Category Archives: Moon Exploration

Tuesday / 20 May 2025

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JAXA Chief Offers Technology Partnership to Keep NASA Moon Missions On-Track

 JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa offers response to NASA budget proposal cutting ~6% of current US$24.8B, although not human exploration portion, says Japan has high-precision Moon landing technology, lunar rover, resupply capabilities and lunar water data to offer Artemis missions; emphasizes lunar Gateway or similar infrastructure needed, could include JAXA human habitation module created with ESA; SLS / Orion are 140% over budget at US$23B, cost US$4B per launch, had been planned to deploy Gateway; NASA budget proposal for FY 2026 beginning Oct 2025 earmarks over $7 billion for lunar exploration, introduces $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs

Credits: JAXA

Friday / 9 May 2025

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India Moon Science, Future Missions Highlighted at IAF GLEX, New Delhi

Vyomanaut in training, Ajit Krishnan returns from IAF GLEX ongoing in New Delhi where India Moon and Solar System Complete mission science is being discussed; Chandrayaan-4 sample return lander to Statio Shiv Shakti NET 2027; Gaganyaan human Moon mission 8.2 t orbital module will carry 3 atop HLVM3, 1st flight Q1 2027; Chandrayaan-3 was 1st lander near South Pole region, making India 4th country with soft landing, rover also successful; Chandrayaan-2 orbiter continues to analyze Moon atmosphere, surface and subsurface; Chandrayaan-1 orbiter confirmed surface water

Credits: ISRO, NASA, PTI

Tuesday / 6 May 2025

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Astrobotic Technology Aims for Moon Landing by Dec 2025

Astrobotic Griffin-1 lunar lander Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) technologies critical for soft Moon landing show themselves reliably successful in Mojave CA test; rocks / small craters down to 15 cm detected and avoided by camera and LiDAR, in Hazard Detection and Avoidance and Terrain Relative Navigation systems; scan area ~1,000,000 sq m (>2,200 football fields) allows safest specific site and landing accuracy within 50 m radius; landing expected in Nobile region near Moon South Pole with Astrolab FLIP rover by end of 2025

Credits: Astrobotic Technology, NASA

Friday / 2 May 2025

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NASA Chief Approval Closer as Commerce Committee Hears Isaacman Say “Moon Before Mars”

Jared Isaacman nomination as NASA Administrator moves to full US Senate as Senate Committee votes 19-9 in favor; Schatz of Hawai’i was 1 of 9 opposed but didn’t say why; the 4 Artemis Astronauts were present; US Congress has wanted ‘Moon first’ for 20+ years; Public Law No. 117-167 and NASA Reauthorization Act specify ‘Moon to Mars’; Isaacman says he is ‘committed to following the law’; he wants to see ‘lunar operations become … routine’, ‘NASA to inspire the next generation’ and make a ‘true spacefaring civilization’

Credits: NASA, NASA/Bill Ingalls

Tuesday / 18 March 2025

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ispace Has On-Track Mission, Receives Increased Award from Draper

ispace Hakuto-R Mission 2 aims to accomplish mission milestone 6 of 10 when it completes deep-space orbital maneuvers 24 April, affirming survivability there, ahead of 6 Jun landing at Mare Frigoris ~60°N; ispace business mission is to construct a sustainable Earth-Moon ecosystem implementing space resources; Hakuto-R is a multinational commercial lunar exploration program, includes payload development for lunar orbiting and landing; non-profit R&D company Draper releases US$7.7M additional funding to ispace-U.S. from its US$73M NASA CLPS award, for design of APEX 1.0 lander going NET 2026 H2 to Schrödinger Basin, ~75°S on Moon far side

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Credits: ispace, Draper

Tuesday / 11 March 2025

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8 of 10 Payload Objectives Met by Firefly Blue Ghost Lander on Moon

