Artemis 2 astronauts train for emergencies with Orion spacecraft ahead of 2025 moon launch (photos)

Elizabeth Howell
Mon, October 28, 2024 

Artemis 2 astronaut Christina Koch, of NASA, poses at the opening of an Orion spacecraft mockup. | Credit: Lockheed Martin

In case of emergency on Earth, open the spacecraft door.

The four Artemis 2 astronauts recently practiced a key contingency operation as they continue to prepare for their moon mission: opening the side hatch of their Orion spacecraft.

If all goes well during Artemis 2's planned September 2025 launch and round-the-moon mission, of course, the astronauts will keep all doors firmly shut. Conducting the first human lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, however, requires a strict focus on safety — just in case.

The Artemis 2 astronauts are NASA commander Reid Wiseman, NASA pilot Victor Glover (who will become the first Black person to leave low Earth orbit, or LEO), NASA mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman to do so) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) mission specialist Jeremy Hansen (the first non-American).

Related: Artemis 2 astronauts simulated a day in the life on their moon mission. Here's what they learned (exclusive)

victor glover facing an open spacecraft hatch and using a tool on the door

NASA and the CSA announced the four astronauts in April 2023 for what was then supposed to be a December 2024 liftoff. The mission was delayed in January 2024 due to several critical engineering issues, particularly longstanding examinations of irregularities in the heat shield.

two people peering at an open spacecraft door that has a lot of gears and mechanics on it

But the mission is a developmental one, the crew continues to emphasize, meaning that getting the hardware and crew safely ready must override any expectation of a firm schedule.

If all goes well with the launch, the astronauts will not touch the hatches, as the ground systems team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center will secure the crew inside, NASA officials said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct. 23). During splashdown, recovery teams in the Pacific Ocean (including folks from both NASA and the U.S. Navy) will open the hatch.

jeremy hansen standing at an open spacecraft door while two people stand nearby him

RELATED STORIES:

— Artemis 2 astronauts simulated a day in the life on their moon mission. Here's what they learned (exclusive)

— 'We're pushing the limits:' Artemis 2 backup astronaut on 2025 round-the-moon mission (exclusive)

— Astronauts won't walk on the moon until 2026 after NASA delays next 2 Artemis missions



The side hatch mockup — which crew members trained on with Orion spacecraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado — normally swings open using manual gearboxes. But in an emergency, the release mechanism has pyrotechnic (explosive) devices that "release the latch pins on the hatch instantaneously, allowing the hatch to open quickly," NASA stated.

Artemis 2 is the first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent human presence on and around the moon in the next decade or so. An uncrewed mission, Artemis 1, flew to lunar orbit and back in 2022. Humans will first land on the moon again with Artemis 3, which will fly in 2026 or so using SpaceX's Starship spacecraft to touch down.


NASA provides an update on Artemis III moon mission

Mel Holt,Brittany Caldwell
Mon, October 28, 2024 

NASA wants to land astronauts near an unexplored region of the moon.

The agency believes the lunar South Pole may hold valuable resources, like water.

These potential landing sites are still subject to change based on science potential, launch window availability, and even lighting conditions. Still, the target location will remain in the South Pole region.

At the Kennedy Space Center, teams continue to work toward a 2025 Artemis III Mission.

Read: NASA announces delays for Artemis missions

NASA’s first crewed mission around the moon in more than five decades.

The agency’s SLS rocket will launch NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Kristina Koch along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a roughly 10-day mission aboard an Orion spacecraft.

NASA just released this updated map with nine potential landing regions near the lunar South Pole for the Artemis II Mission.

Read: To boldly go: NASA reveals new spacesuits for planned Moon landing mission

“They’ve never sent any astronauts before to the South Pole,” said Dr. Ken Kremer of Space Up Close. “So this (is) brand new going to bring us just tremendous science on the state of the moon today and the history of the solar system, as well as being able to live off the land because we don’t have to bring all those supplies from the Earth, which is very expensive.”

NASA identifies nine possible landing regions for Artemis III moon mission

Mon, October 28, 2024 


Nine candidate lunar landing regions, which NASA revealed Monday in a photo of the moon, include Peak near Cabeus B; Haworth; Malapert Massif; Mons Mouton Plateau; Mons Mouton; Nobile Rim 1; Nobile Rim 2; de Gerlache Rim 2 and Slater Plain. Image courtesy of NASA

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- NASA has identified nine possible landing sites for its Artemis III mission in 2026 that will return astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, the space agency announced Monday.

"Artemis will return humanity to the moon and visit unexplored areas. NASA's selection of these regions shows our commitment to landing crew safely near the lunar south pole, where they will help uncover new scientific discoveries and learn to live on the lunar surface," said Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program.

The nine landing regions, which NASA released in a photo Monday and were assessed for their "science value and mission availability" near the moon's south pole, include Peak near Cabeus B; Haworth; Malapert Massif; Mons Mouton Plateau; Mons Mouton; Nobile Rim 1; Nobile Rim 2; de Gerlache Rim 2 and Slater Plain.

Scientists and engineers analyzed the nine regions -- using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter -- to determine terrain, lighting and communication capabilities with Earth.

NASA's Artemis III mission is targeting a crewed landing in September 2026 near the moon's south pole, which NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called a "different moon" from the 1969 Apollo mission with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Scientists and engineers analyzed the nine regions for a possible future moon landing by using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA's Artemis III mission is targeting a crewed landing in September 2026 near the moon's south pole. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPIMore

"The south pole is pockmarked with deep craters and because of the angle of the sun coming in -- most of those craters are in total darkness. It lessens the amount of area we can land on and utilize," Nelson said last year.

The lunar south pole has never been explored by a crewed mission and contains permanently shadowed areas that could preserve resources, including water, according to NASA.

"The moon's south pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions," said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"It offers access to some of the moon's oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries," Noble added.

NASA will work to narrow down its lunar landing site choices for Artemis III, once it identifies the mission's target launch dates. Those dates will determine orbital paths and surface environment conditions, according to Jacob Bleacher, NASA's chief exploration scientist.

"Finding the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe places for this first landing," Bleacher said, "and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the moon."


NASA identifies 9 possible landing spots for 2026 mission returning humans to the moon

Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
Updated Tue, October 29, 2024 

NASA plans to bring humankind back to the moon, but it first needs to figure out exactly where to land.

