Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 16-19 Feb 2024

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Intuitive Machines Overcoming Obstacles While Operating in Space on Route to Moon

Nova-C class lander Odysseus is ‘in excellent health, in a stable orientation’ and on track for 22 Feb soft landing attempt ~300-km from Moon South Pole despite several trials: intermittent comms, a slight star tracker miscalibration ameliorated via software update, and variance in LOX line chill time in space vs Earth (Odysseus being only the second LCH4 / LOX craft to operate in space following LandSpace Zhuque-2 in Dec 2023) for which adjustments have been made; Commissioning Burn originally expected within first day of transit to be conducted shortly

Credits: Intuitive Machines

Friday / 16 Feb 2024

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Commercial USA IM-1 Lander Odysseus on Direct Course for Moon

Intuitive Machines of Houston TX working around the clock to achieve first USA Moon landing in 21st century and first commercial landing ever with Nova-C ‘Odie’ on Trans-Lunar Orbit (TLO); Odie is expected to archive Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) on 21 Feb, followed by landing site near the eastern rim of Malapert A crater (80.2°S, 1.0°E) 22 Feb; Carrying 6 NASA and 6 independent payloads under $118M NASA CLPS contract + undisclosed private freight charges, the IM-1 mission was inspired by Space Policy Directive-1 per CEO Steve Altemus; SPD-1 calls for public-private and international partnerships to ‘enable human expansion across the solar system’

Credits: SpaceX, Intuitive Machines, LinkedIn

Tuesday / 13 Feb 2024

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Lunar Wave of Exploration Set to Continue with International Commercial and National Landers in 2024

As CLPS provider Intuitive Machines readies for first USA Moon surface mission in 51 years (delivery readiness media teleconference 13 Feb 13:30 EST, launch coverage 14 Feb 00:15 EST), other efforts are also in the pipeline: 8,200-kg CNSA Chang’E-6 is expected to launch to lunar far side (~43.0°S, ~154.0°W) NET May with Queqiao-2 relay orbiter launching NET March; IM-2 may follow with launch to Shackleton connecting ridge (89.5°S, 51.3°W) NET Q2; Firefly Blue Ghost M1 planning NET Q3 launch to Mare Crisium (17.0°N 59.1°E); Astrobotic launching Griffin to Mons Mouton (84.6°S 31.0°W) NET November; ispace Hakuto-R Mission 2 and IM-3 may also launch before EOY

Credits: IM, CNSA, Firefly, Astrobotic, ispace

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 Feb 2024

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Next Class of Artemis Astronaut Candidates Set to Graduate

10 USA NASA and 2 UAE Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center classmates determined to work on Moon and Mars will be awarded astronaut wings at JSC 5 March; Ceremony for candidates Nichole Ayers (Colorado), Marcos Berríos (Puerto Rico), Christina Birch (Arizona), Deniz Burnham (Alaska), Luke Delaney (Florida), Jack Hathaway (Connecticut), Anil Menon (Minnesota), Christopher Williams (Maryland), Jessica Wittner (California) and Nora Al Matrooshi & Mohammed Al Mulla of UAE to be broadcast on NASA TV / NASA+ starting 10:30 EST followed by live Q&A at 11:45

Credits: NASA

Friday / 9 Feb 2024

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Lunar Mining Company Interlune Plans NET 2026 Surface Operations

Interlune of Tacoma WA developing equipment to extract resources from Moon with US$18.19M funds including $246,000 SBIR Phase I grant; Led by former Blue Origin leaders (L-R) Rob Meyerson (CEO), Gary Lai (CTO) and Indra Hornsby (COO, formerly of Rocket Lab), Interlune is reported by TechCrunch to be targeting helium-3 (3He), a resource long considered for radiation-free fusion power and other medical and computing applications whose quantity was measured in Chang’E-5 samples; The company projects the market for 3He will be 4,000 kg / yr by 2040

Credits: Interlune, US Congress, Twitter / @blueorigin, UVic / Brandon Hill

Tuesday / 6 Feb 2024

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Japan Pioneers Lunar Broadcasting with First Amateur Radio Station on Moon

