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Russia’s Moon lander, the Luna-25, has entered lunar orbit.

Thanks to the spacecraft’s corrective braking engine, one propulsive burn lasted 243 seconds, the second nudge, by soft landing engines, lasted 76 seconds.

The craft is now in Moon orbit, nearing the time for its attempted landing on the lunar surface.

Functioning normally

Roscosmos reports that “all Luna-25 systems are functioning normally, communication with it is stable. Sessions are being taken to measure the current navigational parameters.”

As noted by the Scientific and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation), Luna-25 was sent to the natural satellite of the Earth for the first time in the modern history of Russia.

Tricky terrain

“As part of the mission, it is necessary to work out the technology of soft landing, take and analyze the soil and conduct long-term scientific research, including the study of the upper layer of the surface regolith in the region of the south pole of the Moon, as well as the lunar exosphere,” a Lavochkin statement explains.

In terms of landing, Luna-25 is fundamentally different from its predecessors.

The former Soviet Union lunar stations landed in the equatorial zone of the Moon. This new lander is to perform a soft landing in the circumpolar region with a much more complex terrain.

 

 

Landing targets

A reported landing date of the craft on the Moon is August 21.

Primary target for touchdown is north of the crater Boguslawsky. There are two “reserve areas” – southwest of the Manzini crater and south of Pentland A crater.

Lunar-25 is declared to have an active life on the surface of the Moon of at least one Earth year.

 

 

While “X” may mark the spot – on Mars consider hexagonal features that indicate an environment conducive to the appearance of life.

Researchers making use of the NASA Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater have discovered deposits of salts forming a hexagonal pattern in sedimentary layers dated to 3.8 to 3.6 billion years ago.

The muddy mix forms a hexagon pattern due to seasonal variations in humidity.

Long-lasting climate

The hexagons constitute the first fossil evidence of a cyclic, regular and long-lasting Martian climate, organized into dry and wet seasons.

This work opens up new thinking on the origin of life, the remains of which have long-since disappeared here on Earth.

The just-published research is led by William Rapin of the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (CNRS/Université de Toulouse III) in Toulouse, Occitanie, France, along with experts at CNES (the French space agency), together with U.S. and Canadian colleagues.

Favorable to prebiotic evolution

“Our findings point to a sustained, cyclic, possibly seasonal, climate on early Mars,” the research team reports. “Furthermore, as wet–dry cycling can promote prebiotic polymerization, the Gale evaporitic basin may have been particularly conducive to these processes.”

According to the  paper, the observed polygonal patterns are physically and temporally associated with the transition from smectite clays to sulfate-bearing strata, a globally distributed mineral transition.

Bottom line: “This indicates that the Noachian–Hesperian transition (3.8–3.6 billion years ago) may have sustained an Earth-like climate regime and surface environments favorable to prebiotic evolution,” the researchers conclude.

Ideal conditions

In a statement from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), similar to the hexagons observed in seasonally drying terrestrial basins, the features on Mars constitute the first fossil evidence of a cyclic, regular and long-lasting Martian climate, organized into dry and wet seasons.

“By allowing molecules to interact at different concentrations and repeatedly, independent experiments in the laboratory have shown that this environment provides the ideal conditions for forming complex compounds that are precursors and constituents of living organisms such as RNA.”

Fresh look

According to the CNRS statement, these new observations allow scientists to take a fresh look at the large-scale images obtained from orbit. Using that orbital imagery many terrains with a similar composition have been spotted. “They now know where to look for traces of the natural processes at the origin of life, of which no trace remains on Earth,” the CNRS statement explains.

This new research comes from use of Curiosity’s Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam), built by a Franco-American consortium under the responsibility of CNRS/University of Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier/CNES and the U.S. Los Alamos National Laboratory. In France, the design of this instrument has received support from CNES, CNRS, CEA and several universities.

Fossil rivers and lakes

Since 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover had already detected the presence of simple organic molecules that could be formed by geological or biological processes.

“Unlike the surface of the Earth, that of the planet Mars is not renewed by plate tectonics. It has thus preserved vast spectacular lands through the abundance of fossil rivers and lakes dating back several billion years,” adds the CNRS statement.

The research – “Sustained wet–dry cycling on early Mars” has been published in the journal Nature – at:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06220-3

 

En route to a rendezvous with the Moon, Russia’s Luna-25 has sent back first images from space.

Using the STS-L onboard television camera, images show the structural elements of Luna-25 against the background of the Earth and against the background of the Moon.

