“Mountain on the Moon” Challenges ISDC / NewSpace America, Asia Commercial Landers

Malapert Summit high ground, chosen as 1 of the 13 potential landing sites for the Artemis III Human Return to the Moon, at about 5,000-meters altitude is located within ~4 degrees latitude of the lunar South Pole. The potential of the “Mountain on the Moon” includes well known assets and advantages such as extended power / solar energy availability, relatively favorably thermal environment, 24/7 direct sight of Earth for continuous observation and communication, oversight of lunar South Pole large areas, including possibly Shackleton Rim, and southern sky galaxy / stellar astronomy superlatives — amongst other advantages. Recent research from the 55th LPSC has provided further analysis of Malapert Mountain crater morphology / PSR locations,  maximum average temp of 193.3K / minimum 46.4K, and importance / feasibility of EVAs to collect regolith from temperature ranging 35-50K. No national government or independent organization to date has projected a single Malapert Summit landing mission — except for International Lunar Observatory Association of Hawai’i with its ILO-1 flagship mission aiming for a 2026 landing and pursuing interest from landing providers, international partners and payloads. NASA and visionary bold American New Space enterprise/s may declare and mount such a Malapert Summit mission before one/s from corresponding national space agencies or NewSpace enterprises in China, India or Japan, which are quite likely sooner rather than later. (Image Credits: NASA, GSFC, Arizona State University, M. Robinson)

MONDAY 

☆ May 20 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 71 seven-member crew replacing Cold Atom Lab science module 4, confirming fit of SpaceX Dragon Contingency Suit; may become 9-member crew with Starliner CST-100 launch if launch happens this week.

☆ May 20 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 18 three-member crew now one month into 6-month mission, continue to work with Tianzhou-7 which include >260 supply items among the ~5,600 kg of cargo.

☾ = Moon activity

★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).

Rocket Lab Continues Pioneering NewSpace Launch Services While Laying Groundwork for Interplanetary Missions

Electron launch vehicle is being prepared for May 22 (07:15 UTC) launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on Māhia Peninsula, Aotearoa (New Zealand). The 47th launch attempt of small-lift (300kg to LEO) Electron will carry NASA / JPL Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) 1, the first of two 6U cubesats equipped with miniaturized IR spectrometers to be inserted into 82°-98°, near polar inclinations with 470 – 650 km altitude to provide definitive measurement of polar warming. Prefire-1 is the 6th orbital mission Rocket Lab is launching in 2024, with ~20 slated for the remainder of the year. Frequent launch cadence along with satellite bus manufacture (including US$515M / 18 craft SDA contract) at 3,716 m2 Long Beach facility give credibility to the public company’s (NASDAQ: RKLB) revenue projection of $105-110M in Q2. Rocket Lab is currently testing its methane / liquid oxygen-fueled Archimedes engine set to power medium-lift (13,000 kg to LEO) Neutron rocket, planned to make inaugural flight from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA Wallops Flight Facility NET 2025. Farther out, Venus Life Finder (VLF) mission with MIT is to send a 38-diameter, 20.4 kg probe with aerosol photometer fitted in search of organic molecules in the Venusian atmosphere NET January 2025. VLF will be the second use of the Photon Explorer interplanetary stage first utilized on CAPSTONE, which remains in 1,500 x 70,000 km halo orbit around Moon since Nov 2022 insertion. (Image Credits: Rocket Lab, NASA)

● May 20 — National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences (CAPS) of Space Studies Board, Washington DC: CAPS Meeting on New Frontiers Mission List Review.

☾ May 20 — Moon: 1.28° NE of Spica, 02:00.

☆ May 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2015 WO1: Near-Earth Flyby (0.019 AU)

TUESDAY

★ May 21 — United Launch Alliance, Boeing, Launch Atlas V / CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test, SLC-41, Cape Canaveral SFS FL: Boeing to launch Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to ISS on first crewed flight of Starliner.

● May 21 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable (MSBR), Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon with speaker Steve Volz, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services.

● May 21-22 — NASA, USGS, Moffett Field CA: Planetary Subsurface Exploration for Science and Resources.