Latest news with #moonlanding
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Private Japanese spacecraft aims to land in the moon's 'Sea of Cold' this week
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Japanese company ispace is poised to make a historic moon landing this week. The company's Reslience lunar lander will attempt to touch down in Mare Frigoris ("Sea of Cold"), a basalt plain in the moon's northern hemisphere, on Thursday (June 5) at 3:24 p.m. EDT (1924 GMT). You'll be able to watch the landing attempt online via a live webcast on ispace's YouTube page, beginning about one hour before landing. Success would be huge for ispace and for Japan, which has just one soft lunar landing on its books to date — that of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's SLIM spacecraft, which touched down just last year. It would also be a big milestone for commercial spaceflight, which has increasingly set its sights on the moon. Resilience is ispace's second lunar lander. The first reached lunar orbit but failed during its touchdown try in April 2023. If Resilience succeeds on June 5, the lander will deploy a small rover called Tenacious and also operate a suite of scientific instruments on the lunar surface. Reslience launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 15 along with another private moon lander — Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which aced its touchdown on March 2. Resilience took a much longer path to the moon. It completed a brief Earth orbit phase, a lunar flyby and deep space and lunar orbit maneuvers, all of which helped guide the spacecraft along a fuel-efficient trajectory that used gravitational forces to adjust its path. Related stories: — What's flying to the moon on ispace's Resilience lunar lander? — Japan's Resilience moon lander aces lunar flyby ahead of historic touchdown try (photo) — Japan's Resilience moon lander arrives in lunar orbit ahead of June 5 touchdown The lander entered lunar orbit as planned on May 6. On May 28, Resilience performed an orbital control maneuver, a 10-minute engine burn that brought the spacecraft into a circular orbit around the moon about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface, according to a statement from ispace. "Just as they always do after a major burn of the propulsion system, ispace engineers are currently hard at work analyzing the path that the 3rd orbital control maneuver put Resilience on," ispace officials said in a May 30 post on X. "If necessary, they may make a small adjustment to optimize the lander's direction of travel called an orbital trim maneuver." Prior to its latest maneuver, the spacecraft snapped a stunning photo of the lunar surface from orbit, showcasing the moon's many craters and complex topography. Traveling at approximately 3,600 mph (5,800 kph), Resilience is racing around the moon, making a lap every two hours or so as it gears up for its landing attempt later this week.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What time will Japan's ispace Resilience probe land on the moon on June 5?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Japanese company ispace is hoping to make some space history on Thursday (June 5), when it attempts to land a private spacecraft on the moon. But if you're hoping to watch it live, you'll need to know when and where to tune in. The Resilience lander, the second-ever private ispace lunar probe, is on track for a midday landing in the northern reaches of the moon. Resilience is flying a mission of redemption for ispace, which failed a similar moon landing attempt with its first effort, called Hakuto-R Mission 1, in April 2023. Here's a look at what time ispace's Resilience moon will attempt to land on June 5, how to watch it and what may happen during the mission. Currently, ispace's Resilience moon lander is scheduled to land on Thursday, June 5, at 3:24 p.m. EDT (1824 GMT), though it will be 4:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Friday, June 6, at touchdown time. That landing time follows a specific timeline of events ispace has laid out to deliver Resilience to the lunar surface. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Resilience torward the moon on Jan. 15 along with the private Blue Ghost moon lander built by Firefly Aerospace. (Blue Ghost successfully landed in the moon's Mare Crisium, or Sea of Crises, region on March 2.) Unlike Blue Ghost, Resilience followed a "low energy transfer" path to reach the moon, which added months to the journey. It arrived in lunar orbit on May 6 and is finally ready for its landing attempt. While ispace is targeting June 5 at 3:24 p.m. EDT (1824 GMT) for the moon landing, that time could actually change. The prime landing spot is in the middle of Mare Frigoris, or the "Sea of Cold," on the near side of the moon's northern hemisphere. If ispace decides to use a backup landing site (there are three in all), those attempts would occur on different days and times. "Should conditions change, there are