Lunar Landings News and Discussions

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India’s moon rover confirms sulfur and detects several other elements near the lunar south pole

BY ASHOK SHARMA
Updated 8:48 PM EDT, August 29, 2023

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s moon rover confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected several other elements near the lunar south pole as it searches for signs of frozen water nearly a week after its historic moon landing, India’s space agency said Tuesday.

The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument also detected aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the lunar surface, the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, said in a post on its website.

The lunar rover had come down a ramp from the lander of India’s spacecraft after last Wednesday’s touchdown near the moon’s south pole. The Chandrayan-3 Rover is expected to conduct experiments over 14 days, the ISRO has said.

The rover “unambiguously confirms the presence of sulfur,” ISRO said. It also is searching for signs of frozen water that could help future astronaut missions, as a potential source of drinking water or to make rocket fuel.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/indias-moon- ... d4048a5d05

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Japan Blasts Off On A Moon Mission Unlike Any Ever Seen Before
by Tom Hale
September 8, 2023

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Japan’s “Moon Sniper” mission has blasted off on its mission to land on the lunar surface with pinpoint precision. While most Moon landings are designed to touch down within a range of several kilometers, this mission aims to land within just 100 meters (328 feet) of its target.

A rocket holding the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe was successfully launched on the morning of September 7 from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

You can watch a full livestream of the launch in the video player below.

Just 14 minutes after blast-off, the rocket released a satellite, putting it into orbit around Earth where it will study the formation of structures in the universe and the evolution of galaxy clusters.

Meanwhile, the remaining SLIM probe is on its long voyage toward the lunar surface, ready for its “pinpoint landing” sometime in early 2024. If it pulls off this feat, Japan will become the fifth country to successfully touch down on the Moon.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/japan-blas ... ore-70610

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India's Chandrayaan-3 moon lander shines in radar images from lunar orbit (photos)
By Elizabeth Howell published about 20 hours ago
The mission is sleeping on the surface after a successful two-week sojourn.

India's new moon lander and rover were just spotted by another lunar probe.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission from India, which landed on the moon Aug. 23, shines in new pictures from a fellow spacecraft in orbit. The lander is visible in radar imagery taken by another Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) moon mission: Chandrayaan-2, which arrived in lunar orbit in 2019.

ISRO released the new imagery on X (formerly called Twitter) on Saturday (Sept. 9), based on data taken three days beforehand. The Chandrayaan-3 lander is not active right now, however; the near side of the moon (where the mission landed) is in darkness right now for two weeks, meaning all the solar-powered hardware is hibernating.

It may be that Chandrayaan-3's lander and its small ridealong rover emerge from their sleep when sunlight appears again, but the duo have met all their major objectives, per ISRO officials. The rover, named Pragyan, successfully deployed from its lander, Vikram, and took pictures of the area around it.

More:
https://www.space.com/chandrayaan-3-moo ... tification

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[Nanotechandmorefuture]

For once the most truthful post about the 1960s American moon landings. They sent a rover up there which is believable. Human beings have never been on the moon because if so it would not have such a big media attention around it. They were probably sending satellites to create the grid that monitors everything here on earth and per Capricorn One of the 1970s movie made the moon landing humans video somewhere in the USA.

[wjfox]

India aims to send astronaut to the Moon by 2040

6 hours ago

India aims to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040, the government has said.

The country's space goals also include plans for a space station by 2035.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced these ambitions on Tuesday, and also asked scientists to work on missions to Venus and Mars.

In August, India became the first country to land a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole, and in September it launched a rocket to study the Sun.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is also working on the Gaganyaan project, which aims to send a human crew to an orbit of 400km (248 miles) and bring them back safely to land in Indian waters. On Saturday, the space agency will conduct a key test in the mission.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-67142307

[wjfox]

'Mateship' or 'Kakirra'? Australia turns to public to name its 1st moon rover

By Samantha Mathewson
published 1 day ago

The Australian Space Agency has revealed its shortlist of names for the country's first lunar rover — and you can help choose the winner by casting your vote.

In partnership with NASA, the agency's Australian-made, semi-autonomous rover is slated to launch to the moon as part of a future Artemis mission by as early as 2026. The rover will have the ability to pick up lunar rocks and dust, then bring the specimens back to a moon lander operated by NASA.

More than 8,000 entries were initially submitted to Australia’s rover-naming competition, which began in September. And now that the agency has narrowed down the final four candidates — "Coolamon," "Kakirra," "Mateship" and "Roo-ver" — the public is invited to vote on their favorite. Polls will remain open online through Dec. 1.

