Tag: Moon
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Examining NASA’s challenge to SLS as ‘Moon, soon’ becomes the latest bold goal
Vice President Mike Pence has instructed NASA to land Americans on the Moon within the next five years. That was the headline from the latest National Space Council meeting this week. These words will require action and an influx of additional funding to stand a chance of becoming a reality. However, an overriding abstract behind…
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VP Mike Pence sets 5-year deadline for landing Americans at moon’s south pole
Vice President Mike Pence addresses the audience attending a meeting of the National Space Council at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., with an American flag, space artifacts and rocket models in the background. (NASA via YouTube) Vice President Mike Pence today called for American astronauts to return to the moon in…
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Beresheet lander on course for the moon
A camera on-board the Beresheet lander captured this view of Earth from a distance of more than 23,000 miles (37,000 kilometers). Credit: SpaceIL The privately-funded Israeli Bersesheet lander is on course to enter orbit around the moon April 4 after another boost from its main engine Tuesday. A 60-second firing by Beresheet’s 100-pound-thrust main engine…
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As Apollo 11 moon landing anniversary nears, space fans get ready to celebrate
Lisa Young, conservator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, adjusts the gloves that Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin wore on the moon, on display as part of the “Destination Moon” exhibit at Seattle’s Museum of Flight. Aldrin’s helmet and visor can be seen on display, and in the famous moon picture seen in…
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Israeli lunar lander looks back at Earth
An image captured by the Beresheet lunar lander shows a plaque with the Israeli flag in the foreground, and Earth in the background. (Beresheet / SpaceIL Photo) An Israeli lunar lander gets photobombed by Earth in a selfie released today by SpaceIL’s Beresheet mission team. The selfie was captured from a distance of more than…
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Computer reset cancels orbit-raising burn on Israel’s moon lander
Artist’s illustration of the Beresheet lander’s elliptical transfer orbit around Earth. Credit: SpaceIL A computer reset on the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander forced has the postponement of the mission’s first engine firing to begin maneuvering closer to the moon, officials said Tuesday. Mission managers said the robotic lander — seeking to become the first privately-funded…
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Japan’s ispace moon mission brings in new partners — and makes deal for battery test
Artwork shows ispace’s Hakuto-R lander and rover on the lunar surface. (ispace Illustration) The Japanese moon venture known as ispace says it has recruited new corporate partners and struck a deal to put a commercial payload on its Hakuto-R lunar lander. Ispace has arranged for two spacecraft to be launched to the moon, in 2020…
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‘Big step for Israel’: SpaceX launches lunar lander along with high-flying satellites
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches Indonesia’s Nusantara Satu telecommunications satellite as well as the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander and an Air Force research satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (SpaceX via YouTube) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sent the Israeli-made Beresheet lunar lander on the first leg of its journey to the…
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Photos: Beresheet lander tested for historic moon mission
The Beresheet moon lander will attempt to become the first privately-funded spacecraft to reach the moon, and these photos show the robotic probe’s journey through testing inside a clean room at Israel Aerospace Industries, followed by its attachment to a multi-satellite stack for launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. Beresheet, which means “genesis” or “in…
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NASA orbiter spots Chinese lander on the moon
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of the Chang’e 4 lander and the Yutu 2 rover Feb. 1 from an altitude of 51 miles (82 kilometers). The Yutu 2 rover is annotated with the arrow on the upper left, and the Chang’e 4 stationary lander is annotated with the arrow at lower right. Credit:…