The space agency has outlined nine potential lunar landing sites for its Artemis III mission, the agency's first planned return to the moon in over five decades. The mission, set for 2026, intends to land near the lunar south pole, where astronauts will visit unexplored areas, according to NASA.

The nine regions selected are areas where crew can safely land to help uncover new discoveries and better grasp how to live on the lunar surface, according to NASA. The agency has not determined a priority ranking for the selected regions.

For the selection process, experts considered terrain suitability, launch window availability, lighting conditions, science potential and communication capabilities with Earth, among other factors. NASA officials also considered the combined trajectory capabilities of its Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft and Starship Human Landing System.

"The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions," Artemis lunar science lead Sarah Noble said in a statement. "It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries."
What are the 9 lunar landing spots?

NASA has selected nine potential landing regions, each with its diverse geological characteristics and flexibility for mission landing. Each spot is in the lunar South Pole, which has never been explored in a crewed mission and features permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources like water.

The following lunar sites have been considered:

The moon is pictured in this image on Dec. 6, 2006.

Peak near Cabeus B


Haworth


Malapert Massif


Mons Mouton Plateau


Mons Mouton


Nobile Rim 1


Nobile Rim 2


de Gerlache Rim 2


Slater Plain
When was the last human visit to the moon?

The last human to land on the moon was on Dec. 19, 1972, during NASA's Apollo 17 mission.

The astronauts on that mission were the last to visit the moon and the last to travel more than 400 miles from the Earth, according to the National Space Air and Space Museum.

Humankind first touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969, on the Apollo 11 mission, in which Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon.

Artemis III, which will send two astronauts to the surface of the moon, is scheduled for September 2026. Artemis II, which will send astronauts around the moon, is slated for September 2025.

SPACE

INSAT 3DS mission successful; naughty boy is now an obedient boy, says ISRO

 17 Feb 2024, 

On the launch of INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite, ISRO chairman S Somanath says “I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the mission GSLV-F14 INSAT-3DS…”

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) posted this photo on their X account as preparations underway for the launch of ISRO’s GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS mission that is to be scheduled at 5.35 p.m on Feb 17, at the Satish Dhawan Space Station, in Sriharikota on Friday. (ISRO twitter)

The GSLV-F14 vehicle successfully placed the INSAT-3DS satellite into intended orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Saturday. A Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle carrying a third generation meteorological satellite lifted-off from the spaceport in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on Saturday.

"GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS Mission: The vehicle has successfully placed the satellite into the intended geosynchronous transfer orbit," the ISRO tweeted.

The INSAT-3DS Satellite is a follow-on mission of Third Generation Meteorological Satellite from Geostationary Orbit. This is the second mission for the ISRO in 2024 after the successful launch of PSLV-C58/EXPOSAT mission on January 1.

On the launch of INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite, ISRO chairman S Somanath said, "I am very happy to announce the successful accomplishment of the mission GSLV-F14 INSAT-3DS. The spacecraft has been injected into a very good orbit. We also noted that the vehicle has performed very well. Congratulations to everyone who has been a part of the team..."

Meanwhile, INSAT-3DS Mission Director Tomy Joseph said, “…naughty boy (ISRO’s GSLV-F14 rocket) has now become a mature, disciplined and obedient boy."

"I congratulate and salute all the ISRO ‘family’ members for this achievement. This is GSLV’s tenth mission, and the payload has been increased by almost 50 kilograms this time. I am grateful to higher management and ISRO chairman for the opportunity (of leading the mission)," Joseph said.

ALSO READ:  ISRO set to launch satellite INSAT-3DS today; 5 things to know about this 2024 space mission

The 51.7 metre tall GSLV-F14 soared majestically from the second launch pad at the spaceport, leaving behind thick fumes on its tail and soared towards the sky. It saw thunderous applause from spectators who had gathered at the gallery here since afternoon.

The satellite weighing 2,274 kg would serve various departments under the Ministry of Earth Sciences including the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), ISRO said.

INSAT-3DS satellite: Aim and objective

Somnath said INSAT 3DS is the next generation weather satellite with improved capability over the existing INSAT series which is there in orbit. "This will augment the capability of various atmospheric parameters that leads to information related to weather and climate," he added.

The new satellite, equipped with cutting-edge payloads and top-notch data collection, will aid in monitoring land and ocean surfaces for near-precise weather forecasting and disaster warnings.

The primary objectives of the mission are to monitor Earth's surface, carry out oceanic observations and its environment in various spectral channels of meteorological importance -- to provide the vertical profile of various meteorological parameters of the Atmosphere.

Among others, it will provide the Data Collection and Data Dissemination capabilities from the Data Collection Platforms (DCPs), and to provide Satellite Aided Search and Rescue services.

"This particular satellite will be doing a lot of advanced research and helping for the weather forecast of our country...," said Debanik Roy, senior Scientist and Group Head, Division of Remote Handling and Robotics, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Department of Atomic Energy, Mumbai.

NASA has more than twice the asteroid Bennu samples it could have hoped for from OSIRIS-REx probe

By Josh Dinner 

The once inaccessible sample container has been fully opened, and NASA has released the numbers

View of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with lid removed, unveiling the bulk of asteroid Bennu sample inside. 

(Image credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld/Joseph Aebersold)

We now know exactly how much material OSIRIS-REx captured from its target asteroid Bennu — and, it's a lot.

In addition to the 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of sample already collected from the outside of the canister, NASA has finally managed to fully open OSIRIS-REx's sample container to find another 1.81 ounces (51.2 grams) of asteroid Bennu within. In all, the probe collected more than twice what scientists had hoped for.

OSIRIS-REx completed its asteroid sample return mission when the probe parachuted a tightly-sealed container back to Earth on Sep. 24 before embarking on a secondary mission dubbed OSIRIS-APEX, named for its next space rock target, the asteroid Apophis.

With this container came the first pieces of an asteroid NASA has ever captured and returned for further study. The mission launched in 2016, and the safe recovery of the capsule last year was the ceremonious end to an epic seven-year journey through space. However, once NASA technicians got a hold of the sample container, they stumbled upon some complications — it was too difficult to open.