three alternative landing sites that are being considered with different landing dates and times for each," ispace wrote in an update on social media. Yes, you'll be able to watch ispace's Resilience lander attempt to touch down on the moon live as it happens, and you'll be able to pick which language you'd like to follow the mission when you livestreams will begin at 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT/3:10 a.m. JST on June 6) with the landing itself targeted for 3:24 p.m. EDT (1924 GMT; 4:24 a.m. JST on June 6). "ispace will host a global live stream event with coverage of Resilience's landing attempt on the moon on June 6, 2025 (JST) (June 5, 2025, depending on location)," ispace wrote in an announcement. "The coverage will be broadcast in Japanese with English translation provided." Both will be webcast via ispace's YouTube channel, with the English broadcast here and the Japanese broadcast here. The Resilience moon lander will attempt to land on a vast basalt plain in the moon's near side northern hemisphere known as Mare Frigoris. ispace targeted the same plain in 2023 when the company attempted to land its first moon lander on April 25 of that year. During that attempt, which crashed as mentioned above, ispace tried to land in Atlas Crater, which is 54 miles (87 kilometers) wide. ispace does not appear to be targeting the same crater for Resilience, which is also known as Hakuto-R Mission 2. (Hakuto-R is the name of ispace's lunar exploration program as well as its line of robotic rovers.) Instead, the lander is expected to touch down in the northern region of Mare Frigoris, with three potential backup landing sites, according to a map released by ispace before launch. Once on the moon, ispace's Resilience lander is expected to last about two weeks, or one lunar day. But the full mission, from launch on Jan. 15 to the end, will run about five months. The spacecraft is equipped with solar panels to power its onboard instruments, and will spend that time conducting experiments with several payloads. They include the following: Water Electrolyzer Experiment: An experiment built by air conditioning equipment manufacturer Takasago Thermal Engineering Co. to test technology to generate oxygen and hydrogen from moon water. Algae-based food production module: An experiment designed by Euglena Co. to test ways to grow algae on the moon as a potential source of food. Deep Space Radiation Probe: A small detector that has been monitoring radation levels on Resilience throughout its months-long mission. Resilience is also carrying a microrover called Tenacious, which was built by ispace's European subsidiary. If all goes well, the rover will be deployed on the surface to test its camera and sample-collection shovel for future sample return missions. The Tenacious rover is also carying a work of art called "Moonhouse," a small red house designed by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg, as part of a cultural program for the mission. Finally, Resilience is carrying a commemorative plate provided by Bandai Namco Research Institute, Inc. with an inscription based on the fictional document "Charter of the Universal Century" from the famed Japanese manga and science fiction series Gundam.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 163 — The Trials of Starship
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On Episode 163 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss Starship's recent test flight with reporter Mike went right, what went wrong, and what are the prospects for Elon's mammoth rocket meeting NASA's goals for a moon landing in 2027? Also, Musk's recent video outlining future plans for Starship and a Martian metropolis, Chinese company Sepoch's recent (and very Starship-like) vertical launch and landing test, Japan's robotic lander, Resilience, about to attempt a lunar touchdown, and roadside assistance for the Psyche asteroid mission. See this and more on This Week in Space! Download or subscribe to this show at: episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at Scientists found a possible new dwarf planet — it could spell bad news for Planet 9 fans NASA's Psyche Spacecraft Using Backup Fuel Line Chinese launch startup conducts vertical takeoff and splashdown test Northern lights may be visible in these 15 US States tonight and over the weekend Blastoff! SpaceX Starship launches on 9th flight test, booster explodes during landing burn Elon Musk says SpaceX will launch its biggest Starship yet this year, but Mars in 2026 is '50/50' TOP TELESCOPE PICK: Looking for a telescope to see planets and comets? We recommend the Celestron Astro Fi 102 as the top pick in our best beginner's telescope guide. Finally, did you know you can launch your own SpaceX rocket? Model rocket maker Estes' stunning scale model of a Falcon 9 rocket that you can pick up now. The launchable model is a detailed recreation of the Falcon 9 and retails for $149.99. You can save 10% by using the code IN-COLLECTSPACE at checkout, courtesy of our partners This Week in Space covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What's happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars? Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
