Category Archives: Moon Exploration

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 18-21 Jan 2019

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SpaceIL Lander Arrives At Cape Canaveral On Way To Mare Serenitatis

Israel SpaceIL Beresheet Lander Now At Cape Canaveral; Scheduled To Fly From Launch Complex 40 On SpaceX Falcon 9 NET 18 February; Will Be Carried Along With India PSN-6 Communications Satellite And Classified US Co-Payload; 585-Kg Loaded Mass (200-Kg Dry) Lander Is First Of Former Google X-Prize Contestants To Launch; Will Take ~2 Months To Reach Landing Site In Mare Serenitatis At 28.0°N, 17.5°E; NASA Contributes Communications Support And Laser Retroreflector Array To Complement Lunar Ranging Experiments From Previous Missions; Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Will Make Observations To Support Beresheet Landing

Credits: SpaceIL, NASA

Tuesday / 15 Jan 2019

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China Announces Exploration Program With Chang’e-6, 7 And 8

While Chang’e-4 (L) Will Measure Temperatures During The 14-Day Lunar Night, China CNSA Officially Announces More Moon Missions; Long March 5 Booster (R) Will Return To Flight NET 31 March With Launch Of Shijian-20 Communications Platform From Wenchang Satellite Launch Center On Hainan Island; Chang’e-5 Sample Return Launch On Long March 5 From Wenchang Is Planned Before End Of 2019; Chang’e-6 Is Slated To Return Samples From Lunar South Pole; Chang’e-7 Will Tentatively Conduct Survey Of South Polar Region; Chang’e-8 Will Test Technologies For Lunar Base And Future Human Activities On Moon

Credits: CNSA

Tuesday / 18 Dec 2018

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HI-SEAS In Hawai’i Prepares For Human Moon Mission Simulations

Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog & Simulation (HI-SEAS) Site On Mauna Loa To Be Repurposed For Moon; Receives US$1 Million NASA Grant For Mars Data Collection; Owner Henk Rogers Refurbishing Habitat With New Equipment And Lunar Spacesuits; New Facility Built Especially For Moon Simulation Planned For Pohakuloa Section Of Mauna Loa, Joins Parallel Lunar Analog Sites Built In China, Japan, And Europe; Women On Moon Part Of Simulations; Rogers Compares Moon Before Mars To Visiting Nearby Island Of Lanai In Preparation For Crossing Ocean

Credits: NASA, HI-SEAS, SOEST

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 Dec 2018

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Moon First Proposal From Robert Zubrin

Robert Zubrin Of Mars Society Proposes Early Lunar Landing, Leveraging Falcon Heavy 60-Ton Payload; First Launch Would Carry Solar Power Equipment, Communications Gear, Two Crew Rovers And Squad Of Robot Rovers; Second Launch Would Carry 12-Ton Crew Habitat To Lunar Pole; Third Launch Would Orbit Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV) For Crew Launched On Falcon 9; LEV Would Carry Crew From LEO To Lunar Surface; Assuming That Hardware Cost Will Equal Launch Cost, Zubrin Claims That Early Lunar Landing Can Be Accomplished At Minimal Cost

Credits: NASA, Robert Zubrin, NPR

Tuesday / 4 Dec 2018

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South Korea Launch Advances Lunar Missions

South Korea Successfully Launches Locally Built Rocket Engine To Altitude Of 209 Km, First Launch Since 2013 Orbital Flight On Budget About US$670M; Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle (KSLV-2) To Carry Satellites, Lunar Orbiter And Lander With Rover In Separate Launches; Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) Carrying NASA ShadowCam Preparing For Dec 2020 Launch On Falcon 9; Ukraine, One Of 10 Nations With Full-Cycle Rocket Production Capability, Assisting With Engineering; South Korea Hosting Light Dark International Forum On Astronomy 17-21 Dec In Daejeon And Preparing For International Astronomical Union Meeting In 2021

Credits: KARI, Seoul Post, Buzz Aldrin/Facebook

Thanksgiving Weekend Edition
Thu-Mon / 22-26 Nov 2018

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Upcoming Lunar Launches And Landings From Multiple Nations

8 December China Plans Launch of Chang’e-4, First Mission To Lunar Farside; Lander And Rover To Explore South Pole Aitken Basin; Landing Targeted For 30-31 Dec In 186 Km-Wide Von Karman Crater At 44.8° South Latitude; India Plans Launch 30 Jan Of Chandrayaan-2, First Mission To South Pole Region; 3,877 Kg Spacecraft On GSLV Mark 3 Launcher Composed Of Orbiter, Lander And Rover; Chandrayaan-2 Landing Site At 70° South Latitude; Israel SpaceIL Plans Lunar Launch On SpaceX Falcon 9 In Early 2019, Landing NET 13 Feb

Credits: CNSA, NASA, ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 Nov 2018

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Surviving Lunar Night Becomes Focus For International, Sustainable Return To Moon Planning

Global Public / Private Interest In Moon Surface Missions Highlighted By ‘Survive & Operate Through The Lunar Night Workshop’ 13 Nov In Maryland, Preceding Annual Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Meeting On ‘Progress & Preparation Toward Exploring The Surface Of The Moon’ 14-15 Nov; Noah Petro, Sam Lawrence, Renee Weber, James Carpenter, Alison Zuniga, Clive Neal And Others Will Cover Surviving 14-Day Lunar Night At Temperatures As Low As -180°C, Various Latitudes, Polar Regions, Permanently Shadowed Regions, Peaks of Eternal Light, Power & Thermal Management Systems; Successful Missions Which Survived Lunar Night Include Chang’e-3, Surveyor, ALSEP, Lunokhod

Credits: NASA, CNSA, NAOC, CSA

Friday / 12 Oct 2018

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ispace Joins Draper And 2 Other Companies To Pursue NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services Contract

One Of Many Teams Competing On CLPS Contracts Releases Details On Moon Mission Planning: ispace Of Japan For Artemis-7 Lander Design, Draper Lab For Guidance & Nav System, General Atomics For Manufacturing & Testing, Spaceflight Industries To Broker USA Rocket Rideshare; Teams To Be Notified By End Of 2018 If Initial Proposals Qualify Them As Finalists; CLPS Contract Value Could Reach US$2.6B Total Over 10 Years For Multiple Providers; Public List Of CLPS ‘Interested Parties‘ Includes 29 Companies

Pictured: CLPS Interested Parties Point of Contacts for ispace, Draper, Spaceflight Industries; Credits: ispace, SEC, AIAA / UTU, KARI

Friday / 5 Oct 2018

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IAC 2018 Generating ‘Moon Rush’ Of Mission Agreements, MoUs, Collaborations

International Astronautical Congress 69th General Assembly Providing Major Opportunities For Lunar Advances: Moon Express & Canadian Space Agency MoU Establishes Potential Collaboration On Moon Landers, Orbiters, Payloads; Blue Origin Signs Letter Of Letter With Germany Companies OHB & MT Aerospace; Astrobotic Announces Deal With Space Agencies Of Ecuador (EXA) & Colombia (AEC) For Lunar Exploration Campaign Using Multiple Peregrine Missions; Tech Development Competition 2024 “Moon Race” To Be Detailed Soon; NASA Declares Intent To Contribute Laser Retroreflector Array To Israel 2019 Moon Lander

Credits: Moon Express, Blue Origin, Astrobotic, EXA, AEC, NASA, SpaceIL, Moon Race / Airbus, et al,

Wednesday / 19 Sep 2018

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NASA Moving Ahead With Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway Despite Questions

Planning For Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, NASA Requesting Industry Proposals For Power-Propulsion Element To Launch On Commercial Rocket By 2022; Orion To Rendezvous With PPE During Exploration Mission 3; EM-3 Will Also Bring European System Providing Refuelling, Infrastructure And Telecommunications (ESPRIT) Plus US-Built Habitation Module; Additional Modules To Be Brought On Exploration Missions 4 And 5; Critics Claim LOP-G Lacks Clear Mission Of Moon Or Mars

Credits: NASA