Friday / 12 September 2025

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Namesake Carruthers Instrument Honors Physicist, Inventor, Astronomer

Launching September alongside IMAP spacecraft is Carruthers Geocorona Observatory for imaging UV light in Earth upper atmosphere, named for George Robert Carruthers PhD, b. 1939; at US Naval Research Laboratory, Carruthers invented gold-plated Far Ultraviolet Camera / Spectrograph, which was 1st astronomical instrument on Moon; placed there 21 Apr 1972 by Astronaut John Young during Apollo 16, Young observed Earth and 550+ stars, nebulae, galaxies; Carruthers built 1st telescope age 10, awarded patent age 30 for instrument to image radiation, providing 1st proof of interstellar molecular hydrogen; spearheaded development of instruments for Moon, Skylab, ARGOS, 4 Shuttle flights; ILOA working for long-term lunar observatory

Image Credits: NASA / Charlie Duke / John Young, NRL, Center top L-R: Duke, Rocco Petrone, Carruthers, Young

Tuesday / 9 September 2025

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World-Leading Spacefaring Countries Japan and India Working Toward Human Lunar Presence

India-Japan lunar collaboration advances through Tokyo summit with prime ministers, and signing of LuPEX Implementing Arrangement by JAXA VP Mayumi Matsuura and India Ambassador Sibi George; Chandrayaan-5 / LuPEX mission, duration 100-365 days, targets water ice at Moon south pole with ~6,000kg India lander carrying ~350kg JAXA rover via NET 2028 launch on JAXA H3-24L rocket; builds on Chandrayaan-3 Statio Shiv Shakti landing ~69°S and Chandrayaan-4 sample return NET 2027; new phase in space cooperation exemplified by commercial agreement between ispace Japan (~US$130m equity funding) and startup Digantara of India (~US$16m) to build cislunar infrastructure promoting sustained human presence on Moon

Image Credits: Office of the Prime Minister – India, JAXA, NASA

Friday / 5 September 2025

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Hearing in USA Senate Re-Emphasizes Moon Goals, While India and China Expand Focus from Moon to Complete Solar System

Senate Commerce Committee with 28 members held 3 Sep hearing with 4 testifiers including Mike Gold (L), who advocates accelerating Moon landing, need for Gateway and funding, no major changes to Artemis (estimated cost through 2025 US$93B); NASA appoints Amit Kshatriya as Associate Administrator, elevating from Moon-to-Mars program; Moon is crucial stepping stone for complete Solar System exploration; India PM Modi (R): “We have reached the Moon and Mars, we must peek into Deep Space, where lie secrets to benefit humanity“; China quickly advancing long-range vision with its Chang-E lunar missions and Tianwen program to Uranus + beyond

Image Credits: NASA, Office of the Prime Minister

Friday / 29 August 2025

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LEAG and LSIC Continue Shaping Lunar Exploration with Strategic Expertise

2025 Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group is scheduled for 28–30 October at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU APL); LEAG is led by Benjamin Greenhagen and guides NASA lunar exploration by analyzing scientific, technical and commercial priorities for Artemis missions; LEAG (est. 2004) unites academia, industry, and government to define mission objectives and foster sustainable lunar presence; Within Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), led by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, LEAG Commercial Advisory Board chair, Stephen Indyk drives synergy aligning LSIC 3,500+ collaborators to advance technologies like ISRU and surface power

Image Credits: LEAG, NASA, LSIC

Friday / 22 August 2025

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Artemis 2 Lunar Flyby Set to Make History Taking 1st Woman to Moon NLT April 2026 (NET Feb 2026)

Christina Koch—1st woman to Moon vicinity—on epic fly-by alongside Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen in Orion spacecraft as soon as 6 months from now; all are training rigorously, mastering simulators, suit-ups, life-support, spash-downs; global unity shines, with Hansen from Canada and European Service Module of Orion built in Germany with components from 10 countries to provide propulsion, power, thermal control and life support via 33 thrusters, 4 solar arrays, 11 km of wiring and 8600 kg of fuel just loaded, ready to perform trans-lunar injection burn to send Orion around the Moon after ~US$4B SLS launch, with Artemis 3 mid-2027 to set boots on the Moon of 1st woman

Image Credits: NASA  

Tuesday / 19 August 2025

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Artemis II On-Track for Lunar Flyby NET April 2026

Artemis II Mission 4 astronauts practicing night launch scenario, Christina Koch and Victor Glover (pictured), Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, walking to craft, as well as emergency evacuation from pad; NASA Marshall in Huntsville “Rocket City” shipping to Florida the Orion stage adapter, 1.5 meters by 5.5 meters tall, built there, to be stacked on SLS rocket to connect to Orion craft; adapter will carry 4, and up to 17, CubeSats; 25 finalists from 10 countries are in the running for Moon Mascot plush toy zero-gravity indicator to be created by NASA, including one of Artemis herself

Image Credits:  NASA, NASA/Freelancer/collectSPACE.com, Derek Lacey/Axios

Friday / 15 August 2025

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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

Tuesday / 12 August 2025

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Hi-Res Photos from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Continue to Identify and Reveal

Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, marking 6 years in lunar orbit 20 Aug, has 1/4-meter resolution of Moon surface; citizen scientist Chandra Tungathurthi reveals photos from Chandrayaan-2 of Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena lander at Mons Mouton ~85°S and 6 Mar skid marks leading to resting site; NASA LRO first photographed Athena 7 Mar, has 1/2-meter resolution; 2-year observation of Chandrayaan-3 landing success at Statio Shiv Shakti ~69°S to be marked 23 Aug; mission team recipient of 2024 IAF World Space Award 

Image Credits: ISRO / C Tungathurthi, Intuitive Machines 

Friday / 8 August 2025

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Agreement with Astrolab for Interlune Helium-3 Rover-Mounted Camera

Helium-3 lunar prospector Interlune will mount multispectral, multi-wavelength camera developed with NASA Ames on Astrolab FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover, headed to Nobile Crater ~85°S NET Q4 2025 on Astrobotic Griffin-1 lander, to seek titanium-rich ilmenite mineral correlated with helium-3; precursor for NET 2027 dedicated helium-3 mission, privately held Seattle-based Interlune has agreements for purchase by US Department of Energy and Maybell Quantum of Denver CO; estimated price for helium-3 is US$20 million per kg

Image Credits: Astrobotic, Astrolab, Interlune 

Tuesday / 5 August 2025

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Russia Slow on Return to Moon; Roscosmos-NASA Meeting Portends Continued Collaboration

New Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov, age 39, meets NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy to watch Crew-11 launch with Astronauts and Cosmonaut, discuss continued cooperation and collaboration in space: on ISS, lunar programs, deep space exploration; their handshakes echo those of Apollo-Soyuz of 50 years ago; Russia conflict in Ukraine and 2023 failure of Luna-25 to Moon 73°S has impeded collaborations and advancements for the betterment of all to Luna; MoU this year documents Russia-China intent for lunar nuclear power plant and base by 2036, though mention in media of Russia as ILRS main partner has lessened

Image Credits: Roscosmos lunar south landing zones, Luna-25 assembly, Apollo-Soyuz members