SpaceX Starship failure casts further doubt on NASA's moon landing timeline
NASA hopes to put astronauts on the moon in just two years, but a critical spacecraft required for the mission keeps exploding or disintegrating: SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket ever built. Originally envisioned as a Mars rocket, it is also a key piece of NASA's plan to outpace China and land humans on the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century. On its ninth launch Tuesday, the 403-foot-tall Starship managed to reach space, but as it reentered the atmosphere it began to tumble out of control and broke apart. The two previous Starship launches ended in explosions over the Caribbean. The consecutive failures may have decreased the likelihood SpaceX can meet NASA's 2027 goal, observers said, a schedule that has already been questioned as overly ambitious. Aerospace experts did not appear greatly alarmed, however, with several noting that Starship is a boundary-breaking feat of engineering and that, even when the skies are filled with flying debris, progress is being made. That was also the message from SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk on his social media platform X after Tuesday's mission: 'Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight!' Musk wrote. 'Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent. Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review.' NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner said Wednesday that the agency is 'encouraged' by the latest test flight and that each test yields important data. The first lunar landing 'will use a different version of Starship for its human landing system than the early developmental version tested. We have confidence SpaceX will fully investigate every aspect of their test flight and address any issues.' Phil Larson, a former space adviser to President Barack Obama who is now a senior strategist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, was similarly upbeat. 'This is to be expected and actually fun to watch,' he said Wednesday. 'This is our version of the space race in the '60s, updated with new technology, better rockets, reusable systems.' But Tuesday's test flight — whether a 'failure' or not — comes at a delicate time for NASA and its moon program. Under NASA's elaborate plan and ambitious timeline for returning to the moon, failure to work out the kinks in Starship is not an option. The problems that caused the two previous explosions of Starship were resolved, noted Mamta Patel Nagaraja, an aerospace consultant and former associate chief scientist for exploration at NASA. But NASA's goal of boots on the ground in 2027 may be implausible, she said. 'The fact that they actually go to space, that at least is progress. Now, does it change the timeline?' she said. 'Of course it's going to push the timeline.' Artemis — as NASA has dubbed its program to return humans to the moon — was conceived during the first Trump administration. In 2019, the agency set a 2024 date for landing astronauts, but the timeline slipped. Artemis I sent an uncrewed capsule around the moon in 2022 without landing, and Artemis II, a similar journey with a crew, is supposed to launch next year. Artemis III, which aspires to land astronauts near the moon's south pole, is scheduled for mid-2027, NASA's outgoing administrator, Bill Nelson, said in December. But the Artemis program has drawn criticism from outside NASA and even from Musk, who has called it a distraction from the greater goal of reaching Mars. President Donald Trump has echoed that argument as well. Artemis and precursor programs have been costly, on the order of $100 billion already, according to a NASA inspector general's report. Some of the most withering criticism has been directed at the complex mission architecture, which has the feel of a system designed by many disputatious committees. 'The current architecture of Artemis does not make sense,' said Robert Zubrin, a veteran aerospace engineer and president of the Mars Society, which advocates Mars exploration. The elements 'don't fit together,' Zubrin said. 'It's five separate elements which have each been funded for different reasons.' The current plan uses a NASA-owned heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, to send four astronauts to lunar orbit in a NASA-owned capsule, Orion. Then comes what may be the biggest challenge: getting two of those astronauts to the surface and back again safely. NASA has given SpaceX $4 billion in Artemis contracts that include using a modified Starship, called the Starship Human Landing System, to dock with Orion and then transport the astronauts to and from the lunar surface. The lunar lander is so tall — more than 160 feet — that the astronauts will have to take an elevator to the surface. When blasted back to lunar orbit, they would rejoin the other two astronauts in Orion, which would send them back to Earth. Major elements of the mission are far from complete or have not passed critical tests or design reviews. That includes milestones that SpaceX hasn't achieved. To carry out its tasks, SpaceX has to launch a set of uncrewed Starship tankers to orbit to create a fuel depot. Fuel will then have to be transferred to another Starship that would travel to the moon. SpaceX also must land an uncrewed Starship on the moon before attempting to do it with astronauts. 