Category Archives: Moon Exploration

Tuesday / 4 November 2025

Posted on by

Duffy or Isaacman? Who is Better for Urgent Moon Goals?

NASA Interim Administrator Sean Duffy announces Human Landing System contract reopened, proposes NASA become part of US Department of Transportation, discusses with NASA-contracted space industry companies desire to maintain status quo, deals with Air Traffic Controller crisis from government shutdown; entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, builder of 2 multibillion-dollar companies, financier / astronaut for 2 space flights, tweets need for private capital to fund space for pharmaceutical formulations / asteroid mining / orbital computing, sponsors “Athena plan” given to Duffy / leaked to reporters that gives equal kudos to SpaceX / Blue Origin, wants NASA to again achieve “the near-impossible” / lead the world in human space exploration / ignite the space economy / be a force multiplier for science

Image Credits: Duffy (L) – NASA / Bill Ingalls; NASA; Isaacman (R) – John Kraus

Friday / 26 September 2025

Posted on by

Lunar Exploration Company ispace Furthers Mission: Expand Our Planet, Expand Our Future with MoU and IAC Events

Lander / rover company ispace, inc (TOKYO:9348; market cap ¥57B) signs MoU 25 Sep with transportation-focused ElevationSpace of Japan (¥3.7B raised since founding) for lunar sample return with re-entry capsule in development by ElevationSpace; ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada (R) and ElevationSpace CEO Ryohei Kobayashi (L) also pledge to create related business opportunities for companies / governments worldwide; International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 28 Sep – 3 Oct in Sydney, Australia features 6 ispace Technical Sessions, ispace-U.S. CEO Elizabeth Kryst at the ispace booth 30 Sep 11:00, and reception 1 Oct 16:00 with sake and light refreshments; ispace divisions are in Japan, Luxembourg, USA

Image Credits: ispace, ElevationSpace

Friday / 15 August 2025

Posted on by

LSIC Leverages Collaboration Among Academy / Commercial / Government Innovators for Moon Infrastructure

Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) advances foundational technology required for Artemis Moon missions and establishing long-term lunar presence; a one-day NASA meeting in 2020 is now 3,500+ collaborators from 1,200+ organizations, from all 50 states and 40+ countries; Director Jamie Porter invites participants; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) provides leadership, integration, documents / reports, as well as 12+ videos for engineers about lunar surface environments, challenges, design considerations; LSIC focus groups include ISRU, surface power, construction, and dust / temperature mitigation; Fall Meeting is 5-6 Nov at Georgia Tech in Atlanta

Image Credits:  LSIC

Friday / 1 August 2025

Posted on by

Artemis II Astronauts Focused on the Importance of Mission

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen on Artemis 2 mission around Moon NET April 2026; “We absolutely have the team … [to] make Artemis 2 a success,” said Wiseman; Glover expresses full confidence in Orion spacecraft, “entry and heat shields … parachutes”; “A true American success story: heat shield technology,” Hansen added, reducing ~2,760°C reentry temp to ~24°C inside; Koch said, “We have to keep asking hard questions”; they are focused on proving to the world that NASA and USA are capable of returning humans to the Moon; China is committed to landing people on Moon in 2020s

Image Credits: NASA, Canadian Space Agency; Pictured CW from upper L: Wiseman, Commander; Glover, Pilot; Koch, Specialist; Hansen, Specialist

Tuesday / 22 July 2025

Posted on by

New NASA Acting Admin Is “Fired Up and Ready to Launch” to the Moon; Supports Artemis

Appointed NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy opposes proposed NASA funding cut of 24.3% overall and 47% for science; Congress, both sides of the aisle / both houses, wants to maintain current funding (no inflation adjustment); Duffy tweeted: Our critical Moon mission, Artemis, must be as known & supported by America … as Apollo was! It’s a race to the Moon. Clock is ticking. I’m fired up and ready to launch! YouGov/CBS News poll shows 2/3 of Americans want Astronauts back on the Moon

Credits: NASA, X, nasawatch.com

Friday / 18 July 2025

Posted on by

Lunar Science & Ethics MoU Forged Among LPP, COSPAR, IAU

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among International Astronomical Union (IAU), Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and Lunar Policy Platform (LPP), will enhance / develop, over the next 3 years, principles outlined in LPP Guide to Lunar Science & Ethics, promoting peaceful, safe and sustainable lunar activities; from this, COSPAR President Pascale Ehrenfreund expects enhanced international cooperation and science-informed space policies; IAU President Willy Benz acknowledges the imperative to protect Moon unique features for future generations; LPP global network includes 40+ governments, space agencies, companies, scientists, institutions

Credits: LPP, COSPAR, IAU, University of Hawai’i

Friday / 11 July 2025

Posted on by

NASA Calls for Scientists to Add Expertise to Artemis III Geology Team; LSIC Advances Moon Missions

Participating Scientists (PS) are needed to supplement knowledge held by current members of Artemis III Geology Team and other NASA Artemis Project teams; applications to be a PS are due August 12; PS will engage in pre-mission planning for Artemis orbital and surface missions, mission operations and post-mission reports; NASA LSIC regularly convenes government, academia and industry to collaborate on technologies for a sustained human presence on the Moon, addressing challenges like power, dust mitigation and construction; online and in-person conferences are held monthly, Fall meeting just announced for Nov 5-6 at Georgia Tech in Atlanta

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 20 May 2025

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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