Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

Friday / 22 November 2024

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Thailand GISTDA / NARIT Promote Moon Missions

Thailand Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), organizes Space Week, participates in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), counts 35,000 Thai businesses linked to space, signed Artemis Accords via director Pakorn Petchprayoon, signed MoU with muSpace / ispace for lunar collaboration; National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) does astronomy / related sciences, educates, signed with Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) / International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) via Executive Director Saran Poshyachinda for South Pole Moon base and precursors, will have 3 kg space weather monitor on Chang’E-7 orbiter NET 2026; Thai instrument or robot planned for Chang’E-8 lander NET 2028

Credits: GISTDA, NARIT, NASA

Friday / 15 November 2024

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Firefly Aerospace Aims for Moon Far Side

Firefly Aerospace, Texas, latest fundraising of US$175M, much from RPM Ventures, raises valuation to US$2B; majority owner is AE Industrial Partners; will launch via SpaceX Falcon 9 for first of 2 commercial Moon landings under NASA CLPS awards, delivering 10 instruments / experiments including LuSEE-Night, also Australian seismic SPIDER; after transport on 2,700 kg-payload-capacity Firefly Elytra Dark Transfer Vehicle in lunar orbit, lander Blue Ghost carries 150 kg to lunar surface, provides data / power / thermal resources for operations from Moon far side for 10+ days

Credits: Firefly Aerospace, Fleet Space, SpaceX, Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 3-6 May 2024

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First Lunar Far Side Sample Return Mission on Route to South Pole-Aitken Basin

China space agency CNSA guiding Chang’E-6 53-day mission, consisting of 4-module stack launched from Wenchang SLC (19 N°) on LM-5 rocket 3 May and Queqiao-2 relay satellite, also launched from Wenchang on LM-8 and currently in 200 x 16,000-km lunar orbit; Lander, ascender orbiter and return capsule to reach Moon orbit by 8 May, where they will remain for ~20 days before lander and ascender separate and descend to 490-km Apollo crater (itself within 2,400-km Aitken Basin) spending 48 hours drilling to a depth of 2-m and retrieving up to 2-kg of regolith for Earth (Inner Mongolia) return 25 June

 
Credits: CNSA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 28-31 July 2023

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India Chandrayaan-3 Successful TLI Will Propel Craft to Join USA, PRC, S Korea in Cislunar Space; Soon Followed by Russia, Japan

Rounding out July ‘International Space / Moon Month’ is TransLunar Injection (18:30-19:30 UTC 31 July / 00:00-01:00 IST 1 August) planned for Chandrayaan-3, setting it on course for lunar orbit, lander / propulsion-module separation 17 Aug, lunar touchdown 23 Aug; Luna-25 and SLIM landers may be on track for NET 10 Aug and 26 Aug respectively, while commercial Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines hope for 2023 launches; Continually operating are: landers CE-3 & CE-4, rover Yutu-2, and orbiters LRO, ARTEMIS P1 & P2, CE-4 Queqiao, Chandrayaan-2, CE-5-T1 Service Module, CAPSTONE & Danuri

Credits: NASA, CNSA, KARI, ISRO, Advanced Space

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 7-10 July 2023

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India Moon Landing Mission Chandrayaan-3 Set for Liftoff

The 3,900-kg Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft (lunar lander, propulsion module, rover) now encapsulated in LVM3 payload fairing as ISRO makes final preparations for 14 July, 02:35 IST launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre – India citizens invited to register for Launch View Gallery, vantage from southern areas of Sriharikota island / Pulicat Lake also available; Landing in MSP region (69.37°S, 32.35°E) expected 23-24 August; Mission duration is 1 lunar day (~14 Earth days) nominal, however ISRO Chairman S. Somanath is hopeful of 2nd lunar day extended operations if lander / rover survive night and recharge via solar panels

Credits: ISRO, IISc Bangalore

Tuesday / 27 June 2023

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China Advancing Robotic Lunar Exploration Program, Human Landings in 2020s, Public Outreach

