Author Archives: LED Editor

Friday / 27 Oct 2023

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Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines on Dual Track to Return USA to Moon

Working under first 2 CLPS contracts awarded in 31 May 2019, Astrobotic of Pittsburgh PA and Intuitive Machines of Houston TX now in countdown mode to Moon launch; Astrobotic awaiting ULA readiness to ship Peregrine lander to KSC as Vulcan Centaur being prepped for NET 24 Dec launch on inaugural Certification-1; Intuitive Machines reportedly also aiming for similar time frame launch of Nova-C lander; Peregrine to take 30-day route to mid-latitude Gruithuisen Domes at ~36°N, whereas Nova-C taking more direct 5-7 day transfer via SpaceX F9 to Malapert A near MSP at ~80°S

Credits: ULA, SpaceX, Astrobotic, IM

Tuesday / 24 Oct 2023

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ISRO Chairman Looking Forward to Domestic Human Spaceflight Including Women Vyomanauts to Moon 2040

Indian Human Spaceflight Programm (IHSP) on track to launch crewed mission to space following successful Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1, the first of 4 planned abort tests to be conducted prior to 3 Gaganyaan uncrewed test flights in 2024 culminating in 3-crewmember Gaganyaan-4 mission NET 2025; Female-appearing humanoid robot Vyommitra to ride on Gaganyaan-2 & 3, while ISRO will seek human women Vyomanauts from future classes of fighter pilots in the long term, and recruit women scientists to work in space in the near-term per S Somanath

Credits: ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 Oct 2023

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Asia Space Powers China, India, Japan and S Korea Lining Up to Conduct Human and Robotic Moon Landings

CNSA to launch Queqiao-2 communications relay to an elliptical lunar frozen orbit NET March 2024 in support of MSP & far side Chang’E missions and as precursor for Solar System-wide interplanetary constellation; Inaugural launch of 92-m tall Long March 10 rocket expected NET 2027 ahead of 2020s human landings; ISRO tasked with human Moon landings NLT 2040 as Chandrayaan-3 data being analyzed and LUPEX, a south pole lander / rover collaboration with JAXA, planned for NET 2025; JAXA SLIM on route to Moon carrying LEV-1/2 surface probes with Lunar Obit Injection slated for late Dec; KARI Danuri orbiter continuing 1-year nominal mission ending 16 Dec, striving for lunar lander / rover mission NLT 2030

Credits: JAXA, KARI, CNSA

Tuesday / 17 Oct 2023

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Space Leaders in Major Himalayan Neighbors, India and China, Call for Human Moon Landings

While Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander remains in sleep mode, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath (T) emphasizing independent access to space, telling students ‘It is not only ISRO, everybody can do it in space’, citing 5 India companies including Skyroot (Hyderabad) and Agnikul (Chennai) while sharing his prediction of a woman landing on the Moon during Chandrayaan-10, a sentiment shared by India Prime Minister Modi; CNSA Taikonauts preparing for 2020s lunar landings, inaugural launch of new-generation crew spacecraft set for 2027 per first China Taikonaut Yang Liwei in remarks commemorating 20th observance of the Shenzhou 5

Credits: SPC, CNSA, IISc

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 Oct 2023

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Astronomy from the Moon is Increasing Focus of International Moon Missions

Unique vantage of lunar surface is attracting multitude of astronomy initiatives: ILO-X Galaxy imaging precursor instrument suite launching on Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander NET Nov 15; AstronetX Lunar-based Camera (L-CAM), led by Tabetha Boyajian of LSU, may launch on ispace Mission 2 NET 2024; Dipole antenna LuSEE-Lite heading to Schrödinger Basin aboard Draper / ispace APEX 1.0 lander NET 2025, while 4-monopole antenna LuSEE-Night expected to launch to Moon far side in late 2025 / early 2026 on Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander; CNSA Chang’e-8 to conduct soft-x-ray (<3 KeV) observation NET 2028