Related: Asteroid Bennu may 'a fragment of an ancient ocean world,' samples suggest

OSIRIS-REx's original mission goal was to collect up to 2.12 ounces (60 grams) of material, which was actually met with even just bits of Bennu spotted across the container's exterior. However, the team knew there had to be much more inside.

So, in order to access the entirety of the Bennu sample, NASA teams started designing a new tool to open the sealed container.

To talk specifics, the container was actually secured inside a larger enclosure, built for protection during the probe's arduous journey. As OSIRIS-REx collected its asteroid samples in space, a portion of the material wound up inside this protective enclosure but outside the designated sample container, gifting scientists some of the Bennu sample before the main canister was unlocked.

Far exceeding their expectations, mission operators managed to collect 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) before ever opening the inaccessible part of the OSIRIS-REx return capsule. Still, scientists and space enthusiasts everywhere remained waiting to see what OSIRIS-REx's grand sample total would be. And now, the new tool having been derived, scientists have access to all of the probe's asteroid sample, and the results are in.

Combined with the samples already collected, OSIRIS-REx returned a total of 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) of material from asteroid Bennu — that's more than double the mission's goal and the largest asteroid sample ever collected, according to a recent NASA release. For comparison, the Japanese Aerospace Agency's Hayabusa2 mission only brought back about 0.18 ounces (5 grams) of material from its asteroid target, Ryugu, in Dec. 2020.

 —  At last! NASA finally frees lid of asteroid Bennu sample capsule after battling stuck fasteners

 — OSIRIS-APEX prepares for 1st close solar encounter on way to asteroid Apophis

— NASA's OSIRIS-REx lands samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth after historic 4-billion-mile journey

Examination of the samples has already begun, and scientists are finding "a whole realm of material" previously inaccessible using samples collected from meteorites, according to Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for OSIRIS-REx. Bennu is believed to be a remnant of the early solar system, and scientists think studying these samples could help unravel some mysteries of early planetary development.

About a quarter of the Bennu sample will remain with researchers on the OSIRIS-REx research team. NASA also plans to preserve at least 70 percent of the sample for study by scientists worldwide, as well as for future generations of researchers.

An astronomer's lament: SpaceX 'megaconstellations' are ruining space exploration for everyone

News
By Samantha Lawler

published about 19 hours ago
THE CONVERSATION

Private companies like SpaceX are crowding Earth's atmosphere with ever-increasing numbers of satellite 'megaconstellations'. For astronomers, the toll of these bright, ubiquitous objects is already painfully clear.

Telescopes have to contend with light pollution from satellites.

I used to love rocket launches when I was younger. During every launch, I imagined what it would feel like to be an astronaut sitting in the spacecraft, listening to that final countdown and then feeling multiple gees push me up through the atmosphere and away from our blue marble.

But as I learned more about the severe limitations of human spaceflight, I turned my attention to the oldest and most accessible form of space exploration: the science of astronomy.

Since 2019, I've watched my unencumbered enthusiasm for rocket launches soften to tepid interest, and finally sour to outright dread. The corporate space race, led by SpaceX, is entirely responsible for this transformation in my mindset.

I am worried by the complete shift to the move-fast-and-break-things attitude that comes from the tech sector instead of government scientific agencies. I am put off by the colonialist language and billionaire-worship of private corporations. I am increasingly furious at the nonexistent public education and lack of transparency offered by these companies.

Crowded orbits

The corporate space race is well underway, with private companies flooding Low Earth Orbit with thousands of mass-produced satellites. In previous decades, the prohibitively high cost of launch kept the rate of increase and total number of satellites from growing too rapidly. But launches have been getting steadily cheaper for years.

SpaceX has launched thousands of their own Starlink communication satellites, as well as hundreds of satellites for their direct competitors. Half of all launches worldwide in 2023 were SpaceX rockets.

As an astronomer, I'm painfully aware of what these thousands of new satellites have done to the night sky worldwide. They reflect sunlight long after the sky has grown dark, looking like moving stars.

Starlink satellites are the most numerous and occupy some of the lowest orbits, so they make up the majority of the satellites seen in the sky.

 

Last year, SpaceX launched one of the brightest objects in the sky on behalf of another company: BlueWalker 3, a satellite with the same sky-footprint as a small house. They plan to operate a fleet of dozens, each as bright as the brightest stars in the sky.
Lost information and knowledge

These satellites are now increasingly obstructing telescopic space exploration, both on the ground and in space. Astronomers are the canaries in the coal mine for this rapidly expanding experiment in orbit: we see these satellites increasingly affecting our research every day.

I have watched over the past five years as satellite streaks in my own research images from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope have changed from an unusual occurrence to lost data in nearly every image.

Astronomy is the only way to learn about the universe, the overwhelming majority of which can never be explored by humans. The farthest human-made object from Earth is the Voyager 1 probe, now eight times farther from the sun than Neptune after 46 years continuously travelling significantly faster than a speeding bullet.


A composite of 29 individual exposures from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Maunakea, taken in August 2022. The horizontal and diagonal white lines are bright satellites that unexpectedly flew through the field of view during observations, covering any objects behind them. (P. Cowan/W. Fraser/S. Lawler/CLASSY Survey Team/CFHT)

But even if Voyager 1 was pointed directly toward our nearest neighbouring star, Proxima Centauri (it's not), it would take over 100,000 years to get there. We are light-years away from having technology that can robotically explore even our neighbouring solar systems on a human timescale, let alone bring humans out to the stars.

The vast majority of astronomy research is carried out by telescopes on Earth: large optical telescopes on remote mountaintops, large radio telescopes in radio-quiet zones that are meticulously maintained, as well as smaller telescopes scattered around the world.

There are a handful of telescopes in Low Earth Orbit that also have to contend with light pollution from Starlink and other megaconstellations. There are also a handful of telescopes outside Earth orbit which can only operate for a few years, unlike ground-based facilities that can be maintained and enhanced with new technologies for decades.
Government regulation needed

The Canada-Hawaii-France telescope, located on the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano located on the island of Hawaii. 

Space exploration using Earth-based telescopes is growing increasingly less effective as more bright and radio-loud satellites are placed between Earth and the stars. But there are much worse problems ahead if corporations continue launching satellites: atmospheric pollution on launch and re-entry, ground casualty risks from re-entries, and the very real possibility of a runaway collisional cascade in orbit, referred to as the Kessler Syndrome.

