Intuitive Machines Says The Moon Is Still Go
CEO Steve Altemus hopes to win new NASA Moon contracts in 2025.
Lunar
Stories about commercial, civil, and international missions on and around the Moon.
Zeno Power Raises $50M Series B
Zeno’s technology uses the heat emitted from nuclear waste—an isotope called Strontium-90—to power systems in extreme environments where solar cells and batteries fail.
Interlune Unveils Prototype Lunar Helium-3 Excavator
Space resources startup Interlune announced yesterday that its first customers are ready to buy its Moon-mined Helium-3.
Start Your Engines: The Lunar Rover Race Has Begun
Payload spoke with several companies building next-gen lunar rovers—including Astrolab, ispace, Intuitive Machines, and Lunar Outpost—about the biggest challenges and opportunities in this sector.
China Shares Moon Rocks, Steps Up Space Collaboration
China announced that it will share lunar samples with international researchers and fly other nations’ payloads aboard future Moon and Mars missions—a giant leap for Beijing’s space diplomacy efforts.
DARPA Eyes Orbital Mission to Map Lunar Water Ice
The program—Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter (LASSO)—seeks to design, test, build and deliver a spacecraft that can identify regions that are at least 90% probable to have at least 5% water.
Lunar Cubesat Constellation to Search for Ancient Cosmic Signal
Blue Skies Space, a UK-based startup, will design a Moon-orbiting cubesat constellation to search for the oldest signal from the ancient universe.
Voyager’s Dust-Repellent Coating Tested On the Moon
Voyager Technologies’ Clear Dust Repellent Coating (CDRC) is a passive, electricity-free technology designed to keep lunar regolith off equipment.
Lunar Startup CEOs Push For ‘CLPS 2.0’
CEOs asked lawmakers to support block buys in CLPS 2.0 to give industry the opportunity to purchase materials in advance, providing certainty in both the supply chain and the workforce.
Startups Tap Sun, Nukes To Keep Lunar Rovers Kicking
Two US companies have proved that industry can land on the Moon. Now, startups are tackling the next challenge: keeping those missions running for years instead of weeks.
Blue Ghost’s Success is Driving Commercial Interest, CEO Says
“People have business models and revenues they need to generate,” Kim said, adding that he’s been getting “a lot of inquiries” from potential commercial customers after Blue Ghost’s flight. “They can depend on Firefly to take a pragmatic approach and stick the landing and get multiple days of surface operations.”
Blue Ghost Notches First Successful Lunar Landing
The lander is now working on a series of tasks that will last a lunar day—about 14 Earth days—and a few hours into the lunar night.