Tuesday / 11 May 2021

DOGE-1 Mission To Moon May Revolutionize Space Enterprise Funding

“To The Moon” Rallying Call Of Investors, Enthusiasts And Idealists Who Believe A Reformation Of International Monetary Policy Towards Decentralized, Distributed Ledger Cryptocurrency In Lieu Of Government-backed Fiat Money Will Democratize Transactional Commerce, Is Set To Become Reality With Q1 2022 40kg CubeSat, Launching To Lunar Orbit Via SpaceX Falcon 9; DOGE-1 Being Constructed By Geometric Energy Corporation Of Calgary, Canada With Collaboration Of Mimir Solutions And Iteration Syndicate

Credits: SpaceX, Reddit, Youtube

Holiday Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 2-5 Apr 2021

Lunar Commercial Communication Ecosystem Is Major NASA Initiative For Coming Years

Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN), Overseer Of NASA Deep Space Network, Near Earth Network And Space Network Is Aiming For Full Commercialization Of Direct To Earth Ground Stations By 2023, Tracking And Data Relay Satellites Commercialization By 2030; Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) To Ride With CLPS Provider Firefly Aerospace On Blue Ghost Lander In 2023 To Investigate Feasibility Of Extending GNSS Signals For PNT From Earth To Cislunar Space; Orbital Relay Constellation Linked To Surface Nodes Governed By Voluntary Interoperability Standard LunaNet To Be Implemented 2024-2028

Credits: NASA

Friday / 19 Mar 2021

Moon Orbiter Missions Set To Deliver Valuable Science, Resource And Landing Site Surveying

India Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, Currently Maintaining 100 km Polar Path Around Moon, Is Now Expected To Continue Mission For Up To 7 Years Rather Than 1, Per Department Of Space Minister Jitendra Singh; Chandrayaan-2 Will Share Cislunar Space With: LRO, Now In Variable Fuel-Saving Elliptical Orbit And Approaching 12 Full Years Of Operations After Nominal 1-Year Exploration Mission; Chang’e-5T1 Service Module; ARTEMIS P1 / P2; Chang’e-4 Queqiao Relay Communications Craft At Earth-Moon L2; To Be Joined By Rocket Lab Capstone In Q3 2021

Pictured: Sarabhai Crater
Credits: ISRO, NASA

Tuesday / 9 Feb 2021

Lunar Manufacturing Capability To Be Advanced By Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 

DARPA (Budget ~US3.5B) To Host Proposers Day Webcast 26 February, 13:00-16:00 (EST), Orienting Potential Applicants In Anticipation Of Broad Agency Announcement On Novel Orbital And Moon Manufacturing, Materials And Mass-Efficient Design Program; Initiative Seeks To Apply DARPA (Formerly ARPA, Founded In Response To Sputnik-1) Ethos Of “Explicitly Reaching For Transformational Change” To Lunar Surface And In-Space Construction; Three 18-Month Phases Will Focus On 1-MW Solar Array Materials / Design Proof Of Concept (Phase 1); 100m-Diameter RF Reflector (Phase 2); Long-Wave Infrared Telescope (Phase 3)

Credits: DARPA, Pictured: Acting Director Peter Highnam (L), Defense Sciences Office Program Manager Bill Carter (R)

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 18-21 Dec 2020

China / Zhongguo Becomes 3rd Nation To Achieve Lunar Sample Return, 2nd To Do So Robotically

Chang’e-5 / Phase 3 Of CLEP Achieves Successful Transport Of 2kg Surface Regolith + 0.5kg Subsurface (1.8m Depth) From Oceanus Procellarum To Inner Mongolia Via High Speed Skip Retry; Recovered From Remote Tundra By Team Outfitted With 4kg Exoskeleton Suits, Providing 10% Strength Assist, And Joined By Curious Rabbit; First Samples Procured Since 170g From Luna 24 To Be Followed By Commercial / National Robotic And Human Efforts; International Collaboration On Analysis Invited, Chang’e-6/7/8 And Phase 4 Lunar Research Base Build-Out To Commence, Per Deputy Commander Wu Yanhua

