This tiny moon rover has a leg up on traditional spacecraft designs
Students at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands are developing the world’s smallest and lightest moon rover, called Lunar Zebro. Named after the Dutch phrase for “six-legged,” Lunar Zebro will indeed have six legs instead of…
South Korea’s first lunar orbiter on way to the moon
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s first lunar orbiter has begun its voyage toward the moon on a mission critical to the country’s future space projects. The 678-kilogram spacecraft, named Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) or Danuri in Korean, launched…
Hyundai partners with research institutes to develop vehicle for lunar surface exploration
SEOUL, South Korea — Hyundai Motor is moving to develop a vehicle for lunar surface exploration. The Korean carmaker and its sister company Kia Motors formed a consortium July 27 with six state-funded research institutes here to explore the concept of lunar…
Draper wins NASA contract for farside lunar lander mission
WASHINGTON — NASA awarded a contract to Draper to send three science instruments to the far side of the moon through a commercial payload delivery program. NASA announced July 21 it selected a team led by Draper for the 2025…
Orbit Fab to donate regolith to lunar resources trust
WASHINGTON — Orbit Fab, a startup that is developing an infrastructure for in-space refueling of spacecraft, announced plans to purchase a small amount of lunar regolith and transfer it to a trust to promote sustainable management of lunar resources. The…
NASA Opens Second Phase of $3.5 Million Lunar Excavation Competition
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — NASA launched the second phase of its Break the Ice Lunar Challenge to advance technology that is – quite literally – groundbreaking. The challenge invites the public to advance system technology for excavating and delivering lunar resources. High…
Canadian Space Agency Funds Novel Ideas for Potential Moon Infrastructure
LONGUEIUL, Que. (CSA PR) — As humanity tackles the challenges of creating a permanent human presence on the Moon, multiple Canadian companies will undertake seven concept studies. These reports will help develop capabilities and define potential Canadian infrastructure contributions on…
NASA Funds R&D Projects to Extract Oxygen, Metals From Lunar Regolith
NASA has selected six research and development projects for funding that are focused on extracting oxygen and metals from lunar regolith to support the Artemis program. NASA decided to award Small Business Innovation Research funding worth up to $150,000 apiece…
Lunar Outpost Announces $12 Million Seed Investment to Scale Mobility Technology Enabling Commercial Lunar Advancement
GOLDEN, CO – MAY 23, 2022 – Lunar Outpost, a global leader in commercial planetary mobility, announced a $12 million seed funding round today. The closed round was led by Explorer 1 Fund with participation from Promus Ventures, Space Capital, Type 1 Ventures and Cathexis Ventures. The capital will…