Another image shows the mission emblem and the onboard manipulator bucket.

So far, all spacecraft instruments show full operability and readiness for lunar exploration. Their analog and digital nodes and blocks worked perfectly, according to the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAS).

 

 

 

Following its August 10 liftoff, Russia’s Moon-bound Luna-25 has switched on its scientific equipment. All systems on the spacecraft are working normally, reports Roscosmos, the Russian space corporation.

“Communication with it is stable, the energy balance is positive. Today, the first switching on of the complex of scientific equipment developed by IKI RAS,” [Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI)].

“Service telemetric information from all devices showed their regular functioning. The first measurement data on the flight to the Moon have been received, and the project’s scientific team has begun processing them,” the Roscosmos statement notes.

 

Landing spots

Luna-25 will nudge itself into lunar orbit on August 16, a Roscosmos posting explains, and the craft’s soft landing on the Moon is scheduled for August 21.

Following its voyage to the Moon and multiple days in lunar orbit, the spacecraft is slated to set down at the Moon’s south pole, near the Boguslawsky crater.

Two backup landing spots are also in play: southwest of Manzini Crater and south of Pentland A Crater.

Luna-25 will work on the lunar surface for at least one Earth year.

Water ice

One key scientific quest of the probe makes use of a lunar manipulator complex (LMK) able to excavate lunar regolith and deliver that material directly into a laser mass spectrometer.

In addition, an infrared spectrometer installed on this hardware can remotely inspect the material, assessing the prospect of finding water ice.

Litvak Maxim Litvak, head of the IKI planning group for the Luna-25 scientific instrumentation complex, has said that the exact properties of the south pole soil is an unknown.

Soil simulations

A special cryogenic vacuum bench was created at IKI as part of lunar soil simulations, and how the LMK will operate in dealing with south pole samples.

“We poured it into this stand, added water in different concentrations, froze it to ‘lunar’ temperatures and dug with a technological sample of the manipulator. This gave a lot of food for thought – how can we dig regolith on the Moon, including if there is water ice in it,” Litvak said in an IKI posted interview.

“With the help of the work at the stand, we learned that if about one percent of water is added to the soil and frozen in a vacuum, then in terms of strength it begins to resemble concrete,” Litvak said.

“Nevertheless, we were convinced that we can still dig such soil – the design of our LMK allows this. Of course, the excavation area remains limited – only near the spacecraft, Luna-25 is not a lunar rover that can move away from the landing site. But in the working area of the manipulator, you can try different places. If a stone is found in the ground, then it can be bypassed,” Litvak added.

 

 

 

Future missions

IKI’s Litvak emphasized that the Russian lunar program is already planning out future missions based on the development of Luna-25’s design. Luna-26, which will orbit the Moon, will be followed by two landing efforts: Luna-27 will deliver a drilling rig to the Moon, and Luna-28 is designed to deliver regolith from the Moon’s polar regions to Earth.

“Re-establishing Russia’s capability for landing robotically on the Moon after 47 years represents an important step in humanity returning to the Moon, this time to stay,” said Clive Neal, a leading lunar scientist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. “Congratulations to the Luna 25 team for a successful launch. I am looking forward to the subsequent Luna 26 and 27 missions.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information about the Russian lunar program and Luna-25’s scientific and political meaning, go to: “Russia’s Return to the Moon With Luna-25: High Risk, High Stakes” at:

https://spaceref.com/science-and-exploration/russias-return-to-the-moon-with-luna-25-high-risk-high-stakes/

The U.S. State Department is pressing forward on the concept of an “International Lunar Year” – coordinating programs around a one-to-two-year celebration of the study and exploration of the Moon later in the decade.

Such a celebration was put forth in a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy released in 2022.

Enhance transparency

Last month, the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans, and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs hosted presentations from various organizations as to how an International Lunar Year (ILY) could “advance lunar science, enhance transparency, and foster new scientific and technological cooperation on issues relevant to an enduring presence at the Moon,” according to a State Department communiqué.

That cooperation would include infrastructure, scientific data-sharing, and best practices for safe and sustainable lunar operations.

Cross-border connections

The July discussion emphasized connections to past international science years that “leverage and celebrate scientists’ unique cross-border connections,” explains the State Department.

The White House-issued U.S. National Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy, was released in November 2022. That strategy endorsed the concept of an International Lunar Year to be named sometime later in the decade and modeled on historical examples like the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 or the International Polar Year of 2007-08.

