Moon – Page 21 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX to send two private citizens around the moon and back

February 27, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk announced Monday plans to send two paying “private individuals” on a week-long flight around the moon and back to Earth by the end of next year.

China sets November launch for lunar sample return mission

January 25, 2017 Stephen Clark

China plans to launch a robotic mission to return samples from the lunar surface, the first such mission in four decades, in November on top of the country’s new heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket, according to state media reports.

Planet Earth observed through telescope orbiting Mars

January 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

One of NASA’s satellites orbiting Mars has looked back home to record a Martians-eye view of the Earth and moon from 127 million miles across the solar system.

NASA keeping human spaceflight options open as Trump presidency looms

November 11, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA is taking steps to rein in costs, emphasizing bonds with private sector companies, and signaling it might be open to a future where the agency’s flagship Orion deep space capsule and Space Launch System are no longer necessary to explore deep space, at least in their current forms.

China developing mission to return samples from far side of the moon

September 29, 2016 Stephen Clark

If China’s lunar exploration program goes according to plan, scientists could send a robotic lander to pick up samples from the far side of the moon and return them to Earth by the early 2020s, a top Chinese space official said.

China’s Yutu rover dies on the moon

August 4, 2016 Stephen Clark

A Chinese rover sent to the moon in 2013 has stopped operating, officials announced Wednesday, ending a groundbreaking 31-month mission that made discoveries in lunar geology and catapulted China’s space program to new heights.

China aims for landing on moon’s far side by 2020

September 21, 2015 Stephen Clark

A rover and landing platform developed as a backup for China’s Chang’e 3 moon mission will be repurposed to attempt the first touchdown on the lunar far side by the end of the decade, Chinese officials said.

Watch the moon transit the Earth

August 5, 2015 Stephen Clark

Spectacular views from a NOAA space weather observatory show the sunlit far side of the moon crossing the face of the Earth from a distant vantage point a million miles away.

Photographer catches space station transiting the moon

July 7, 2015 Stephen Clark

It’s not an unprecedented sight, but catching the International Space Station transiting a celestial object like the sun or moon takes patience and precision. An Australian photographer was in the right place at the right time to capture the moment.

Diverse destinations considered for new interplanetary probe

April 6, 2015 Stephen Clark

Science teams from across the United States have submitted 28 proposals for missions to explore the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, touch the asteroid-like satellites orbiting Mars, visit unseen worlds and hunt for objects that could strike Earth one day.