Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Friday / 26 August 2016

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Humans To Moon: Beyond National Efforts, International And Commercial Entity Could Accelerate 21st Century Advancements

International Moon Efforts

USA 2017 Administration Could Support New Effort To Reclaim Greatest Achievement In History With SLS 2021-23; China Long March 9 Expected Completion 2025, Proposes Human Moon Missions 2031-2036; India GSLV Mk. 3 Might Launch Crews To Space ~2021; Russia Hopes For Human Lunar Orbit 2027, Surface Mission 2029 If Funding Remains Consistent; Japan Working On Robotic SLIM Mission; ESA Proposes Moon Village; Independent Astrobotic, Moon Express, ILOA Missions And / Or Formation Of International Entity Could Increase Momentum Toward Ultimate Goal Of Lunar Exploration, Science, Resources For Earth

Credit: NASA, ESA, CNSA, ISRO, JAXA

Friday / 19 August 2016

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ESA Invites 2,200 EU Citizens From 22 Member States For ‘Debate On Space’

ESA EU Citizen Debate 2016

First Major Event For European Union Public To Learn About, Voice Opinions On ESA Space Program Priorities 10 September; Topics Covered Will Include ESA Director Jan Woerner Moon Village, Human Spaceflight, Planetary Missions, Science, Exploration, Earth Observation, Telecommunication; Engaging Initiative Could Benefit USA, Other Countries To Catalyze Further Support Of Space Programs And Solidify Moon, Mars, Beyond Path For Human Space Settlement / Exploration

Credit: ESA, Euronews, D. Ducros

Friday / 12 August 2016

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ILDWG Proposes G20 Leaders Discuss Financial Promise Of Developing Moon, Space Economy

ILDWG 2016

International Lunar Decade Working Group Urges Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) To Include Space Development At G20 Summit In Hamburg July 2017 As Innovative, Global Strategy For Building Sustainable, Long Term Future For Humanity; Moon Village Would Include More Nations, Surpass Financial Scope Of ISS; Cislunar Space Infrastructure Could Reduce Costs & Risks Of Operating In Space; Space-Based Resources, Asteroid Mining Would Create Hundreds Of Thousands Of Jobs, Drive Innovation & Discovery, Generate Tools For Earth Climate Change, Planetary Defense

Credit: ILDWG, ESA, NSS, NASA, ISDC, SFF, 5FM, Researchgate, G20

Thursday / 28 July 2016

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Nuclear Power On Moon, Mars, Beyond

LED-7-27-16

SETI Institute Science Colloquium At Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus Features Frank Shu, Professor Emeritus, University Of California Berkeley; Discusses Lunar Base As Wise First Step Toward Humans Colonizing Mars, Traveling To The Stars; Shu Notes Lunar Water Ice Harvesting / Electrolysis To Produce Habitat-Critical Oxygen (& Hydrogen For Fuel) Requires Primary Power Source; Presents Patented Design For Two-Fluid Molten-Salt Breeder-Reactor (2F-MSBR) Using In Situ Thorium; Overlooks Potential For Photo-Voltaic Power At Peaks Of Eternal Light (Areas Of Near-Continuous Illumination) At Moon South Pole

Credit: SETI Institute, UC Berkeley, NASA

Friday / 22 July 2016

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UAE Satellite Maneuver Pays Tribute To Humankind’s Greatest Achievement

Moon 47th International

UAE Dubai-Sat-2 Earth Observation Satellite Turns Face & Captures Images Of Moon To Mark Achievement Of 1st Human Moon Landing, Inspire Future Space Scientists; Salem Al Marri Of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre Notes Apollo As “A Pinnacle Of Engineering Development & Exploration” And Hopes To “See People On Mars & Other Celestial Bodies”; Nations Including China, India, Japan, Russia, S. Korea & ESA Are Focusing On Moon Missions And Outposts; U.S. Has The Technologies & Could Catalyze Space Race With Prioritization

Credit: Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, Dubai Eye Radio, NASA

Friday / 8 July 2016

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Rocket Lab Electron Rocket May Launch Late Summer, Qualifies Rutherford Engine For Flight