Satellites are an incredibly useful part of our lives, but there are limits to how many can safely orbit Earth. Current regulations on launches and orbital operations by governments are very weak, and are not set up for the current regime of thousands of new satellites per year.

Regulation on the number of satellites in orbit would force corporations toward technology improvements and service models that use fewer satellites, keeping orbit usable for future generations.

Ask your government representatives to support satellite regulation, and expansion of rural broadband. Get out and enjoy your dark skies, before they change.

RELATED STORIES

—Big, dead European satellite will come crashing back to Earth this month

—NASA's 1st successful 2-way laser experiment is a giant leap for moon and Mars communications

—Watch a Chinese rocket booster fall from space and explode near a house in southern China

With proper regulation, our oldest form of space exploration can continue. I desperately hope we never reach a point where the natural patterns in the sky are drowned out by anthropogenic ones, but without regulation, corporations will get us there soon.

This edited article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

UK Space Agency on red alert for doomed satellite crashing back down to Earth

Scientists from the UK Space Agency are on high alert as doomed satellite is set to come crashing down to Earth – and boffins say they have no idea where it will land

By Lizzie McAllister

Senior News Reporter

17 FEB 2024

The satellite could come crashing down to Earth next week (Image: ESA/SWNS)

The UK Space Agency is on high alert as a doomed satellite is set to crash back to Earth next week.

Scientists have no idea where the out-of-control European Remote Sensing 2 satellite (ERS-2) will land. The European Space Agency reckons it could re-enter the atmosphere on Wednesday (February 21) at 2.34am, but this prediction could be off by up to 31 hours either way

The UK Space Agency, which operates the country's re-entry warning service, has tasked its sensors to monitor ERS-2's re-entry. This government service scans for incoming threats and can issue a warning if an emergency situation arises.

READ MORE: Brits to have ashes blasted into space to orbit Earth before falling as snowflakes

Scientists have no idea where the doomed satellite will land (Image: ESA/SWNS)

The agency uses state-of-the-art modelling to track re-entering objects and issues warnings if a UK-licensed object is re-entering, or if the UK or our overseas territories or crown dependencies might be affected. These warnings are sent to civil protection authorities in the UK and to overseas government departments.

The re-entry service, along with the in-orbit collision and fragmentation service (known as the Space Surveillance and Tracking service), operates 365 days a year. Angus Stewart, the boss of Space Surveillance and Tracking at the UK Space Agency, said: "There are thousands of operational and defunct satellites in orbit around the Earth, and the ability to operate safely in space and bring the benefits back to Earth is growing increasingly challenging."

ERS-2's final image captured above Rome, Italy, in 2011 (Image: ESA/SWNS)

Talking about data from a partnership with satellite tracking company HEO, Mr Stewart said: "As well as capturing these images as part of our work with HEO, the UK Space Agency operates the UK's re-entry warning service and has tasked our UK sensors to observe the re-entry of ERS-2."

"We share data with ESA and other international partners through the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) and other forums to support satellite re-entries."

The European Space Agency is now monitoring ERS-2's path down to Earth

 (Image: ESA/SWNS)

Moon Race 2.0: Why so many nations and private companies are aiming for lunar landings

By Sue Nelson

Features correspondent

Getty Images

Five decades on from the last of the Apollo missions, the Moon is once again a target for space exploration. But Nasa no longer has lunar exploration to itself.

The number of astronauts who walked on the Moon hasn't changed in over 50 years.

Only 12 human beings have had this privilege – all Americans – but that will soon increase. The historical two-nation competition between the US and Soviet space agencies for lunar exploration has become a global pursuit. Launching missions to either orbit the Moon, or land on its surface, is now carried out by governments and commercial companies from Europe and the Middle East to the South Pacific.

Despite the success of the US Apollo missions between 1969-72, to date only five nations have landed on the Moon. China is one of the most ambitious of the nations with the Moon in its sights.

After two successful orbital missions in 2007 and 2010, China landed the unmanned Chang'e 3 in 2013. Six years later Chang'e 4 became the first mission to land on the far side of the Moon. The robotic Chang'e 5 returned lunar samples back to Earth in 2020 and Chang'e 6, which launches in May this year, will bring back the first samples from the Moon's far side.

The country's ambitions don't stop there. "China is openly aiming to put a pair of its astronauts on the Moon before 2030," says space journalist Andrew Jones, who focusses on China's space industry.

"There is demonstrable progress in a number of areas needed to perform such a mission, including developing a new human-rated launch vehicle, a new-generation crew spacecraft, a lunar lander and expanding ground stations," says Jones. "It is a tremendous undertaking, but China has demonstrated that it can plan and execute long-term lunar and human spaceflight endeavours."

After being delayed four times, the first Artemis mission lifted off in November 2022 – but Nasa has many rivals for a return to the Moon

 (Credit: Getty Images)

Not surprisingly, recently announced delays to US space agency Nasa's own Moon programme Artemis, which has pushed back plans to land astronauts on the lunar surface to September 2026 at the earliest, has produced the phrase "Moon Race" between the US and China.

"I think that China has a very aggressive plan," Nasa chief Bill Nelson told a media teleconference about the amended Artemis timescale. "I think they would like to land before us, because that might give them some PR coup. But the fact is, I don't think they will."

China, of course, may also experience slips in its launch schedule. "China needs a super heavy-lift launcher to start putting large pieces of infrastructure on the Moon," says Jones. "Its Long March 9 rocket project has undergone changes, so this may delay first missions from 2030 into the early or mid 2030s."

India became the fourth nation to land on the Moon with the unmanned Chandrayaan-3 in August 2023, which touched down close to the lunar south pole. After its success, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced it aims to send astronauts to the Moon by 2040. (Find out more about the mysteries of the lunar south pole and why so many nations want to land there in this feature by Jonathan O'Callaghan.)
In such a crowded field, the big question is who will become the next major global player in the next phase of lunar exploration

Meanwhile, Japan's Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) mission recently placed its Moon Sniper lander on lunar soil to become the fifth nation on our nearest neighbour. The Japanese space agency, Jaxa, is also nearing the end of negotiations to put a Japanese astronaut on the Moon as part of the US Artemis programme.