JAXA Ham Radio Club (call sign JQ1ZVI) has established radio communication in 437.41 MHz frequency with 1 W UHF transmitter weighing just 90 g aboard Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) hopper (2.2 kg total mass), deployed from JAXA SLIM lander during 19 Jan UTC (20 Jan JST) landing descent; Signal containing Morse Code received by operators around Earth from a distance of ~380,000 km, including C.A. Muller Radio Astronomy Station utilizing 25 m radio telescope at Dwingeloo NL; SLIM is currently dormant as lunar night transpires but JAXA operators will attempt reactivation upon lunar daybreak in mid-Feb

Credits: JAXA, Bard

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 2-5 Feb 2024

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Intuitive Machines Set to Become First Independent Operator on Moon with US$118M Mission

Nova-C class lunar lander Odysseus may make history with expected 22 Feb landing near Malapert A crater (80.2°S, 1°E), ~175 km from the peak of Malapert Massif and ~300 km from MSP; Intuitive Machines will be the fourth commercial attempt at Moon landing, following SpaceIL (Feb 2019), ispace (April 2023) and Astrobotic (Jan 2024) and the first USA landing attempt of any type in over 51 years, since Apollo 11 (Dec 1972); In addition to 5 NASA commissioned science instruments, Odysseus will carry 6 commercial payloads (clockwise): ILO-X (International Lunar Observatory Association), Lunaprise (Galactic Legacy Labs), Independence (Lonestar Data Holdings), Moon Phases (Jeff Koons, 4Space), Omni-Heat Infinity (Columbia Sportswear), and Eaglecam (Embry-Riddle)

Credits: Intuitive Machines

Tuesday / 30 Jan 2024

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SLIM Awakens, Resumes Mission to Characterize Lunar Surface

The motorcycle-sized SLIM lunar lander is collecting solar energy and conducting spectral analysis of regolith near 13.3160° S, 25.2510° E landing site after 10 days of uncertainty following off-nominal descent caused by loss of 1 (of 2) 500 N main engine resulting in a flipped landing orientation requiring westward sun; Despite this adversity, SLIM did achieve 1.4 m/s soft-landing within ~55 m of precision targeted site and is set to continue collecting data until end of lunar day, ~31 Jan UTC (began ~16 Jan) within 10 spectral bands via Multiband Spectroscopic Camera (MBC); Landscape image (L) generated by completing 257 low-res images reveals first light including protuberance dubbed ‘toy poodle’

Credits: JAXA, Ritsumeikan University, University of Aizu

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 26-29 Jan 2024

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Stability of Moon South Pole Under Scrutiny Ahead of Artemis Human Lunar Landings

NASA-supported study Tectonics and Seismicity of the Lunar South Polar Region surveys recent LRO and historical Apollo Passive Seismic Network data to analyze 15 lobate thrust fault scarps, thought to be caused by interior cooling and Earth tidal forces, in the MSP region including in de Gerlache Rim, 1 of 13 candidate sites for Artemis 3; Modelling of associated shallow moonquakes (SMQ) indicate shaking up to 50km from epicenters, a safety concern especially for areas such as Shackleton crater which may be susceptible to regolith landslides; Further insight to be gained when Farside Seismic Suite is carried on Draper Series-2 lander to Schrödinger basin NET 2025 under CLPS

Credits: NASA / LRO

Tuesday / 23 Jan 2024

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Japan Celebrates Becoming 5th Nation to Soft Land on Moon as Efforts to Extend Surface Operations Continue

JAXA has met its minimum success criteria for SLIM mission by landing softly on the lunar surface, however operations were suspended when battery level reached 12% at 02:57, Jan 20 JST (17:57 on 19 Jan UTC) just hours after landing due to attitude anomaly which left solar panels oriented westward; Prior to battery disconnection, JAXA ‘obtained a lot of data‘ and hopes to receive more if lander can be reactivated as Sun moves west toward the end of the current lunar day (~30 Jan); While not designed for lunar night survivability, ‘if the spacecraft survives the -200°F night, then in two weeks’ time, it could revive again‘ per ISAS Director General Hitoshi Kuninaka

Credits: JAXA