Tuesday / 12 November 2019

Broad International Support For Artemis At IAC

At 70th International Astronautical Committee Meeting In Washington DC, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Reaffirms Commitment To International Cooperation For Artemis 2024 In Meetings With Heads Of Space Agencies; IAC Emphasizes International Cooperation For Independent Commercial Spaceflight; ISS Partners Canada And Japan Are Already Committed To Participating In Lunar Program; Europe And Russia Expected To Follow With ESA Seeking To Build Lunar Orbit Modules And Cargo Lander; International Cooperation Could Include India, China, Crescent Moon Countries And Africa

Credits: Boeing, NASA, Blue Origin

Friday / 25 Oct 2019

International Space Agencies And Private Enterprises Sign Agreements To Land On Moon

Heads Of Space Agencies Meet At 70th International Astronautical Congress In Washington DC; NASA Unveils New Woman-Focused Logo For Artemis; Scientists Report First Results From Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer Aboard Queqiao Orbiter; Japan Formally Commits To Artemis And Partners With India For 2023 Moon Landing; Blue Origin Teams With Lockheed Martin And Northrop Grumman For Artemis Lunar Lander; Israel Renews Commitment To Land On Moon And Tours World With Moon-Themed Escape Room

Credits: NASA, SpaceIL

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 Sep 2019

China-Russia To Cooperate On Chang’e-7 And Luna-26

Roscosmos Head Dmitry Rogozin (L) And Zhang Keqiang Of CNSA (R) Sign Cooperation Agreement In Saint Petersburg; Zhongguo Planning Chang’e-5 Sample Return And Chang’e-6 Mission To South Pole On Long March 5 Booster; Russia Planning Luna-25 Landing In South Pole Region In 2021; Luna-26 Orbiter To Cooperate With Chang’e-7 In 2023-24; Russia Hoping For Lunar Sample Return In 2028; Both Nations Will Open Joint Data Center For Lunar And Deep Space Research

Credits: Roscosmos, IAF, NAOC

Tuesday / 16 July 2019

Spektr-RG Launches To L2 Lagrangian Point, Location Of Observatories And Lunar Probe 

Russia Spektr-RG Launches To L2 Lagrangian Point Aboard Proton-M Booster Designed For Lunar Payloads, First Successful Russia Mission Beyond LEO Since Soviet Union; Payloads Are Astronomical Roentgen Telescope X-ray Concentrator (ART-XC) And Extended Roentgen Survey Imaging Telescope Array Built By Germany Max Planck Institute; Spektr-RG Will Survey Sky For Galaxy Clusters, Black Holes And Hypothetical ‘Dark’ Energy; Sun-Earth L2 Point Is Location Of ESA Gaia Space Observatory, Former Stop Of Planck Observatory And Chang’e-2 Lunar Probe

Credits: Russia Academy of Sciences, Roscosmos

Tuesday / 14 May 2019

European Lunar Symposium Draws NASA And International Scientists 

The 7th European Lunar Symposium Opens 21-23 May At Museum Of Science And Industry In Manchester UK; On Opening Day NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green (L) Will Talk About The Importance Of The Moon; Astronomer Tim O’Brien (R) Will Describe The 76-m Lovell Radio Telescope At Jodrell Bank And Its Historic Role Tracking Lunar Missions; On 23 May Emily Law Will Talk About Lunar Laser Retroreflectors; The Symposium Is Sponsored By ESA And The NASA-Created Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, A Worldwide Collaboration

Credits: NASA, Earth Science Information Partners, BBC

Thursday / 9 May 2019

Korea Space Agency And NASA To Cooperate On Lunar Payloads And Science

Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) And NASA Agree To Jointly Develop Lunar Payloads And Launch Exploration Science Working Group; Stephen Clarke Of NASA Signs Agreement In Gwacheon With Choi Won-Ho And Choi Young-Jun Of KASI; Korea Scientists Will Develop Three Types Of Payload For Nine Privately Developed NASA Lunar Landers Starting In 2020; Soyeon Yi (L) Is Only Korea National Astronaut So Far; Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Planned For Dec 2020 Launch On SpaceX Falcon 9

Credits: NASA, Ministry of Science, Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Thursday / 25 Apr 2019

Space Day China Looks Forward To Lunar South Pole Within 10 Years

National Day Of Space Flight Meetings Are In Changsha 24 April, 49th Observation Of Dongfanghong-1, First Zhongguo Artificial Satellite; Theme Is “Pursue Space Dream For Win-Win Cooperation” With International Partners Contributing Science Experiments To Chang’e-4 And Queqiao Orbiter; Chang’e-4 Returns More Images Of Lunar Far Side While Chang’e-5 Is Planned For Late 2019; China National Space Administration Head Zhang Kejian (R), One Of Time Magazine’s 100 Influential People, Announces Plans To Build Research Station On Lunar South Pole Within 10 Years

Credits: CNSA, Space Day, Xinhua News, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Friday / 19 Apr 2019

Chang’e-4 Scientific Data Release Benefits International Partners

China National Space Administration Holds Ceremony 18 April To Pass Chang’e-4 Scientific Data To International Partners; Dutch Scientists Will Receive Data From Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) Astronomy Experiment On Queqiao Orbiter; Lander Neutrons And Dosimetry (LND) Experiment Is Built By Germany To Understand Radiation Effects On Regolith; Yutu-2 Rover Carries Small Analyzer For Neutrals (ASAN) Contributed By Sweden To Study Solar Wind; Liu Jizhong (L) Head Of Lunar Exploration And Science Center Announces That China Will Be Seeking 20 Kg Of International Scientific Payloads For Chang’e-6 South Pole Lander And Orbiter

Credits: CNSA, China News

Tuesday / 16 Apr 2019

ILOA-NAOC Sign MoU For Chang’e-3 LUT Data Processing To Advance Astronomy From The Moon 

In Beijing, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Sign Memorandum Of Understanding With International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) For Co-Sponsorship Of 2-Year Research Fellow To Process & Publish Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Data; 150-mm Aperture LUT Operational On Chang’e-3 At Mare Imbrium Can Image Galaxies, Quasars And Stars In Near-Ultraviolet 245-340 Nanometer Band; Accepting Post-Doctoral Fellowship Applications Beginning This Week; Latest Lunar Astronomy Instrument ‘Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE)’ Aboard Chang’e-4 Queqiao Orbiter At L2 Is Active

Credits: ILOA, NAOC-CAS, CNSA

Friday / 12 Apr 2019

SpaceIL Attempt Leaves Way Open For 1st Commercial Lunar Landing

SpaceIL Beresheet Makes Impact 11 Apr, Meaning That First Privately Developed Soft Landing Is Yet To Reach Goal; SpaceX Falcon Heavy, Which Is Scheduled To Launch Arabsat-6A From Kennedy Space Center On Same Day, Being Considered By NASA For Launching Orion Spacecraft To Moon; United Arab Emirates Space Agency, Which Has Formal Cooperation Agreement With NASA And Is Sending First UAE Astronaut To ISS In 2019, Forms Arab Space Coordination Group With 10 Crescent Moon Countries, Joining Israel In Reaching For Landings

Credits: SpaceIL, SpaceX, UAE National Press