Moon – Spaceflight Now

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander arrives in Florida ahead of Christmas Eve Moon-bound launch

November 1, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The first payload teed up for NASA’s industry-led missions to the Moon has arrived in Florida. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander was unpacked inside a clean room on the Space Coast after leaving the company’s facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Friday.

Intuitive Machines targets launch to the Moon in mid-January

October 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The first lunar lander aiming for a touchdown at the Moon’s south pole has a new launch date. Intuitive Machines said Friday it is targeting the launch of its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission for no earlier than January 12, 2024.

Russia’s Luna 25 lander crashes on the Moon

August 20, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

Russia’s first mission to the Moon for nearly 50 years ended in failure when the Luna 25 spacecraft crashed onto the surface, the Russian space agency Roscomos said Sunday.

NASA concerned SpaceX’s Starship schedule could delay moon landing

June 7, 2023 Stephen Clark

A senior NASA official raised concerns Wednesday that “difficulties” with SpaceX’s development of the huge new Starship rocket could delay the Artemis program’s first moon landing with astronauts from late 2025, a mission that will use a derivative of the Starship vehicle to ferry a two-person crew to and from the lunar surface.

ULA test-fires first Vulcan rocket at Cape Canaveral

June 7, 2023 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan Centaur rocket completed a critical test-firing of its Blue Origin-built BE-4 main engines Wednesday night, clearing one of two remaining technical hurdles before the launcher is cleared for its inaugural flight later this year.

South Korean orbiter returning spectacular views of lunar landscapes

May 27, 2023 Stephen Clark

Nearly halfway through its primary mission, South Korea’s first spacecraft to explore the moon has been collecting data and snapping pictures of lunar landscapes and craters since maneuvering into orbit late last year.

ULA delays Vulcan test-firing to troubleshoot engine ignition system

May 26, 2023 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance called off a test-firing of the company’s first flight-rated Vulcan Centaur rocket at Cape Canaveral Thursday to troubleshoot a problem with the booster’s engine ignition system.

NASA awards Blue Origin $3.4 billion Artemis moon lander contract

May 19, 2023 William Harwood

Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos, has won a $3.4 billion NASA contract to build an Artemis lunar lander that will provide a downstream alternative to the Starship variant already being developed by SpaceX, the agency announced Friday.

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight CubeSat mission ends before entering orbit around moon

May 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

NASA’s small Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, sent to the moon last year to search for water ice deposits at the lunar south pole, will not be able to complete its science mission after a problem with the probe’s propulsion system.

First Vulcan rocket rolls back to hangar for ‘adjustments’ prior to test-firing

May 16, 2023 Stephen Clark

United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan rocket was filled with methane and liquid oxygen propellants at Cape Canaveral last week for a tanking test, but managers decided to move the rocket back inside a hangar for a few adjustments before proceeding with an engine test-firing.