Category Archives: Astrobotic

New Year Edition
Friday-Monday
20 Dec 2024 – 6 Jan 2025

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Commercial Companies Preparing Lunar Landers for Launches Within 1-9 Months

 ispace, inc. (Tokyo: 9348) announced 10 Mission 2 milestones planned January to June 2025 for Resilience lander with commercial payloads and NASA project (to collect / image regolith) at Mare Frigoris ~60.5° N; aboard the same Falcon 9 will be Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost Mission 1, expecting touchdown ~March at Mare Crisium, 17° N, with 10 payloads from NASA, enterprise, academia; in February, Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR) plans IM-2 launch via Falcon 9, arriving ~7 days later to Mons Mouton to prospect for water ice; Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 1 lander set to launch NET March on Blue Origin New Glenn rocket, carrying 3,000 kg of payloads; Astrobotic Griffin Mission One, flying NET Fall 2025 to Nobile Region, ~85° S, will carry MoonBox™ payloads for individuals

Credits: (clockwise from upper left) ispace, SpaceX, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, NASA photo of Blue Origin lander, Firefly Aerospace

Tuesday / 8 October 2024

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Astrobotic Working Toward 2025 Lunar Landing, Advancing Pittsburgh Infrastructure

Astrobotic Griffin lunar lander to launch on SpaceX Falcon Heavy NET September 2025 for Griffin Mission One; Griffin lander, built in Pittsburgh, will communicate via NASA JPL Deep Space Network antennae in Australia, Spain, California; 7 minutes after Florida launch, Polaris was photographed over skyline by Dustin McGrew, called “extraordinary” by Astrobotic founder William ‘Red’ Whittaker; University of Pittsburgh now has ‘Pitt Space,’ promotes research, offers graduate certificate; Astrobotic received NASA award to build solar array for Moon power infrastructure ~17x human height

Credits: Astrobotic, Dustin McGrew

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 19-22 Jan 2024

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Astrobotic Looking Forward as Intuitive Machines Prepares its Effort to Land First Commercial Mission on Moon

The first attempted USA commercial lunar lander has returned to Earth, reentering over the South Pacific with undetermined wreckage possibly resting near 23.087°S, 176.594°E ~450 km south of Kadavu (Fiji) and east of Aneityum (Vanuatu) Islands; Despite propellant leak which prevented Moon landing, “There’s a lot that worked” on Peregrine Mission 1, Astrobotic CEO John Thornton told media at joint NASA press conference, while the final mission update declares Peregrine has flown so Griffin may land; Intuitive Machines IM-1 is the next (of up to 9) scheduled CLPS missions, with Nova-C launch window set to open NET 11 Feb; CEO Steve Altemus envisions infrastructure business model “where the company plays the same role as highways, railroads, and shipping lanes are for Earth, but at the moon [sic]” per interview with Spectrum News in Orlando

Credits: Astrobotic

Tuesday / 16 Jan 2024

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Peregrine Set for Controlled Reentry into Earth Atmosphere as Astrobotic Works to Collect Data from Payloads

Now ~350,837 km from Earth, Peregrine Moon lander on 8th day of operation in cislunar space is in stable condition with propellant leak ‘practically stopped‘ as Astrobotic and USA government agencies work to determine trajectory for Earth reentry expected NET 18 Jan, although Astrobotic reserves right to determine final flight path independently; 10 payloads continue to receive power despite inability to conduct long duration corrective maneuvers; Joint press conference with NASA discussing mission set for 18 Jan 12:00 EST, which may shed light on Dynetics-built propulsion system valve anomaly

Credits: Astrobotic

Tuesday / 9 Jan 2024

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11 Days to SLIM Lunar Landing Attempt as Astrobotic Troubleshoots and Intuitive Machines Preps for NET Feb Launch

JAXA SLIM tightening 6.4 hour / 600 x 4,000 km elliptical lunar orbit ahead of maneuvers which are to bring landing craft to 15 x 600 km pre-landing orbit by 19 Jan JST ahead of 20 Jan 12:20 JST (19 Jan 10:20 EST) landing attempt which will employ unique horizontal landing strategy with goal of 100-m landing accuracy; Astrobotic team reestablish Peregrine communication and electrical power following successful ULA Vulcan Centaur launch and subsequent orientation anomaly, reconfiguration of mission may limit operations to lunar orbit and/or transit; Intuitive Machines NOVA-C set to be NASA CLPS next ‘shot on goal’ launching within multi-day window opening mid-Feb

