Category Archives: South Pole Moon

Tuesday / 16 Feb 2021

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Russia Moon Exploration Reboot Starts With Luna-25, Continues With Permanent Crewed Base


Russian Academy Of Sciences Council For Space Resolution Urges “Separate Lunar Subprogram” Be Formulated Within First Half Of 2021 Ahead Of Luna-25 Nominal Launch Date 1 Oct, With Goals Of Crewed Mission To Moon By 2030 And Permanent Base Of Operations Established By 2035, Reports State Media; Central Research Institute of Machine-Building, R&D Arm Of Roscosmos, Plans Initial Stage Of Base Construction 2032-3035; Soyuz / Progress / Sea Launch Contractor Energia Rocket And Space Corporation Envisions 3-7 Module, 2-4 Crew Russian Orbital Service Station After 2024

Credits: Roscosmos, VK

Friday / 29 Jan 2021

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Selection Underway For Artemis Moon Base Site: Within 6° Of South Pole, Access To Sunlight, Water, Flat Area / Elevation

Moon South Pole Human Landing And 3 CLPS 2022-23 Mission Site Locations Being Narrowed Down – Which Will Significantly Impact Lunar Base Plans; Using Data From LRO, International Missions & VR Simulations, Experts Search For Optimal Site Perhaps Near ‘Peak Of Eternal Light’ Illuminating Areas For >200 Earth Days, On Crater Ridge To Allow Travel Into PSRs (Reaching -248° Celsius) For Ancient Ice Deposits Or Near Micro Cold Traps, Flat Surface To Establish Base Camp ~1km Away, Achieve Science Goals Including Quiet Platform For Radio Observation; Of Strong Interest Are Malapert, Shackleton, De Gerlache, Leibnitz

Credits: LPI, NASA, ILOA Hawai’i

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 22-25 Jan 2021

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‘Engage With China Through UN, Retain Space Council’ Say Prominent USA Scholars And Commercial Space Figures

As Chang’e-5 Begins Extended Solar Observation Mission With Bearing Toward Sun-Earth L1 Point, Princeton Professor Emerita Anne-Marie Slaughter (L) Makes Studied Argument For Broadly Inclusive, Multilateral Lunar Resources Treaty With Global Stakeholders Including China / Zhongguo, Suggests Implementation Via COPUOS / UNOOSA To Avoid “Race To Bottom” Competition For Strategic South Pole Territory, Water Ice And Rare Earth Elements; Mandy Vaughn (R) President Virgin Orbit Subsidiary VOX Space Promotes National Space Council Continuity, Voicing Opinion At NewSpace New Mexico Event NSC Critical For Interagency Cohesion

Credits: New America, NASA, NSSA

Thanksgiving Weekend Edition
Wed-Mon / 25-30 Nov 2020

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Proactive Measures On Property Rights Needed To Achieve Harmonious Lunar Development

Thought Leaders At Center For Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, King’s College London And Missouri University Of Science & Technology Urge Serious Consideration Of Finite Materials (Water, Helium, Iron) And Locations (Peaks Of Eternal Light, Cold Traps, Level Building Sites) On Moon; Artemis Accords And Outer Space Treaty Need To Be Enhanced With Clear Guiding Principles Such As Those Set Forth By Moon Village Association To Avoid “Diverse Actors Pursuing Incompatible Ends” Vying For Areas “Both Few And Small” With Unfavorable Outcomes

 

Credits: NASA, SETI

Friday / 7 Aug 2020

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India Chandrayaan-3 Progresses While LRO Gives Hope That Pragyan Rover Survived Crash

ISRO Chair K Sivan (R) States Agency Analyzing Data After Space Enthusiast Compares NASA LRO Chandrayaan-2 Images Taken Nov 2019 & Jan 2020 Finding Possibility That Pragyan Rover May Be Intact And Rolled Out After 6 Sep 2019 Impact Near 70°S; Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter With 8 Payloads Continues Operations & Will Contribute To ~US$86M Chandrayaan-3 Mission Launching Q2 2021; VSSC Director S Somanath Confirms Plans For Chandrayaan-4 And Beyond; Partnership With JAXA May Produce 2024 Lunar Polar Exploration Mission Of South Pole Lander + Rover

