Cislunar

He-3’s All That for Interlune

He-3 is mainly used in security and medical sensors to detect radiation, but it could theoretically be used as fuel for a nuclear fusion power plant.

BusinessCislunar

ispace US Unveils New Denver HQ

ispace US unveiled a new headquarters on Thursday that will serve as the homebase for its mission to establish long-term lunar infrastructure and the birthplace of the company’s newest lander. The lunar tech company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Japanese entity of the same name, has ambitious goals to land craft on the Moon consistently […]

CislunarCivil

South Africa Partners with China on Lunar Base

China and South Africa have agreed to partner on space initiatives for the first time. During a meeting of BRICS nation leaders—a group consisting of Brazil, India, China, and South Africa—Chinese President Xi Jinping signed two agreements with South Africa to collaborate on space-related projects.  According to Chinese state media agency Xinhua News, one of […]

CislunarCivil

NASA Tracks for 2024 Artemis II Launch

Artemis II crew, meet Orion. NASA is gearing up for the second installment of its campaign to get humans back to the Moon. On Artemis II, four astronauts will ride the Orion capsule around the Moon to test its systems and pave the way for a landing on the next trip. Yesterday, that crew—made up […]

CislunarTechnology

Israeli Startup WeSpace Technologies Plans a Lunar Hopper

Israeli startup WeSpace Technologies is angling to provide Israel’s official contribution to the Artemis program with its lunar hopper.  The company plans to launch its first craft in less than three years to begin providing “flying services on the Moon,” CEO Yifat Feffer told Payload. Lunar hopping WeSpace’s offering to the growing lunar economy is […]

CislunarTechnology

ispace HAKUTO-R Lander Likely Hard-Lands on the Moon

The Moon will have to wait a little longer for its first non-governmental visitor. ispace’s attempt to soft-land the first commercially-funded spacecraft on the lunar surface most likely ended in failure yesterday. After a five-month journey that sent the HAKUTO-R lander on a swooping, gravity-assisted trajectory around the Moon, the Japanese company revealed that it […]

CislunarCivilMoon

NASA Selects Artemis II Crew

Humanity has picked its team for the first step in its grand return to the Moon. Yesterday, NASA revealed the crew of four that will circle the moon on the 10-day Artemis II mission. Without further ado…Here’s the lineup: Now that they’ve received their assignments, the astronauts have time to consider what the mission means. […]