moon lander

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A Private Lander Homes In On North Side of the Moon

Japanese company ispace is headed for a touchdown on the moon's untouched side

(Newser) - A private lunar lander from Japan is closing in on the moon, reports the AP , aiming for a touchdown in the unexplored far north with a mini-rover. The landing attempt by Tokyo-based company ispace on Friday in Japan is the latest entry in the rapidly expanding commercial lunar rush. The...

Lunar Lander 'Blue Ghost' Falls Silent
First Private
Lunar Lander
Goes Dark
Mar 17, 2025 10:57 AM CDT

First Private Lunar Lander Goes Dark

'Mission is completed,' says Firefly Aerospace's CEO of 'Blue Ghost'

(Newser) - It's lights out for the first private lunar lander to pull off a fully successful moon mission, reports the AP . Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend, wrapping up two weeks of science experiments for NASA. The end came as the sun set at the...

Second Private Lander in 5 Days Reaches Moon

Athena lander touched down on the moon, but its status is unclear

(Newser) - A privately owned lunar lander touched down on the moon Thursday, but as the minutes dragged on, flight controllers could not confirm its condition or whether it was even upright near the south pole. The last time Intuitive Machines landed a spacecraft on the moon, a year ago, it ended...

Company Lands on Moon for NASA Experiments

Firefly's Blue Ghost 'stuck the landing'

(Newser) - A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum, and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earth's celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on...

First Samples From Moon's Far Side Return to Earth

China's lunar probe is back

(Newser) - China's Chang'e 6 lunar probe returned to Earth on Tuesday with rock and soil samples from the little-explored far side of the moon in a global first, the AP reports. The probe landed in northern China on Tuesday afternoon in the Inner Mongolian region. "I now declare...

It's an 'Astonishing Feat' for Japan's Moon Lander
Japan's Moon Lander
Defies All Odds
May 3, 2024 10:40 AM CDT

Japan's Moon Lander Defies All Odds

SLIM, thought to die in darkness, has survived 3 cold lunar nights so far

(Newser) - Nearly four months after touching down on the moon , Japan's lunar lander is still going strong—something its creators did not at all expect. The lander wasn't designed to endure the frigid temperatures, as low as -208 degrees Fahrenheit, that come with a lunar night, a period of...

Moon Lander Sends Final Photo Before It Stops Working

Odysseus' systems could wake up in a few weeks

(Newser) - The first US spacecraft to land on the moon since the Apollo astronauts fell silent Thursday, a week after breaking a leg at touchdown and tipping over near the lunar south pole. Intuitive Machines' lander, Odysseus, lasted longer than the company anticipated after it ended up on its side with...

Odysseus to Be 'Tucked in for the Cold Night of the Moon'

Moon lander broke leg upon landing on lunar surface

(Newser) - The first private US spacecraft to land on the moon broke a leg at touchdown before falling over , and had just a few hours of power left before its anticipated premature shutdown Wednesday night, the AP reports. Intuitive Machines, the company that built the lander, released new photos Wednesday, six...

'Odysseus Has Found Its New Home'
'Odysseus Has Found
Its New Home'
Feb 23, 2024 6:55 AM CST

'Odysseus Has Found Its New Home'

It's a big moment for the 'lunar economy'

(Newser) - "Houston, Odysseus has found its new home," Intuitive Machines mission director Tim Crain said Thursday after the company's lander became the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since 1972. The landing—which came after some tense moments —makes the Texas-based company the first private...

How to Watch Today's Attempted Moon Landing
How to Watch
Today's Attempted
Lunar Landing
the rundown
Feb 22, 2024 1:30 AM CST

How to Watch Today's Attempted Lunar Landing

Odysseus is in orbit, will attempt to touch down at 5:30pm Eastern time

(Newser) - Odysseus, the robotic moon lander launched last week by a private Houston company, successfully entered the moon's orbit Wednesday, and is scheduled to land Thursday at 5:30pm Eastern time—which, if successful, would be the first time in more than five decades that a US spacecraft has touched...