Credits: NASA, LRO, ISRO, Shanmuga Subramanian via Twitter

Friday / 24 July 2020

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ISRO Releasing Chandrayaan-2 Data Globally In October, Preparing Chandrayaan-3 For 2021 Launch

Chand-2 Orbiter 8 Payloads Performing Nominally In 100-km Lunar Polar Orbit, Now >1 Year Into Mission As Of 22 July; ISRO Planning To Share Internationally: Highest-Res 3D Moon Map, Science Data Sets On Surface Water-Ice And Minerals / Metals, Argon-40, Exosphere, Solar X-rays; ISRO Chair K. Sivan States Chand-2 Mission “Has Achieved 98% Of Its Objectives”; Chand-3 Lander + Rover Estimated Cost ~US$91.2M, Will Utilize Chand-2 Orbiter, Launch To Moon South Pole Region 1st Half 2021

Credits: ISRO

Friday / 12 June 2020

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Artemis Awards Astrobotic US$199.5M For Moon South Pole 2023 VIPER Launch, 19D CLPS Task Order Could Be Announced In Summer

Under Task Order 20A Astrobotic Griffin Lander With 500-kg Capacity To Deliver JSC-built, 450-kg Remotely Controlled Vehicle For 20-km Mission Over 100-Earth Days To Seek Water Ice At Moon South Pole, Vital Resource For Both Human Sustenance And Separating Into Oxygen / Hydrogen For Fuel, Launch Provider Unannounced; ULA Vulcan Planning To Lift Smaller Peregrine Lander To Lunar Surface NET July 2021 On Maiden Flight

Credits:  Astrobotic Technology

Friday / 5 June 2020

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Moon ‘Ice Favorability Index’ Created By UCF Benefits Moon Prospecting Mission Planning, Ice Formation Studies

Supported By NASA SSERVI & Center For Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science At UCF, Team Led By Kevin Cannon Creates Geological Model Of Lunar Poles, PSR / Craters And Most Likely Areas Of Ice To Determine Distribution “At Meter To Hundred-Meter Scales Relevant For Mining Operations”; Vital For Surviving Off-Earth, 1st Direct Evidence Of Water Vapor At Moon Shown By Apollo 14 In 1975 Inspiring Countless Prospecting, Science Plans; CLPS Missions Could Launch To Moon South Pole 2022, Chang’e-6 Sample Return 2021-23, Volatiles Rover 2023, 1st Human Mission 2024-25

Credits: K. Cannon via Twitter, ESA, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 May 2020

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Roscosmos Contractor Signals Luna Program Readiness For 5 Moon Missions

In Videoconference With PM Putin, State-Owned Aerospace Company NPO Lavochkin Director Kolmykov States Luna-25 (Formerly Known As Luna-Glob) 1,750-kg Uncrewed Lander “In Assembly And First Trial Stages”, To Be Completed By March 2021, Launch To Boguslavsky Crater (72.9°S 43.3°E) On Soyuz-2-1b Fregat-M Expected 1 October 2021, Though Many Observers Skeptical; Lavochkin Is Also Manufacturer Of Upper Stage; 30-kg Payload On Luna-25 Consists Of 9 Instruments Including Mass-Spectrometer, Panoramic Imager, Laser Retroreflector; Luna-26-29 To See Large Rover And Sample Return

 

Credits: Roscosmos, Vladimir Kolmykov Via Twitter

Friday / 6 March 2020

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JAXA Joins ISRO For Joint Polar Exploration Mission And Seeks University Input On Lunar Resources 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Creates Preliminary Project Team For Joint JAXA-India Space Research Organization Lunar Polar Exploration Mission In Early 2020s; JAXA-Developed Smart Lander For Investigation Of Moon (SLIM) Technology Will Enable Precision Landing On Lunar Pole; Mission Will Search For Water And Other Resources; JAXA Seeks Input From Universities And Institutes On In-situ Resource Utilization; Focus Will Be On Water Resources And Construction Of Lunar Propellant Plant

Credits: JAXA