Category Archives: Moon Exploration

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 27-30 July 2018

Posted on by

Chang’e-4 Far Side Moon Lander On Track For Dec Launch; Beijing Big Moon Expo Continues

China Long March 3B Set To Launch Chang’e-4 Lander & Rover Dec 2018 To Lunar Far Side South Pole Aitken Basin; Lander To Carry High-Res Cameras, Low Frequency Spectrometer, “Lunar Lander Neutrons & Dosimetry”; Rover Equipped With Panoramic Camera, Lunar Penetrating Radar, Visible / Infrared Spectrometer, “Advanced Small Analyser For Neutrals”; Queqiao Relay Satellite At L2 Orbit; Longjiang-2 Operates In Elliptical Lunar Orbit Transmitting Images From Moon; Lunar Exploration Technology Exhibition Featuring 10-meter Moon Continues To 9 Oct At Beijing National Aquatic Center “Water Cube”

Credits: CNSA, CASC, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing National Aquatic Center, NASA

Wednesday / 25 July 2018

Posted on by

Moon May Have Had Habitability Windows For Previous Life

New Astrobiology Article Identifies Two Possible Windows For Habitability Of Life On Moon: Immediately Following Accretion Of Moon, And 100s Of Millions Of Years Later Following Outgassing From Volcanism; Authors (L) At Washington State University & Ian Crawford (R) At University Of London Call For Obtaining Lunar Samples Of Deposits From Time Of Peak Volcanism ~3.5 Billion Years Ago To Determine Evidence Of Hydrated Conditions & Biomarkers

Credits: WSU, BBK, NASA, SSERVI, GSFC, Arizona State University

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 July 2018

Posted on by

Space Day 20 July 2018 Points To
Apollo 11 Mission 50th Observation,
Rise Of Lunar Enterprise

Apollo 11 Landing 49th Anniversary Honored This Year As Global Entities / Enterprises Plan Latest Moonrush With New Urgency: USA Allocates Resources To Return Humans To Moon 2020s With Long-Term Sustainability Goals, Leads Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway Development, Signs Collaboration Agreements With ESA, Israel, UAE; China Likely To Boost Space / Lunar Investment And Commerce In Response To New Trade Barriers, With Expected Innovation, Cooperation On New Frontiers; New Robust Lunar Programs / Partnerships Manifested By India, Japan, Russia, S Korea

Credits: NASA, White House, ESA, JAXA, CNSA (Pictured: Jim Bridenstine, Jan Woerner, Buzz Aldrin, President Trump)

Wednesday / 18 July 2018

Posted on by

‘Rocket City’ Huntsville Gearing Up For Year-Long Celebration Of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Huntsville, Alabama Plans Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Celebrations Throughout Entire 2019; Saturn V Rocket Developed In Huntsville Launched 16 July 1969 To Take Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, & Michael Collins To Moon; Space & Rocket Center Aims To Have 1 Million Guests From All Over The World In 2019; Mayor Tommy Battle Says Huntsville Still “Working On A Pivotal Role In Producing The New Engines That Will Take Us Back”; Astrobotic Selects Dynetics Of Huntsville As Provider Of Propulsion System For Peregrine Lunar Lander

Credits: Space & Rocket Center, Lee Roop, Astrobotic

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 July 2018

Posted on by

Space Week, Apollo 11 Anniversary To Be Celebrated Nationwide, Globally

Space Week Apollo 11 Mission Anniversary 16 July Launch, 20 July Moon Landing, 24 July Splash Down Includes 2018 Apollo Contest At GSFC 15 July; Many Honor Unofficial Space Day 20 July With Reflection Of 1st Moon Landing; ‘Moon Day’ In Dallas 21 July To Include Lunar Classes, Moon Sample Viewings; Apollo Celebration Gala 21 July At Kennedy Space Center Will Observe 49th Apollo 11 Touchdown & Start 50th Year Observations; It Will Host Apollo Era Astronauts (LL-LR) Walt Cunningham, Harrison Schmitt, Rusty Schweickart, Tom Stafford, Plus 14 Additional Astronauts; NASA Plans Human Return To Moon & Beyond, Hopeful To Land 1st Women On Moon

Credits: NASA (Pictured: (TL-TR) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin)

Friday / 13 July 2018

Posted on by

China, Russia Boost Moon / Space Partnerships, Plan Potential Operation Center On Hainan Island

Building Upon Roscosmos And CNSA MoU, 2018-2022 Bilateral Cooperation Program Outlining Projects, Contracts, Schedule For Moon / Space Exploration Taking Shape Through International Joint Working Group Sessions; Governor Shen Xiaoming (L), Of China Southernmost Province Hainan Island ‘China’s Hawaii’, Discusses Open Invitation To Russia, And Regional Readiness To Devote Land & Resources To Create Russia-China Center Focusing On Cosmonautics And Space, Potentially Utilizing CNSA Wenchang Satellite Launch Center At 19° N 

Also Pictured: Russia President Vladimir Putin and China General Secretary Xi Jinping

Credits: CCTV, CNTV, CNSA, PRC, Hainan.gov, Russia Presidential Executive Office, Kremlin.ru

Wednesday / 11 July 2018

Posted on by

SpaceIL Announces December Launch Of Israel Spacecraft To Land On Moon In February 2019

Israel Nonprofit SpaceIL & Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI Ltd.) Announce Launch Of Jointly-Developed Lunar Lander On SpaceX Falcon 9 In Dec 2018, For Landing On 13 Feb 2019 — To Be The 1st Israel Mission To Land On Moon, After Government Missions By USSR, USA, China, & Possibly India; SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby (M) Says The 2-m Diameter Spacecraft Will Weigh 180 Kg At Time Of Landing And Will Plant Israel Flag On Moon; Total Project Cost ~US$95M Since Its Beganning In 2011, Of Which SpaceIL President Morris Kahn (L) Donated $27M; IAI CEO Yossi Weiss (R) Stresses Benefit Of Civilian Space Activity For The World

Credits: SpaceIL, IAI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 July 2018

Posted on by

“First Women On The Moon” To Be Announced By NASA?
Apollo 11 Observances Upcoming

July 20 This Year Will Mark 49 Years Since The Apollo 11 Touchdown And The Start Of 50th-Year Observances Of The Signature Event Of The 20th Century; What Could Be A Grander Expression Of Equality, Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness Than NASA’s Public Announcement And Commitment To See Women On The Moon As Soon As Reasonably Possible? As One Female Astronaut Recently Remarked, “50% Of Us Haven’t Been There”; Will It Be The USA Which Commits And Enables Humanity To Become A Multi World Civilization? 

Credits: NASA (Pictured: Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride)

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 June – 2 July 2018

Posted on by

Chandrayaan-2 Lunar South Pole Mission To Target Water, Possibly He-3

GSLV Mk II Launch NET Oct / Nov Of 3,290-kg Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, Lander, 6-Wheel Rover, Will Research Topography, Mineralogy, Exosphere, Prospects For Ice-Water Utilization, Consider Future Helium-3 Extraction; Rover To Operate In Semi-Autonomous Mode For 2 Weeks; ISRO Chairman K. Sivan States India Plans To Be A Leader In Space Resource Utilization, Aims To Put India Crew On Moon

Credits: ISRO, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 22-25 June 2018

Posted on by

LRO Mission Enters 10th Year Orbiting Moon

On 23 June Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Embarks On 10th Year, Mission Goals Include Temporarily Going Off Nadir (Straight-On Imaging) Fall 2018 To Utilize Camera Stereo, Oblique Imaging; Inertial Measurement Unit Currently Powered Down To Reserve Power For Critical Events, Lunar Eclipses; In Lunar Eccentric Polar Mapping Orbit (20-km Altitude South Pole, 165-km North Pole) With 7 Instruments Providing High Resolution 3D Moon Mapping, Regolith & Radiation Observations, Data May Assist In Future South Pole And Far Side Lunar Landings

Credits: NASA