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
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
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
New Moon Express (ME) Facility In Huntsville AL Now Operational Says Chief Propulsion Engineer Tim Pickens; Several Propulsion Milestones Already Achieved Including Test Firing Green 1780-Newton Demo Rocket Engine, Developing Mono-Prop & Bi-Prop Propulsion In 0.44-4450-Newton Thrust Class For ME Lander; ME Seeking To Land 1st Commercial Spacecraft On Moon In 2015
Image Credit: Moon Express
South Pole Destination Of NET 2016 ILO-Moon Express Lunar Mission Selected To Ensure Long-Duration Nature Of Mission – Thermal Environment (~-50°C) / Solar Power Access On Malapert Mountain / PEL, Continuous Line Of Sight To Earth For Commercial Communications, Ability To Image Milky Way Galaxy Center; ILO Also To Observe & Report Human Lunar Buildout, Private & Public Parties Pointing To South Pole / Aitken Basin – With Prevalent Water Ice / Mineral Deposits – As Ideal Location For Development
Image Credit: ILOA, Moon Express, NASA
GLXP Team Astrobotic Technologies Inc. Offers 30% Price Reduction For Payload Delivery To Moon Aboard Its Lunar Lander / Rover With Launch Set Oct 2015 Via SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket; US$99K/kg For Trans-Lunar Injection, $1.2M/kg For Lunar Surface Delivery On Lander, $2M/kg On Rover; Lander & Rover Will Power & Support Payload Operations For 10 Days, Then Hibernate For 14-Day Lunar Night & Recover After Sunrise, Continue Operations
Image Credit: Astrobotic
Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc Developing CubeSat Mission To Demonstrate Ability Of Solar Sail Spacecraft To Navigate Itself Into Lunar Trajectory & Insert Itself Into Lunar Orbit; 1000 Cubic Cm Craft Would Be First To Reach Lunar Orbit Under Its Own Power For Entire Journey; ‘Citizen Space Mission’ Seeking Crowdfunding To Build Craft For US$50,000, Solar Sail Via Government Grant; Launch Target Date End 2016
Image Credit: Lunarsail.com
US Space Agency Seeks Concepts For Industry-Developed Robotic Lander To Support Independent And / Or NASA Lunar Surface Missions As Early As 2018; NASA Not Offering Funds, Solely Technical Expertise, Use Of Test Facilities, Hardware / Software; Interested In Landers Capable Of Delivering Payloads Of 30-100kg & 250-450kg Range; Missions Of Interest Include Prospecting Volatiles At Lunar Poles, Sample Return; 2018 Mission Still Well After China Chang’e-3, 4, 5 (Inset) & Possibly Chang’e-6 Moon Landers.
Image Credit: NASA, CNSA
USA Historic Accomplishments On 20 July Make This Month Opportune Time To Advance Next Giant Leaps Into Galaxy; 1st Humans On Moon (Apollo 11 – 1969), 1st Spacecraft To Land On Another Planet (Viking 1 – 1976); To Reassert USA Leadership In Lunar / Solar System Exploration NASA Can Use Inspiration Of Space Month 2013 To Complement Bold Activities / Plans Of NewSpace Companies
Image Credit: NASA
Universal Space Payment Initiative ‘PayPal Galactic’ Headed By PayPal, Apollo Moonworker Buzz Aldrin, Space Tourism Society, SETI Institute To Address Multi-World, Multi-Star Species; As Space & Moon Tourism Becomes Reality With GSC, SpaceX, VG, XCOR, Humans Will Need Interplanetary Payment System For Flights, E-Books, Moon-Rock Souvenirs, Pizza Deliveries In Space; Moon Travel 1st Step Toward Asteroids, Mars, Jupiter, Deep Space, Galaxy Stars
Image Credit: STS, K. Belew/CNN