commercial lunar payload services
NASA lunar payload service provider Masten Space Systems begins bankruptcy process
Masten Space Systems began the process of filing for bankruptcy on Thursday, telling a Delaware court that it owed millions in liabilities to companies including SpaceX, Astrobotic, NuSpace and others
NASA’s water-hunting rover launch delayed by one year, pushed to 2024
NASA’s big mission to hunt for water on the moon has slipped by another year, to 2024, due to the agency requesting further testing of the lander that will deliver the payload to the lunar surface.
Masten Space Systems to develop a GPS-like network for the moon
Masten Space Systems, a startup that’s aiming to send a lander to the moon in 2023, will develop a lunar navigation and positioning system not unlike GPS here on Earth. Masten’s prototype is being
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket to deliver an Astrobotic lander and NASA water-hunting rover to the moon in 2023
SpaceX is set to send a payload to the moon in 2023, using its larger (and infrequently used) Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. The mission will fly a lander built by space startup Astrobotic, which itself
Blue Origin will upgrade New Shepard rocket with the ability to simulate lunar gravity
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will be providing NASA with a valuable scientific tool ahead of the U.S. space agency’s goal of returning to the Moon: The ability to run experiments in simulated l
Intuitive Machines taps SpaceX for second lunar lander mission
The first commercial lunar landers are set to start making their trips to the moon as early as this year, and now another one has a confirmed ride booked: Intuitive Machines is sending its second land
Voyager Space Holdings to acquire multi-launch site startup The Launch Company
Voyager Space Holdings, one of the companies that has been on a bit of an acquisitive spree recently as it looks to put together a comprehensive and multi-vertical space technology offering, has annou
Astrobotic teams with Bosch and WiBotic to give its moon rovers wireless charging and smarts to find power stations
Lunar exploration startup Astrobotic is working on developing ultra-fast wireless charging technology for its CubeRover shoebox-sized lunar robotic explorers. The project, which is funded by NASA̵
Moon exploration startup ispace opens new US office and hires SpaceX alum to lead development of next lander
Japanese startup ispace, which is developing lander technology to support exploration of the moon, is opening an office in Denver, the company announced today. The Colorado location was chosen because
Spacebit books a second trip to the moon via NASA’s commercial lunar payload program
U.K.-based robotic rover startup Spacebit has booked a second payload delivery to the moon, aboard the Nova-C lander that Intuitive Machines is planning to send in 2021 as part of NASA’s Commerc
CMU’s MoonRanger robot rover will be the first to search for water ice on the moon in 2022
Carnegie Mellon University and spin-off space startup Astrobotic are developing a robotic rover to look for water on the moon, and the little bot just passed the crucial preliminary design review phas
NASA is looking to buy moon dirt from private companies — no return shipping required
NASA wants to procure samples of lunar soil from private contractors, the agency announced today in a blog post by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. This is part of the agency’s overall ambiti
NASA issues new call for lunar payload deliveries from its commercial moon lander partners
NASA wants its private commercial space company partners to make more moon deliveries on its behalf: The agency just issued another request for scientific and experimental payloads that need lunar del
SpaceX will launch Masten’s first lander to the moon in 2022
SpaceX has secured a contract to act as the launch partner for Masten Space Systems, one of the companies awarded a NASA launch contract under that agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CL
Blue Origin’s human lunar lander team delivers full-scale engineering mock-up to NASA
Blue Origin and the members of its “national team” — Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper — have delivered a full-scale engineering prototype of their human lunar lande
Ispace reveals the final design of its lunar lander ahead of its first mission to the moon in 2022
Japanese new space startup ispace has revealed the final design of its HAKUTO-R lunar lander, a spacecraft set to make its first touchdown on the moon in 2022 if all goes to the updated plan (it had b
NASA signs agreement with Japan to cooperate across Space Station, Artemis and Lunar Gateway projects
NASA has signed a new agreement with Japan that lays out plans for the two nations to cooperate on the International Space Station (continuing existing partnership between the countries there) as well
NASA picks Astrobotic to deliver its water-hunting robot rover to the moon
NASA has selected a company to fly its VIPER rover to the moon. Its mission will be a crucial step in its Artemis program as it will help the agency determine where and how it can establish a long-ter
Rocket Lab tests new hyperCurie engine that will power its deep space delivery vehicle
Rocket Lab is already in the testing phase for a new engine it’s building to propel its forthcoming Photon Lunar spacecraft, according to CEO and founder Peter Beck. Beck shared an image of the
CMU’s tiny robot rover passes NASA design review ahead of 2021 trip to the Moon
Carnegie Mellon University is one step closer to operating its robotic rover on the surface of the Moon: The school’s diminutive bot has passed a crucial NASA design review, performed by the age