Lunar Lander
- All
- News
- Videos
- Web Stories
-
Scientists Just Solved the Mystery of the Moon’s Lopsided Dust Halo
Scientists have solved why the Moon’s dust cloud is uneven: heat. Using computer models, researchers found that meteor impacts on the Moon’s sunlit surface fling 6–8% more dust into space than on the cold night side, creating a lopsided halo. NASA warns this dust could threaten future landers and astronauts.
-
SpaceX Revises Artemis III Moon Mission with Simplified Starship Design
SpaceX is developing a simplified Starship mission for NASA’s Artemis III Moon landing, targeting a quicker and safer return of astronauts. As NASA reopens the lander contract amid delays, SpaceX says its refined Starship design could take on more mission roles, advancing lunar exploration toward the first crewed landing this decade.
-
SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch of Private Griffin Moon Lander Pushed to 2026 Amid Testing Phase
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch carrying Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lunar lander has been delayed to July 2026 due to ongoing testing. The mission, part of NASA’s CLPS program, will deliver multiple rovers and cultural payloads to the Moon, marking a key milestone for private lunar exploration.
-
SpaceX May Miss First Crewed Moon Landing as NASA Reopens Artemis Bid
NASA reopened its $2.9 billion Artemis 3 lunar lander contract as SpaceX’s Starship delays threaten to push the crewed Moon landing to 2028. Administrator Sean Duffy expressed concern, while Blue Origin reenters the race, promising to deliver faster progress toward humanity’s next lunar return.
-
Artemis II Crew Members Reveal Name Of Orion Spacecraft For Moon Mission
The name aligns with shared values of NASA, highlighting the importance of trust and teamwork.
-
NASA Uses Rocky Mountain Helicopter Drills to Prepare Astronauts for Artemis Moon Missions
NASA has certified a helicopter-based lander training course in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to prepare Artemis astronauts for Moon missions. The high-altitude terrain creates lunar-like visual illusions, forcing pilots to master landings in dusty, slope-filled conditions. Over two dozen astronauts have now trained in this challenging, realistic si...
-
India, Japan Sign Deal For Joint Chandrayaan-5 Mission To Explore Moon's South Pole
India and Japan on Friday signed the implementing arrangement for the Chandrayaan-5 mission, a joint exploration of the polar region of the moon by the space agencies of the two countries.
-
China Conducts First Test Of Manned Lunar Lander 'Lanyue'
China conducted its first test on Wednesday of a lunar lander that it hopes will put the first Chinese on the moon before 2030, the country's manned space program said.
-
NASA and ISRO Confirm Japan’s Moon Lander Resilience Crashed at Mare Frigoris
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India’s Chandrayaan-2 have captured images confirming the crash of Japan’s Resilience lander on the Moon’s Mare Frigoris. Contact with the lander was lost 100 seconds before its June 5 touchdown. New photos reveal a dark impact mark and scattered debris.
-
Japanese Private Lunar Lander Resilience Fails Mission, Crashes on Moon
Japan’s private moonshot ended in disappointment as ispace’s Resilience lander crashed during final descent. A delay in rangefinder data prevented timely deceleration, causing a hard landing on the lunar surface. This marks the company’s second failure. Despite the setback, ispace plans future missions in 2027 with the upgraded Apex 1.0 lande...
-
Japan's Ispace Loses Communication With Moon Lander After Touchdown Attempt
Japanese company ispace said it has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander Resilience after its lunar touchdown attempt on Friday.
-
Japan’s Resilience Lander to Touch Down on the Moon on June 5: What You Need to Know
ispace's Resilience lander is on the brink of touching down on the Moon’s Mare Frigoris region. If successful, this June 5 landing will mark a major milestone for Japan’s private space sector and the SMBC x HAKUTO-R Mission 2. The mission could mark a significant achievement for private space exploration in Japan.
-
NASA's LROC Captures ispace RESILIENCE Landing Site Ahead of June 2025 Lunar Touchdown
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has imaged Mare Frigoris, the planned landing site for ispace’s RESILIENCE lander. Set for a June 2025 touchdown, the mission marks a key step in commercial lunar exploration and highlights the scientific value of this ancient volcanic region near the Moon’s north.
-
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander Mission Unveils Surprising Discoveries on the Lunar Surface
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander uncovered unexpected hard rock formations and extreme lunar heat variations during its mission. These discoveries provide critical insights for improving future lunar landers. As Firefly prepares for its annual moon missions, the lessons learnt from Blue Ghost's successes will guide robotics and human op...
-
NASA’s Space Station Research Aids Lunar Missions With Key Technologies
Research aboard the International Space Station is advancing lunar exploration. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission-1, which landed on 2 March 2025, carries three experiments linked to space station studies. LEXI observes X-ray emissions to study space weather, RadPC tests radiation-tolerant computing, and LuGRE detects GNSS signals for lunar ...