Credits: JAXA, Astrobotic

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 Dec 2023

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3 Lunar Missions Set to Land on Moon Near Side NET January

JAXA SLIM on lunar-bound trajectory as 2 commercial landers supported by NASA CLPS contracts, Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, prepare for launch: SLIM set for lunar orbit insertion 25 Dec with mid-Jan orbit adjustment followed by landing (13.3°S, 25.2°E) NET 20 Jan 2024 (00:20 JST); Astrobotic Peregrine to launch on ULA Vulcan Centaur NET 24 Dec (1:50 EST), landing near Gruithuisen Domes NET 25 Jan (03:30 EST); Intuitive Machines Nova-C launching on SpaceX Falcon 9 NET 12 Jan, possibly landing (80.3°S, 1.2°E) 19 Jan within hours of SLIM

Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 Dec 2023

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USA Returns to the Moon, Part 1: Commercial Lunar Payload Services

Two Moon landings from USA, first in 51 years, set for new year; Astrobotic Peregrine launching NET Dec 24 / landing NET 25 Jan, Intuitive Machines Nova-C launching NET 12 Jan / landing NET 17 Jan; Both missions are independent efforts with NASA support through CLPS, conceived in May 2018 as commercial alternative to proposed Resource Prospector cancelled in April 2018; The $2.6B / 10-year program announced Nov 2018, with first awards including Astrobotic US$79.5M (TO2-AB), Intuitive Machines $77M (TO2-IM), with initial expected launch in July 2021; In total 8 CLPS landing missions are slated for launch between 2024-2026

Credits: Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, NASA

Thanksgiving Holiday Edition
Thurs-Mon / 23-27 Nov 2023

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A Robust International Moon Landing Schedule in First Half 2024

JAXA Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) lander, Astrobotic Peregrine and Intuitive Machines Nova-C Odysseus are slated to land on near side of Moon NET Jan 2024: SLIM is currently in low-energy transfer targeting 100-m landing site near Shioli crater (13.3°S) mid-Jan, Peregrine awaiting ULA Vulcan Centaur launch from KSC NET 24 Dec with late Jan landing near Gruithuisen Domes (36.56°N), Nova-C working toward late Nov shipping from TX to FL for NET 12 Jan launch on SpaceX F9 to 5-7 day direct transfer for mid-Jan landing near Malapert-A (80.3°S); CNSA Chang’E-6 to launch on Long March 5 NET May 2024 to Apollo crater within far side SPA Basin (43.0°S)

Picutred: SLIM Project Manager Shinichiro Sakai, Astrobotic CEO John Thornton, IM CEO Stephen Altemus, CLEP Designer Sun Jiadong; Credits: JAXA, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, CNSA, Linkedin

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 Nov 2023

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4 Lunar Lander Companies Working to Support USA Return to the Moon / Artemis Under NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Service

CLPS providers currently under contract to land NASA and independent payloads on Moon are Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, Firefly and Draper: Astrobotic Peregrine awaiting launch from KSC to Gruithuisen Domes NET 24 Dec, Griffin lander to carry VIPER NET Nov 2024; Intuitive Machines targeting 12 Jan launch of Nova-C to Malapert A and again in 2024 to deliver PRIME-1 drill to Shackleton connecting ridge; Firefly Blue Ghost scheduled to land in Mare Crisium NET 2024 and on the lunar farside NET 2026, delivering radio astronomy LuSEE-Night and SPIDER seismometer; Draper is also targeting Schrödinger Basin on far side NET 2025 with APEX 1.0 lander built in collaboration with ispace USA

Credits: Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, Firefly, Draper, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 3-6 Nov 2023

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Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines Prepare for Tandem Approach to Lunar Surface

Task Orders 2-AB and 2-IM, the first of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services, set to be fulfilled soon: 1.9-m tall, 2.5-m diameter Astrobotic Peregrine awaiting integration with ULA rocket at Astrotech Space facility in Titusville FL with launch planned for 24 Dec from SLC-41, CCSFS carrying 21 payloads (6 NASA, 15 independent); 4.3-m tall, 1.5-m diameter Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander now targeting late Nov shipping to KSC and 12 Jan 2024 launch from LC-39A carrying 11 payloads (5 NASA, 6 independent); With Peregrine taking ~1-month transfer vs Nova-C ~1-week, the 2 USA landers may reach Moon surface mere days apart

Credits: Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines