Lunar
Stories about commercial, civil, and international missions on and around the Moon.
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.
NASA Must Speed Up Decision Making to Beat China to the Moon, Experts Say
“There is not a global competition yet for Mars, so we need to take the right thing at the right time,” Dumbacher said. “The Moon first, then Mars.”
Inside the Hunt for Lunar Water
The sci fi dreams—and economic boom—that would be fulfilled by establishing a long-term lunar presence all hinge on one thing: the ability to locate, extract, and process water ice on the Moon’s surface.
Talking IM-2 With Tim Crain
Payload talked to IM CTO Tim Crain about the Athena lander, the onboard technology, and, yes, those pesky laser range-finders.
Australia’s Lunar Plans are Just Getting Started
The Australian government is backing its Moon to Mars supply chain initiative in an effort to place Australian space companies in key supporting roles on future Artemis missions.
Blue Ghost Completes Trans Lunar Injection, Prepares for Landing
After spending three weeks in a highly elliptical Earth orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander is finally on its way to the Moon, having successfully completed its critical lunar insertion burn on Saturday.
