Moon Monday #229: China extends lead in lunar orbital infrastructure, gets an edge in future crewed missions over the US
Plus: Examples of how Western media narratives of Chinese lunar activities misjudge capabilities and intent
Plus: Examples of how Western media narratives of Chinese lunar activities misjudge capabilities and intent
ispace Japan’s second Moon lander RESILIENCE launched in January with the aim of a Moon landing. But just like its predecessor Hakuto-R’s fate about two years ago, RESILIENCE crashed into the Moon during its landing attempt on June 6. It was a moment of heartbreak for several lunar
Plus more mission updates.
And other mission updates.
Plus: Firefly to carry UAE’s second lunar rover and more.
Our Moon may be one of the largest satellites in the Solar System but its exploration has been concentrated on select areas. One of these is low lunar orbit, where mapping spacecraft from three countries have been concurrently flying from pole to pole between 50 to 150 kilometers above the
Key news of the month: China has achieved daytime Earth-Moon distance measurement wherein a 1.2-meter telescope reflected an infrared laser off of a small retroreflector on the 61-kilogram Tiandu 1 lunar orbiter. This was the first ever daytime laser distance measurement using an orbiter, accomplished despite massive interference from
Two announcements before we begin: 1. I’m honored to be moderating a fantastic panel on modern themes in global lunar exploration at the international Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) on Friday, May 9. If you’re attending GLEX in New Delhi, join us for the session. And, if you’
ISRO has been publishing monthly summaries of the varied activities and programs of India’s Department of Space (DOS) for years. Lately though, there have been consistent delays in publishing them by a month or two, and sometimes even more. The summaries have been trimmed too, now conveying less than
And more such interesting Moon exploration updates from China’s National Space Day on April 24.
Plus: Exploration and science updates from the US, South Korea, and Europe.
And, countries allied with the US are facing delays in their own missions, allowing China to lead in this aspect of lunar exploration too.
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