Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission came to an abrupt end after an unsuccessful landing attempt on March 6. Although the spacecraft reached the surface intact, Athena toppled over after touchdown, leaving its solar panels in shadow and unable to recharge its batteries.
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Firefly Aerospace scored their first successful Moon landing early Sunday morning. As their Blue Ghost lander touched down on the
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Intuitive Machines has embarked on its second Moon landing attempt for NASA’s CLPS initiative with the launch of IM-2.
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Two robotic moon landers shared a ride into space in the early morning of Wednesday, January 15th. Hours earlier, Blue Ghost, built by Firefly Aerospace in the United States, and HAKUTO-R, built by ispace of Japan, were comanifested in the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, stacked one on top of the other.
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VIPER, NASA’s 500 million dollar Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, is one of the latest victims of turbulent times – with NASA announcing that they would be canceling the mission effective August 1, 2024
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On Thursday, February 22nd, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander Odysseus successfully touched down on the Moon, achieving the “ultimate milestone” for the IM-1 mission and marking the first major victory for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative.
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Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on January 18th, 2024, ending its mission after a 10 day, tumultuous journey through cislunar space.
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After completion of a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal this week, United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket is one step closer to its debut – entering a new chapter of American rocketry for both military and civilian space launch.
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2024 is shaping up to be a year of triumphant lunar return, with several missions planned to welcome in a new age of international exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor.
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At NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, work on NASA’s next lunar explorer has begun. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is now in assembly ahead of its projected launch in 2024 onboard a Falcon Heavy.
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As NASA prepares to go back to the moon, the CLPS program stands on a dangerous fulcrum – will program structure help or hurt our lunar return?
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