Other countries – such as Israel, South Korea and numerous member states of the European Space Agency (Esa) – have also placed robotic spacecraft into lunar orbit. Nasa recently announced that the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would provide an airlock for Gateway, its planned lunar orbiting space station for the Artemis missions.

The reasons for going vary: from scientific knowledge and technological advances to the prospect of accessing potentially useful lunar resources and political or economic value. The UK space industry, for instance, was extremely robust during the recession.

But in such a crowded field, the big question is who will become the next major global player in the next phase of lunar exploration. It will no longer be the sole preserve of national space agencies; commercial companies also want a piece of the lunar action.

India's lander Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon's surface in August 2023, and India has vowed to send astronauts there in future missions 

Although China launched the first commercial mission to the Moon in 2014, the small privately funded Manfred Memorial Moon Mission was a microsatellite (61cm x 26cm x10cm) for a lunar flyby built by LuxSpace in Luxembourg. America's first planned commercial lunar mission, however, was much more ambitious.

In January this year, Astrobotic, a company based in Pittsburgh, launched Peregrine Mission 1. It was to be the first US spacecraft to land on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. Unfortunately, a "critical loss of propellant" shortly after launch meant that it had to return home without landing and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere above a remote part of the South Pacific Ocean.

As a result, the upcoming US commercial mission, Intuitive Machines IM-1, which launched on 15 February and intends to place its Nova-C lander on the Moon, has been bumped up from second to potentially first place.
We are seeing that [space launch] economy start to catch up because the prospect of landing on the Moon exists - Steve Altemus

"As partners in advancing lunar exploration, we understand and share the collective disappointment of unforeseen challenges," says president and CEO of Intuitive Machines, Steve Altemus. "It is a testament to the resilience of the space community that we continue to push the boundaries of our understanding, embracing the inherent risks in our pursuit of opening access to the Moon for the progress of humanity."

The US declared the Moon a strategic interest in 2018. Does Altemus see his commercial mission as the beginning of a lunar economy? "At the time, no lunar landers or lunar programs existed in the United States," he says. "Today, over a dozen companies are building landers, which is a new market. In turn, we've seen an increase in payloads, science instruments, and engineering systems being built for the Moon. We are seeing that economy start to catch up because the prospect of landing on the Moon exists. Space is an enormous human endeavour and it will always contain a government component because they have a strategic need to be in space. But there's room now, for the first time in history, for commercial companies to be there."

In recent years India has also seen a boom in space start-ups such as Pixel, Dhruva Space, Bellatrix Aerospace and Hyderabad's Skyroot Aerospace, which launched India's first private rocket in 2022.

It has been more than 50 years since the last Apollo astronauts walked on the lunar surface (Credit: Nasa)

In October 2023 an Australian private company, Hex20, announced a collaboration with Skyroot Aerospace and Japan's ispace, which will attempt its second robotic lunar landing at the end of this year. The collaboration aims to stimulate demand for affordable lunar satellite missions.

But when it comes to the Moon, footprints and flags on the ground still generate the biggest headlines. The four astronauts who will go into lunar orbit on Artemis II – Nasa's Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman and Victor Glover plus Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen – all feature in London's immersive Moonwalkers show.

You might also like:

The mysteries of the Moon's South Pole
The next footsteps on the Moon
What did Apollo do for us?

Written by British filmmaker Chris Riley and actor Tom Hanks (who famously played astronaut Jim Lovell in the Apollo 13 movie), it highlights the collective Nasa effort required to put astronauts on the Moon and looks ahead to Artemis doing the same.

I recently watched the show sat alongside an upcoming guest on the Space Boffins podcast: former Nasa Apollo flight director, Gerry Griffin. Afterwards he described the Artemis programme as "wonderful".

"I'm worried about the funding," he says. "It's going to always be a problem."

But Griffin is optimistic and full of confidence in its astronauts. "We got the best. They are really, really good. But we've got to get going. It's time we get back."

--

If you liked this story, sign up for The Essential List newsletter – a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Join one million Future fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

Scientists Detect Water on the Surface of Asteroids for the First Time Ever

Using data from a retired NASA mission, researchers identified unique signs of water molecules on two space rocks, unlocking new insight into how water may have arrived on Earth

Catherine Duncan
Staff Contributor

SMITHSONIAN

February 16, 2024 

Data from the retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint venture between NASA and the German Space Agency, led scientists to their discovery. NASA / Carla Thomas / SwRI


In a cosmic first, scientists have discovered water on the surface of two asteroids. The findings, published Monday in The Planetary Science Journal, chart new territory in understanding how the life-sustaining molecule is distributed throughout the solar system—and hint at how it ended up on Earth.

Scientists at the Southwest Research Institute detected the water molecules using data collected by the now-defunct Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a Boeing airplane modified to carry a telescope that made its final flight in 2022.

Previously, other researchers used an instrument on SOFIA to examine particular wavelengths of light, called spectral signatures, emitted by molecules on the moon. In 2020, they spotted a specific wavelength unique to water molecules, revealing enough water on the moon’s sunlit surface to fill a 12-ounce bottle.

Inspired by this research, “we thought we could use SOFIA to find this spectral signature on other bodies,” says Anicia Arredondo, lead author of the new study and an asteroid researcher at the Southwest Research Institute, in a statement.

The scientists studied SOFIA’s observations of four asteroids rich in silicate, or minerals containing silicon and oxygen. Two of the asteroids, named Iris and Massalia, were found to emit the unique wavelength that “unambiguously” indicated the presence of water molecules, Arredondo says in the statement.

Iris and Massalia, which measure 124 miles and 84 miles in diameter, respectively, formed relatively close to the sun. According to the study, their water could be stored in multiple ways: The molecules could be trapped in beads of silicate glass or stuck to the silicates’ surface. Or, in a manner similar to the moon’s sunlit surface, where the molecular water was found within lunar soil, the asteroids’ water may be bound to minerals.

Though scientists have discovered water on asteroid samples brought to Earth through return missions, water molecules had never before been identified on asteroids still floating in space, writes Space.com’s Samantha Mathewson. Finding molecular water on Iris and Massalia, in particular, suggests liquid water can exist for eons on space rocks in the inner solar system—contrary to previous assumptions that any water would have evaporated from these asteroids under the heat of the sun.