The lunar rover is part of Australia’s Trailblazer program under the country’s Moon to Mars initiative.

"Drawing on Australia's world-leading remote operations expertise, the rover will collect lunar soil, known as regolith,” officials said in a statement announcing the naming competition. Such regolith is expected to contain oxygen in the form of oxide. "NASA will attempt to extract oxygen from the sample. This is a key step towards a sustainable human presence on the moon."

https://www.space.com/australia-first-m ... -name-vote



Credit: Dept. of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

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Astrolab Semiautonomous Lunar Rover Targets 2026 Ride on SpaceX Starship
November 25, 2023 by Brian Wang

Astrolab wants to create a new era of lunar mobility with a semiautonomous lunar rover.

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Europe is Working on a Multi-Purpose Habitat for the Moon
by Laurence Tognetti
November 30, 2023

Introduction:

(Universe Today) With NASA gearing up to send humans back to the Moon in the next few years with the Artemis missions with the goal of establishing a permanent outpost at the lunar south pole, nations are making efforts to contribute to Artemis and a permanent presence on our nearest celestial neighbor. Recently, the Italian Space Agency, formally known as Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), has taken steps to establish the first permanent outpost on the lunar surface, known simply as the Multi-Purpose Habitat (MPH). This endeavor was officially kicked by the ASI signing a contract with the French-based aerospace company, Thales Alenia Space, who specializes in space-based systems, including ground segments and satellites used for both Earth observation and space exploration.

“MPH will mark a historic milestone as the first Italian habitation module to operate on the lunar surface. This is a matter of great pride for our company, which has the unique technical and organizational skills to overcome challenges of this kind ” Franco Fenoglio, who is the Manager of Human & Robotic Planetary Exploration Program at Thales Alenia Space, said in an official statement. Thales also announced the partnership on its X account, formerly known as Twitter.

Despite MPH being only a concept right now, the partnership between ASI and Thales Alenia Space comes after MPH’s design passed NASA’s Element Initiation Review just last month and with a Mission Concept Review (MCR) slated to be conducted sometime in the first quarter of 2024. The goal of MPH will be its compatibility with Artemis architecture for future lunar crewed missions.

The image provided by Thales Alenia Space of its MPH shows a very simple design comprised of a single cylinder complete with solar panels and a communications dish. However, this module will be required to protect astronauts from the harsh lunar environment, including intense cosmic radiation and the lunar surface’s extreme temperature fluxes, as temperatures at the lunar equator can reach 121 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and -133 degrees Celsius (-208 degrees Fahrenheit).

Read more here: https://www.universetoday.com/164584/ ... e-164584

[wjfox]

'Tremendous technical challenges': New report says NASA won’t land astronauts on the moon in 2025

Published December 1, 2023 6:49PM

NASA will miss its mark trying to land astronauts on the moon by 2025. That’s according to a new report, released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week.

"There are tremendous technical challenges that have to be resolved," said Ken Kremer. He's a space journalist in Brevard County who read and analyzed the new report.

The new 47-page document from the GAO estimates NASA is at least two years off track in its Artemis program.

"I think they were a little overoptimistic," Kremer said, referencing how he thought it was already an ambitious timeline. He also added that NASA has fallen behind on other missions in the past.

The report outlines several issues with the current mission, including an unrealistic timeline from NASA based on previous project durations, several six-month and longer delays on key technology tests, and design challenges with the spacesuit.

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/treme ... on-in-2025

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'Tremendous technical challenges': New report says NASA won’t land astronauts on the moon in 2025

Published December 1, 2023 6:49PM

NASA will miss its mark trying to land astronauts on the moon by 2025. That’s according to a new report, released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week.

"There are tremendous technical challenges that have to be resolved," said Ken Kremer. He's a space journalist in Brevard County who read and analyzed the new report.

The new 47-page document from the GAO estimates NASA is at least two years off track in its Artemis program.

"I think they were a little overoptimistic," Kremer said, referencing how he thought it was already an ambitious timeline. He also added that NASA has fallen behind on other missions in the past.

The report outlines several issues with the current mission, including an unrealistic timeline from NASA based on previous project durations, several six-month and longer delays on key technology tests, and design challenges with the spacesuit.

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/treme ... on-in-2025

In all seriousness I doubt they land them on the moon this decade. I'd bet money on it.

