Tag Archives: The Moon

Representatives of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and of the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA), signed a Joint Statement of Intent to explore different areas through technical and programmatic discussions with the objective of identifying opportunities for collaboration.

Rocket Lab, the global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, unveiled on 21 October 2019 at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Washington, DC, plans to support extended range missions to medium, geostationary, and lunar orbits with the company’s Photon satellite platform.

Dymon and Astrobotic proudly announced at the CEATEC 2019 their signing of a joint agreement to send the first Japanese lunar rover onboard the Peregrine lunar lander to the Moon in 2021.

Following its brave attempt at a soft landing on the Moon, SpaceIL, the Israeli non-profit organisation that attempted a lunar mission in April this year, was presented with the XPrize Moonshot Award.

The President of the Centre Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), Jean-Yves Le Gall, and Zhang Kejian, Administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), chaired the 12th meeting of the French-Chinese space committee in Shanghai on 5 June 2019, devoted to reviewing and developing space cooperation between the two nations.

Europe has never landed on the Moon. PTScientists is preparing to change that by sending the first European lunar lander to the Apollo 17 site. But, perhaps equally important – PTScientists want to prove that Europe can be a fertile ground for companies striving to be at the forefront of lunar exploration, and that it is not a prerequisite for success to be based in the United States or Asia. However, this is not a feat we can accomplish independently, and Europe needs to make a commitment to lunar exploration now – or be left behind.

The first half of 2019 has already proven to be a worthy time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon. With China’s Chang'e-4 mission to the far side of the Moon in January and its proactive approach to create a permanent Moon Base, Israel’s private lunar mission in February – which has paved the way for commercial lunar missions, India’s very first mission to the south pole, expected to be launched in September, and NASA’s U.S.$2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Service program and the American ambitions to send humans back to the Moon by 2024, the Moon race is on.

With space nations such as China and the United States forging ahead with ambitious plans, where does Europe stand in the global space community? Can Europe successfully compete and is there a willingness to collaborate with other nations? Torsten Kriening sat down with Jean-Jacques Tortora, Director of the European Space Policy Institute, to pose some key questions.

Relativity, the world’s first autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellite constellations, announced on 23 April 2019 a partnership with mu Space, the innovative Thai satellite and space technology company, to launch a satellite to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on Relativity’s Terran 1 rocket, the world’s first and only 3D printed rocket.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gave a remarkable “Kennedy” style speech on 26 March 2019 in Huntsville, Alabama, where he stated that the United States will put Americans on the Moon again - in as soon as five years. China demonstrated, with Chang'e 4, their capability to land on the far side of the Moon. Israeli NGO SpaceIL’s Beresheet spacecraft, though ultimately unsuccessful in its soft landing, did reach the Moon’s surface on 11 April 2019. This has all happened without Europe. SpaceWatch.Global Chairman, Dr. John B. Sheldon, shares his thoughts on Europe's ability to carry out Moonshots in the 21st century.