Latest news with #lunar exploration
WIRED
7 days ago
- Science
- WIRED
South Korea Plans to Build a Base on the Moon
Jul 23, 2025 5:00 AM The country's newly formed space agency wants to establish a lunar base by 2045. An artist's illustration of a lunar base. Illustration:China, India, and Japan are not the only countries on the Asian continent looking to establish themselves in the fledgling space economy. South Korea also wants to be in the space race, and even plans for a presence beyond Earth's orbit, with ambitions to create its own lunar base within 20 years. At a public meeting held at the National Research Foundation of Korea on July 17, the South Korean AeroSpace Administration (KASA) released a roadmap proposing 'five core missions, including low-Earth orbit and microgravity exploration, lunar exploration, and solar and space science missions,' The Korean Times has reported. KASA had already proposed placing a robotic lander on the lunar surface by 2032, but the new master plan is much more ambitious, including the development of a new lunar lander by 2040, as well as the construction of a lunar economic base by 2045. The Republic of Korea is not starting from scratch in the field of lunar exploration. In mid-2022, the country launched Danuri, its first lunar probe, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Danuri reached lunar orbit later that year and is still in operation, studying the moon's natural resources with its suite of instruments. It is also intended to test space technology that will be used by KASA on future missions. This mission was part of the first phase of the Korean Lunar Exploration Program. Phase two includes the launch in 2032 of the aforementioned robotic module, as well as another lunar orbiter and a rover weighing 20 kilograms. This second phase will no longer rely on a SpaceX rocket or even a pad on US soil; rather, the mission will be launched using the country's KSLV-III rocket, which is still under development, from the Naro Space Center, located on the Republic of Korea's southern coast. The Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources is assisting with preparations by deploying prototype lunar rovers in abandoned coal mines to evaluate technologies that could be used in upcoming space mining tasks. My KASA Is Your NASA KASA was created only recently, in May 2024, by the South Korean government, as a domestic version of NASA. It now oversees the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), which has handled development of the country's aerospace technologies since its establishment in 1989. Both KARI and the republic's national space research organization, the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, are now sub-agencies of KASA. With its new special agency and the backing of the private sector, South Korea is seeking to position itself among the top five countries in the field of space exploration. KASA also envisions landing a module on Mars in 2045, as well as the development of probes to monitor solar activity and improve space security, including, by 2035, the deployment of a solar observation satellite at the L4 Lagrange point (a stable position in space where small objects are held in place by the gravitational forces of the sun and Earth). South Korea, of course, is not the only country looking to build a lunar base by the middle of this century or to develop space economy infrastructure. Through the Artemis program, NASA intends to establish a lunar base within the next decade—if political conflicts do not derail that project. China, in collaboration with Russia and other countries, has also set a goal of building a lunar base by 2045. India also has its sights set on the moon, with plans for its own base on the surface by 2047. This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Lunar lava tubes on Earth? China completes underground moon simulation test area (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. China has taken a new step in its long-term planning for lunar exploration with the completion of a "simulated moon underground space." Researchers have established a practice area in a volcanic lava cave in a forest region near Jingbo Lake in Mudanjiang City, located in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. The move is in response to research suggesting that lava tube systems are present on the moon and Mars and could provide shielding from those worlds' harsh radiation environments. "The underground volcanic lava pipes by the Jingbo Lake are the most similar environment on Earth to the underground space of the moon. I hope our forward-looking research can serve China's lunar exploration program," Li Jiaqi, a researcher at Peking University, told China Central Television (CCTV). Experimental robots are already being used to test conducting autonomous exploration and multi-functional operations in the simulated lunar environment. Related Stories: — Hopping robot will hunt for moon water on China's Chang'e 7 lunar mission in 2026 — China returns samples from the moon's far side in historic 1st (video) — The moon: Everything you need to know about Earth's companion "Compared with traditional lunar roving vehicles and exploration robots, it has stronger environmental adaptability and flexibility," said Li Xianglong, a doctoral student from the Harbin Institute of Technology. "When exploring the underground space of the moon for the future, it can possess more precise perception, decision-making and operation capabilities." Students also set up seismometers in the area to serve as a reference for future lunar experiments. China's Chang'e 7 mission to the lunar south pole, set to launch sometime in 2026, will carry a seismograph to study the moon's interior and detect moonquakes, caused by tidal forces from Earth, and temperature changes affecting the lunar surface. China plans to establish an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Is Intuitive Machines Stock Still Going Up?
Key Points Bank of America cut its price target on Intuitive Machines stock yesterday -- and the stock rose anyway. Intuitive is gaining again today, but BofA's warnings yesterday still merit attention. Free cash flow at the space company will be lumpy, and could remain so for years. 10 stocks we like better than Intuitive Machines › Something curious is happening with Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) stock, the tiny lunar exploration company that last year landed a U.S. spacecraft on the moon for the first time in over 50 years. Yesterday, Bank of America analyst Ronald Epstein lowered his price target on Intuitive stock from $16 to $10.50, below where the stock was trading, triggering an "underperform" rating. And yet, Intuitive Machines stock went up, not down, on the news (rising 1.2%). And today, it's going up even more. What BofA says about Intuitive Machines stock Intuitive Machines stock gained a healthy 5.1% through 10:40 a.m. ET. But while investors are surely happy to see Intuitive continue to defy gravity, maybe they shouldn't get used to it. As Epstein explains, in a note covered by The Fly, Intuitive stock has done well this year after surprising investors with a report of positive free cash flow achieved in Q1 -- $13.3 million generated in the quarter. At the same time, however, management warned that cash receipt lumpiness could return in Q2. And I suspect "cash receipt lumpiness" translates as "negative free cash flow." Is Intuitive Machines stock a buy? This shouldn't be a surprise. Analysts have long forecast it would take Intuitive until at least 2027 to reach sustained profitability as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and 2028 to begin generating consistently positive FCF. Q2 2025 was almost certainly an aberration, albeit a happy one, and investors will still need patience with this stock. That said, I believe patience will be rewarded. Between the company's series of NASA contracts to land spacecraft on the moon, its Near Space Network communications contract, and now a new business building Earth reentry vehicles for semiconductor and space pharmaceutical customers, Intuitive's future could be out of this world. Should you invest $1,000 in Intuitive Machines right now? Before you buy stock in Intuitive Machines, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Intuitive Machines wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $674,281!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,050,415!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,059% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025 Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rich Smith has positions in Intuitive Machines. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Is Intuitive Machines Stock Still Going Up? was originally published by The Motley Fool
