Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

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

Friday / 14 November 2025

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Scientist Zarubin of Russia Highlights ISS Lessons for Cooperative International Lunar Program

Webinar International Lunar Program Sustainability: ISS Lessons Learned as Applied for Lunar Exploration has Dmitry Zarubin, Russian Academy of Sciences, former Roscosmos ISS management, 2 IAF committees; speaks of 15 nations working 25 years (38 including MIR) for continuous human presence in space; emphasizes applying ISS segment configuration / redundancy / genuine partnership to lunar exploration, fostering global cooperation for humanity benefit; describes Russia Luna Luna 26 orbiter, dual Luna 27 landers for polar drilling / hazard avoidance as robotic precursors to human Moon travel to solve water / dust issues; promotes ISRU to cut costs, redundant infrastructure for reliability, forums like IDSEA / UN ATLAC to align objectives, ensure peaceful, evolving research for all humankind

Image Credits: Dmitry Zarubin

Friday / 31 October 2025

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Blue Origin First Moon Lander Launching this Year?

Blue Origin (“Blue”) stacks 3 sections of 8.3 meter Blue Moon Mark 1 Pathfinder lander and installs NASA SCALPSS payload ahead of barging from Port Canaveral factory to NASA Johnson; Blue Director Jacqueline Cortese posits launch to Moon in “a few weeks” — attempting to fly before 2026; booster to be reused for that flight expected to send off EscaPADE to Mars on 8 Nov; Mark 1 to next deliver VIPER to South Pole late 2027 under US$190M NASA contract; 15.3 meter Mark 2 lander will demo uncrewed Moon landing before taking Artemis 5 Astronauts NET 2029 per US$3.4B NASA contract

Image Credits: Blue Origin

Friday / 17 October 2025

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Head of KASA Outlines Korea Moon Goal Plan and 2026 Budget

Republic of Korea aims for robotic Moon landing by 2032; Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) head Yoon Young-bin names 7 strategies and ~US$800M for these in 2026: continue to launch indigenous Nuri rocket, develop satellites, secure space communication, cultivate talent to build advanced craft, foster industry startups, expand international cooperativeness especially with USA, build / use new Moon simulation site; Korea is 7th nation to have lunar orbiter (Danuri, 2022 – see high-definition Moon-surface photo above), only international partner on SPHEREx space telescope, signer of Artemis Accords

Image Credits: KASA, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, SpaceX, ChosunBiz News

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 / 9 September 2025

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World-Leading Spacefaring Countries Japan and India Working Toward Human Lunar Presence

India-Japan lunar collaboration advances through Tokyo summit with prime ministers, and signing of LuPEX Implementing Arrangement by JAXA VP Mayumi Matsuura and India Ambassador Sibi George; Chandrayaan-5 / LuPEX mission, duration 100-365 days, targets water ice at Moon south pole with ~6,000kg India lander carrying ~350kg JAXA rover via NET 2028 launch on JAXA H3-24L rocket; builds on Chandrayaan-3 Statio Shiv Shakti landing ~69°S and Chandrayaan-4 sample return NET 2027; new phase in space cooperation exemplified by commercial agreement between ispace Japan (~US$130m equity funding) and startup Digantara of India (~US$16m) to build cislunar infrastructure promoting sustained human presence on Moon

Image Credits: Office of the Prime Minister – India, JAXA, NASA

Tuesday / 12 August 2025

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Hi-Res Photos from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Continue to Identify and Reveal

Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, marking 6 years in lunar orbit 20 Aug, has 1/4-meter resolution of Moon surface; citizen scientist Chandra Tungathurthi reveals photos from Chandrayaan-2 of Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena lander at Mons Mouton ~85°S and 6 Mar skid marks leading to resting site; NASA LRO first photographed Athena 7 Mar, has 1/2-meter resolution; 2-year observation of Chandrayaan-3 landing success at Statio Shiv Shakti ~69°S to be marked 23 Aug; mission team recipient of 2024 IAF World Space Award 

Image Credits: ISRO / C Tungathurthi, Intuitive Machines 

Friday / 25 July 2025

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The Exploration Company Motto Is “We Build Space Vehicles for a Cooperative Future”

Successful 47-second test firing by The Exploration Company (TEC) of “Breeze” thruster for “Nyx Moon” lander service module follows 6 months’ development on GOX/GCH4 (gaseous Oxygen / Methane) engine; TEC founded 2021 to build modular, reusable spacecraft to Earth and lunar orbits, lunar surface; HQ near Munich, Germany, test facility near Bordeaux, France; analysis of “Mission Possible” spacecraft ongoing since SpaceX rideshare launch after mere 3-year development with 45 suppliers in 11 European nations for €30 million including launch; Hélène Huby, Founder & CEO, wants “to change the world positively”; MoU with Axiom Space, ESA to have TEC deliver cargo to Axiom space station NET Q4 2027

Credits: The Exploration Company, Firefly Aerospace (Earth image)