Indian Space
Reviewing Mangalyaan, India’s first Mars mission
Despite falling short on scientific promises, the orbiter boosted India’s fledgling planetary program.
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Indian Space
Again, Mangalyaan was never a science mission
When India’s Mangalyaan spacecraft successfully entered Mars orbit on September 23, 2014, it made ISRO only the fourth organization in the world to achieve the feat, after the United States, the Soviet Union, and ESA. The fact that Mangalyaan was India’s first interplanetary mission, and cost just $70
US Artemis
Moon Monday #97: Australia aims for Luna, CLPS evolves towards enhance science, and more updates
A look at Australian efforts to explore our Moon A little over 3 years after being founded, the Australian Space Agency announced its first Moon mission in October 2021. The agency will soon competitively fund an Australian industry consortia to develop the mission’s lunar rover for a maximum cost
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How the Apollo missions transformed our understanding of the Moon’s origin
And how going back to the Moon will tell us how Earth and Luna formed.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #96: Another storm for SLS, a lunar power service, a refined Lunar-Mars vision, and more updates
NASA wants the SLS rocket and its teams to withstand a storm On September 21, NASA successfully conducted the cryogenic leak test to verify the integrity of the newly replaced seals on the SLS rocket’s core stage, where a persistent, large hydrogen leak forced the agency to scrub the
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Everything we know about the rover NASA's Artemis astronauts will drive on the Moon
The Lunar Terrain Vehicle will be vastly more capable than the rover rode by Apollo astronauts.
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Moon Monday #95: NASA seeks advanced human landers; CAPSTONE tumbles; Masten gets sold, and too many updates
I’m over the Moon to share that Moon Monday is now featured as a resource on the homepage of the Moon Village Association’s website. ^_^ Also, so much happened in lunar exploration last week that this 2000-plus-word issue is packed with exciting news updates, and lots of context and
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #94: Pushing for an SLS liftoff, new spacesuits for Moonwalking, a large ESA lander, and more
NASA pushes for September launch of Artemis I After a persistent, large hydrogen leak on the SLS rocket’s core stage forced NASA to scrub the September 3 launch attempt of the Artemis I mission to send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back, the agency decided to
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Are planets with two stars promising places for life?
A look at the potential for habitable planets in binary systems despite their chaotic births.
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Moon Monday #93: Another Artemis I delay, Moon-dedicated ground stations, a versatile rover, and more updates
A notorious hydrogen leak stops brimming SLS rocket from blasting off of Earth On September 3, NASA scrubbed the second launch attempt of the super heavy-lift SLS rocket for the Artemis I mission to send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back. While the first launch was cancelled
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Moon Monday #92: Artemis I launch delay, skeleton Starship, powering a lunar base, and more updates
The Sun isn’t rising for the SLS just yet The super heavy-lift SLS rocket just can’t catch a break. NASA scrubbed today’s launch of SLS for the Artemis I mission to send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back. The launch was called off because
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NASA’s Artemis I is loaded with sidekick science and technology missions
January 2023 Edit: I’ve covered post-launch updates on the CubeSats on Moon Monday #104, #105, and #108. NASA is all set to launch the SLS rocket on August 29, setting in motion the historic Artemis I mission to send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back. While
