Human missions
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6 years ago
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Images Beresheet Impact Site
Planetary.orgLunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has successfully imaged the impact site of the Beresheet lander, which made a really good run at performing the first privately funded Moon landing on 11 April, but crashed after the failure of its main engine.
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6 years ago
Chang’e-4 may have discovered material from the Moon’s mantle
Planetary.orgThe first science results from the unprecedented Chang’e-4 lunar far side mission are in. The mission’s Yutu-2 rover, deployed from the lander shortly after the Chang’e-4 landing on 3 January, has, with the help of the Queqiao relay satellite, returned data which suggests it has discovered material derived from the Moon’s mantle.
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6 years ago
China’s SmallSat Lunar Mission Longjiang-2 to Deorbit on 31 July
Planetary.orgAccording to amateur spacecraft tracker Daniel Estévez, Longjiang-2 will crash into the Moon on 31 July after more than a year in lunar orbit.
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6 years ago
A Crash Program or Modest Proposal?
Planetary.orgThe White House released a long-awaited supplemental budget request for NASA today. It proposes an additional $1.6 billion for an accelerated human spaceflight effort to land on the Moon in 2024. This boosts the President's budget request for NASA to $22.6 billion in fiscal year 2020, which is approximately $1.1 billion or 5% more than the amount provided by Congress last year.
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6 years ago
Chandrayaan-2 Launch Delayed until July
Planetary.orgIndia's combination lunar orbiter, lander, and rover spacecraft was previously scheduled to lift off in May.
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6 years ago
What can we learn from a failed return to the Moon?
Planetary.orgThirty years ago, President George H.W. Bush announced an ambitious program to return humans to the Moon. It failed. Today the Trump Administration wants the same thing. Can a failed lunar return effort help this one succeed?
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6 years ago
What Can We Learn from a Failed Return to the Moon?
Planetary.orgThirty years ago, President George H.W. Bush announced an ambitious program to return humans to the Moon. It failed. Today the Trump Administration wants the same thing. Can a failed lunar return effort help this one succeed?
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6 years ago
Chang’e-4 Updates: Yutu-2 Roves into Overtime, Returns More Images
Planetary.orgChina’s Chang’e-4 lander and Yutu-2 rover are continuing to function well and have completed their fourth lunar day.
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6 years ago
Software Command to Fix Faulty Sensor Doomed Beresheet
Planetary.orgSix days after SpaceIL's Beresheet spacecraft crash-landed on the Moon, we now have an explanation for what went wrong.
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6 years ago
Beresheet Comes Close, Apparently Crashes on the Moon
Planetary.orgMission controllers announced Beresheet had a problem with its main engine, and the spacecraft stopped transmitting shortly thereafter.
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