lunar lander
Astrobotic lunar lander on track for late 2022 launch
Astrobotic Technology showed off its nearly complete lunar lander it is building for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and said the spacecraft remains on schedule to launch this year.
ESA ends cooperation with Russia on lunar missions
ESA announced April 13 it was further cutting ties with Russia by dropping plans to cooperate on a series of lunar missions, turning instead to NASA and other agencies.
NASA to support development of second Artemis lunar lander
NASA announced March 23 that it will support development of a second lander to transport astronauts to and from the lunar surface to provide competition with SpaceX for the later “sustainable” phase of the Artemis program.
NASA selects Intuitive Machines for CLPS lunar landing mission
NASA awarded a $77.5 million contract to Intuitive Machines Nov. 17 for the delivery of four payloads to the surface of the moon in 2024.
Beresheet 2 to include two landers and an orbiter
The company that built the first Israeli spacecraft to attempt to land on the moon is starting work on the second mission with a significantly different design.
ispace unveils new larger lunar lander
The Tokyo-based ispace unveiled the design of the lander at the 36th Space Symposium Aug. 23. The lander, being developed by the company’s U.S. office in Denver, will fly as soon as 2024 on the company’s third mission to the moon.
Intuitive Machines selects SpaceX for launch of third lunar lander mission
Commercial lunar lander developer Intuitive Machines will launch its third lunar lander mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9, the same vehicle the company selected for its first two lander missions.
Japanese lunar lander company ispace raises $46 million
Japanese lunar lander developer ispace raised $46 million in a new funding round Aug. 4 to support future missions to the moon.
Masten delays first lunar lander mission
Masten Space Systems is pushing back the launch of its first lunar lander mission by nearly a year, the latest in a series of delays by companies with NASA contracts to transport payloads to the moon.
Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander mission slips to 2022
The first lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines, which had been scheduled for launch late this year, has been delayed to early 2022 by its launch provider, SpaceX.
Astrobotic selects Falcon Heavy to launch NASA’s VIPER lunar rover
Astrobotic has signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of its Griffin lunar lander, carrying a NASA lunar rover, on a Falcon Heavy in 2023.
NASA says maintaining competition a priority for lunar lander procurement
With NASA “down to the wire” in reviewing lunar lander proposals, agency officials say a priority is to maintain competition for a later procurement.
Firefly wins NASA CLPS lunar lander contract
NASA has selected Firefly Aerospace to deliver a set of 10 research payloads to the moon in 2023, the latest award in its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
Report outlines science goals of first Artemis human lunar landing mission
A report released by NASA Dec. 7 outlined the science that the first crewed Artemis mission to the lunar surface could accomplish, but also some of the conflicts between science goals and the mission’s technical capabilities.
Blue Origin continues work on BE-7 lunar lander engine
Blue Origin has achieved a new milestone in the development of the engine that will power the lunar lander it seeks to provide for NASA’s Artemis program.
Senate bill offers NASA only a fraction of requested lunar lander funding
A Senate appropriations bill would provide NASA with only a small fraction of the funding it requested for lunar lander development, putting any chance of returning humans to the moon by 2024 in jeopardy.
Japanese lunar lander company ispace opens U.S. office
A Japanese company developing commercial lunar landers has opened an office in the United States in a bid to win more business from NASA’s Artemis program.
NASA weighing lunar lander budget options
NASA is looking at ways to stretch out the budget for its Human Landing System program should there be further delays in a final appropriations bill while still seeking full funding for the program in 2021.
Dynetics to use in-space refueling for NASA lunar lander
The lunar lander under development by Dynetics for NASA’s Artemis program will make use of in-space refueling of cryogenic propellants and require three launches in quick succession, company officials revealed.
SpaceX to launch Masten lunar lander
Masten Space Systems announced Aug. 26 that it signed a contract with SpaceX for the launch of its first lunar lander mission carrying a suite of payloads for NASA.