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander completing 8 of 10 CLPS payload objectives since 2 March arrival at Mare Crisium, other 2 expected; LISTER drilling 3 meters to resume after solar noon >120°C air temp; LEXI to attempt imaging Earth magnetosphere; Lunar PlanetVac manipulating regolith; RAC determining regolith accumulation on surfaces; LMS using electrical resistivity to determine rock composition; SCALPSS sending images; RadPC resisting radiation; EDS removing dust; NGLR reflecting laser pulses; LuGRE receiving GPS and satellite signals; Blue Ghost cameras will attempt capture of upcoming eclipse and sunset

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Credits: Firefly Aerospace

Tuesday / 25 February 2025

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Intuitive Machines IM-2 Launching to Moon on Wednesday 26 Feb

Inaugural occurrence of 3 lunar landers simultaneously enroute to Moon expected with 26 Feb launch of IM-2 Athena, now in fairing of SpaceX Falcon 9, departure from Kennedy Space Center complex 39A window opens 19:17 EST; headed near highest Moon mountain Mons Mouton, ~60 km from South Pole, Athena will search for water with NASA payload Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 and IM “Grace” hopper; other payload customers are Nokia, Lone Star Data Holdings, Columbia Sportswear, Lunar Outpost, Puli Space, Dymon Co. Ltd., German Aerospace Center

Credits: Intuitive Machines, NASA, SpaceX

Tuesday / 4 February 2025

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Houston Autoboative MOON ROVERS Show?

NASA call for Lunar Terrain Vehicles for Artemis brought proposals to Houston Autoboative (car and boat) Show from Intuitive Machines, Astrolab Venturi and Lunar Outpost; IM Moon RACER (Reusable Autonomous Crewed Exploration Rover) engineered with 9 partners and Apollo Moonwalkers Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt carries 400kg cargo plus 800kg on a trailer; AV FLEX Rover features NASA-proven software, robotic arm able to place 25kg load, and hyper-flexible wheels; LO Lunar Dawn LTV Eagle developed with GM, Goodyear and MDA Space

Credits: Lunar Outpost, Astrolab Venturi, Intuitive Machines

New Year Edition
Friday-Monday
20 Dec 2024 – 6 Jan 2025

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Commercial Companies Preparing Lunar Landers for Launches Within 1-9 Months

 ispace, inc. (Tokyo: 9348) announced 10 Mission 2 milestones planned January to June 2025 for Resilience lander with commercial payloads and NASA project (to collect / image regolith) at Mare Frigoris ~60.5° N; aboard the same Falcon 9 will be Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 1, expecting touchdown ~March at Mare Crisium, 17° N, with 10 payloads from NASA, enterprise, academia; in February, Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR) plans IM-2 launch via Falcon 9, arriving ~7 days later to Mons Mouton to prospect for water ice; Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 lander set to launch NET March on Blue Origin New Glenn rocket, carrying 3,000 kg of payloads; Astrobotic Griffin Mission One, flying NET Fall 2025 to Nobile Region, ~85° S, will carry MoonBox™ payloads for individuals

Credits: (clockwise from upper left) ispace, SpaceX, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, NASA photo of Blue Origin lander, Firefly Aerospace

Tuesday / 3 December 2024

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Two Lunar Landers at Kennedy Space Center Awaiting Launch, Third Will Soon Arrive

JAXA / ispace lunar lander Mission 2 Resilience is now at KSC preparing to carry Tenacious micro rover / commercial payloads including a model house to Mare Figoris, 60.5° N, 4.6° W, is called “culmination of the Hakuto-R program; Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander awaits launch from LC39A during 6-day window mid-January, carries 10 payloads including for NASA CLPS to Mare Crisium after 45-day journey with orbits of Earth and Moon; Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander Athena for IM-2 mission expected to arrive soon at KSC, will carry NASA CLPS payloads to Mouton Plateau (Leibnitz); all will launch NET January via SpaceX Falcon 9

Credits: JAXA / ispace, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines