All articles tagged with #lunar missions
2026 is set to be a significant year for science with advancements in AI, clinical trials for gene therapies, a major cancer detection trial in the UK, increased lunar exploration including NASA's Artemis II and China's Chang’e-7, and space missions targeting Mars, the Moon, and exoplanets, alongside new ocean drilling initiatives in China.
SpaceX advocates for leading the next lunar missions, emphasizing their Starship spacecraft's capabilities and progress, and highlighting their role in NASA's Artemis program to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon.
SpaceX's Starship Flight 11 successfully completed its test objectives, including controlled descent and landing, demonstrating improved stability, engine performance, and thermal protection, bringing the company closer to fully reusable orbital operations and supporting future lunar and Mars missions.
Japanese company ispace is preparing for its second lunar landing attempt with the Resilience lander, aiming to land in Mare Frigoris on June 5. The mission includes deploying a small rover and a symbolic model house called Moonhouse, along with various payloads. This follows a previous crash in 2023, with future missions planned for 2027 and beyond, as ispace aims to develop the cislunar economy despite financial challenges.
Travel time to the moon varies significantly based on mission objectives and fuel usage, ranging from 8 hours to 4.5 months. The fastest flyby was NASA's New Horizon probe in 2006, taking 8 hours and 35 minutes. The Apollo 11 mission in 1969 took about 4.5 days to land on the moon. The longest journey was NASA's CAPSTONE probe in 2022, taking 4.5 months. Factors influencing travel time include mission purpose, spacecraft size, and trajectory planning.
New research suggests that the South Pole-Aitken basin, the largest crater on the Moon, may be larger and formed differently than previously thought. The study indicates a more circular shape, implying a vertical impact, which could mean debris is more evenly distributed. This discovery has significant implications for future lunar missions, potentially providing access to ancient lunar materials that could offer insights into the Moon's formation and the early Solar System. The findings are published in Earth & Planetary Science Letters.
NASA has launched the LunaRecycle Challenge, offering $3 million in prizes for innovative waste management solutions for long-term lunar missions. The competition, which unfolds in two phases, seeks designs for sustainable systems to handle solid waste on the Moon, with the potential to revolutionize recycling practices on Earth. The challenge aims to support NASA's goal of reducing the environmental impact of space exploration and fostering sustainable human presence on the Moon, while also providing scalable solutions for global waste management challenges.
As multiple countries aim to establish a human presence on the moon, experts emphasize the need for a standardized lunar time scale. Due to Einstein's theory of relativity, time passes differently on the moon, making it crucial for astronauts to have an accurate timekeeping system for their activities.
Scientists are working on creating a new time scale for the moon due to the differences in how time passes there compared to Earth. This effort is crucial for future lunar missions and settlements, as precise timekeeping will be essential for navigation, communication, and coordination. NASA and its international partners aim to establish this new lunar time system by 2026, coinciding with the planned return of astronauts to the moon.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson warned that China's space capabilities are being used for military purposes under the guise of a civilian program, emphasizing the need for vigilance. He expressed concern that China could claim territory on the moon if it lands there first and urged the US to maintain its global edge in space exploration, as both nations pursue lunar missions. Nelson highlighted China's significant investment in space and the need for the US to remain realistic and not let down its guard.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson warned that China may be using its civilian space program as a cover for military objectives, expressing concern about Beijing's secrecy and the potential for a space race. He emphasized the need for the US to maintain its global edge in space exploration and land on the moon before China, as both nations pursue lunar missions, while urging vigilance and caution in the face of China's rapid advancements in space capabilities.
The White House has tasked NASA with creating a moon-centric time reference system, called Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), by the end of 2026 to account for the differences in time due to the moon's lower gravity. This system will be crucial for lunar spacecraft and satellites that require extreme precision for their missions. The development of LTC may require placing atomic clocks on the moon and will involve international agreements through existing standards bodies and the Artemis accords. This initiative aims to ensure secure data transfers between spacecraft and synchronized communications among Earth, lunar satellites, bases, and astronauts.
Astronomers are advocating for the preservation of radio silence on the far side of the moon to facilitate scientific research, as it naturally shields radio waves. A symposium organized by the International Academy of Astronautics is addressing concerns about electromagnetic pollution and the need for a radio silence zone on the moon's far side. Efforts are underway to protect the moon's far side from radio frequency interference and establish international agreements to preserve it for scientific installations. Scientists are already conducting radio astronomy from the moon and are planning to deploy additional radio telescopes, emphasizing the importance of protecting the far side for groundbreaking scientific exploration.
China successfully launches the Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support upcoming lunar missions, including the Chang'e-6, 7, and 8 missions. The satellite, equipped with a 4.2-meter parabolic antenna, will enter a highly elliptical lunar orbit to facilitate communication with both lunar missions and Earth. It is part of China's plans for future lunar exploration and the development of a lunar base in the 2030s. Additionally, the satellite carries payloads for the 2026 Chang'e-7 mission and experimental satellites for navigation and communications technology verification.
As more countries and companies join the race to the moon, CNN explores the potential benefits of revisiting a destination humankind first reached over 50 years ago.