Commercial Lunar Payload Services

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is slated to blast off on Monday, January 8, carrying an assortment of goodies, including cutting-edge scientific rovers, bitcoin, and a piece of Mount Everest. No doubt, this ain’t your grandfather’s Moon mission, as the era of commercial space deliveries is now upon us.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonThe Moon will never be the same, thanks to a NASA-funded initiative meant to foster a new era of lunar exploration and enable private companies to deliver stuff to the lunar…

Intuitive Machines is pushing back the mission of its first lunar lander to mid-February in coordination with launch provider SpaceX, the company said earlier this week. The Houston, Texas-based company said that the new launch window “comes after unfavorable weather conditions resulted in shifts in the SpaceX launch manifest.” The new launch target date, which is a full month after the original January 12-16 window, is due to the mission profile: Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C spacecraft is aiming to land near the lunar…

Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines are all set with their Moon landers. Now they just need their rockets prepped and the launch windows to swing open. But once underway, these NASA-funded missions, slated for early 2024, will chart a new course for the future of private space exploration.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonOn Tuesday, Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic announced that its Peregrine lunar lander is fueled and ready to rock. The Moon mission, formally known as Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission 1 (TO2-AB), is…

A Martian moons mission, a plethora of private lunar landers, probes to Venus and Jupiter, and reusable heavy-lift rocket tests are among the many highlights we’ll be watching in the coming 12 months, in what looks to be an extraordinary year in spaceflight. Here’s your 2024 calendar.Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | AI UnlockedThe Moon takes center stage in 2024An unprecedented number of missions to the Moon, both private and public, are set to take place in the coming year, capped by NASA’s crewed…

The Moon is about to be a busy place, with a series of crewed missions planned by NASA as part of its Artemis program, as well as an influx of upcoming commercial landers eyeing a spot on the lunar surface. Before it sends a fleet of spacecraft to the Moon, however, NASA first wants to understand the impact these future landers might have on the lunar surface.China's Plan to Land Astronauts on the MoonUsing the Pleaides supercomputer at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, engineers at the space…

SpaceX Crew Dragon approaching the ISS on May 23, 2023. On board is the Axiom-2 crew. Photo: NASASomeone once said that May is a month of renewal, growth, and endless possibilities. That was certainly the case for spaceflight last month, as these striking visuals attest.May 2023 was a busy one for spaceflight, with private missions blasting off to the ISS, a space tourism venture getting back on track, and an assortment of previously launched spacecraft navigating the cosmic highways. Here are some of our favorite visuals…

What happens when a satellite gets destroyed in orbit? Typically, weeks, months, or even years of planning and logistics precede the launch of a replacement. However, Space Force has hatched a plan to ambitiously cut that time down to a mere 24 hours, and the latest test of that plan could happen any minute.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewAccording to the Space Force FAQ, the newest military branch exists to organize, train, and equip space forces “in order to protect U.S. and…

Following Tuesday’s failed attempt to land on the surface of the Moon, Japan’s ispace said its lunar lander may have unexpectedly accelerated on its way down before crashing on the lunar surface.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewThe Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander (M1) was scheduled to touchdown on the Moon on April 25 at 12:40 p.m. ET. “Shortly after the scheduled landing time, no data was received indicating a touchdown,” ispace wrote in a statement. “ispace engineers monitored the…

A Japanese mission to the Moon seeksto be the first private venture to successfully land on the lunar surface. But before it attempts to touchdown on its dusty surface, the Hakuto-R lunar lander is treating us to some sweet new views of our natural satellite.On Monday, Tokyo-based company ispace shared its lander’s view of the Moon, which it captured after it entered lunar orbit last week. The image reveals a close-up of the Moon, showing its cratered surface glimmering in the dark depths of space.The Hakuto-R mission…

After traveling through space for more than three months, Japan’s Hakuto-R lander has entered lunar orbit,as it prepares to land on the dusty surface of the Moon.On Tuesday, Tokyo-based company ispace announced that its Hakuto-R Mission 1 Lunar Lander successfully pulled off a lunar orbit insertion maneuver and is now orbiting the Moon. “While the lander has performed multiple deep space maneuver operations, this maneuver represents the longest burn performed by the propulsion system during the mission,” the company…