The lunar surface has claimed another victim. Russia’s Luna-25 crash-landed on the Moon this weekend after the spacecraft fired its engines in an attempt to maneuver into its pre-landing orbit. The failed mission is a blow to the Russian space program, which hoped for a triumphant return to the lunar surface after a 47-year absence. […]
Space enthusiasts bought a slice of history Thursday, shelling out a combined ~$680,000 at Sotheby’s annual space exploration auction. The online auction sold more than 60 pieces of historical memorabilia, signed photos, and items that had flown to space. Big ticket: The top seller was an Apollo 13 flight plan signed and inscribed by capsule […]
NASA awarded 11 companies a combined $150M to support a next-gen lunar base camp and broader space exploration tech, the agency announced yesterday. The grants, which were awarded under NASA’s Tipping Point program, fund an array of sci-fi-like projects including lunar nuclear fuel, in-situ resource utilization, LiDAR navigation, inflatable heat shielding, and lunar power transmission. […]
54 years have passed since Armstrong took that iconic step on the Moon, marking an apex in the Apollo program and lunar exploration more broadly. Starting in 1977, however, a 36-year quiet period ensued, with zero lunar landing attempts until 2013, and only six since then. In a sign that the lunar lull is coming […]
The countdown has started on ispace’s NASA-backed date with the Moon in June 2025, and the US team has locked itself in a room this week to game out the details. The company began a four-day exercise on Monday akin to a military-style wargame that will help the company zero in on when the spacecraft […]
India rolled its LVM3 rocket to the pad Thursday and announced its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander mission will take flight July 14. The launch sets the stage for lunar redemption. It will be the country’s second landing attempt after its Chandrayaan-2 vehicle crash-landed on the Moon’s surface nearly four years ago. The mission: Chandrayaan-3 consists of […]
Advanced Navigation, a lunar navigation startup, won an AUD 5.2M ($3.4M) Australian Space Agency grant to accelerate development of its lunar lander LiDAV sensor tech, the company announced yesterday. The funding supports NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services. “By helping Australian organizations like Advanced Navigation to develop their space heritage, they can break into new markets […]
Russia’s lunar race has a new start date. After years of delays, Russia’s Luna-25 probe is slated to launch to the Moon aboard a Soyuz-2 Fregat rocket on Aug. 11, according to Russian state news site TASS and local tour operator RocketTrip. The uncrewed mission will be the first Russian lunar trip in 45+ years. […]
The Artemis 2 crew found inspiration in their visit to DC last week, despite the backdrop of partisan debt limit debates and Republican-backed efforts to slash nearly a quarter of NASA’s budget. When I asked Victor Glover how the crew’s meetings with lawmakers had gone amid these financial concerns, he was overwhelmingly optimistic about the […]
Blue Origin will provide the second lunar lander for the Artemis program, NASA announced on Friday, giving Jeff Bezos’ company a major victory after losing out to SpaceX on the first lander award in 2021. “An additional, different lander will help ensure that we have the hardware necessary for a series of landings,” said NASA […]
China has set out a roadmap to compete with the Artemis program in a race to the Moon, grabbing the attention of NASA and lawmakers. As NASA pursues increased funding to ensure the US lands first, questions remain regarding China’s ability to finance the endeavor. “China’s funding is a bit of a black box,” said […]
Lawmakers quizzed NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Thursday about what the space agency needs to keep the first crewed mission to the Moon’s surface on track for a 2025 launch date. In addition to Artemis, members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee asked the former FL Democrat how the US could stay competitive […]
