Category Archives: Women on the Moon

Tuesday / 5 November 2024

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NASA Names New Possible Artemis Landing Sites, Reduces Choices from 13 to 9

NASA updated landing sites for Artemis III in heavily cratered, mountainous Lunar South Pole region; #1 consideration is Astronaut safety, then science potential, launch window, surface, seismic stability, Earth communication, lighting, combined capabilities of rocket / Orion spacecraft / SpaceX Starship Human Landing System; each location available for only part of 6-day mission so flexibility critical; permanently shadowed South Pole areas can preserve water; NASA will hold conferences / workshops to gather data; Malapert Massif ~5,000 m has perpetual sunlight, descends ~8,000 m into permanently shadowed regions; Mons Mouton Plateau wide / flat, 5,000-6,000 m, has perpetual sunlight

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 29 October 2024

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JAXA Certifies First New Astronauts in 13 Years, Will Participate in Artemis Mission

JAXA certifies 2 astronauts to take part in Artemis Moon mission; Ayu Yoneda completed medical doctor training in 2019, has been working as a surgeon, is the youngest JAXA astronaut at 29; Makoto Suwa, 46, is a businessman with a PhD in climate science from Duke, when in elementary school met Eugene Cernan; they were selected from 4,100+ applicants, have completed a year of basic training in Japan, will travel to NASA Johnson to continue training

Credits: Ayu Yoneda, Makoto Suwa, NASA, JAXA

Tuesday / 23 April 2024

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NASA Reportedly Considering Major Change to Mission Design of US$93B Artemis Program

Artemis 3 could be modified to test Orion-Starship docking and habitability in LEO or perform Gateway rendezvous in lunar orbit rather than a full-fledged human surface landing as originally envisioned, per Ars Technica report citing anonymous sources; ‘NASA continues to work toward… Artemis III test flight to land astronauts near the lunar South Pole in September of 2026’ per official response; Hardware challenges include Orion heat shield modification, spacesuit and lander development; Operational complexity including first in-space cryogenic refueling likely also contributing to reassessment

 
Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 Feb 2024

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Next Class of Artemis Astronaut Candidates Set to Graduate

10 USA NASA and 2 UAE Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center classmates determined to work on Moon and Mars will be awarded astronaut wings at JSC 5 March; Ceremony for candidates Nichole Ayers (Colorado), Marcos Berríos (Puerto Rico), Christina Birch (Arizona), Deniz Burnham (Alaska), Luke Delaney (Florida), Jack Hathaway (Connecticut), Anil Menon (Minnesota), Christopher Williams (Maryland), Jessica Wittner (California) and Nora Al Matrooshi & Mohammed Al Mulla of UAE to be broadcast on NASA TV / NASA+ starting 10:30 EST followed by live Q&A at 11:45

Credits: NASA

Friday / 22 Dec 2023

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Artemis 2 Astronauts Train for Moon Flyby as VP Harris Announces International Astronaut to Join Landing Mission

While Artemis 2 NASA crewmembers Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen (CSA-ASC) undergo emergency preparedness exercises at JSC and build public excitement for the first human mission to the Moon in 51+ years with White House press event, Vice President Kamala Harris makes firm commitment to include an international astronaut on future Artemis 3+ surface mission at 20 Dec National Space Council meeting attended by representatives of the 33-nation Artemis Accords coalition; Europe, Japan, or India are likely nations from which as-yet-unannounced crewmember will originate

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 24 Oct 2023

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ISRO Chairman Looking Forward to Domestic Human Spaceflight Including Women Vyomanauts to Moon 2040

Indian Human Spaceflight Programm (IHSP) on track to launch crewed mission to space following successful Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1, the first of 4 planned abort tests to be conducted prior to 3 Gaganyaan uncrewed test flights in 2024 culminating in 3-crewmember Gaganyaan-4 mission NET 2025; Female-appearing humanoid robot Vyommitra to ride on Gaganyaan-2 & 3, while ISRO will seek human women Vyomanauts from future classes of fighter pilots in the long term, and recruit women scientists to work in space in the near-term per S Somanath

Credits: ISRO

Tuesday / 12 Sep 2023

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India Planning Next Lunar Missions as Chandrayaan-3 Data Being Analyzed

As ISRO awaits the possible reactivation of Chandryaaan-3 Vikram lander and /or Pragyan rover, scientists are just beginning the task of working with data delivered over the course of the 14-Earth day nominal mission including first in-situ evidence of sulphur observed by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS), first recorded Moonquake since Apollo with Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) and findings of sparse ionosphere of 5,000,000 – 30,000,000 electrons per meter2; ISRO expected to collaborate with JAXA on LUPEX polar mission NET 2025, and may announce Chandrayaan-4, Chandrayaan-5 timelines soon per Chandrayaan-1 mission director Mylswamy Annadurai

Credits: ISRO, Twitter / @EarthTathya

USA July 4th Holiday Edition
Mon-Wed / 3-5 July 2023

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USA@250: Ready for Multi World Civilization?

Artemis 3 touchdown NLT 4 July 2026 brings challenges – Moonsuit, lander, fuel depot, funding; and consequences – first women, first person of color to advance gender, racial equality – in situ on the surface of Moon / in space and on Earth; International, economic egalitarian considerations likely to prompt new social movements, reevaluation of existing norms as sustainable lunar communities are established; Principles of autonomy and self-determination articulated 4 July 1776 in Declaration of Independence may inform both Artemis and International Lunar Research Station constituents, in peace for all

Credits: National Archives, SpaceX

Thursday / 8 June 2023

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Planetary Scientist to Delve into Expected Artemis 3 Moon South Pole Conditions

Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) Principal Scientist David Kring presenting What Might Artemis Astronauts Encounter at the Lunar South Pole?, an installment of LPI Cosmic Explorations Speaker Series, in hybrid online / in-person format today from Houston TX at 19:30 CDT; Low sun angle and jagged landscape may present unique challenges (visibility, traverse) and opportunities (PSRs, possibility of collecting 4.3 billion+ year old pre-Nectarian material) for 2-member Artemis 3 crew, now likely launching to MSP NET 2026 per NASA Exploration Systems Administrator Jim Free; Event will be live-streamed

Credits: LPI, NASA, KARI

Tuesday / 18 April 2023

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Starship Launch Slated for This Week, a Variant is to Carry First Human Moon Missions Artemis 3 / 4 to Surface

Starship in HLS form – minus aerodynamic fins / heat shielding, plus mid-body RCS thrusters – is to land uncrewed demo prior to carrying 2 Artemis astronauts from lunar orbit (transferred from Orion, launched by SLS) to surface near MSP under Option A US$2.89B contract NET Dec 2025 and Artemis 4 NET Sept 2028 under $1.15B Option B; Lunar missions to utilize ‘tanker’ and ‘depot’ scheme in which HLS will be refueled in NRHO; Artemis 5 onward to have TBD alternative lander under NextSTEP Appendix P

Pictured: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Starship Engineering Director Shana Diez, Starship Engineering VP Joe Petrzelka in Starship Mission Control; Credits: SpaceX, Twitter / @WalterIsaacson