'If NASA wants to fly Artemis 3 in 2027 like it's on the books, SpaceX should be doing its uncrewed landing demo on the moon no later than mid-to-late next year with Starship,' Pam Melroy, a former astronaut who flew three space shuttle missions, including one as commander, and later served as deputy NASA administrator under President Joe Biden, said in an email. 'Although progress has been made in launch and recovery, the challenge is that SpaceX also has to start to prove the ability to have a fuel depot and be able to successfully launch Starships to it and fill it up with propellant, which is also required for a landing on the Moon,' Melroy said. SpaceX has demonstrated engineering virtuosity since its days as a start-up company two decades ago, and thanks to its Falcon 9 rocket is now the dominant provider of launches globally. American astronauts fly to the International Space Station via the Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft. But although SpaceX wins plaudits for its achievements, Musk has a history of overpromising on meeting mission milestones. 'Starship is an order of magnitude more challenging than Falcon 9 was,' said Lori Garver, the NASA deputy administrator in Obama's first term. 'Some of this is new ground. The size of the vehicle is unique. We've never done a reusable vehicle this large. It was also not initially planned for the lunar mission; it was planned for the Mars mission.' Musk has maintained since he founded SpaceX more than two decades ago that human settlement of Mars — eventually developing into a civilization completely independent of Earth — is necessary to make humanity a multi-planet species capable of surviving existential threats. He has denounced federal regulators who he claims have slowed progress on Starship. 'We want to enable anyone who wants to be a space traveler to go to Mars!' Musk wrote on X last year. 'That means you or your family or friends — anyone who dreams of great adventure. Eventually, there will be thousands of Starships going to Mars and it will a glorious sight to see! Can you imagine? Wow.' Standing in the way of Musk's dream are tremendous technical challenges and the wishes of Congress, which pays the bills and passes the legislation telling NASA what it must do. Congress is invested in Artemis. And NASA's 'Moon to Mars' program makes clear that the one is a stepping stone to the other. And the first step is still — 56 years after Apollo 11's heroic journey — a big one.
The Herald
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
SpaceX's Starship spins out of control after flying past points of previous failures
However, its early demise, appearing as a fireball streaking eastward through the night sky over Southern Africa, puts another pause in Musk's speedy development goals for a rocket bound to play a central role in the US space programme. Nasa plans to use the rocket to land humans on the moon in 2027, though the moon programme faces turmoil amid Musk's Mars-focused influence over US President Donald Trump's administration. Federal regulators had granted SpaceX a licence for Starship's latest flight attempt four days ago, capping a mishap investigation that had grounded Starship for nearly two months. The last two test flights, in January and March, were cut short moments after lift-off as the vehicles blew to pieces on ascent, raining debris over parts of the Caribbean and disrupting scores of commercial airline flights in the region. The Federal Aviation Administration expanded debris hazard zones around the ascent path for Tuesday's launch. The previous back-to-back failures occurred in early test flight phases that SpaceX had easily achieved before, in a striking setback to a programme that Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who founded the rocket company in 2002, had sought to accelerate this year. Musk, the world's wealthiest individual and a key supporter of Trump, was eager for a success after vowing in recent days to refocus his attention on his business ventures, including SpaceX, after a tumultuous foray into national politics and his attempts at cutting government bureaucracy. Closer to home, Musk also sees Starship as eventually replacing the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as the workhorse in the company's commercial launch business, which lofts most of the world's satellites and other payloads to low-Earth orbit. Reuters
