Moon Monday
Moon Monday #231: Achievements and shortfalls in Moon exploration this half year
A review of notable developments by country or region.
Moon Monday
By Jatan Mehta | The world’s only newsletter dedicated to covering and contextualizing global lunar exploration updates, including plans to return humans this decade.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #230: China leaps again in its steady march to Luna while NASA’s progress on Artemis remains a mixed bag
A look at recent Chinese milestones in the build up to crewed lunar missions, another blow(up) for Artemis, how Firefly’s Ocula can fill critical gaps for NASA, and more.
Moon Monday
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
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #228: The need for resilience in private lunar landing missions through expansive and collaborative testing
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
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #227: Proposed cuts, cancellations, continuations, and changes to NASA’s lunar missions
And other mission updates.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #226: Blue Origin aims to launch its first two Moon missions by next year—with nearly no NASA payloads
Plus: Firefly to carry UAE’s second lunar rover and more.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #225: Lots of global lunar mission updates 🌙
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
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #224: A curious find from Chandrayaan 3, Artemis updates, and more
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’
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #223: International researchers to study Chang’e lunar samples, including US ones but without NASA funding
And more such interesting Moon exploration updates from China’s National Space Day on April 24.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #222: How China navigated failure to nail down lunar navigation success
Plus: Exploration and science updates from the US, South Korea, and Europe.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #221: The US is failing to explore lunar water as the principal goal of Artemis
And, countries allied with the US are facing delays in their own missions, allowing China to lead in this aspect of lunar exploration too.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday #220: Lunar science galore from the Chandrayaans
Plus mission updates and some tangents.