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab Planning Maiden Electron Rocket Launch Within A Couple Months From Wairoa, New Zealand Followed By Launches From New Site At Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula (39° S, 177° E) Which Is Close To Completion; CEO Peter Beck Notes Mahia Can Offer “Widest Range Of Orbital Azimuths Of Any Launch Site Globally”; Electron Is 10,000kg, 16-meters Tall, Able To Carry 150kg To 500-km Sun-Synchronous Orbit For Less Than US$5M; HQ In Los Angeles, Company Working With Moon Express For 2017 Launch To Moon & Potentially 3 Other Launches, And Up To 12 Missions For Spire Satellites

Credit: Rocket Lab, Google, Moon Express

Friday / 24 June 2016

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China Chang’e-5 Propulsion System Completing Tests, Hainan Spaceport Maiden Launch 26 June

China Human Moon, CE5

CE-5 Sample Return Mission On Track For 2017 Launch With Lander, Rover, Orbiter Completing Final Propulsion System R&D, General Assembly & General Testing At CASC; China In Prime Position To Help Lead Effort To Put Humans On Moon With Inaugural Hainan Spaceport / Moonport Launch Of Long March 7 On 26 June, Development Of Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Tiangong-2 Space Lab Launch NET Sep, Long March 5 Launch Sep-Oct, Tiangzhou-1 Crewed Launch Apr 2017, CE-4 In 2018, CE-6 In 2020

Credit: CASC, CNSA, China.org.cn, Xinhua, CCTV News

Friday / 17 June 2016

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13th International Planetary Probe Workshop Highlighting Innovative Ideas For Lunar Exploration

LED-6-16-16

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA Meeting In Laurel, Maryland June 13-17 Features Talks By Alan Stern PI Of New Horizons & Ellen Stofan NASA Chief Scientist; Includes Presentations By Robert Buchwald (TR) Of Airbus On ‘Prospecting And Returning Lunar Surface Samples With Volatiles’ And By Balaji Soundararajan, Masters Student (Space Engineering) at Technical University Berlin On ‘Autonomous UAV for Lunar Inspection’ & ‘Lunar Ballistic Robot Exploration’

Credit: JHU/APL, GSFC, NASA,R. Buchwald, B. Soundararajan,

Thursday / 16 June 2016

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GLXP Teams Flying Under The Radar Continue To Make Headway

GLXP 6,2016

With 16 Teams From 13 Countries Remaining – Malaysia Team Independence-X Working On SQUALL Lander & BLIZZARD Rover Featuring Continuous Track Propulsion & Able To Fit Into 1.5U CubeSat; Croatia, Australia Team STELLAR Developing 4-Wheeled Rover With Support From 6 Companies & 14 Team Members, Produces Video Of Lunar Vision; Italy Team Italia With Expert Help From Thales Alenia Space & Polytechnic University Of Turin Furthering AMALIA Lander & ~10-kg Rover; Canada Team Plan B Supported By More Than 39 Volunteers Is Advancing 4-kg 2-Wheel Rover & Landing System

Credit: GLXP, Team Independence-X, Team STELLAR, Team Italia, Team Plan B

Wednesday / 15 June 2016

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China Moon South Pole CE4 Details Emerging For 2018 Mission

LED-6-14-2016

Liu Tongjie, Deputy Director Of CNSA Lunar Exploration & Space Program Centre Highlights Launch Of Critical CE4 Communications Relay Satellite To Halo Orbit Of Earth-Moon L2 In Late-May Or Early-June 2018; Followed ~6 Months Later By Launch Of Lander To South Pole Aitken Basin Fitted With Descent, Terrain Cameras; Main Payload Is Low-Frequency Radio Spectrometer; 3 International Payloads From Netherlands, Sweden, Germany; Rover With Panoramic Camera, Ground-Penetrating Radar, Infrared Spectrometer

Credit: CNSA, NAOC-CAS, CNS, JAXA (Topographical map of Moon farside based on Kaguya data, Aitken basin approximately 2,500km in diameter and 13km deep circled, red represents high elevation, purple represents low elevation)