Credits: CNSA, Xinhua

Thanksgiving Weekend Edition
Wed-Mon / 25-30 Nov 2020

Proactive Measures On Property Rights Needed To Achieve Harmonious Lunar Development

Thought Leaders At Center For Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, King’s College London And Missouri University Of Science & Technology Urge Serious Consideration Of Finite Materials (Water, Helium, Iron) And Locations (Peaks Of Eternal Light, Cold Traps, Level Building Sites) On Moon; Artemis Accords And Outer Space Treaty Need To Be Enhanced With Clear Guiding Principles Such As Those Set Forth By Moon Village Association To Avoid “Diverse Actors Pursuing Incompatible Ends” Vying For Areas “Both Few And Small” With Unfavorable Outcomes

 

Credits: NASA, SETI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 Nov 2020

ispace Japan Expands USA Presence, Aims For CLPS Awards With Draper-led Team

Moon Exploration Company ispace, Fueled By US$125M+ Funding, Opens Location In Denver CO; 1st Generation Lander Hakuto-R Set For 2022 / 2023 Missions Has ~30-kg Payload Capacity, Design Of New Heavier Class Lander Meeting CLPS / Artemis Requirements To Be Overseen By USA Lander Program Director Kursten O’Neill (L) And CEO Kyle Acierno (R), Production To Be Contracted To General Atomics; ispace Has Grand Vision Of “One Earth-Moon Ecosystem” Actualized Through Mission Sequence In Which “Swarms Of Rovers” Facilitate Human Activity On Lunar Surface

Credits: ispace

Friday / 16 Oct 2020

Nokia To Build 4G Data / Communications Network For Moon Build-Out

Part Of US$370M+ NASA Tipping Point Awards Announced By Administrator Bridenstine At LSIC 14 Oct, Nokia Of North America (Subsidiary Of Finland Parent Company) Granted $14.1M To Build Cis-Lunar LTE Network, A Highly Vital Component Of Artemis 2024 Human Moon Landing Plan And 2028 Moon Base Establishment; Nokia Had Planned To Launch Lunar Network In Conjunction With Vodafone, Audi And PT Scientists In 2018; Bridenstine Boldly Proclaims New Infrastructure Will Empower “Biggest, Broadest, Most Diverse Inclusive Coalition Of Researchers And Explorers In The History Of Humankind”

Credits: Nokia, NASA

Friday / 25 Sep 2020

Cis-Lunar Exploration, Science, Security Are Focus Of NASA – USSF MoU

New Agreement Signed Sep 21 Supersedes Prior MoU Between USAF / NASA; Document Notes Realm Of USA Space Activity In Process Of Expansion From Geostationary (35,785 km) To Cis-Lunar (437,741 km), Increasing ‘Space Domain Awareness’ Mandate 1000x; Rationale For Cooperation Based On Mutual Planetary Defense Objectives Such As Meeting Goal Of Detection / Characterization Of 90% Of All NEOs <8,046,720 km From Earth By End Of 2020 Through e.g. Shared Use Of USSF Space Surveillance Telescope; Areas Of Cooperation Identified Include Communications, Navigation, Manufacture, Logistics, Recruitment, Launch Support, Search / Rescue

Credits: NASA, USSF

Friday / 4 Sep 2020

Expected RFP For Robust Nuclear Power On Moon By 2027

NASA Advisory Council Technology, Innovation, And Engineering Committee At Sep 1 Meeting Signals Intention To Issue Request By Early Oct For Proposal To Build 10-Kilowatt Fission Reactor, Spacenews Reports; System To Support Human Activity Level Of Energy Demand In Excess Of Currently Deployed Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators Which Power Deep Space Probes / Rovers; Funding Bill In House Of Representative Also To Appropriate US$110M For Spacecraft Nuclear Propulsion Development; NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Administrator Jim Reuter Planning For $1.1B Or $1.58B Total Science Funds

Credits: NASA