CAPSTONE Begins 4-Month Ballistic Lunar Transfer to Unique Moon Orbit
US$32.7M Capstone now being controlled from Advanced Space HQ in Colorado as it navigates 1,300,000km from Earth, utilizing Sun gravity and 8-thruster propulsion system (built by Stellar Exploration) before reaching Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit with apolune 70,000km from MSP, perilune 1,600km from MNP; Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck heralds “perfect Moon mission success” following 28 June launch to LEO on Rocket Lab Electron / 7 raising maneuvers via Lunar Photon interplanetary stage, culminating in translunar injection from 70,000km above Iberian Peninsula
CSA-ASC funding 5 companies to advance Lunar Surface Exploration Initiative with 7 studies (~US$200K/ea, $1.4M total) on agricultural science, avionics/comms, mining/ISRU, power; Canadensys (Bolton ON) to study lunar greenhouse, modular rover concepts; MDA (Brampton ON) to study nuclear power generation, autonomous robots / rovers; MPB Communications (Pointe-Claire QC) to study Earth-Moon optical comms, Canadian Space Mining Corporation (Toronto ON) to study lunar prospecting; Honeywell Ltd. of Canada (Ottawa ON) to study Moon surface / orbit communication network
NASA to construct its first autonomous Moon rover, 
Space Launch System, fully stacked with Orion spacecraft in Block 1 configuration stands 98 m tall / 8.4 m diameter at KSC FL; to undergo interface, stage systems, communications, countdown sequencing, wet dress testing prior to Artemis I inaugural uncrewed Moon flyby, launch window opening 12 Feb 2022; SN20 prototype at Starbase TX is 120 m high / 9 m diameter stacked; Elon Musk claims orbital test ending near Kaua’i HI NET November, with utilization of Mechazilla “robot chopsticks” affixed to launch tower to catch Super Heavy first stage
Cislunar space is subject of USA commercial and government attention with US$697,000 SBIR phase 2 award to Rhea Space Activity funding development of cislunar tracking system as plans are made for refueling / resupply depots at Earth-Moon Lagrange points; Access to key trajectories / areas in and around Moon will be competitive, highlighting need for 1959 Antarctica Treaty-style diplomacy guaranteeing Apollo ‘In Peace for All’ ethos in keeping with spirit of 1967 Outer Space Treaty, foundation of modern Artemis Accords
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
Artemis Music Entertainment teams with Nanoracks on first music (Clair de Lune played by Wing-Chong Kam) in space to be minted into NFT, a type of unique blockchain token used to assign ownership of media; version of Clair de Lune transmitted to ISS from Houston, traveling 201,168+ orbital km prior to Earth return; “Why Not Me” visual artwork accompanied, to become first of kind NFT with auction set for 13:00 HST 10 August on Notables platform; Proceeds benefit Students for the Exploration and Development of Space / Artemis Music Foundation
In what may be the most significant private lunar effort outside of NASA CLPS, an international coalition led by ispace is preparing for Q2 2022 Mission 1, with final assembly of flight-ready Hakuto-R lander underway at Arianespace facility in Germany; payloads include optics from Canadensys and AI from Mission Control Space Services (Canada), solid-state battery test from NGK (Japan), 10-kg Rashid rover (UAE); 2023 Mission 2 includes Oxygen harvesting experiment from Helios (Israel); Lunar Industry Vision Council of Japan seeking “self-sustaining lunar industry” within “new cis-lunar space ecosystem”
New procurement initiative Lunar Exploration Transportation Services (LETS), part of HLS program under Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, issues