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[wjfox]

Two U.S. firms to launch spacecraft to the moon within weeks of each other

December 24, 2023 at 1:01 p.m. EST

A pair of companies are planning to launch uncrewed spacecraft to the moon within weeks of each other early next year in a NASA-funded effort that could mark the first soft landings for the United States on the lunar surface since the last of the Apollo missions in 1972.

But in a sign of how the commercial space industry is transforming exploration, the companies are also vying for another historic first: to become the first private venture to land on the moon.

On Jan. 8, Astrobotic, a company based in Pittsburgh, is scheduled to launch its Peregrine spacecraft on the inaugural launch of the Vulcan rocket, which is operated by the United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Then, in mid-February, from another pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida, Intuitive Machines is set to launch its lander on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The missions are related to NASA’s Artemis program, which intends to return astronauts to the lunar surface. But these missions are part of an effort called the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which is aimed to send cargo and science experiments to the moon. In announcing the program five years ago, then-NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he wanted to harness the capabilities of private industry to go quickly and inexpensively. “What we’re going for here is speed,” he said at the time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... ding-moon/

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Astronauts Test Starship's Crew Elevator for Lunar Landing
Starship is very tall, so astronauts will need an elevator to get to the surface.
By Ryan Whitwam December 26, 2023
https://www.extremetech.com/science/ast ... ar-landing

NASA is headed back to the Moon, and SpaceX is a key part of that plan. Elon Musk's private spaceflight firm is working on a special version of its upcoming Starship rocket, the Human Landing System (HLS). The first crewed Artemis landing is still on the books for 2025, and there's a lot of work still to do. Two astronauts have helped test a vital part of the Starship HLS: the elevator.

The Starship rocket is designed to handle anything SpaceX can throw at it, with considerably more power and payload capacity than the company's Falcon 9 rocket. When freed of the Super Heavy first stage, Starship is still 160 feet (50 meters) tall, and the crew compartment is near the top of the vehicle. So, Starship HLS needs an elevator to take astronauts from the nose down to the lunar surface.

SpaceX built a prototype of the planned HLS elevator at its facility in Hawthorne, California. It features a full-scale basket with functioning mechanical components and controls. The astronauts, Nicole Mann and Doug “Wheels” Wheelock, wore space suits that approximated the movement range and mobility the crew could expect on the lunar surface. When the actual mission rolls around, the crew will have new advanced space suits developed by Axiom Space, but those aren't ready yet.

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Japan Probe Enters Lunar Orbit Ahead of Historic Moon Landing
December 27, 2023

Introduction:

(AFP via Science Alert) Japan's SLIM space probe entered the Moon's orbit on Monday in a major step towards the country's first successful lunar landing, expected next month.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is nicknamed the "Moon Sniper" because it is designed to land within 100 metres (328 feet) of a specific target on the lunar surface.

If successful, the touchdown would make Japan only the fifth country to have successfully landed a probe on the Moon, after the United States, Russia, China and India.

On Monday, SLIM "successfully entered the moon's orbit at 04:51 pm Japan time" (0751 GMT), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement released Monday evening.

"Its trajectory shift was achieved as originally planned, and there is nothing out of the ordinary about the probe's conditions," the agency said.

Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/japan-pro ... -landing

[wjfox]

Nasa Peregrine 1: US lander will not make it to moon’s surface due to fuel leak

Tue 9 Jan 2024 13.31 GMT

The first moon lander to launch from the US in half a century will not make it to the lunar surface due to a fuel leak, its operators have announced, adding that their goal was now to travel as far as possible before losing power.

Peregrine 1, which is also the first commercial space probe to attempt a soft landing on the moon, suffered a “critical loss of propellant” hours after lift-off on Monday due to an “anomaly” in the propulsion system, according to Astrobotic, the US company behind the project.

After initially fearing that the spacecraft would not be able to orient itself towards the sun to charge its batteries, the team at Astrobotic announced it had successfully completed an “improvised manoeuvre” and the solar array was working.

However, in a later statement, the Pittsburgh-based company said its thrusters “could likely only operate for 40 more hours at most”, adding: “At this time, the goal is to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as we can before it loses the ability to maintain its sun-pointing position and subsequently loses power.”

The lander, which is carrying Nasa scientific equipment, launched on the Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral, marking the first use of the powerful new rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed venture.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... -fuel-leak

[firestar464]

Artemis missions delayed once more

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/n ... ee3cb&ei=5