Friday / 16 May 2025

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ispace Lander in Lunar Orbit, 20 Days Ahead of Anticipated Moon Landing

 ispace 340-kg lunar craft Resilience in stable Moon orbit due to ~9-minute main thruster burn ahead of final maneuvers before anticipated 5 Jun (UTC) touchdown near Mare Frigoris with 5-kg rover Tenacious; rover will shovel regolith, analyze and send data; ispace aiming to fulfill US$5,000 NASA Lunar Regolith Transfer Contract; Resilience also carries water electrolyzer, food production experiment with algae, Moonhouse by artist Mikael Genberg, deep space radiation probe, UNESCO memory disk, commemorative plaque based on Charter of the Universal Century fictional document from Japanese science fiction franchise Gundam

Credits: ispace-Inc

Tuesday / 13 May 2025

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Helium 3 Needed for New Uses: Quantum Computing, Medical Imaging, Fusion Research

Interlune presents prototype excavator produced with Vermeer Corp to extract Helium 3 (3He) from 100,000 kg regolith hourly; US Dept of Energy will buy 3He from ~2 hours of excavation, 3L; Maybell Quantum also signed on to purchase 3He; Apollo 17 Astronaut geologist Jack Schmitt co-founded Interlune to mine 3He; CTO Gary Lau states regolith 3He concentration is between 1:3,000 and 1:10,000 according to samples from Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17; Company received initial seed funding of $18M

Credits: Interlune, Vermeer; Pictured: Schmitt

Friday / 9 May 2025

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India Moon Science, Future Missions Highlighted at IAF GLEX, New Delhi

Vyomanaut in training, Ajit Krishnan returns from IAF GLEX ongoing in New Delhi where India Moon and Solar System Complete mission science is being discussed; Chandrayaan-4 sample return lander to Statio Shiv Shakti NET 2027; Gaganyaan human Moon mission 8.2 t orbital module will carry 3 atop HLVM3, 1st flight Q1 2027; Chandrayaan-3 was 1st lander near South Pole region, making India 4th country with soft landing, rover also successful; Chandrayaan-2 orbiter continues to analyze Moon atmosphere, surface and subsurface; Chandrayaan-1 orbiter confirmed surface water

Credits: ISRO, NASA, PTI

Tuesday / 6 May 2025

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Astrobotic Technology Aims for Moon Landing by Dec 2025

Astrobotic Griffin-1 lunar lander Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) technologies critical for soft Moon landing show themselves reliably successful in Mojave CA test; rocks / small craters down to 15 cm detected and avoided by camera and LiDAR, in Hazard Detection and Avoidance and Terrain Relative Navigation systems; scan area ~1,000,000 sq m (>2,200 football fields) allows safest specific site and landing accuracy within 50 m radius; landing expected in Nobile region near Moon South Pole with Astrolab FLIP rover by end of 2025

Credits: Astrobotic Technology, NASA

Friday / 2 May 2025

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NASA Chief Approval Closer as Commerce Committee Hears Isaacman Say “Moon Before Mars”

Jared Isaacman nomination as NASA Administrator moves to full US Senate as Senate Committee votes 19-9 in favor; Schatz of Hawai’i was 1 of 9 opposed but didn’t say why; the 4 Artemis Astronauts were present; US Congress has wanted ‘Moon first’ for 20+ years; Public Law No. 117-167 and NASA Reauthorization Act specify ‘Moon to Mars’; Isaacman says he is ‘committed to following the law’; he wants to see ‘lunar operations become … routine’, ‘NASA to inspire the next generation’ and make a ‘true spacefaring civilization’

Credits: NASA, NASA/Bill Ingalls

Tuesday / 29 April 2025

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Firefly Aerospace Shares Knowledge Gained from Blue Ghost Moon Lander

Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost US$101M Mission 1 operated 2-16 Mar on Moon at Mare Crisium with 10 CLPS payloads; 7 automated engine burns navigated constantly changing center of gravity for landing; completed 100% of mission objectives, operated 14.4 days, 5 hours into lunar night; lunar noon at 121°C hotter than expected due to reflection off nearby crater wall, changing X-band antenna angle allowed shade to re-establish radio operation; radiators and more batteries could allow future landers to operate components through lunar night

Credits: Firefly Aerospace

Friday / 25 April 2025

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China National Space Agency Shares Moon ‘Wealth’ with International Scientists

Zhongde Shan, CNSA Director, announced 24 April, China Space Day that 7 applicants are awarded lunar regolith samples from Chang’E-5 for scientific research; awardees are Institute of Geophysics of Paris (France), University of Cologne (Germany), Osaka University (Japan), Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission of Pakistan, Open University of United Kingdom, Brown University of United States and Stony Brook University of State University of New York, with 5 signing “Lunar Sample Loan Agreement” that day; Shan emphasizes China lunar exploration program follows principles of equality, mutual benefit, peaceful use and cooperative success

Credits: CNSA, IPGP, U of Cologne, The Open U, Brown U, Osaka U, Stony Brook, SUPARCO; Dir. Zhongde photo courtesy Harbin U

Tuesday / 22 April 2025

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Now One Year Out: Artemis 2 Human Mission to Moon

Artemis 2 lunar flyby 10-day mission set for Apr 2026, though NASA is working for Feb; Will be first human Moon mission in 54 years, and will occur in 2026 – the 250th observation of USA Declaration of Independence; Orion solar panels now installed, SLS upper stage connected to interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS), return trajectory adapted to de-stress heat shield; ICPS will fire to reach HEO of 185×74,000km, where manual piloting mode and other systems are tested for 93.5 hours; Orion will make TLI burn to reach 7,400km beyond Moon far side ~370,000km from Earth before Earth-Moon gravity pulls craft back, entering atmosphere at 40,000kph, enduring heat ~2,760°C before splashdown

Credits: NASA

Friday / 18 April 2025

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Artemis Accords Continues Peaceful, Scientific Moon Cooperation Goal – Now with 54 Signatories

The Artemis Accords promote collaboration, ethical conduct and sustainable methods for space exploration, beginning with the Moon; 54th country, Bangladesh, signed Accords 8 Apr; not a treaty but a set of principles, areas of cooperation in the Accords include: Peaceful Purposes, Transparency, Emergency Assistance, Space Objects / Heritage / Resources / Activities, Scientific Data; as more nations join, it is hoped the influence of Accords will increase; China-led International Lunar Research Station project has 14+ national and private NGO signatories for robust, inclusive participation

Credits: NASA, ESA, Datawrapper

Tuesday / 15 April 2025

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New ispace-U.S. CEO Elizabeth Kryst Signs 2 Memorandums of Understanding

40th Space Symposium was backdrop for 2 announced collaborations; ispace-U.S. will work with Zeno Power, Tyler Bernstein Co-Founder / CEO, to develop technologies enabling survival of lunar night; demo mission planned NET 2027 with ispace APEX 1.0 next-generation lander (using Resilience-learned knowledge) and Zeno Power radioisotope power system (RPS) providing continuous, reliable heat / electricity via nuclear that solar panels cannot, during the 14-day lunar night at –173°C; ispace will work with Redwire (NYSE:RDW), President Mike Gold, 1 of 14 prime holders of CLPS IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) contracts, worth US$2.6B, to pursue future CLPS contracts

Credit: ispace