Subsurface Temperatures Could Reach -200° C; ProSPA Onboard Laboratory To Heat Ice Sample To 1,000° C For Volatile Extraction; ESA May Participate On Luna 25 Lander Aiming For Boguslavsky Crater Near South Pole NET 2019-20

Credits: Roscosmos, ESA, NASA, L. David

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 17-20 Aug 2018

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IAU 30th General Assembly Spotlights Lunar,
Space Observatory Research

IAU To Host 30th General Assembly In Vienna 20-31 August With Special Focus On Lunar Contributions; Noah Brosch, Who Works On Lunar Ultraviolet Cosmic Imager, To Present UV Astronomy After Hubble, Possibly From Moon; Poster Presentations Include Steve Durst On ILOA Astronomy From The Moon, Xuelei Chen On Low Frequency Imaging From Lunar Orbit Interferometer, Yan Su On China CE-4 Lunar Lander Radio Spectrometer, Weimin Zheng On VLBI Applications In Tracking Lunar Probes, Among Others  

Credits: IAU, ESO, NASA, Planetary Society, CNSA, NAOC-CAS, CAST

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 Aug 2018

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Commercial Lunar, Space Enterprises Could See US$44M Through NASA Tech Partnerships

Third “Tipping Point” Solicitation By NASA – Focusing On Expanding Utilization Of Space, Enabling Efficient & Safe Space Transportation, And Increasing Planetary Surface Access – To Award $44M To 6 Companies: Blue Origin, SSL, ULA, Frontier Aerospace, Paragon SDC, Astrobotic; 10 Selected Technology Proposals Include Blue Origin Lunar Lander Cryogenic Liquid-Propulsion Systems Advancement And Precision Systems For Landing Anywhere On The Moon, Frontier Aerospace Deep Space Engine Flight Qualification As Part Of Astrobotic 2020 Peregrine Lunar Lander Mission, SSL In-Space Satellite Servicing

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin

Wednesday / 8 Aug 2018

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ISRO Reschedules Chandrayaan-2 Launch To 2019

Indian Space Research Organization Is Postponing Launch Of Chandrayaan-2 Moon Orbiter, Lander & Rover From October-November To Likely January — To Change Lander Design To Eliminate Risks From Vibrations During Rethrottling; U R Rao Satellite Centre Director Dr M Annadurai (M) Says The Mission Will Now Use GSLV MK-3 Rocket Instead Of MK-2 Due To Increased Rover Weight: Spacecraft Weighing ~3,290 Kg Total Will Take Max 2 Months To Reach Lunar Orbit; Annadurai Hopes To Manage End Of This Year To Roll Out Rs 800 Crore (US$117M) Chandrayaan-2 From Bengaluru To Sriharikota For Launch

Pictured: U R Rao, M Annadurai, ISRO Director K Sivan; Credits: ISRO, SAC

Friday / 3 Aug 2018

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Surviving The Long Lunar Night Studies Ongoing Including Upcoming SSERVI Workshop

Sustainable Return To Moon Efforts Underway Globally To Address Surviving 14-Day Lunar Night At Temperatures As Low As -180°C: NASA R&D For Fission Surface Power, Energy Storage Ongoing At Glenn Research Center, China Lunar Night Survival Capabilities Proven With Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator & Solar Panels On Chang’e-3 Lander In Lunar Day 58, ESA Exploring Lunar Regolith Thermal Mass Techniques For Engine Power, Japan Space Colony Research Center Investigating Thermoelectric Generation Techniques; NASA, SSERVI, USRA Planning 13 Nov Meeting On ‘Surviving & Operating Through The Lunar Night’ In Conjunction With LEAG Annual Meeting

Credits: NASA, JPL, ESA, CNSA, NAOC / CAS, SSERVI, USRA, GRC

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 27-30 July 2018

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Chang’e-4 Far Side Moon Lander On Track For Dec Launch; Beijing Big Moon Expo Continues

China Long March 3B Set To Launch Chang’e-4 Lander & Rover Dec 2018 To Lunar Far Side South Pole Aitken Basin; Lander To Carry High-Res Cameras, Low Frequency Spectrometer, “Lunar Lander Neutrons & Dosimetry”; Rover Equipped With Panoramic Camera, Lunar Penetrating Radar, Visible / Infrared Spectrometer, “Advanced Small Analyser For Neutrals”; Queqiao Relay Satellite At L2 Orbit; Longjiang-2 Operates In Elliptical Lunar Orbit Transmitting Images From Moon; Lunar Exploration Technology Exhibition Featuring 10-meter Moon Continues To 9 Oct At Beijing National Aquatic Center “Water Cube”

Credits: CNSA, CASC, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing National Aquatic Center, NASA

Friday / 20 July 2018

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Apollo 11 49th Landing Observation And Buzz Aldrin’s Vision Of Moon / Mars Future

Space Exploration Day / First Footsteps Taken On Another World By Neil Armstrong And Buzz Aldrin Commemorated Today For Historic Impact & Perpetual Motivation To Surpass And Explore Beyond; Moonworker Buzz Aldrin Developing Human SpaceFlight Institute In Houston, Publishing To The Moon & Back Co-Authored By Marianne Dyson 16 Oct, And Advocating For ‘The Next Eagle Landing’ To Involve International Cooperation, Including China, To Develop A Path To Mars As Next Stepping Stone Into Solar System

Credits: NASA, GSFC

Wednesday / 11 July 2018

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SpaceIL Announces December Launch Of Israel Spacecraft To Land On Moon In February 2019

Israel Nonprofit SpaceIL & Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI Ltd.) Announce Launch Of Jointly-Developed Lunar Lander On SpaceX Falcon 9 In Dec 2018, For Landing On 13 Feb 2019 — To Be The 1st Israel Mission To Land On Moon, After Government Missions By USSR, USA, China, & Possibly India; SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby (M) Says The 2-m Diameter Spacecraft Will Weigh 180 Kg At Time Of Landing And Will Plant Israel Flag On Moon; Total Project Cost ~US$95M Since Its Beganning In 2011, Of Which SpaceIL President Morris Kahn (L) Donated $27M; IAI CEO Yossi Weiss (R) Stresses Benefit Of Civilian Space Activity For The World

Credits: SpaceIL, IAI

Friday / 6 July 2018

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Blue Origin Working ‘Step By Step’ Toward Human Moon / Solar System Expansion

Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin CEO, Vision Of ‘Trillions Of People Living & Working In Space’ Reinforced By Comments From Business Director A.C. Charania At SFF NewSpace 2018 Conference Outlining Company’s Blue Moon Lander Plans To Support People On Moon Surface NLT 2023; Committed To Long-Term Commercial Partnership With NASA And International Collaboration, Blue Origin Currently Developing Descent Stage To Land ‘Multi-Metric Tons’ Of Cargo On Moon Surface (Preferably Poles) To Enable Sustainable Settlement, And Scientific & ISRU Investigations

Credits: A.C. Charania (B) and Jeff Bezos (T) via Twitter, Blue Origin