“Asteroids are leftovers from the planetary formation process, so their compositions vary depending on where they formed in the solar nebula,” says Arredondo in the statement. “Of particular interest is the distribution of water on asteroids, because that can shed light on how water was delivered to Earth.”

The finding bolsters support for the popular theory that water did not originate on Earth, but rather crashed onto the planet through an asteroid impact.

“Asteroids, comets and their associated dust and debris are continually being nudged around by the gravity of the planets—changing the paths they follow through space,” Jonti Horner, an astrophysicist at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, tells Newsweek’s Jess Thomson.

Knowledge of the composition of asteroids helps explain how materials within the inner solar system are distributed, according to the study. Understanding where water is located within our solar system could provide insight into how the substance is distributed in others.

“Because water is necessary for all life on Earth, [it] will drive where to look for potential life, both in our solar system and beyond,” according to the statement.

While the researchers found signs of water on Iris and Massalia, the other two asteroids they examined gave inconclusive results. Next, the team plans to use the James Webb Space Telescope to take a higher-resolution look at these bodies, then expand their search to even more asteroids.

“We have another proposal in for the next cycle to look at another 30 targets [with Webb],” adds Arredondo in the statement. “These studies will increase our understanding of the distribution of water in the solar system.”


Catherine Duncan is an intern with Smithsonian magazine.

Private Peregrine moon lander is stacked on ULA Vulcan rocket ahead of Jan. 8 launch
Robert Lea
Wed, December 27, 2023 

The Peregrine prior to being loaded atop the ULA Vulcan rocket.


The Peregrine lunar lander has completed all its launch milestones and has been stacked atop the Vulcan Centaur rocket that will carry it to space.

The launch of the first United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is set for Jan. 8, 2024, with Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander expected to attempt a landing on the moon on Feb. 23, 2024.

The landing will make history as not only is Peregrine Astrobotic’s first lander mission, but this is also (possibly) set to be the first time a private spacecraft has set down on the moon, pending the progress of other missions as well (such as an Intuitive Machines launch aboard SpaceX set for no earlier than mid-February.)


"If you've been following the lunar industry, you understand landing on the Moon’s surface is incredibly difficult. With that said, our team has continuously surpassed expectations and demonstrated incredible ingenuity during flight reviews, spacecraft testing, and major hardware integrations," Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said in a statement from the company. “We are ready for launch and for landing.”

Related: Japan's SLIM 'moon sniper' lander arrives in lunar orbit for Christmas

Rocket scientist and president of ULA, Tony Bruno, celebrated the final steps toward the launch of the private lunar lander with a stunning time-lapse video shared on his X feed (formerly Twitter) on Dec. 22.

Though Peregrine has come through three weeks of important final checks and fueling needed to be achieved prior to launch, there is a whole new set of milestones for the spacecraft to clear after blast-off.

These will begin shortly after launch when the lander will separate from its Vulcan rocket carrier and will power on, following which it will establish communication with ground control on Earth. This communication will flow through the NASA Deep Space Network system to the Astrobotic mission control center in Pittsburgh, allowing Peregrine's operators to determine its position, orientation, and operating health.

Following this and around 40 minutes after separation, ground control will begin sending commands to the lunar lander's propulsion system. One of the first series of commands will tell the thrusters to reorientate Peregrine so its energy-harvesting solar panels are directed toward the sun, allowing them to start powering up the spacecraft's battery.

The team at Astrobotic will then perform maneuvers in Earth's orbit that prepare Peregrine for insertion into an orbit around the moon. The spacecraft will maintain a stable lunar orbit, performing system checks before heading for a historic touchdown at the end of February.

Related

— How NASA’s VIPER rover could revolutionize moon exploration with AI mission

— Will Artemis 2 launch to the moon in 2024? NASA has a lot of work ahead

—55 years after Apollo 8’s Christmas at the moon, a new Artemis crew readies for launch (exclusive)

"I have high praise for the professionalism, dedication, and technical expertise demonstrated by the Astrobotic team throughout the complex multi-year Peregrine development program," Peregrine Mission One Director Sharad Bhaskara said in the statement. "Evolving Peregrine from a paper concept to a fully tested spacecraft ready for launch is a remarkable achievement for a small business."


10 exhilarating spaceflight missions to watch in 2024

Samantha Mathewson
Thu, December 28, 2023 

In the dark of night, a rocket blasts fire from its engines, sending plumes of smoke jetting out as it climbs the launch tower out of frame.

Next year is bound to be packed with exciting spaceflight missions, from long-awaited rocket launches to incredible moon missions — including some that'll dabble in lunar landers and crewed flights — a new Jupiter probe headed to the beyond and even a demonstration flight of a new International Space Station resupply spacecraft. With that in mind, here are a few particular missions we're looking forward to in 2024.

1. Moon Missions

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission on Sept. 6. Currently en route to the lunar surface, the spacecraft is scheduled for a Jan. 19 landing inside the moon's Shioli Crater. The SLIM mission aims to demonstrate a landing with a precision of less than 330 feet (100 meters) from the target. If successful, the spacecraft’s touchdown will mark the first-ever soft lunar landing for a Japanese spacecraft, and make Japan the fifth country to soft-land on the moon after the Soviet Union, the United States, China and India.

A company named Astrobotic Technology is also targeting the moon next year, with plans to launch its first lunar lander on Jan. 8, followed by a Feb. 23 landing attempt. The Peregrine lunar lander will carry 20 commercial and government payloads, including a small lunar rover developed by Carnegie Mellon University scientists and a set of smaller rovers provided by the Mexican Space Agency.

The launch window for Intuitive Machines' IM-1 lunar mission opens mid-February. This spacecraft aims to touch down near the south pole of the moon, requiring specific lighting conditions that are only available in the region for a handful of days each month. In partnership with SpaceX, the IM-1 mission will be the company's first attempted lunar landing as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, which will later support the space agency’s Artemis program and plans to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon.

China’s Chang'e 6 mission is expected to launch in 2024, representing the country's second sample return mission. The lander will collect material from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin on the far side of the moon. This mission follows the successful Chang'e 5 lunar sample return mission, which launched in 2020.

