Prototype Lunar Lander Completes Another Successful Test Flight At NASA Marshall SFC; Vehicle Navigated Autonomously Flying On Pre-Programmed Flight Profile For 35-Second Run; Flew To 30-m Altitude, Identified New Landing Target 30m Away, Took Pictures, Processed Images & Landed Safely; This Begins New Series Of Flights Testing Lander’s Autonomous Rendezvous & Capture Abilities
Image Credit: NASA, Angry Birds
Space Elevator On Moon To Transport Humans / Robots To & From Surface Could Be Built Today Says Michael Laine Of Liftport Group; Company Seeking To Raise US$8K Via Kickstarter To Create 2km High Terrestrial Prototype Elevator To Test System, Just 4 Days Into Campaign Group Already Raised Over US$17K; Laine Claims Group Made Fundamental Civilization-Changing Breakthrough 6 Months Ago
Image Credit: Mark Garlick, Liftport Group
Miniaturized Spacecraft Have Been Successful In LEO Missions Costing +- US$300,000, Lunar Missions Could Be Accomplished For +-US$3M With Upgrades In Power, Protection From Extreme Radiation / Thermal Environment; UC Berkeley / UCSC Prposing CubeSat Probes For Impact Mission Into Lunar Swirls; GLXP Missions Will Provide Ample Opportunity For LunarCube Missions For Student / Faculty Teams
Image Credit: KARI, GLXP, Vermont Tech
Flightglobal Releases Analysis Of Nations Most Likely To Win ‘Race’ To Return Humans To Moon; USA In 1st Place With Progress On Orion / SLS (L), Yet Lacking Lander / Service Module (6-4 Odds); China & Russia Tied For 2nd With Strong Political Will, Space Exploration Capabilities, Yet Lacking Heavy Lift Launcher (5-2 Odds); Isle Of Man Unlikely 4th With Excalibur Almaz, Odyssey Moon (20-1 Odds); India A Distant 5th With 100-1 Odds
Image Credit: flags.com, NASA
‘Mighty Eagle’ Lander Completes 2 Successful Untethered Tests At NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; 3-Legged Lander Hovered At Altitude Of 10m, Identified Its Landing Site 6.5m Away, Moved Sideways & Descended Safely; Flight Lasted 32 Seconds; Fuelled Mainly By Pure Hydrogen Peroxide, 315kg Lander Is Test-Bed Vehicle That Could Land On Moon Or Asteroids; Additional Tests Expected In Sep
Image Credit: NASA
Armadillo Aerospace / NASA JSC Confirm Development Of New Morpheus Test Vehicle, To Be Ready For 1st Tethered Tests By Early 2013; Engineers Continue To Gather Data, Learn From Recent Crash; Utilizing “Lean” Development Approach To Quickly Build, Test & Redesign Hardware To Achieve Many Cycles Before Building Flight Unit; Project Has Cost About US$7M Over Last 2.5 Years
Image Credit: NASA
Galactic Suite / Barcelona Moon Team President Xavier Claramunt Signs Agreement With CGWIC President Yin Liming To Launch Its Lunar Lander / Rover On China Long March 2C Rocket With Upper Stage CTS2 In June 2014; Mission Can Carry 25kg Of Additional Customer Payload Weight; With Launch Contract Team Is Now Among Favorites To Win GLXP, Ranked 3rd In Evadot Scorecard
Image Credit: Barcelona Moon Team, CGWIC
Chang’e-3 Moon Rover Will Utilize Nuclear Battery Which Could Last Up To 30 Years, Survive Cold Lunar Nights; Radar Payload Will Scan About 100 Meters Below Lunar Surface; Vehicle Will Hover 4m Above Moon Before Dropping To Surface; China Conducting Tests Of Next-Generation Engine For Long March 5 Rocket Critical For 3rd Stage Of Lunar Exploration Program, Including Chang’e-5 Sample Return
Image Credit: CNSA
Scientific Objectives / Payload Design For ESA Lunar Lander Mission (~2018) In Paper By James Carpenter, et al, Accepted For Publication In Planetary & Space Sciences; Mission To Emphasize Human Exploration Preparatory Science; Payloads To Study Effects Of Plasma / Dust / Radiation Environment On Systems & Humans, Distribution / Application Of In Situ Resources For Future Exploration; Moon South Pole Likely Landing Site
Image Credit: ESA
China Chief Lunar Scientist Ziyuan Ouyang Provides Update On Chang’e Program; Chang’e-2 Has Left L2 After 235 Days Of Solar Observation, Now Heading For Rendezvous With Asteroid 4179, Will Arrive To Monitor / Explore Asteroid Around 1 March 2013; Chang’e-3 Lunar Rover Will Feature Atomic Fuel Cells, Radar To Explore 100m Below Surface; Chang’e-5 Sample Return Mission To Be Launched By Long March 5 Rocket Currently Under Development
Image Credit: CLEP, CNSA, CCTV