Friday / 20 May 2022

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Artemis Human Moon Landing Announcement Expected as USA and Japan Leaders Meet

Lunar cooperation to be topic of President Biden meeting with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on 22-23 May stop of Asia tour, with Kyodo News of Toyko reporting a joint statement on Japan Astronaut participation in Artemis landings and plan outlining broad space cooperation to be released during summit; Commercial enterprise ispace and space agency JAXA planning robotic Moon landings HAKUTO-R and SLIM in late 2022 / 2023; 4th nation to launch a satellite, ISS partner nation Japan hopes to be 2nd nation with citizen on Moon

Credits: NASA, Whitehouse, Wikipedia

Tuesday / 17 May 2022

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Breakthrough for ISRU Moon Agriculture as Plants Germinate in Lunar Regolith for 1st Time

12-g Moon samples collected during Apollo 11, 12, 17 utilized by 3 researchers at UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences demonstrate viability of lunar regolith as growing medium; Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) seeds germinated at “rates close to 100%” within 48-60 hours, similar to control group with volcanic ash substrate; Regolith-grown plants were affected by higher differentially expressed gene rate which study authors attribute to solar wind, cosmic radiation effects, abundance of iron oxides; Outcomes varied by sample location with Apollo 17 most robust

Pictured: Study authors (L) Robert Ferl, (R) Anna-Lisa Paul
Credits: UF / IFAS / Tyler Jones

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 May 2022

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20 July International Moon Day Group (IMD-G) Seeking Event Participation, Logo Submissions

IMD-G, a division of Moon Village Association, is soliciting global event organizers who wish to celebrate UN-declared International Moon Day on 20 July with theme Lunar Exploration Coordination & Sustainability; Moon observing parties, astronaut speaking engagements, lunar cultural webinars, entrepreneur contests and Moon movie parties are suggested and may be livestreamed on IMD YouTube channel on 20 July 2022 – proposals due 1 June; International Moon Day also running Logo Competition with €1000 prize, entries due 31 May

Pictured: IMD-G members (L-R) Nasr Al-Sahhaf, Austeja Jurjonaite, Ariann Duncan, Bernadette Detera; Credits: MVA, UN, XTEND;
 

Friday / 13 May 2022

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Nature Editors Urge Funding of USA-Led Artemis Program to Lead Worldwide Lunar Effort

US$93B expected cost of Artemis program through 2025 planned human landing is justified both by scientific goals (investigation of water ice & Earth-Moon system formation) and to be ‘a ray of light in dark times’ for humanity; Nature also reports NASA has ‘knowledge, stability and standing’ to manage 19-nation Artemis coalition, and will be issuing RFP for Artemis-3 geoscience soon; 2022 missions / payloads from Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, UAE possible; Open University planetary scientist Mahesh Anand tells Nature ‘This is just the beginning’

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 10 May 2022

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SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell Predicts Human Mars Landing Within 2020s, Moon Landings Sooner

As SpaceX awaits final FAA Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Boca Chica launch, now due May 31, and NASA mega Moon rocket SLS inaugural Artemis 1 flight delayed until NET August due to obstructed helium check valve / hydrogen leak discovered during 1st WDR attempt, Gwynne Shotwell is steadfast in assessment that human landings on Mars “Will be in this decade”, adding “People on the Moon, sooner”; Accelerated timeline is 10+ years ahead of official NASA plan of Mars landings NET 2040, per Administrator Nelson statement in May

Credits: SpaceX, ESA, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 May 2022

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Analog Astronaut Conference Meets at Biosphere 2 as SIRIUS-21 Long Duration Simulation Ongoing

Preparatory ‘analog’ space missions, vital to understanding effects of long-term Moon habitation on human physiology / psychology, also advance techniques and technologies applicable to terrestrial stewardship as expressed by 2nd Analog Astronaut Conference themed “Learning from Space to Improve Earth and Humanity”; Gathering May 6-8 at UArizona Biosphere 2 features virtual keynote by (L-R) ‘Overview Effect’ writer Frank White, talks by professional Astronaut Nicole Stott, private Astronaut Sian Proctor, Grant Anderson (Paragon), Barbara Belvisi (Interstellar Lab); Meanwhile 6 international participants (TL) continue SIRIUS-21 in Moscow (3 Russia, 2 USA, 1 UAE); 240-day experiment runs until July

Credits: UArizona, RAS, Twitter, Analog Astronaut Conference

Friday / 6 May 2022

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Canada Celebrates Space / Moon with AstroFest in Montreal While Parliament Advances Cislunar Law

Astronaut David Saint-Jacques to speak on future of Canada Moon exploration activities as first Artemis program partner at Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, part of Space For Life Museum in Montreal 7 May; Canada to contribute Canadarm3 to Lunar Gateway, send Astronaut on Artemis 2 Moon orbit mission NET 2024; Lawmakers in Ottawa include language extending Canada legal jurisdiction to / from Gateway and lunar surface for both Canada citizenry and those of ‘Partner States’ in House of Commons bill

Credits: CSA-ASC, Ecosystem, Space For Life

Tuesday / 3 May 2022

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Planetary Science Decadal Survey Delineates Artemis-Era Moon Mission Priorities

NASEM report Origins, Worlds, and Life: Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 outlines plan to advance foundational Solar System understanding, including major initiatives on lunar surface: US$1.5B sample return Endurance-A, delivered by CLPS, would collect up to 100kg of regolith from 12 sites within South Pole-Aitken Basin spread over 2,000km to be retrieved by Artemis Astronauts vs $2.4B automated Endurance-R, which would return just 2.2kg; Either option would be powered by 245-W RTG and weigh 570kg; $903M Lunar Geophysical Network planned to operate 6+ years from 4 sites

Credits: NASEM / David Hinkle

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 April – 2 May 2022

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ISRO Proceeding Carefully with Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing, Plans International LUPEX Mission

Chandrayaan-3 flight hardware on display in new documentary Space on Wheels, also featuring 74 other domestic spacecraft; Vessel currently undergoing analysis of propulsion and other systems in Mahendragiri; Officially set for August launch, ISRO Chair S Somanath tells TOI “The list of tests is long and we do not want to compromise on anything. It is unlikely that we launch Chandrayaan-3 this year”; Lunar Polar Exploration Mission to follow NET 2024, with JAXA (rover) and ESA (instrument suite) participation; ISRO cooperating with 60 nations per 2021-22 Department of Space Annual Report

Credits: ISRO

Friday / 29 April 2022

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NASA Working to Leverage Latest Commercial LIDAR Tech for Human-Carried Lunar Mapping System

Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville AL, partnering with Torch Technologies under NASA Early Career Initiative to develop Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) device for Moon topography and live-action recording; KNaCK being designed for human use during Artemis landings, taking form as 18-kg backpack utilizing 4D (height, length, width, velocity) frequency modulated continuous wave lidar (FMCW) sensors capable of cm-level precision, supplied by Aeva of Mountain View CA

Credits: NASA, Torch Technologies, Aeva