“Leave behind” lunar capabilities

In the White House strategy document, it explains that the “ILY can amplify U.S. objectives being achieved with the Artemis Accords by fostering developments such as the coordinated use of Lunar data centers, coordinated Moon-based research (such as Lunar geophysical networks, solar science, and far side radio astronomy), and similar joint ‘leave behind’ capabilities.”

In addition, the cis-lunar strategy notes that “the ILY can also demonstrate how these activities can be carried out responsibly for the benefit and in the interests of all nations, including developing countries, while enhancing transparency and building confidence and cooperation among Moon-faring entities.”

Wanted: enduring presence at the Moon

“As multiple nations and commercial entities plan a near-term return to the Moon on an unprecedented scale, now is the right time to consider planning an International Lunar Year,” a State Department website adds.

“A sustained program might combine elements of public outreach and scientific collaboration to fashion a vibrant interdisciplinary and multilateral effort, demonstrating how lunar exploration can be responsible, peaceful, and sustainable, as we begin to establish an enduring presence at the Moon.”

What next?

The United States will continue discussions and public outreach over the next year to build national and international support for an International Lunar Year.

Together with NASA and the National Science Foundation, the State Department can also carry out precursor activities such as virtual town halls or solicitations of community input for a proposed ILY program.

For further information, go to:

https://www.state.gov/international-lunar-year/

To access the White House cislunar strategy, go to:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/11-2022-NSTC-National-Cislunar-ST-Strategy.pdf

Russia has reignited its Moon exploration program with the launch today of Luna-25 from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far Eastern Amur Region.

Roscosmos has announced that the automatic station was put on the flight path to the Moon and separated from the upper stage Fregat.

Luna-25 is now scheduled to nudge itself into lunar orbit on August 16, a Roscosmos posting adds, and the craft’s soft landing on the Moon is scheduled for August 21.

Modern Russia

The rumbling sendoff of Luna-25 atop a Soyuz-2.1b launch vehicle with a Fregat upper stage signals Russia’s re-rendezvous with lunar exploration. Its departure picks up where the former Soviet Union milestone-making Moon probing projects left off. In 1976, Luna-24 successfully delivered about 170 grams of lunar topside samples to Earth.

But that was then. Luna-25 is spotlighted as the first domestically produced Moon probe in modern Russia history.

Following its voyage to the Moon and multiple days in lunar orbit, the spacecraft is slated to set down at the Moon’s south pole, near the Boguslawsky crater.

For more information on the Luna-25 mission now headed for the Moon, go to my new Space.com story – “Russia launches Luna-25 moon lander, its 1st lunar probe in 47 years” – at: https://www.space.com/russia-luna-25-moon-mission-launch-success

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at Gale Crater is now performing Sol 3913 duties.

This past weekend, Curiosity officially completed its 11th (Earth) year on Mars, landing on the Red Planet the evening of Aug. 5 PDT (morning of Aug. 6 EDT) 2012.

“Curiosity has been busy conducting science activities as the milestone came and went. Just another hard day at work for the veteran rover,” reports Scott VanBommel, a planetary scientist at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.

Little more tired

“Our rover is a little more tired than 11 years ago. That’s to be expected though, 3911 diurnal cycles on Mars is grueling. That’s 3911 frigid Mars nights, 3911 cool (at best) Mars days, and nearly 100,000 hours of being bombarded by radiation from space after landing on Mars,” VanBommel explains. Toss in miles of hard-earned driving over often-grueling terrain.

“There have been analyses of samples from 38 drill holes and 6 scoops,” VanBommel adds.

There’s been close to 3,000 commanded Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) analyses on solid samples. The robot has taken roughly 64,000 Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) photos and nearly 220,000 commanded Mastcam images.

Workload

Also, the rover has produced in the neighborhood of 1 million Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) shots and roughly 6,000 ChemCam Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) photos as well as countless Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) activities and Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) pulses.

There’s been Chemistry & Mineralogy X-Ray Diffraction/X-Ray Fluorescence Instrument (CheMin) X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses of 43 samples totaling around 1,500 hours of measurement time and a similar workload for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite. Additionally, there have been loads of Hazard and Navigation camera images, and a full 11-year solar cycle monitored by the rover’s Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD).

Stunning workspace

“All of these data, and more to come, relayed through Curiosity’s friends overhead back to Earth for analysis and interpretation by the science team and community,” VanBommel notes. “Curiosity was gifted a stunning workspace to kick off its 12th (Earth) year on Mars after a successful drive in the previous plan.”

