Stories about commercial, civil, and international missions on and around the Moon.
To keep the lights on through the night, NASA is exploring putting a nuclear fission reactor on the Moon’s surface. The idea has been around for years, but the agency appointed new executive leadership for the Fission Surface Power Project last year—and committed to seeing it through.
Aspiring lunar tourists can place a $1M deposit to reserve a spot in the company’s planned lunar hotel, which aims to open its airlocks in 2032.
No air on the Moon? No problem.
Artemis requires scientists and researchers to find long-term solutions to the problems space creates for human health, replacing the short-term fixes that once sufficed.
It’s been almost a year since Thales Alenia Space’s Italian subsidiary won the initial ESA contract to build a descent module for a lunar lander. Getting down to the lunar surface will be a team effort, though, and on Friday the space firm announced it has picked its team.
Firefly Aerospace released its Q3 earnings results after market close yesterday, posting quarterly revenues of $30.8M—98% higher than Q2.
Forget boots on the Moon. China looks like it’s going to beat the US to extract water from the lunar surface.
“I love SpaceX; it’s an amazing company. The problem is, they’re behind…and we’re in a race against China,” Duffy said on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “So I’m going to open up the contract. I’m going to let other space companies compete with SpaceX.”
To anyone worried about “militarizing” the Moon, Jim Bridenstine has some sage advice: get over it.
While the LTV contractors take different approaches to meet NASA’s requirements—from a rugged truck, to a tractor-trailor configuration—they have similar goals for future commercial customers looking to hitch a ride.
The first day of Payload’s Lunar and Mars Economy Summit included lots of interesting conversations, newsy tidbits, and networking with the architects of the next lunar age while surrounded by Space Center Houston’s relics of the first space race.
Getting to the Moon is about to get a whole lot easier—at least, if Impulse Space can execute on its new mission.