10+ years of continuous operation on surface of Moon set to continue in phase 4 of Chinese Lunar Exploration Program with Queqiao-2 lunar orbital relay launching in early 2024, followed by far side sample return Chang’E-6 launching NET May 2024, landing at ~43.0°S, 154.0°W after 53-day trip; First regolith samples from far side will be analyzed under direction of Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center (LESEC); Organizational representatives of DSEL, LESEC, USTC inspire youth with Revealing Moon Mysteries, Exploring the Universe outreach program; International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO) making progress on Moon base consortium; CMSA targeting 2020s crewed lunar mission

Pictured (L-R): Science and Technology Daily Host Gong Qian, LESEC Engineer Zhang Tianli, LESEC International Cooperation Department Project Manager Shen Yuduo, USTC Associate Professor Low Jing Xiang; Credits: CNSA, DSEL, UDN, LESEC, Science and Technology Daily 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 24-27 March 2023

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NASA Office of Small Business Programs Recognizes Artemis Exploration Ground Systems Contributions

163 companies out of 800+ small-to-medium sized enterprises who worked to make Artemis 1 a reality and continue to support the ongoing effort to return humans to the Moon named in OSBP publication A Case for Small Business: Artemis I: Exploration Ground Systems; While EGS is based at KSC FL, businesses in 43 states assist operations; Report highlights Avatar Technologies (MD), Cimarron Software (TX), Craig Technologies (FL), Insight Global (CA), ProXopS (TX), Summit Technologies (FL) and Axiom Space (TX, recipient of US$228.5M Artemis spacesuit contract)

Credits: NASA / OSBP

Tuesday / 14 Feb 2023

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ISRO Preparing Host of Advanced Science Payloads for Chandrayaan-3 Lander, Rover and Propulsion Modules

Launching NET June, Chandrayaan-3 is targeting a 4 x 2.4-km site between Manzinus N and Manzinus U craters (69.37°S, 32.35°E), ~109km east of planned landing site of Chandrayaan-2 (2019); 1,726-kg lander will carry 7 science instruments including Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) and 9 sensors; 26-kg rover outfitted with Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS); 2,148-kg Propulsion Module will host Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) at 100-km polar orbit; Surface operations to be conducted over 1-lunar day / ~14 Earth days

Credits: ISRO, CNSA, NASA

Friday / 10 Feb 2023

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Capstone Lunar Orbit Pathfinder Team Attempting to Establish 2-Way Communication / Navigation Link with LRO

Led by Advanced Space, Capstone mission on 13th orbit of Moon, will soon exceed 3 months in 1,500 x 75,000-km near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), the intended path of Lunar Gateway human waystation (launching NET Nov 2024); The Terran Orbital-built 6U CubeSat has ~56% fuel (120 m/s ΔV) remaining, on track to surpass 6-month goal in orbit following 11-day command loss / recovery; Team working to validate spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation tech demonstration Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System with LRO, and attempt stand-alone navigation with Chip Scale Atomic Clock measurement of DSN radio signal

Pictured: Advanced Space CEO Bradley Cheetham; Credits: Advanced Space, NASA, Terran Orbital

Tuesday / 7 Feb 2023

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Artemis 2 ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ Construction on Track for 2024 Crewed Mission as SpaceX Starship Preps for Orbital Test

Build of next NASA Moonship advances with Artemis 2 SLS core stage nearing completion / integration with 4 Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines at Michoud Assembly Facility; Sets of SRBs for Artemis 2 & 3 await vehicle readiness at Utah Northrop Grumman plant; Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) in final assembly at Florida ULA factory; Orion European Service Module build progressing at KSC Neil Armstrong Building with acoustic tests slated for spring; Orbital test of Starship, the SpaceX vehicle planned to land Astronauts on the Moon (NLT 4 July 2026) may launch orbital test in March if imminent static fire of 33-Raptor engine Super Heavy prototype is successful

Credits: NASA, SpaceX