Shadows stretch across the moon's South Pole in this mosaic image. (Credit: ESA/SMART-1/AMIE camera team; image mosaic: M. Ellouzi/B. Foing)
India just won the race to the moon’s South Pole. Here’s what comes next.

Aug. 23, 2023

From CU Boulder Today: Early in the morning Mountain Time today, an Indian lander named Vikram became the first spacecraft to touch down on the surface of the moon near its South Pole. The lander, which carried a six-wheeled rover and is part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, was a monumental...

Photo of a rocket launch
Mission to the Moon: Who will win Russian and India's race to the lunar South Pole?

Aug. 11, 2023

From BBC: Right now, a mini space race is afoot. Two spacecraft, one Russian and the other Indian, are headed for the South Pole of the Moon – where no lander has ever successfully gone before. The Russian and Indian vehicles are on competing quests to search for water ice...

Screen shot from conference presentation with Jack Burns's slide with artist illustration
Transformative Radio Science & Astrophysics from the Moon using NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Landers

June 27, 2023

From the European Lunar Symposium 2023: Watch a talk by Dr. Jack Burns about Transformative Radio Science & Astrophysics from the Moon using NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services Landers from June 27, 2023.

The LuSEE-Night mission to the far side of the Moon is one example of the astronomy enabled by lunar exploration. Credit: NASA
Building telescopes on the Moon could transform astronomy, and it’s becoming an achievable goal

May 1, 2023

From The Space Review: Lunar exploration is undergoing a renaissance. Dozens of missions, organised by multiple space agencies—and increasingly by commercial companies—are set to visit the Moon by the end of this decade. Most of these will involve small robotic spacecraft, but NASA’s ambitious Artemis program aims to return humans...

Graphic depiction of FarView Observatory – A Large, In-Situ Manufactured, Lunar Far Side Radio Array Credits: Ronald Polidan
FarView Observatory – A Large, In-Situ Manufactured, Lunar Far Side Radio Array

April 6, 2023

From NASA: FarView is a low frequency (5-40 MHz) radio telescope array comprised of 100,000 dipole antennas, dispersed over ~ 200 km2. The observatory is manufactured in-situ, utilizing Lunar Resources’ developed technologies that first extract metals (along with oxygen) from lunar regolith then manufacture most of the required elements of...

Rendering of Firefly’s Blue Ghost transfer vehicle deploying the European Space Agency’s Lunar Pathfinder satellite to lunar orbit. ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder is designed and developed by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. ESA collaborated with NASA for delivery through the CLPS initiative. Credits: Firefly Aerospace
NASA Picks Firefly Aerospace for Robotic Delivery to Far Side of Moon

March 14, 2023

From NASA: To carry multiple payloads to the far side of the Moon including a satellite to orbit that area, NASA has selected Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas. The commercial lander will deliver two agency payloads, as well as communication and data relay satellite for lunar orbit, which is...

Screen shot from conference room with Jack Burns's slide on the screen
Low Radio Frequency Science From the Moon with NASA Lunar-landed Telescopes

Feb. 13, 2023

From the Royal Society of London: Watch a special talk by Dr. Jack Burns about Low Radio Frequency Science From the Moon with NASA Lunar-landed Telescopes from February 13, 2023.

The NASA moon rocket stands on Pad 39B before a launch attempt for the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 2, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.  Brynn Anderson/AP File Photo
All about NASA's Artemis 1 mission

Nov. 23, 2022

From Wisconsin Public Radio: NASA's Artemis 1 rocket lifted off on November 16 after multiple postponements. The mission sets the stage for humans to revisit the Moon after 50 years away, and for exploration further in space. An astrophysics expert, Dr. Jack Burns explains. Listen to the interview.

Photo of NASA's Artemis on launch pad in November 2022. Photo taken during night with rocket with spotlights.
NASA Artemis 1 Mission interview

Nov. 23, 2022

From Morning Wave in Busan: Listen to interview with Professor Jack Burns.

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FACT SHEET: First National Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy

Nov. 17, 2022

From the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy: Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released the first National Cislunar Science and Technology (S&T) Strategy to address how U.S. S&T leadership will support responsible, peaceful, and sustainable exploration and use of Cislunar space—the large region...

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