Credits:

Friday / 13 Oct 2023

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China Bolstering Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry Network With 2 New Telescopes for Cislunar / Deep Space Tracking

The 5th and 6th radio telescopes of the China VLBI Network are under construction following groundbreaking at sites in Changbai Mountains (near North Korea border) 11 Oct and in Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous Region, China in September; Shigatse station to feature 40-m radio telescope operating at 4,100-m; When linked to Nanshan 25m Radio Telescope (Ürümqi), Tianma 65-m Telescope (Shanghai), Beijing 50-m antenna (Miyun) and Yunnan Astronomical Observatory 40-meter radio telescope (Kunming), network will extend to 3800 km and allow observation of multiple spacecraft with 18% increased resolution

Pictured: SHAO Director Shen Zhiqiang; Credits: SHAO, NAOC, CAS, CNSA

Tuesday / 10 Oct 2023

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ISRO Working Towards Lunar and Human Spaceflight Goals as Chandrayaan-3 Data Undergoing Analysis

As hope for Vikram lander / Pragyan rover reactivation diminishes, India is moving forward with ambitious space plans as outlined by Chandrayaan-3 Project Director P Veeramuthuvel (T) and Satish Dhawan Space Centre Deputy Director T S Raghuram at International Space Week events in Rajahmundry and Chennai; Space tourism and human Moon landings are on the horizon, with Veeramuthuvel stating ‘ISRO wants to send humans there [Moon]’, while both officials promoted space tourism, with Gaganyaan Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1) slated for 25 Oct (IST)

Credits: ISRO, Roscosmos

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 Oct 2023

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China 2020s Human Moon Landing Solidifying as Robotic Exploration Series Continues

CSA, DSEL, CASC, CMSA and CNSA advancing crewed lunar mission set to occur before 2030 utilizing redesigned 10.6-m diameter Long March 9 with 50-ton lunar transfer capability or Long March 10  (also called 5DY / 5G / 921) with 27-ton lunar transfer, which may launch by 2027; Lander with powered descent stage to carry 2 Taikonauts and 200-kg rover to lunar surface; CNSA also seeking international payloads for Chang’E-8 launching NET 2028 (letters of intent due 31 Dec) while Queqiao-2 and Tiandu-1/2 relay satellites expected to launch NET March 2024 followed by Chang’E-6 far side sample return NET May 2024, and Chang’E-7 MSP mission NET 2026

Credits: CNSA, CASC, Xinhua

Friday / 6 Oct 2023

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Japan Lunar Spacecraft Loops Past Moon on Circuitous Route to Precise Landing

700-kg Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) passed within 4,992 km of the lunar surface, imaging Moon from ~7,000-km and is now on long, fuel-saving path to LOI expected to take 2-3 months, followed by a month in lunar orbit with landing within 100-m target zone near Shioli crater / Cyrillus crater rim (13.3°S, 25.2°E) NET Jan 2024; Japan will come 5th nation to soft-land on Moon (after USA, USSR, China, India) if SLIM is successful; Payloads include Multi-Band Camera, Lunar Excursion Vehicle, Laser Retro-reflector

Credits: JAXA

Tuesday / 3 Oct 2023

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Artemis and ILRS Scientists and Engineers Working to Design Human Moon Habitats

Supported by US$57.2M NASA SBIR phase 3 award, ICON of Austin TX developing Project Olympus construction system using additive 3D printer and lunar materials as in-situ feedstock; ICON is refining process by building for homes unhoused individuals at Community First! Village, with 400 printed to date; ICON also constructing 2,601-m2 Materials Exploration and Advanced Materials Processing Facility at University of North Dakota with Stantec of Edmonton AB; Chinese Society of Astronautics and Harbin Institute of Technology conducting lunar base design competition ending Feb 2024; Zhang Chongfeng of Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology proposing lunar lava tubes be utilized

Credits: ICON