Tuesday / 24 June 2014

ESA Senior Exploration Officer Calls For Moon Mining Cooperation

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Bernard Foing Calls For International Cooperation / World Strategy For Exploration & Utilization Of Moon; Suggests Precursor Landers Should Be Operated In Coordinated Robotic Village, Utilize In-Situ Resources, To Prepare Sustainable Path Towards Humans Living Off The Land In International Bases; “Moon Is Like The 8th Continent Of Earth… Only Reasonable We Want To Mine It”; Comments Made At Ongoing EuroScience Open Forum Meeting In Copenhagen

Image Credit: Corbey Waste, esof2014.org, sg.hu

Wednesday / 11 June 2014

Russia Moon Ambitions: New Rocket, Cooperation With China

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Federal Space Agency Chief Oleg Ostapenko Says Russia Intends To Develop Super-Heavy Booster Capable Of Lifting 80-85 Tonnes To LEO To Support Aspirations For Human Moon Missions In 2020s, Current Soyuz Launch Vehicle Can Only Launch 7 Tonnes To LEO; Russia In Talks With China About Stepping Up Space Collaborations Including Orbital Space Station, Moonbase; Talks Come As Russia Pulls Away From Space Cooperation With USA & EU In Response To Sanctions

Image Credit: Moon Base Alpha, Russian Federation Ministry Of Defense

Thursday / 5 June 2014

Japan Government Affirms Plan For Exploration Of Moon & Mars

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Science & Technology Ministry Of Japan Submits Space Exploration Plan Focusing On Robotic Exploration & Long-Term Settlement Of Moon, Contribution To International Human Missions To Mars; Next Step Is SELENE-2 Lander / Rover Mission ~2018; Original Primary Mission Landing Site Was South Pole Eternal Light Region, Now Also Considering Equatorial Sites Of Scientific Interest; Follow-On SELENE-X Advanced Robotics Mission Will Demonstrate Technologies To Support Outpost Development  

Image Credit: JAXA

Tuesday / 3 June 2014

PISCES Extending Hawai`i Apollo Moon Mission Contributions To 21st Century

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Hawaii Island Moon-Like Environments Being Utilized By PISCES To Test Moon / Mars-Bound Vehicles & Technologies; New State Resolution Initiating Project To Develop Basaltic ‘Lunar Concrete’, Installation Of A Test ‘Lunar Sidewalk’ Set For Aug; 2nd Initiative Involves Construction-Scale 3D Printing Using Basalt, PISCES & NASA Plan To 3D Print A Landing Pad, Curved Wall, Dome Shelter; Aloha State Was Important Contributor To Apollo Moon Missions – As Depicted In Recently Released Photos – Astronaut Training, Communication Relays, Recovery Of Returning Moonworkers  

Image Credit: PISCES, NASA

Thursday / 22 May 2014

ESA Advancing Lunar Base Construction Research

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3D Printing A Lunar Base From Raw Materials On Lunar Surface Found To Be Feasible By Extensive Research Of ESA; Industrial Partners In Study Include Renowned Architects Foster & Partners, UK-Based Monolite Ltd; Concept Uses Inflatable Dome Superstructure, Layers Of Regolith Built Up Over Dome By Rover-Operated 3D Printer To Create Protective Shell; Team Produced 1.5-Mg Building Block As Demonstration (Inset); 2nd European Lunar Symposium Featured Presentations On Human Exploration Of Moon South Pole

Image Credit: ESA

Wednesday / 14 May 2014

India Advancing Towards Moon Landing

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  India Seeks 2nd Consecutive Successful Launch Of GSLV Rocket In July; GSLV Will Be Needed To Achieve Chandrayaan-2 Moon Orbiter / Lander / Rover Mission NET 2016; Rover Prototype Now Undergoing Tests At ISRO Lunar Terrain Facility With Anorthosite-Based Lunar Regolith Simulant Harvested From Sithampoondi India; Rover Will Carry A Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer & Alpha Particle-Induced X-Ray Spectroscope To Study Chemical Properties Of Lunar Regolith

Image Credit: ISRO

Thursday / 1 May 2014

Exploration Science Forum Special Session Focuses On Exploration Destination Objectives

LED050114SSERVI Announces 1st Annual NASA Exploration Science Forum (ESF) 21-23 July At NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA; 3rd Day Special Session Examines Objectives / Benefits Of Human Activities At Various Global Exploration Roadmap (GER) Destinations; Topics Include ‘Lunar Surface Presence: Outpost Or Sorties?’ And ‘The Role Of The Moon In Further Exploration Destinations’; Destinations Include Moon / Cis-lunar Space, NEAs & Mars; Abstract Deadline Extended Until 2 May

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 17 April 2014

50-Year Anniversary Of Apollo 11 Merits Advanced Planning

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Start Planning Now For 50th Observation Of Moon Landing Says Peter Swan Of International Space Elevator Consortium; Celebrations & Memorials Should Be Well Funded & Organized, Yet Truly Honoring The Memory Of This Historic Event Will Require Concerted Effort / Consistent Investment To Return Humans To Moon For Good, Ensuring Multi World Species Status; NASA Planning Crewed Flight To Lunar Orbit ~2019, Golden Spike Company Advancing ~2020 Human Moon Missions

Image Credit: NASA, Golden Spike Company, ISEC

Wednesday / 16 April 2014

Russia Leaders Use Cosmonautics Day To Catalyze Moon Exploration Plans

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Russia Defense & Space Industry Deputy Minister Dmitry Rogozin Affirms Country’s Determination To Establish Permanent Operations On Moon; “Moon Is Not Intermediate Point In The [Space] Race, It Is A Separate, Even Self-Contained Goal;” Roscosmos Announces It Has Launched Project To Design Spacecraft Suitable For Human Moon Missions & Super-Heavy Carrier Rocket To Deliver It There; 3 Moon Missions Scheduled Later This Decade Beginning With Luna-25 To Moon South Pole In 2016

Image Credit: Phil Smith, Roscosmos

Thursday / 27 March 2014

Meteorite Impact Risk On Moon Greater Than Formerly Known

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Future Moon Settlements / Human Operations Should Be Underground, Rely On Robots For Majority Of Surface Activity To Protect From Meteorite Impacts Says Russia Astronomer Vladimir Surdin (R); Over 300 Impacts Recorded On Moon Since 2005; At LPSC, LROC PI Mark Robinson Details Data Of Secondary Impacts From Recent Lunar Impact, 248 Small Debris Impacts Found Up To 30km From Fresh 18m-Wide Crater, These Secondaries Could Pose More Threat To Surface Assets Than Primary Craters

Image Credit: NASA, Moscow State University