'Godspeed, Odysseus. Now Let's Go Make History'

Texas company Intuitive Machine's lander is on the way to the moon

(Newser) - "Godspeed, Odysseus. Now let's go make history," Trent Martin, vice president of space systems at Intuitive Machines, said as the company's lunar lander was launched early Thursday. The Texas-based firm is aiming to become the first private company to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon,...

'After Several Tense Days,' Moon Lander Is Alive Again

Following a rough landing, Japan's SLIM finally draws enough solar power to function once more

(Newser) - A Japanese moon explorer is up and running Monday after several tense days without the sunlight it needs to generate power. Japan's first lunar mission hit its target in a precision touchdown on Jan. 20, but it landed the wrong way up , leaving its solar panels unable to see...

Moon Lander—and Its Human Remains—to Burn
Doomed Lunar
Lander Meets
Its End
UPDATED
Jan 19, 2024 12:30 AM CST

Doomed Lunar Lander Meets Its End

Astrobotic's Peregrine burns up reentering Earth's atmosphere, along with human remains

(Newser) - The doomed Peregrine moon lander burned up in Earth's atmosphere over a remote stretch of the South Pacific on Thursday, as planned after the spacecraft suffered a malfunction that left it unable to reach the moon. "We commend @Astrobotic for their perseverance," NASA said in a statement...

After Leak, Spacecraft Has 'No Chance' of Landing on Moon

'Space is hard,' NASA says

(Newser) - Astrobotic Technology says there's no longer any hope of its Peregrine probe landing on the moon. In an update posted on X Tuesday, the Pittsburgh-based company said that due to a fuel leak detected hours after liftoff Monday, "there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on...

'We Are on Our Way to the Moon!'
Historic Moon Mission
Might Be in Peril
UPDATED
Jan 8, 2024 1:20 PM CST

Historic Moon Mission Might Be in Peril

Private company's spacecraft develops fuel leak en route to first landing in more than 50 years

(Newser) - Updated throughout. The first US moon landing in more than 50 years was in jeopardy Monday after a private company's newly launched spacecraft developed a "critical" fuel leak. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology raced to orient its lander toward the sun so the solar panel could collect sunlight, as battery...

First US Moon Landing in 50 Years Is Near

Two private companies are racing to get there first next month

(Newser) - India scored a moon landing last year, and Japan hopes to do the same next month. Now two private companies are hustling to get the US back in the lunar game, more than five decades after the Apollo program ended. As the AP explains, it's all part of a...

With This Rocket Launch, Japan Hopes for a 'Qualitative Shift'

SLIM lunar lander is set to reach moon in February, hopefully within just hundreds of feet of its target

(Newser) - Last month, India became the fourth nation to achieve a moon landing . Japan wants to be No. 5, and this week it launched a $100 million mission that it hopes will help it achieve that goal. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said its H-IIA rocket took off Thursday morning...

Historic Walk Accomplished, India's Moon Rover Takes a Nap

It's scheduled to wake up again on September 22

(Newser) - India's moon rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and been put into sleep mode less than two weeks after its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India's space mission said. "The rover completes its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into sleep mode,...

India Achieves a Moon Landing That's Historic on 2 Fronts

It landed a spacecraft near the moon's south pole

(Newser) - India on Wednesday landed a spacecraft near the moon's south pole, an uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water and precious elements. A lander with a rover inside touched down on the lunar surface at 6:04pm local time, sparking cheers and applause among...

India Tries Again to Nail Moon Landing

After failed 2019 mission, country launches Chandrayaan-3 with a rover and lander

(Newser) - An Indian spacecraft blazed its way to the far side of the moon Friday in a follow-up mission to its failed effort nearly four years ago to land a rover softly on the lunar surface, the country's space agency said. Chandrayaan-3, the word for "moon craft" in Sanskrit,...

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