-
Scientists Just Solved the Mystery of the Moon’s Lopsided Dust Halo
Scientists have solved why the Moon’s dust cloud is uneven: heat. Using computer models, researchers found that meteor impacts on the Moon’s sunlit surface fling 6–8% more dust into space than on the cold night side, creating a lopsided halo. NASA warns this dust could threaten future landers and astronauts.
-
SpaceX Revises Artemis III Moon Mission with Simplified Starship Design
SpaceX is developing a simplified Starship mission for NASA’s Artemis III Moon landing, targeting a quicker and safer return of astronauts. As NASA reopens the lander contract amid delays, SpaceX says its refined Starship design could take on more mission roles, advancing lunar exploration toward the first crewed landing this decade.
-
SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launch of Private Griffin Moon Lander Pushed to 2026 Amid Testing Phase
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy launch carrying Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lunar lander has been delayed to July 2026 due to ongoing testing. The mission, part of NASA’s CLPS program, will deliver multiple rovers and cultural payloads to the Moon, marking a key milestone for private lunar exploration.
-
SpaceX May Miss First Crewed Moon Landing as NASA Reopens Artemis Bid
NASA reopened its $2.9 billion Artemis 3 lunar lander contract as SpaceX’s Starship delays threaten to push the crewed Moon landing to 2028. Administrator Sean Duffy expressed concern, while Blue Origin reenters the race, promising to deliver faster progress toward humanity’s next lunar return.
-
Artemis II Crew Members Reveal Name Of Orion Spacecraft For Moon Mission
The name aligns with shared values of NASA, highlighting the importance of trust and teamwork.
-
NASA Uses Rocky Mountain Helicopter Drills to Prepare Astronauts for Artemis Moon Missions
NASA has certified a helicopter-based lander training course in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains to prepare Artemis astronauts for Moon missions. The high-altitude terrain creates lunar-like visual illusions, forcing pilots to master landings in dusty, slope-filled conditions. Over two dozen astronauts have now trained in this challenging, realistic si...
-
India, Japan Sign Deal For Joint Chandrayaan-5 Mission To Explore Moon's South Pole
India and Japan on Friday signed the implementing arrangement for the Chandrayaan-5 mission, a joint exploration of the polar region of the moon by the space agencies of the two countries.
-
China Conducts First Test Of Manned Lunar Lander 'Lanyue'
China conducted its first test on Wednesday of a lunar lander that it hopes will put the first Chinese on the moon before 2030, the country's manned space program said.
-
NASA and ISRO Confirm Japan’s Moon Lander Resilience Crashed at Mare Frigoris
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and India’s Chandrayaan-2 have captured images confirming the crash of Japan’s Resilience lander on the Moon’s Mare Frigoris. Contact with the lander was lost 100 seconds before its June 5 touchdown. New photos reveal a dark impact mark and scattered debris.
-
Japanese Private Lunar Lander Resilience Fails Mission, Crashes on Moon
Japan’s private moonshot ended in disappointment as ispace’s Resilience lander crashed during final descent. A delay in rangefinder data prevented timely deceleration, causing a hard landing on the lunar surface. This marks the company’s second failure. Despite the setback, ispace plans future missions in 2027 with the upgraded Apex 1.0 lande...
-
Japan's Ispace Loses Communication With Moon Lander After Touchdown Attempt
Japanese company ispace said it has not been able to establish communication with its uncrewed moon lander Resilience after its lunar touchdown attempt on Friday.
-
Japan’s Resilience Lander to Touch Down on the Moon on June 5: What You Need to Know
ispace's Resilience lander is on the brink of touching down on the Moon’s Mare Frigoris region. If successful, this June 5 landing will mark a major milestone for Japan’s private space sector and the SMBC x HAKUTO-R Mission 2. The mission could mark a significant achievement for private space exploration in Japan.
-
NASA's LROC Captures ispace RESILIENCE Landing Site Ahead of June 2025 Lunar Touchdown
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has imaged Mare Frigoris, the planned landing site for ispace’s RESILIENCE lander. Set for a June 2025 touchdown, the mission marks a key step in commercial lunar exploration and highlights the scientific value of this ancient volcanic region near the Moon’s north.
-
Firefly’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander Mission Unveils Surprising Discoveries on the Lunar Surface
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Moon Lander uncovered unexpected hard rock formations and extreme lunar heat variations during its mission. These discoveries provide critical insights for improving future lunar landers. As Firefly prepares for its annual moon missions, the lessons learnt from Blue Ghost's successes will guide robotics and human op...
-
NASA’s Space Station Research Aids Lunar Missions With Key Technologies
Research aboard the International Space Station is advancing lunar exploration. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission-1, which landed on 2 March 2025, carries three experiments linked to space station studies. LEXI observes X-ray emissions to study space weather, RadPC tests radiation-tolerant computing, and LuGRE detects GNSS signals for lunar ...
