August 21st, 2023
Author: 
One finding from Mars exploration is that the Red Planet is a haven of pervasive perchlorate. On one hand, the carpet of perchlorate chemistry found on Mars may boost the chances that microbial life exists on the Red Planet. However, perchlorates are also perilous to the health of future crews destined to explore that way-off […]
Posted in 
Russia’s revamping of Moon exploration is off to a rocky start – the plunge from lunar orbit of the country’s Luna-25 spacecraft, destroying itself as it crashed into the Moon’s bleak landscape. Head of Russia’s Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, reports that the main cause of the Luna-25’s failed mission was an engine failure. Instead of a […]
India’s Moon orbiter from the country’s previous Chandrayaan-2 mission has established two-way contact with the ready-for-prime-time landing attempt on August 23 of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander/rover. “Welcome, buddy!” reports the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Meanwhile, new images have been released by ISRO of the lunar far side captured by the Chandrayaan-3 […]
The National Security Space Association’s Moorman Center for Space Studies today released a paper entitled: “Strategic Implications of China’s Cislunar Space Activities.” While some may discount China’s cislunar space aspirations because the United States has already gone to the Moon, the paper responds by saying there is risk of underestimating the political impact of Chinese […]
Russia’s Roscosmos has reported that Luna-25 has crashed into the Moon. On August 19, the Moon-orbiting lunar lander adjusted its orbit prior to a landing attempt. However, communication with the Luna-25 spacecraft was interrupted. Subsequent measures to search for the spacecraft and re-establish contact “did not produce any results,” Roscosmos noted in a Telegram communiqué. […]
Interstellar – The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars by Avi Loeb; a Mariner imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (2023); 256 pages, Hardcover: $28.99. Avi Loeb is a provocative Harvard astrophysicist and this expressive, articulate, witty book details his fervor for thought-provoking views about our neighbors beyond Earth. The book’s introduction immediately […]
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew a 55th time on August 12. The jaunt involved a horizontal distance of 263.99 feet (roughly 866 meters); altitude reached of 10 feet (roughly 33 meters); and air time was 142.9 seconds. Imagery taken included these images making use of the mini-copter’s navigation camera mounted in the helicopter’s fuselage and […]
NOTE: Russia’s Luna-25 in trouble? According to Roscosmos, in accordance with the Luna-25 flight program, today an impulse was issued to transfer the Moon-circling probe to a pre-landing orbit. “During the operation, an emergency situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” […]
The U.S. Postal Service is issuing a “Forever stamp” to commemorate NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and the samples of the asteroid Bennu, to be parachuted to Earth in September 2023. This new 20-stamp pane shows the capsule containing the sample parachuting into the Utah Test and Training Range, a U.S. Department of Defense facility in […]
A major milestone has been reached in India’s Chandrayaan-3 Moon lander/rover mission. The Lander Module has successfully separated from the spacecraft’s Propulsion Module. From the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Lander Module: “Thanks for the ride, mate!” The Lander Module is set to descend to a slightly lower orbit around the Moon given a modest […]
