ASU CubeSat May Lead Moon South Pole Water / Ice Search
Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH-Map) CubeSat Is A Candidate To Launch On NASA SLS Exploration Mission-1, Would Be ASU First Interplanetary Mission; Lunar Water Exploration Objective Vital To NASA Strategy For Future Human Space Missions; ASU NewSpace Initiative Led By Scott Smas, Jim Bell & Craig Hardgrove (L-R) With Bell As Deputy Principal Investigator; Principal Investigator Hardgrove Reaffirms ASU Achievements / Commitments To NASA & “Abundance Of Hydrogen At Lunar Poles”
Credit: ASU, NASA
Public-Private Partnerships Selected Under NASA NextSTEP Include Lunar IceCube Mission Led By Morehead State University Professor Ben Malphrus; Massachusetts-Based Busek Company Providing Low-Thrust Electric Propulsion System And GSFC Providing Broadband InfraRed Compact High Resolution Explorer Spectrometer (BIRCHES); IceCube To Prospect For Lunar Volatiles & Water To Aid Future Moon & Deep Space Missions, May Launch On SLS / Orion Exploration Mission 1 In November 2018
Change-5 Vehicles Undergoing Plume Deflector Comprehensive Validation Testing; Chang’e-5 T1 Service Module In Orbit Around Moon Collecting Data For Sample Return / Future Landing Missions; Chang’e-4 Team Experts At CNSA & ESA Discussing Objectives, Tasks & Payloads For 2018 Mission; Chang’e-3 & Yutu In Lunar Day 21 Are The Only Spacecraft Operating On Moon Surface; Chang’e-2 Heading Into Deep Space Toward 300M-km Apogee
Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) Announces Plan For Chang’e-4 Lunar Lander / Rover / Orbiter To Moon Far Side Late 2018; Launch From Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) Via Long March 3B Rocket; First Soft-Landing & Surface Examination Of Far Side; Discussions With European Space Agency (ESA) For Potential Cooperation Ongoing; Crewed Lunar Landing Is Ultimate Objective Of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP)
Mapping Lunar Surface & Collecting Information About Moon Environment, LRO Entering Year 7, Flying In Elliptical Orbit 20km Over South Pole / 165km North Pole, With An Orbital Period Of ~115 Mins; US$19M Highlighted In NASA Budget Request For FY2016 Per The House Of Representatives Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2578) On 3 June 2015
India Moon Mission & Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chandrayaan-II, Two Module Configuration Spacecraft (Orbiter & Lander) Orbital Bus Delivered To The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO); HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju States “The Orbiter Craft Module Structure Is A Three-Tonne Category Bus”; Chandrayaan-II Planning For Moon Launch In 2017 By Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkII)