Friday / 18 October 2013

Stanford On The Moon:
Human Moon Missions

SOM 2013

SOM 2013 Reunion Conference: Human Moon Missions – A Center For 21st Century Leadership, Friday 18 Oct; Talks Given By Visionary Entrepreneurs Advancing Cislunar Travel & Commerce, Moon South Pole As Destination Of Importance / Discovery; (L To R) SOM Alumni Club & ILOA Steve Durst, Golden Spike Co Alan Stern, Moon Express Adrian Adamson, Shackleton Energy Co Jim Keravala, Interorbital Systems Randa Milliron; Over 100 Stanford Alumni To Participate

Image Credit: SOM, ILOA, GSC, Shackleton, NASA

Wednesday / 25 September 2013

GLXP Team Partners With NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

MEmightyEagle913

Moon Express (ME) Signs Reimbursable Space Act Agreement With NASA Marshall Space Flight Center To Test ME Guidance, Navigation & Control Flight Software On ‘Mighty Eagle’ Lander; ME Reimbursing MSFC For Cost Of Providing Test & Technical Support; 1st Test Flight With ME Software Successfully Completed; ME CEO Bob Richards Says Team Hopes To Land Its Craft On Moon Late 2015

Image Credit: NASA, ME

Tuesday / 24 September 2013

ILOA 4 Moon Missions Update To Global Space Community

ILOAledUpdate913

International Lunar Observatory Association Presenting At IAC 2013 In Beijing, China, Today: Chang’e-3 – ILOA Galaxy Imaging Program, ILO-X Precursor Mission, ILO-1 Polar Mission, Human Service Mission; 24 Sep ILOA Board Of Directors Meeting To Build Upon Successful Pioneering Galaxy Forum Program, International Partnerships With China / International Space Agencies & Commercial NewSpace Enterprises To Realize Multifunctional ILO, Humans On The Moon Within Decade

Image Credit: ILOA, IAF

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 20-23 Sep 2013

Lunar Ambitions & Opportunities For Emerging Space-Faring Nations

HumanMoon0913

Indigenous Ingenuity, International Collaboration & Commercial Enterprise Opening Space / Lunar Exploration To Rising Space Powers; South Korea Working On 2020 Lunar Orbiter, 2025 Rover, In Talks With NASA About Lunar Missions; China Offering To Train / Provide Trips To Foreign Astronauts, Pakistan Hopes To Be 1st In Line; ILOA, Golden Spike Co Could Provide Affordable Human Lunar Access To Countries Such As Brazil & Malaysia; Galaxy Forum China 2013 – Beijing, 22 Sep: Human Moon Missions

Image Credit: KARI, GSC, ILOA, AEB, Angkasa

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 6-9 Sep 2013

Launch Of Last Scheduled NASA Moon Mission As Lunar Experts Flock To NewSpace Companies

LADEEme0913

LADEE Launch — 6 Sep, 23:27 EDT, Wallops Island VA, Via Minotaur 5 Rocket — Promises To Provide Spectacular Show To East Coast USA Viewers; US$248M-Mission Will Test New System For Ultra-Fast Optical Data Transmission — 600 Mbit/s, Unravel Mysteries Of Lunar Atmosphere / Dust Environment, Premiere Common Spacecraft Bus; Next Flight Of The Bus Likely On Moon Express (ME) GLXP Mission NET 2015; ME Announces Paul Spudis New Chief Scientist, Jack Burns Added To Science Advisory Board

Image Credit: NASA, Moon Express

Friday / 30 August 2013

Google Lunar X Prize Teams Advancing

GLXP Updates

Team Puli With IndieGoGo Campaign Plans To Send Rover To Moon-Like Mauna Kea In Hawai`i, Have It Take HD Video, Move 500 Meters, Test / Control Systems From Budapest, Hungary 12,552 Km Away; Team Indus Based In New Delhi, India Running Competition To Develop Lunar Rover Designs; Red Whittaker Of Astrobotic Discusses Griffin Lander / Red Rover Mission To Investigate Lacus Mortis 44.962° N, 25.61° E

Image Credit: GLXP, Puli, Indus, Astrobotic, IFA

Friday / 16 August 2013

Lunar Elevator Workshop At Space Elevator Conference

Lunar Elevator

2013 ISEC Space Elevator Conference To Be Held 23-25 Aug In Seattle WA Includes 3-Hour Lunar Elevator Workshop Led By Michael Laine Of LiftPort Group; Humans / Cargo Would Be Transported To Lagrange Point 1 Depot Via Rocket, Then Gently Lowered To Moon Surface Via Tether; Able To Transport 36 Humans To Moon Annually; Could Travel 1,000 Times Farther Than Space Shuttle For 1/10th Price

Image Credit: LiftPort Group, Newsweek

Thursday / 8 August 2013

GLXP Team Announces New Launch Date

BarcelonaLaunchDate0813

Barcelona Moon Team Revises Launch Date From June 2014 To June 2015; Spacecraft / Lunar Rover Competing For GLXP Will Launch Aboard Long March 2C Rocket With Upper Stage CTS2 For Lunar Transfer Orbit Insertion; Launch Contract Provided By China Great Wall Industries Corporation; Pictured: Team Leader Xavier Claramunt, President Of Galactic Suite 

Image Credit: GLXP, Barcelona Moon Team

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 26-29 July 2013

Zero Point Frontiers Aids Golden Spike Moon Mission Design

Zero-Point-GSC0713

Golden Spike Company Human Lunar Missions Plan Advanced Through Zero Point Frontiers Corp Architecture Analysis; Company Identified Several Combinations Of Vehicles That Can Support Golden Spike Mission, Using Beyond LEO Architecture Sizing Tool (BLAST) Software It Developed For NASA; Report Provided GSC With Confidence In Technical Approach / Business Model; GSC Will Soon Issue Request For Proposal To Select Launch / Space Vehicle Providers

Image Credit: Golden Spike Company, Zero Point Frontiers Corp

Friday / 26 July 2013

GLXP Proposes New Achievement-Based Cash Prizes

GLXP 25 July

23 Remaining Google Lunar X Prize Teams May Be Able To Receive Additional Cash Prizes Totaling US$14M; Current GLXP Prizes Total $30M; Proposing $7M Split Between 1st Teams To Successfully Launch, $1M For 1st Team To Reach 500-Km Moon Altitude & Eight $750K Prizes Available Prior To Launch – 4 For Complete Designs With Power, Navigation, Hardware Plans, 4 For Complete Camera Subsystem Designs

Image Credit: GLXP, NASA, Xinhua/Y. Yan, SpaceX, Teams: Indus, Penn State, Selenokhod, ARCA