Category Archives: South Pole Moon

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 Dec 2023

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3 Lunar Missions Set to Land on Moon Near Side NET January

JAXA SLIM on lunar-bound trajectory as 2 commercial landers supported by NASA CLPS contracts, Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, prepare for launch: SLIM set for lunar orbit insertion 25 Dec with mid-Jan orbit adjustment followed by landing (13.3°S, 25.2°E) NET 20 Jan 2024 (00:20 JST); Astrobotic Peregrine to launch on ULA Vulcan Centaur NET 24 Dec (1:50 EST), landing near Gruithuisen Domes NET 25 Jan (03:30 EST); Intuitive Machines Nova-C launching on SpaceX Falcon 9 NET 12 Jan, possibly landing (80.3°S, 1.2°E) 19 Jan within hours of SLIM

Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 Dec 2023

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USA Returns to the Moon, Part 1: Commercial Lunar Payload Services

Two Moon landings from USA, first in 51 years, set for new year; Astrobotic Peregrine launching NET Dec 24 / landing NET 25 Jan, Intuitive Machines Nova-C launching NET 12 Jan / landing NET 17 Jan; Both missions are independent efforts with NASA support through CLPS, conceived in May 2018 as commercial alternative to proposed Resource Prospector cancelled in April 2018; The $2.6B / 10-year program announced Nov 2018, with first awards including Astrobotic US$79.5M (TO2-AB), Intuitive Machines $77M (TO2-IM), with initial expected launch in July 2021; In total 8 CLPS landing missions are slated for launch between 2024-2026

Credits: Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, NASA

Tuesday / 7 Nov 2023

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NASA and Boeing Making Progress on Artemis Moon Rocket Block 1B Configuration

Despite concerns from NASA Office of Inspector General over supply chain transparency, Artemis team continues to advance SLS, with major work on LOX tank weld confidence article (5 of 7 such test pieces) for SLS exploration upper stage proceeding at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; SLS Block 1B with exploration upper stage / Orion crew capsule features 40% additional payload capacity vs Block 1 (27 / 38 t) as is slated to carry 4 astronauts to Gateway station (including 1 ESA astronaut) and 2 to lunar surface via SpaceX HLS during Artemis 4 NET September 2028

Credits: NASA / Michael DeMocker, Boeing

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 3-6 Nov 2023

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Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines Prepare for Tandem Approach to Lunar Surface

Task Orders 2-AB and 2-IM, the first of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services, set to be fulfilled soon: 1.9-m tall, 2.5-m diameter Astrobotic Peregrine awaiting integration with ULA rocket at Astrotech Space facility in Titusville FL with launch planned for 24 Dec from SLC-41, CCSFS carrying 21 payloads (6 NASA, 15 independent); 4.3-m tall, 1.5-m diameter Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander now targeting late Nov shipping to KSC and 12 Jan 2024 launch from LC-39A carrying 11 payloads (5 NASA, 6 independent); With Peregrine taking ~1-month transfer vs Nova-C ~1-week, the 2 USA landers may reach Moon surface mere days apart

Credits: Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines

Tuesday / 31 Oct 2023

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Blue Origin Advances Blue Moon Line of Lunar Landers for Commercial and Artemis Missions

Pathfinder Mission MK1-SN001 to demonstrate 16-m tall Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) technology including 100-m accurate lidar-based landing system, BE-7 engines, cryogenics, and lunar comms ahead of first commercial mission MK1-SN002 offering 3 tons of payload capacity to customers; Demo missions slated for 2024 & 2025 per successful Blue Origin bid for second US$3.4B HLS contract awarded 19 May; Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2) to carry 4 astronauts to lunar surface near MSP during Artemis 5 NET Sep 2029

Pictured: Blue Origin Founder Jeff Bezos, NASA Director Bill Nelson; Credits: NASA, GSFC, Arizona State University, Blue Origin

Friday / 27 Oct 2023

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Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines on Dual Track to Return USA to Moon

Working under first 2 CLPS contracts awarded in 31 May 2019, Astrobotic of Pittsburgh PA and Intuitive Machines of Houston TX now in countdown mode to Moon launch; Astrobotic awaiting ULA readiness to ship Peregrine lander to KSC as Vulcan Centaur being prepped for NET 24 Dec launch on inaugural Certification-1; Intuitive Machines reportedly also aiming for similar time frame launch of Nova-C lander; Peregrine to take 30-day route to mid-latitude Gruithuisen Domes at ~36°N, whereas Nova-C taking more direct 5-7 day transfer via SpaceX F9 to Malapert A near MSP at ~80°S

Credits: ULA, SpaceX, Astrobotic, IM

Tuesday / 17 Oct 2023

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Space Leaders in Major Himalayan Neighbors, India and China, Call for Human Moon Landings

While Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander remains in sleep mode, ISRO Chairman S. Somanath (T) emphasizing independent access to space, telling students ‘It is not only ISRO, everybody can do it in space’, citing 5 India companies including Skyroot (Hyderabad) and Agnikul (Chennai) while sharing his prediction of a woman landing on the Moon during Chandrayaan-10, a sentiment shared by India Prime Minister Modi; CNSA Taikonauts preparing for 2020s lunar landings, inaugural launch of new-generation crew spacecraft set for 2027 per first China Taikonaut Yang Liwei in remarks commemorating 20th observance of the Shenzhou 5

Credits: SPC, CNSA, IISc

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 Oct 2023

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Astronomy from the Moon is Increasing Focus of International Moon Missions

Unique vantage of lunar surface is attracting multitude of astronomy initiatives: ILO-X Galaxy imaging precursor instrument suite launching on Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander NET Nov 15; AstronetX Lunar-based Camera (L-CAM), led by Tabetha Boyajian of LSU, may launch on ispace Mission 2 NET 2024; Dipole antenna LuSEE-Lite heading to Schrödinger Basin aboard Draper / ispace APEX 1.0 lander NET 2025, while 4-monopole antenna LuSEE-Night expected to launch to Moon far side in late 2025 / early 2026 on Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost lander; CNSA Chang’e-8 to conduct soft-x-ray (<3 KeV) observation NET 2028

Credits:

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 22-25 Sep 2023

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India and World Eagerly Await Chandrayaan-3 Reactivation, ISRO Leader Aiming at Human Moon Landing

Controllers at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command center in Bengaluru working to reestablish communication with Vikram Lander (with ~ 90-kg fuel remaining) and Pragyan Rover at now-illuminated Shiv Shakti Point (69.373°S, 32.319°E) on Moon following failed attempts; ISRO Chairman Sreedhara Somanath tells local media mission has given India ‘great confidence’ to pursue even more ambitious goals such as lunar sample return and merging Gaganyaan human spaceflight program with Chandrayaan lunar series, stating ‘an Indian will definitely land on the Moon’; Director of Space Applications Center Nilesh Desai anticipates 23 Sep awakening

Credits: ISRO, ISRS

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 Sep 2023

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USA Artemis Moonships SLS and Starship Development Advancing Ahead of Human Moon Missions

Preparations for Artemis 2 (SLS rocket / Orion crew capsule) ongoing at KSC Launch Complex 39B – Mobile Launcher-1 being augmented with structural reinforcements while Emergency Crew Escape System and 41,730-kg Crew Access Arm being installed for first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years NET Nov 2025; NASA considering future shift of SLS ownership and operation to private contractor in response to unsustainable costs per US GAO; SpaceX to make 63 corrective actions prior to FAA launch clearance for Starship, now fully stacked at Starbase TX, including changes to launch pad, propellant leak remediation, and Autonomous Flight Safety System testing

Credits: SpaceX, NASA