Friday / 22 November 2019

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LRO Surpasses 10 Years In Orbit With Images Of Longjiang-2 Site And Giordano Bruno Crater

NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Originally Designed For One Year Of Operations, Exceeds 10 Years Of Mission Returning 1.1 Petabytes Of Data; Orbiter Cameras Image Impact Site Of China Longjiang-2, Part Of Chang’e-4 Mission, But Are Unable To Locate India Chandrayaan-2; LRO Returns High-Resolution Photos Of Cliffs Within Giordano Bruno Crater; With An Estimated 7 Years Of Service Life Left, LRO Is Expected To Play Part In Reconnaissance For Artemis Human Lunar Landings

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 19 November 2019

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Peregrine Lander To Carry Lunar Rovers In 2021

Astrobotic, One Of Nine NASA Commercial Lunar Services Providers, Aims To Place Peregrine Lander On Moon In 2021; First USA Lunar Landing In 49 Years Will Be Launched On Upcoming United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur Booster; Astrobotic Receives US$2M Tipping Point Award To Develop Small CubeRover; UK-Based Spacebit, Founded By Pavlo Tanasyuk, Plans To Send 10-cm Tall 4-Legged Rover Capable Of Exploring Lunar Caves; NASA Announces Additional CLPS Providers Blue Origin, Ceres Robotics, Sierra Nevada Aerospace, SpaceX, And Tyvak In Monday Teleconference

Credits: Astrobotic, Spacebit, ULA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 November 2019

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Chandryaan-3: India Reportedly Sets November 2020 Goal For Landing Near Moon South Pole

ISRO Second Effort At Soft Landing On Surface Of Moon In Late 2020; Chandrayaan-3 To Be Configured With Detachable Propulsion Module, Lander And Rover; Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Currently Functioning And Imaging With Onboard Terrain Mapping Camera-2 And Orbiter’s High-Resolution Camera From ~100-km Elevation; Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre Head V Narayanan (R) Leads Inquiry Into Chandrayaan-2 Lander Failure; Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director S Somanath (L) Leads Chandrayaan-3 Planning Committee

Credits: ISRO, NASA

Friday / 15 November 2019

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Pence At NASA Ames Applauds Artemis Progress

USA Vice President Mike Pence Says “Artemis Is Here To Stay” At NASA Ames Research Center In California 14 November, Promises NASA Administrator Bridenstine The Resources Needed; Space Launch System And Orion Spacecraft Being Tested For Projected Late 2020 Artemis-1 Mission; Boeing, And Blue Origin Team (With Lockheed Martin And Northrop Grumman) Both Submit Proposals For Artemis Human Lunar Lander; Pence Practices On Vertical Motion Simulator Expected To Be Used For Lunar Landings

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 12 November 2019

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Broad International Support For Artemis At IAC

At 70th International Astronautical Committee Meeting In Washington DC, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Reaffirms Commitment To International Cooperation For Artemis 2024 In Meetings With Heads Of Space Agencies; IAC Emphasizes International Cooperation For Independent Commercial Spaceflight; ISS Partners Canada And Japan Are Already Committed To Participating In Lunar Program; Europe And Russia Expected To Follow With ESA Seeking To Build Lunar Orbit Modules And Cargo Lander; International Cooperation Could Include India, China, Crescent Moon Countries And Africa

Credits: Boeing, NASA, Blue Origin

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 November 2019

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France And China Formalize Partnership On Chang’e-6 Moon Exploration And Earth Observation Mission

Director Of CNSA Zhang Kejian And CNES / Outgoing IAF President Jean-Yves Le Gall Sign Statement As France President Emmanuel Macron And China President Xi Jinping Meet At Recent State Visit In Beijing; CNSA Lunar Probe Chang’e 6 To Carry CNES Alpha Spectrometer DORN (Detection of Outgassing RadoN) To The Surface Of Moon; Will Also Collaborate On Development And Deployment Of New Generation Satellite Designed To Monitor Water Cycle Metrics Pertinent To Understanding Of Climate Change; Le Gall Says That Agreement “Confirms Importance Of Space Cooperation In France And China Relationship”

Credits: CNES, CNSA

Friday / 8 November 2019

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Boeing Bids For Lunar Landing ASAP With Fewest Steps

Boeing Reveals Design For Artemis Lunar Lander, Using Technology From Starliner To Reach Moon In Fewest Steps; Two-Stage Spacecraft Would Require Development Of Boeing Space Launch System And Exploration Upper Stage; EUS Requires Funding At US$300M Per Year, Cost Of Lander Unknown; Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin Favors Going To Moon With Minimal Gateway But With Cooperation From China; Boeing Faces Competition From Blue Origin Team Including Lockheed Martin And Northrop Grumman, And Possible Bid From SpaceX

Credits: Boeing, NASA, Veterans in Blue

Tuesday / 5 November 2019

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China Considers US$10 Trillion Earth-Moon / Cislunar Economic Zone

With Chang’e-4 Operating On Lunar Surface And Chang’e-5 Slated For Launch In 2020 On Long March 5, China Is Considering Establishing A Cislunar Space Economic Zone; Bao Weimin (R) Of China Aerospace Science And Technology Corporation Reveals Decades-Long Plan At Seminar On Space Economy; Key Technologies Would Be Finished By 2030 Including Long March 9 Heavy Lift Booster, And Regular Transportation To Moon Established By 2040; Earth-Moon Region Could Potentially Generate US$10T In Commerce By 2050

Credits: CAST, CNSA, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 November 2019

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Where Will Artemis Land?

Artemis 3 Mission, To Land Next Man And First Woman On The Moon, Planned To Spend Up To 6.5 Earth-Days On Surface; Landing Announced For South Polar Region In 2024; Shackleton Rim Near South Pole Is Possible Site Of Future Settlement; Long-Term Radiation Exposure Expected To Be A Hazard; City-Sized Lava Tubes Discovered In Equatorial Regions Like Marius Hills Seen As Possible Shelters; GRAIL Gravity Probe Finds Moon Full Of Hidden Lava Tubes

Credits: JAXA, Kaguya, NASA, JPL, Caltech, MIT, GSFC, Lockheed Martin Corp.

Thursday / 31 October 2019

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Canadensys / ILOA Agreement To Place ILO-X, ILO-1 Instruments On Moon, South Pole 2021/2022

ILOA To Sign Strategic 2-3 Year ‘Astronomy From The Moon’ Partnership Contract With Canadensys Aerospace Corporation 1 November During ILOA Annual Board Of Directors Meeting Held At CFHT HQ In Kamuela, Hawai’i; Year 1 To Complete Final Flight Build Of ILO-X Imaging Instruments For Flight On CLPS 2021 Lunar Lander, Or Adapted For Flagship ILO-1 Advanced Payload For Moon South Pole Mission 2021/22; Year 2 For Design & Development Of ILO-1 & ILO-2 Communications Instruments

Credits: Canadensys Aerospace Corp., International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA)