Friday / 1 Sep 2023

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Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation to Continue Advancing Technology for Space and Moon as ARQUIMEA Subsidiary

Optical space system provider Ecliptic Enterprises of Pasadena, California to be acquired by technology developer ARQUIMEA – headquartered in Spain, with operations in Canary Islands, Singapore and USA employing 500+; Ecliptic has received a US$5M cash infusion to support design of radiation hardened payloads for space and lunar applications including high-res multispectral imagers for Earth observation and routers for use on and around Moon; ARQUIMEA USA CEO Jesus Delgado tells Parabolic Arc he expects to quickly grow Ecliptic revenue from $10M to $50M

Credits: Ecliptic Enterprises, ARQUIMEA

Tuesday / 29 Aug 2023

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BRICS Nations Consider Establishment of Space Exploration Consortium

5-member BRICS economic bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (with Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE set to formally join 1 Jan 2024) may cooperate on space development per comments given by India PM and Foreign Secretary in the wake of the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 at Shiv Shakti, ~20° from the lunar south pole; Existing BRICS Remote Sensing Satellite Constellation could serve as ‘base layer’ from which consortium may grow per Secretary Kwatra; Collaboration between China-led ILRS and Artemis Accords signatory India may accelerate USA Moon action

Pictured: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi (T), India Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra (B); Credits: ILOA, Twitter / @ani_digital, India Ministry of External Affairs

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 25-28 August 2023

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India Exploring Area Near Moon South Pole with Chandrayaan-3

ISRO now conducting the farthest expedition into the lunar south ever, with landing site 69.374454°S, 32.318695°E ~625km from the southernmost point on the Moon (90°S on Shackleton crater rim); Lander Module Vikram and Pragyan rover operating nominally with ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE instruments activated and ready to take seismic, ionic and thermal readings; APXS and LIBS will perform X-ray and laser spectroscopy to determine chemical, mineralogical and elemental composition of regolith from Pragyan, now rolled out and >8 meters from LM

Friday / 25 Aug 2023

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JAXA Counting Down to Launch of Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)

SLIM set to lift off on H-2A rocket with XRISM rideshare from Tanegashima Space Center 26 August 09:34 JST (00:34 UTC) for 4–6-month journey to landing site at 13.2°S, 25.2°E, an area east of Shioli, a 270-m diameter crater emanating distinctive bright rays (itself within 98-km Cyrillus crater, west of Mare Nectaris); 200-kg (dry) SLIM will take fuel-efficient route to lunar orbit taking ~3-4 months, followed by ~1 month in lunar orbit prior to surface descent; Primary mission objective is validation of vision-based navigation system with <100m accuracy; JAXA will stream launch with live coverage starting 09:00 JST (00:00 UTC)

Tuesday / 22 Aug 2023

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ISRO Making Final Checks While Awaiting Lunar Daybreak at Chandrayaan-3 Landing Site

Chandryaan-3 Vikram lunar lander in elliptical 25 x 134 km lunar orbit as ISRO operators at Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru ensuring craft readiness ahead of powered descent to Moon surface ~20° from MSP set to begin 23 Aug 12:15 UTC, with touchdown on lunar surface now scheduled ~19 minutes later at 12:34 UTC; Landing to be supported by NASA and ESA Deep Space Network antennas in Canberra and Madrid with backup relay via Chandrayaan-2 orbiter; ISRO encourages schools to observe historic moment which will ‘fuel curiosity’ and ‘spark passion for exploration’; Live coverage starts 11:50 UTC

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 18-21 August 2023

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As Luna-25 and Chandrayaan-3 Position for Moon South Pole Region Landings, Will USA Accelerate Moon Return?

India Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module in 113 x 157 km lunar orbit as ISRO controllers prepare for final deorbiting burn on 19 Aug, 20:30 UTC ahead of planned 23 Aug 12:17 UTC landing, while Propulsion Module performing spectroscopic observation of Earth from Moon orbit; Russia Luna-25 in 100-km lunar orbit following 243 and 76-sec maneuvers on route and a 40-sec orbital correction with landing NET 21 Aug planned; USA commercial lunar landers working under NASA CLPS contracts may launch soon; Intuitive Machines targeting 15 Nov launch of Nova-C / IM-1 mission, followed by IM-2 and IM-3 asap; Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One may still launch in 2023

 

Friday / 18 Aug 2023

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International Lunar Year Being Fostered by US State Department as DARPA Advances 10-Year Lunar Architecture

US Department of State, led by Secretary Antony Blinken and Acting Deputy Secretary Victoria Nuland, is hosting high level discussions on the launch of an International Lunar Year (ILY), modeled on International Geophysical Year (1957-58), International Space Year (1992), International Polar Year (2007-08); Called for in US National Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy, an ILY would coordinate international developments in Moon studies, specifically geophysical networks, heliophysics and far-side radio astronomy; 1 July 2027 — 31 Dec 2028 suggested by Bobby Braun of JHUAPL; DARPA offering ≤US$1M for commercial lunar service plans under LunA-10 program, winners to be announced at LSIC 10-11 Oct

Tuesday / 15 Aug 2023

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India and Russia Reaching Final Stretch Before Landings in South Polar Region

ISRO Chandrayaan-3 now in 150 x 177 km orbit around Moon with next orbital reduction / circularization maneuver planned to retrofire on 16 Aug at ~08:30 IST ahead of expected 23 Aug 12:17 UTC landing at South Polar Region (69.368°S, 32.348°E) roughly 120 km west of Roscosmos Luna-25 prime landing site at 69.545°S, 43.544°E; Luna-25 operating nominally with stable comms and power following 13 Aug instrument / telemetry check and Earth / Moon imaging, activation of ADRON-LR cosmic radiation detector and final orbit correction maneuver 14 Aug; LOI to occur 16 Aug, while landing may happen on 21 Aug

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 11-14 August 2023

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As World Space Powers Converge on Moon, USA May Find Inspiration to Resume Lunar Exploration Promptly

While China continues to operate Chang’E-3 from IAU-designated landing site Guang Han Gong and Chang’E-4 in South Pole–Aitken basin; India and Russia on way to Moon South Pole region (~70°S) with Chandrayaan-3 & Luna-25 landers; USA works toward first soft landing in 50+ years (Apollo 17) via private CLPS providers; Astrobotic awaiting Vulcan Centaur readiness, which ULA CEO says is on track for Q4 2023 launch – Peregrine to fly solo, as Project Kuiper opts to for proven Atlas V; Intuitive Machines preparing IM-1,2,3 and holding Q2 earnings call on 14 Aug

Friday / 11 Aug 2023

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Russia Luna-25 on Route to Moon South Pole

The first Russia lunar lander mission in 47 years has begun 5-day lunar transfer following Soyuz 2.1b launch / TLI firing powered by Fregat-M upper stage; Prime landing site planned near Boguslawsky crater (69.545°S, 43.544°E) expected to be reached between 20-22 Aug (UTC), perhaps arriving slightly before ISRO Chandrayaan-3, currently in 174 km x 1437 km lunar orbit, to MSP region; With China operating for ~10 years on Moon and Russia and India on the way, NASA CLPS landers race to resume USA activity on lunar surface