2. Artemis 2

If all goes to plan, humans are also going to be headed back to the moon in 2024. NASA's Artemis 2 lunar mission will send the first astronauts around the moon in nearly 50 years. Slated to launch no earlier than November 2024, the eight-day mission will fly four astronauts around the moon aboard an Orion spacecraft using a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

Venturing some 6,400 miles (10,300 kilometers) beyond the far side of the moon, the Artemis 2 mission represents the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The Artemis 2 crew includes NASA commander Reid Wiseman, NASA pilot Victor Glover (the first person of color to leave low Earth orbit), NASA mission specialist Christina Koch (the first woman to make the trip) and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (the first non-American to make the trip).

3. Vulcan Centaur Rocket

Vulcan Centaur rocket launching

After multiple delays over five years, the first flight of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket is scheduled for Jan. 8. The rocket has been fully assembled at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in preparation for its inaugural flight, which will carry multiple payloads, including Astrobotic Technology's aforementioned Peregrine lunar lander.

Standing 202 feet (62 meters) tall, Vulcan Centaur is the successor to the ULA's Atlas V and Delta IV rockets with an advanced capability to carry a payload of up to 7.7 tons to geostationary orbit. For its Jan. 8 launch, the rocket will also carry a payload from the space memorial company Celestis, which includes the remains of cast members of the original "Star Trek" television series — Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan — as well as series creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry and recurring series actor Majel Barrett Roddenberry.

4. Sierra Space Dream Chaser

NASA and Sierra Space expect to launch a demonstration mission of the company's Dream Chaser spacecraft in 2024 using the ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket. Dream Chaser is a private reusable spacecraft designed to send cargo and astronauts to low Earth orbit. The first uncrewed flight of the shuttle-shaped spaceplane will be to the International Space Station. Dream Chaser is scheduled to deliver over 7,800 pounds of cargo for this demonstration mission, but is capable of carrying upwards of 11,500 pounds. It can also ferry experiment samples, trash and other cargo from the orbiting lab back to Earth. If all goes well, Dream Chaser will be a key part of NASA's commercial resupply services program.

5. Polaris Dawn

The Polaris Dawn mission — a private human spaceflight mission operated by SpaceX on behalf of Jared Isaacman, the founder of payment provider Shift4 — is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 2024. Isaacman and three others will spend several days in low Earth orbit on a Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Polaris Dawn is the first of three planned missions in the Polaris program, which aims to conduct scientific experiments, raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and to perform the first commercial spacewalk using SpaceX-designed spacesuits. Commanded by Isaacman, the Polaris Dawn crew includes one veteran astronaut and businessperson, two SpaceX personnel experienced in crewed and uncrewed launches and mission operations, and a former combat pilot.

6. Starship IFT-3

a giant rocket lifts from its launchpad, smoldering plumes of smoke erupt around

SpaceX's Starship rocket is gearing up for its third flight, IFT-3, within the first quarter of 2024. The IFT-3 of Ship 28 and Booster 10 aims to validate critical technologies essential for future lunar and interplanetary missions. This mission follows the company's second flight test (IFT-2) on November 18, 2023, which demonstrated successful hot staging but experienced telemetry loss after eight minutes of flight. Each flight test provides valuable data, from which the company can learn and adapt future attempts. That said, a critical test planned for IFT-3 is the propellant transfer utilizing two different tanks within Starship.

7. Ariane 6

The European Space Agency (ESA) aims to launch its Ariane 6 rocket in the middle of 2024. Recent tests were completed on Dec. 7 and Dec. 15, which entailed launch operation preparedness for the rocket's inaugural flight. While the Dec. 7 test of the rocket's upper stage was aborted shortly after what seemed to be a normal liftoff, the Dec. 15 test of the rocket's core and upper stages went smoothly.

The practice countdown ran as planned, concluding with a four-second firing of the core stage's Vulcain 2.1 engine. The cause of the abort during the Dec. 7 test is still under investigation, with an update expected to arrive mid-January. However, ESA does not expect this will impact the Ariane 6 schedule, with additional tests of the rocket's launch system slated for early 2024.

8. New Glenn’s ESCAPAGE Launch

The first launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket appears promising for 2024 after a long history of delays since 2020. The two-stage heavy-lift rocket stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) tall, with the capability to haul nearly 100,000 pounds (45 metric tons) of payload into low-Earth orbit. New Glenn is designed to be a reusable launch vehicle for up to 25 missions. Slated for its inaugural flight is NASA's Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission to study Mars' magnetosphere.

This ESCAPADE mission consists of two identical small spacecraft that will collect two-point observations simultaneously to better understand how energy and plasma enter and leave the magnetosphere, and how they interact with solar wind. It will take roughly 11 months for the ESCAPADE probes to arrive at Mars post-launch.

9. Europa Clipper

Artist's rendering of the Europa Clipper spacecraft above the surface of Europa.

NASA plans to send a spacecraft to explore Jupiter's moon Europa in 2024. Aptly named the Europa Clipper, the spacecraft will study the icy Jovian moon to determine whether its underground ocean is habitable. It is scheduled to launch on Oct. 6, 2024, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and arrive at Jupiter on April 11, 2030.

The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter, instead of Europa, due to radiation concerns. Europa (the second large moon out from Jupiter) lies deep inside the planet's magnetosphere, where charged particles generated by the gas giant’s powerful magnetic field could harm the spacecraft's electronics. Once it reaches Jupiter, the spacecraft will make nearly 50 flybys of Europa — one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life beyond Earth — with its closest approach of only 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the moon’s surface, allowing for a tantalizing close-up view of the moon's subsurface oceans.

10. Boeing Starliner

The first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is tentatively scheduled for mid-April. The eight-day mission includes test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni William, who will travel to the International Space Station on the reusable capsule. Manufactured by Boeing, Starliner consists of a reusable crew capsule and an expendable service module. The spacecraft is designed to transport crew to low-Earth orbit and will be used for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. For its first test flight, Starliner will launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket.

Boeing has struggled with delays to launch its first crewed test flight for years. The company announced the vehicle will be ready by March; however, NASA ultimately determines the timing of the launch, and due to traffic at the space station, the opportunity for Starliner to liftoff to the orbiting lab will be no earlier than April 2024.


Japan is close to becoming the 3rd nation to land on the moon in the 21st century. The US isn't one of them.

