2nd of the National Team’s Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander test missions to validate the necessary technologies for its HLS lunar module. Some of the life support hardware will travel on this mission in preparation for the first crew Blue Moon flight. This mission will also carry NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) lunar rover. VIPER is designed to explore the relatively nearby but extreme environment of the Moon in search of ice and other potential resources. This mobile robot will land at the South Pole of the Moon on a 100-day mission, in order to teach us about the origin and distribution of water on the Moon and help determine how we can harvest the Moon's resources for future human space exploration. VIPER is designed to roam the Moon using its three instruments and a 1 meter long drill to detect and analyze various lunar soil environments at a range of depths and temperatures. The rover can venture into permanently shadowed craters, some of the coldest spots in the solar system, where ice reserves have endured for billions of years. The rover was originally slated to launch on Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One lunar lander (with the Falcon Heavy rocket), but the VIPER mission was cancelled in July 2024 due to budget cuts. After consulting with the industry to find alternative ways to deliver the rover to the lunar surface, NASA ultimately chose to launch it with Blue Origin’s 2nd Blue Moon MK1 lander mission.
Low Earth OrbitLuna 26 (also named Luna-Resurs) is a planned lunar polar orbiter, part of the Luna-Glob program, by the Russian space agency Roscosmos. In addition to its scientific role, the Luna 26 orbiter would also function as a telecommunication relay between Earth and Russian landed assets. The scientific payload on board the orbiter is composed of fourteen instruments that will be fabricated by Russia. The payload will study the lunar surface and the environment around the Moon, including the solar wind, and high-energy cosmic rays. Luna 26 will also scout sites for the planned Luna 27 landing mission. Luna 26 is the second mission of Russia's new lunar program, which includes the launch of Luna 27, a heavy lander that will study the composition of the lunar soil by collecting several samples. Luna 28, a lunar samples return mission, will be the first to return samples at lunar temperature, and will serve as a demonstration for a future Martian samples return mission. Finally, Luna 29 should land a heavy lunar rover on the surface.
Lunar OrbitThe JPSS constellation of satellites collects global multi-spectral radiometry and other specialized meteorologic, oceanographic, and solar-geophysical data via remote sensing of land, sea, and atmospheric properties. These data support NOAA’s mission for continuous observation of Earth’s environment to understand and predict changes in weather, climate, oceans, and coasts to support the nation’s economy and protect lives and property. NASA uses the instruments aboard the JPSS satellites to continue decades of Earth science research for the betterment of humanity. JPSS-4 carries the NASA Earth Venture mission Libera, an instrument to improve our understanding of trends in Earth’s energy imbalance and our changing climate.
Sun-Synchronous OrbitOptus-11 is a Ku-band communications satellite with a coverage zone encompassing Australia and New Zealand. Optus-11 incorporates a number of advanced technologies, especially the latest developments in digital processing, plus active antennas enabling the creation of several thousand beams.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitNZSA Venus Mission is a small direct Venus entry probe with a single 1 kg low-mass, low-cost autofluorescing nephelometer riding on a satellite bus based on the Photon Upper stage of the Electron rocket. The probe mission will spend approximately 5 minutes in the Venus cloud layers, 48-60 km above the surface, collecting in situ measurements to search for organic molecules in cloud particles and constrain particle composition.
Heliocentric N/AA batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission as part of the Artemis program. Artemis II will send a crew of 4 - 3 Americans and 1 Canadian around the moon …
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
First test launch and mission of CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 rocket, with 3 spacecraft on board: * New March 02 (Qingzhou space station cargo resupply …
The European Space Agency (ESA)'s LEO-PNT (Low Earth Orbit Positioning, Navigation and Timing) demonstrator mission will feature a 10-satellite const…
Chinese satellite reported to be for "space environment research" purposes. Actual usage not known.
A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Commercial Synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites built by CAST for China Siwei Survey and Mapping Technology Co. Ltd.
Note: Payload identities uncertain. Batch of 16 Rassvet-3 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Russian Byuro-1440 (Bureau 1440) conste…