To start the first plan of its 12th year on Mars, Curiosity brushed the rock target “Ouranoupoli” and acquired an APXS analysis as well as MAHLI and Mastcam images.

Mastcam also acquired images of nearby ripples as well as of the targets “Sicyon,” “Orinoco,” and “Arachova,” the latter of which was also investigated by ChemCam. Curiosity also executed a one-hour drive, VanBommel reports.

Soul and determination

“Every day on Mars is a good day. Some may be more challenging than others, but that’s life on Mars,” VanBommel observes.

“One constant, through everything, is the soul and determination of this rover and its supporting cast, to soldier on, up the flanks of a mountain, inside a 3-4 billion year old crater, on a sparkling red dot low near the western horizon in this late summer’s evening sky,” VanBommel adds.

“Happy birthday Curiosity, you are never truly alone,” VanBommel concludes.

 

Work continues on readying the SpaceX Starship for another attempt to peg an orbital test flight.

Back in April, the first attempt ended minutes after launch, with the huge vehicle tumbling out of control.

How soon the booster can take to the air is, well, up in the air, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“A return to flight of the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle is based on the FAA determining that any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety. This is standard practice for all mishap investigations,” the FAA advised Inside Outer Space.

 

Corrective actions

“The FAA isn’t going to speculate when the SpaceX Starship/Super Heavy vehicle returns to flight,” the FAA added. “Public safety and actions yet to be taken by SpaceX will dictate the timeline.”

 

According to the FAA statement, “SpaceX has not submitted a final mishap investigation report to the FAA for review and approval which will identify final corrective actions that must be accounted for in its license modification application to add flights. SpaceX also must implement those corrective actions.”

To view FAA’s Compliance, Enforcement & Mishap – How does FAA enforce and monitor Commercial Space Transportation? – go to:

https://www.faa.gov/space/compliance_enforcement_mishap

 

Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is set for liftoff on August 26, co-riding with the country’s X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM).

An H-IIA launch vehicle carrying the payloads will depart the Yoshinobu Launch Complex at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Center.

Pinpoint landing

The SLIM project aims to demonstrate pinpoint landing and obstacle detection techniques for touching down on the Moon.

SLIM researchers are eager to convert conventional exploration of “descending where it is easy to land’” to “descending where you want to land.”

The SLIM project is led by members of the JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), and researchers from universities and other institutions across the country are working together to advance examination and development.

 

Pre-loaded memory

After reaching the sky above the landing site, the SLIM is to descend almost vertically while detecting the altitude with a landing radar. During this vertical descent phase, obstacle detection is performed at roughly 300 meters above the lunar terrain.

SLIM is designed to process images captured by pointing a camera toward the lunar surface, recognizes craters, and compares them with the map of the lunar surface pre-loaded in memory to accurately measure its own position. SLIM engineers have developed a dedicated image processing algorithm with high computational efficiency to achieve both accuracy and processing time.

Target site

For showcasing landing technologies, the SLIM team has selected a target site neighboring the Shioli crater near the “Sea of Nectar.” The area has a relatively constant slope of 15 degrees or less, according to a SLIM press kit. “Therefore, the method of landing safely on such a slope becomes important.”

Landing on such sloping area will be increasingly required in the future.

In the case of  SLIM, the main landing gear first touches the ground and then rotates forward to stabilize. This technique has shown excellent reliable landing results through simulation, the press kits states.

Transformer

SLIM is to deploy a palm-sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2) jointly developed with toy manufacturer, Takara Tomy, along with the Sony Group Corporation and Doshisha University.

 

 

The ball-shaped vehicle — SORA-Q — is equipped with two cameras and can transform its shape to traverse the lunar surface.

The wheels that move freely left and right can run in two types of running modes, “butterfly running” and “crawling running” because the rotating shaft is eccentric, according to the Takara Tomy company.

The popular toy manufacturer is scheduled to release SORA-Q for public purchase in early September 2023. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: 27,500 yen (tax included).

Go to this Takara Tomy video at: https://youtu.be/PupLqwt4d2o

Also, go to this JAXA briefing in Japanese that details the SLIM initiative.

Russia’s Roscosmos has posted the liftoff date/time for the country’s Luna-25 robotic Moon lander: August 11 at 02:10:57 Moscow time.

Luna-25 is targeted for a south pole landing, with the probe testing out soft landing technology, analyze the soil, conduct long-term scientific research, as well as investigate the lunar exosphere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, booster preparation to hurl the craft skyward is underway. Final checks of the Soyuz-2.1b booster with its Fregat upper stage.