Jessica Orwig
Wed, December 27, 2023 



An illustration of JAXA's SLIM spacecraft on the moon.JAXA

Japan is weeks from attempting to land its SLIM spacecraft on the moon.


If SLIM succeeds, it will become the first Japanese spacecraft to land on the moon.


And Japan would be the third country, behind China and India, to land on the moon this century.

On Monday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency announced its SLIM moon lander had reached a crucial milestone in its historic mission: The spacecraft started to orbit the moon.

Over the next several weeks, SLIM — short for Smart Lander for Investigating Moon — will tighten its orbit, inching closer to the lunar surface.

Then, on January 19, 2024, the nation is scheduled to attempt what only a couple of other nations have achieved before it.

Japan will try to land SLIM on the lunar surface, solidifying the country's place in the history books as the third country to softly land on the moon in the 21st century. The other two countries are China and India.

JAXA's SLIM spacecraft will start a vertical decent to the lunar surface once it has descended to about 4.4 miles above the surface.JAXA

When it comes to the modern moon race, the US is lagging, so far.
Japan's historic moon mission

If Japan succeeds in January, SLIM will become the first Japanese spacecraft in history to softly land on the moon.

Japan has sent a couple of impactors and orbiters to the moon in the past, but this is the first time the nation has sent a landing module with rover-like probes to explore the lunar surface in unprecedented detail.


A photo of Shioli crater, where Japan plans to make history. James Stuby based on NASA image - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera observation

You heard that right, probes — plural. SLIM is carrying two small probes on board. If all goes according to plan, they'll deploy from the landing module after touchdown to explore the surface beyond the landing point.

One probe uses a hopping mechanism and the other is sphere-like and changes shape to move around, per VOA news.

The larger probe on the left uses a hopping mechanism to move around whereas the smaller, baseball-sized probe on the right changes its shape to help it roll around.JAXA

What makes this mission even more historic is the pinpoint landing Japan wants to achieve.

The spacecraft is targeting an impact crater on the moon called Shioli crater, and Japan plans to land SLIM to within 328 feet of its target. That's an "unprecedentedly high-precision landing," JAXA, Japan's space agency, said earlier this month.

For comparison, NASA's Apollo 17 module landed over 80 miles from its target, and India's Chandrayaan-3 lander had a target window over 3.8 square miles.

It's missions like Japan's SLIM, India's Chandrayaan-3, and China's Chang'e's 3, 4, and 5, that are pushing the boundaries of what landing on the moon looks like in the 21st century.

That leaves the US toward the back end of the pack.

The US hasn't landed anything on the moon since 1972

Eugene Cernan was the last man to walk on the moon.

Harrison Schmitt/NASA

The last time the US landed something on lunar grounds was Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt — the first scientist on the moon — and Eugene Cernan — the last man to walk on the moon.

In the decades since NASA has crashed some spacecraft into the lunar surface and sent others into lunar orbit.

But when it comes to landing on the moon and exploring its surface in unprecedented detail — NASA has left that for other space agencies to handle, at least for now.

To be fair, it's not like NASA isn't making giant strides in space exploration. Over the decades, NASA has landed more rovers on Mars than what India and China have landed on the moon, combined.

Moreover, NASA aims to catch up to other countries in the modern moon race in a big way very soon.

NASA's Artemis program plans to land the first humans near the moon's south pole in 2025 and achieve sustainable lunar exploration by the mid- to late-2020s.


The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission (left to right): NASA astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman (seated), Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Artemis II will not land on the moon but Artemis III is scheduled to.NASA

But NASA's Artemis program has already been delayed for multiple reasons, many related to the additional complexities and costs that come with crewed missions.

Meanwhile, the main theme emerging from the modern moon race recently is building on a budget. Both Japan and India focused on building small, lightweight spacecraft to help keep costs low.

Japan's SLIM weighs 1,540 pounds (with fuel) and cost about $120 million to develop. India's Chandrayaan-3 lander weighed nearly 3,750 pounds and cost an estimated $75 million.

Will the US catch up, or will budgetary constraints, politics, and technical issues continue to hold the nation back?


Japan's SLIM lander beams moon images home before Jan. 19 landing (photos)

Robert Lea
Wed, December 27, 2023 

The first images of the moon and the lunar surface as seen by Jaxa's SLIM lander.


After arriving in orbit around the moon on Christmas Day, Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) moon lander has beamed back its first images of the lunar surface.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) revealed the monochrome but highly detailed images of the crater-pocketed moon surface on its X feed, formerly Twitter.

The images were created after the spacecraft was successfully inserted into lunar orbit at 2:51 a.m. EST (0951 GMT or 4:51 p.m. Japan time) on Monday (Dec. 25).

Related: Japan's SLIM 'moon sniper' lander arrives in lunar orbit for Christmas

"SLIM successfully completed main engine injection at 16:51 and successfully entered lunar orbit! Below is an image sent from SLIM near the moon," JAXA officials wrote.

SLIM launched on Sept. 6, along with JAXA's X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). While XRISM remained in orbit around Earth, conducting its mission to investigate cosmic X-ray sources, SLIM left our planet for an elliptical orbit, circling the moon roughly once every 6.4 hours.

This orbit brings the lander as close to the lunar surface as around 373 miles (600 kilometers), with the spacecraft swinging out as far as 2,485 miles (4,000 km) from the moon.

The 8.8-foot-long (2.7 meters) spacecraft is set to touch down on the moon on Jan. 24. If SLIM's lunar landing is successful, it will make Japan the fifth country after the Soviet Union, the U.S., China, and India to make a lunar landing successfully.

Related Stories:

— Record-Holding Moon Mission Marks a Decade in Orbit

— Moon crash site found! NASA orbiter spots grave of private Japanese lander (photos)

— South Korean moon probe snaps picture of NASA's powerful lunar orbiter (photo)

After successfully setting down on the moon, SLIM will verify the technology needed for landings on the moon and also solar system planets, as well as conducting up close and personal investigations of the lunar surface with a small-scale probe, according to JAXA.

"By creating the SLIM lander, humans will make a qualitative shift towards being able to land where we want and not just where it is easy to land, as had been the case before," the space agency wrote in a mission description. "By achieving this, it will become possible to land on planets even more resource-scarce than the moon."