Tuesday / 17 May 2022

Breakthrough for ISRU Moon Agriculture as Plants Germinate in Lunar Regolith for 1st Time

12-g Moon samples collected during Apollo 11, 12, 17 utilized by 3 researchers at UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences demonstrate viability of lunar regolith as growing medium; Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) seeds germinated at “rates close to 100%” within 48-60 hours, similar to control group with volcanic ash substrate; Regolith-grown plants were affected by higher differentially expressed gene rate which study authors attribute to solar wind, cosmic radiation effects, abundance of iron oxides; Outcomes varied by sample location with Apollo 17 most robust

Pictured: Study authors (L) Robert Ferl, (R) Anna-Lisa Paul
Credits: UF / IFAS / Tyler Jones

Friday / 13 May 2022

Nature Editors Urge Funding of USA-Led Artemis Program to Lead Worldwide Lunar Effort

US$93B expected cost of Artemis program through 2025 planned human landing is justified both by scientific goals (investigation of water ice & Earth-Moon system formation) and to be ‘a ray of light in dark times’ for humanity; Nature also reports NASA has ‘knowledge, stability and standing’ to manage 19-nation Artemis coalition, and will be issuing RFP for Artemis-3 geoscience soon; 2022 missions / payloads from Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, UAE possible; Open University planetary scientist Mahesh Anand tells Nature ‘This is just the beginning’

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 3 May 2022

Planetary Science Decadal Survey Delineates Artemis-Era Moon Mission Priorities

NASEM report Origins, Worlds, and Life: Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 outlines plan to advance foundational Solar System understanding, including major initiatives on lunar surface: US$1.5B sample return Endurance-A, delivered by CLPS, would collect up to 100kg of regolith from 12 sites within South Pole-Aitken Basin spread over 2,000km to be retrieved by Artemis Astronauts vs $2.4B automated Endurance-R, which would return just 2.2kg; Either option would be powered by 245-W RTG and weigh 570kg; $903M Lunar Geophysical Network planned to operate 6+ years from 4 sites

Credits: NASEM / David Hinkle

Friday / 18 March 2022

KSAT Upgrading Ground Station Network in Anticipation of Growing Lunar Commercial Communication Needs

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) VP Arnulf Kjeldsen tells SpaceNews in light of CLPS demand “Supporting lunar communications is a natural next step” for KSAT, a partnership between Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and the Norwegian Space Centre which operates one of the most used Earth station networks for LEO, MEO, GEO and SSO communication – 23 sites with 200+ antennas around the world including flagship Svalbard Satellite Station at 78.2297°N; New lunar-class array will be spread across at least 3 sites and feature 20-m antennas

 

Credits: KSAT, NASA

Friday / 28 January 2022

Russia Declares 23 July Preferred Landing Date for First Lunar Mission Of Modern National Era

Luna-25 is focal point of Russia space activity as Roscosmos subsidiary NPO Lavochkin announces with great specificity 23 July 02:21:45 MSK ideal launch date / time for Luna-25 robotic lander, 24 July 02:55:49 backup; Lunar daybreak occurring 1 August at landing site north of Boguslavsky Crater (69.55°S, 43.54°E) will provide power augmentation for RTG / battery system; 30kg science payload includes laser mass spectrometer; Luna-26 orbital mapping mission to follow in 2024; Luna-27 lander to utilize ESA regolith drill / PROSPECT sensor array within South Pole-Aitken basin NET 2025

 

Credits: Roscosmos, NPO Lavochkin

Friday / 17 December 2021

China Scientists Analyzing 50mg Moon Rock for Helium-3, Possible Key to Unlocking Controlled Fusion

Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology studying 1,731g of regolith returned by Chang’e-5 for 3He, an isotope possessing 1 neutron / 2 protons used in medical diagnostics and cryogenics, and considered a fusion material candidate since 1986 by nuclear scientist Gerald Kulcinski, working in collaboration with Moonworker Harrison Schmitt at UW-Madison Fusion Technology Institute; While logistics of returning sufficient material to Earth are complex, ISRU application may be feasible soon, as fusion reactor breakthrough producing 1.3MJ from 250 kJ validation in progress at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Credits: ESA, Wikipedia

Tuesday / 7 December 2021

Yutu-2 Moon Rover On Route to Investigate Unusual Rectangular Object within Von Karman Crater

The first mission to explore surface of the lunar far side, already traversing ~840m, soon reaching 3rd full year since landing 3 Jan 2019, has sighted a novel structure on 36th lunar day and is now in transit to it, ~80m distant from present location NW of Chang’e-4 lander, as reported by Andrew Jones via Our Space of China; While natural origin / geological formation is assumed, SETA advocates such as James Benford argue that lunar artifacts may be viable source of ET clues

Credits: CNSA

Tuesday / 17 August 2021

Lunar Surface Science Workshop Session 10 Upcoming 18-19 Aug

Fundamental and Applied Lunar Surface Research in Physical Sciences is focus of LSSW 10, with plenary talks including Artemis update from (L-R) Julie Robinson, NASA HEOMD Chief Scientist; A.V. Zakharov, Astronomer with Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences to present on Luna-25 instrument PmL, planned to conduct Lunar Near-Surface Dusty Plasma Investigations; S. Bandyopadhyay to expound on NIAC-awarded farside Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) concept, C.J. Collins invited to speak on Instrumenting the Moon as a Spherical Gravitational Wave Detector

Credits: LPI, NASA, Russian Academy of Sciences

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 Aug 2021

Long Term Lunar Food Security is Focus of New Public-Private Japan Consortium

Sustainable Moon settlement study centered around in-situ food production, also conducting research on long duration physiological and psychological human effects, to be launched by JAXA in partnership with Space Foodsphere, a Tokyo-based study group with wide industry membership including Euglena Co. (algae-based biofuels), NTT Data (information technology) and Ajinomoto Co. (food science); Facilities within Japan may begin construction March 2022, with Antarctic locations to follow and vision of transferring technology to terraformation of exoplanets circa 2100

Pictured: Space Foodsphere Board Members (Clockwise) Y. Kikuchi, N. Tsuboyama-Kasaoka, H. Tanaka, M. Komasa, Y. Murakami, M. Shintani Credits: Space Foodsphere

Friday / 23 July 2021

Moon Precession Cycle May Have Increased Effect on Earth Weather Conditions

18.6-year lunar nodal cycle caused by Moon’s 5.145° inclination from solar ecliptic may magnify coastal flooding, with peaks of high tide activity centering around mid-2030s amid 3.6 mm / yr sea level rise; Highlighting need for advanced laser-ranging facilities on lunar surface, vital for further understanding Earth-Moon system; UH Sea Level Center Director Philip Thompson (B) identifies Gulf of Mexico, CA, HI flood risk “at least quadrupling” while Administrator Nelson (T) states “NASA’s Sea Level Change Team is providing crucial information so that we can plan, protect, and prevent damage”

Credits: NASA, Creative Commons, NOAA, UH