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 OrbitThe Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor 2 (TSIS-2) is a satellite designed by NASA to measure the Sun's energy input to Earth. TSIS-2 comprises two instruments, the Total Irradiance Monitor (TIM), and the spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM). TIM measures total brightness and SIM measures spectral irradiance over a wavelength range that includes 96% of the energy in the solar spectrum. Both instruments are similar to those used for the TSIS-1 mission onboard the International Space Station.
Sun-Synchronous 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 OrbitXuntian, formerly known as the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), is a Chinese space telescope designed to perform high-resolution, large-area, multi-band imaging and slit-less spectroscopy surveys of the sky at ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths of 255 – 1000 nm. The survey camera is slated to cover approximately 17500 square degrees of the sky in various bands, reaching maximum magnitudes of about 26. Xuntian will carry a survey camera, a tera-hertz receiver, a multi-channel imager, an integral field spectrograph, and a cool planet imaging coronagraph. Xuntian will be launched to a Low Earth Orbit that will be co-orbiting with the Tiangong space station/Chinese Space Station, which will allow for periodic docking with the station for regular maintenance by astronauts.
Low Earth OrbitA batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…
The Yaogan 50-01 is a Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Small Earth observation satellite from NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) for an "Indian strategic user", details TBD. This launch will also carry 18 o…
The Pandora small satellite was selected in 2021 as an inaugural mission in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers Program. It includes a 0.45-meter telescope …
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
CSG-3 is an Earth observation satellite for the Italian Space Agency, part of a reconnaissance constellation using synthetic aperture radars operatin…
2 satellites officially described as for "demonstration of new technologies for spatial targets detection" purposes.
A satellite officially described as for cartography purposes, details TBD.