International Moon Day Recognizes Moon Landings, Looks Towards Multi World Civilization
Now in its second year under a United Nations proclamation submitted by Moon Village Association, International Moon Day on July 20 ‘Beginning the New Lunar Journey for Humanity’ commemorates first human landing on Moon in 1969. More than 50 registered IMD events being held on six continents, in Hawai’i and in space will recognize the lunar landmark with conferences on future Moon exploration, sciences, technology and more. USA prepares for Artemis 2 launch ~November 2024. China plans to land Astronauts on Moon in late 2020s, its Chang’E-6 lunar lander is expected to launch in 2024. India, developing its crewed Gaganyaan program, now has Chandrayaan-3 Moon lander and rover heading toward Moon South Pole region. Korea celebrates Moon Day July 17-21 at National Science Museum. Dr. Walter Kiefer of NASA’s GRAIL mission to speak at Space Center Houston July 20 on geophysical evolution of Moon, Mars, Venus, and differentiated meteorite parent bodies. Moon Society, Moonbase Lappträsk Foundation, Lunar Homestead to host online event July 20 discussing how Lunar settlement might play out in the next 50 years. NASA Astronaut Christina Koch is preparing to become first woman on a Moon mission via Artemis 2 and yet unnamed Artemis 3 crewmember will become first woman to land on surface of the Moon furthering momentum towards gender equality in space exploration. (Image Credits: NASA, Indian Express, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, ISRO, International Moon Day)
MONDAY
☆ Jul 17 — International Space Station,~415-km LEO: Expedition 69 seven-member crew preparing to receive 4 Astronauts from Crew 7 next month, working with Internal Ball Camera in JEM, stowage in Destiny and wastewater hardware in Tranquility modules.
☆ Jul 17 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 16 three-member crew to soon surpass 2 months in space, working with new experiment hardware while zebra fish study being prepared to launch to station.
Highlights…
o NewSpace: Blue Origin investigating cause of BE-4 Vulcan Centaur Flight Engine 3 test stand explosion; LandSpace Zhuque-2 is first orbit-capable methalox-fueled rocket following successful launch from Jiuquan SLC; Spire Global to assist OceanMind in their efforts to identify illegal fishing activity.
☆ Solar System: ASU-led study of Messenger data infers chromium must exist in Mercury core due to surface abundance; Chandrayaan-3 on route to Moon with landing planned for south pole region Aug 23; Luna-25 lunar lander undergoing final checks and Soyuz integration at Vostochny for Aug 11 flight; JAXA sets SLIM launch for Aug 26.
☆ Galaxy: 249 approved JWST proposals from 2,088 investigators in 41 countries to be conducted during Cycle 2 GO Program – Cycle 1 science is celebrated with Rho Ophiuchi image release; Cheops observing 4.7 Earth-radii exoplanet LTT9779 b measures 80% reflectivity due to silicate-titanium clouds, Plato (NET 2026) and Ariel (NET 2029) to characterize further.
o Global: China Manned Space Agency plans 2-spacecraft, 2-crew Moon landing in 2020s; ESO 39-m Extremely Large Telescope on track for 2028 science observations having reached 50% completion; NASA working with Woodside Energy in Perth to further develop Valkyrie humanoid robot for Earth-Luna use.
● Hawai’i: Brown University and NAOC researchers working with Zhurong to confirm climate-effecting Mars axial tilt theory proposed by UH astronomer; 4 Fridays of Star and Moongazing being held at Queen Liliuokalani Gardens; New Zealand celebrates Māori New Year, Matariki, marked by first new Moon following reappearance of Pleiades.
● = Terrestrial and… o = International terrestrial events
☾ = Moon activity
★ = Space and… ☆ = International space / astro events in Hawaii Standard Time unless noted. Add 10 hours to obtain UT (‘Universal Time’).
Lunar / Mars Innovation, Tech and Science are Focus of Glenn Symposium, NASA Exploration Science Forum & LunGradCon
American Astronautical Society with NASA Glenn Research Center holding 2023 John Glenn Memorial Symposium July 17-19 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Under theme Powering Innovation from Earth to Mars, leading space professionals will present on and discuss topics ranging from space law, workforce development, and NASA aviation to lunar surface power, exploration, and lunar / cislunar infrastructure. Opening remarks to be given by AAS Executive Director Jim Way, CWRU Provost Joy Ward, and NASA Glenn Research Center Director James Kenyon. Keynote addresses will be from NASA Chief Technologist A.C. Charania and STS-120Discovery Mission Specialist / ISS Expedition 24-25 Flight Engineer Douglas Wheelock. Astrobotic VP Dan Hendrickson, Aerojet Rocketdyne Chief Engineer Gabriella Blackner, and Quantum Space CEO Kerry Wisnosky are to participate in panel discussions. NASA Exploration Science Forum 2023, organized by SSERVI, is being held at University of Maryland in College Park Maryland July 18-20. NASA Chief Exploration Scientist Jacob Bleacher and Program Scientist Sarah Noble to provide broad update on Artemis Era progress, while Brent Garry of NASA Sciences and Exploration Directorate will summarize the state of NASA payloads contracted for Moon delivery via Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS). Lunar analogs, dust, plasma, lava tubes, volatiles and geology will be subjects of dedicated sessions. Lunar and Small Bodies Graduate Forum 2023 (LunGradCon) will be held in conjunction, preceding Exploration Science Forum on July 17. (Image Credits: AAS, NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Astrobotic, Quantum Space)
● Jul 17-21 — UC Santa Cruz Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators (ISEE), University of California – Berkeley, W. M. Keck Observatory, Berkeley CA: 2023 AstroTech Summer School; school on astronomical instrumentation for undergraduates and graduate students.
o Jul 17-23 — Korea National Science Museum, Daejeon, S Korea:Week of Lunar Exploration Highlights; with participation from experts from Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter and Korea Space Launch Vehicle missions, Korean Aerospace Research Institute & Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute.
o Jul 17-23 — Kuwait Moon Village Association Team, Hybrid / Kuwait City, Kuwait and Online:Analogue Missions and Arts; aims to investigate the effect of isolation using artwork and involve Kuwait in Moon activities.
☆ Jul 17 — Moon: 5.2° S of Castor, 01:00; 1.76° S of Pollux, 07:00; New Moon, 08:32.
Continued From…
●Jun 12 – Aug 12 — Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators at University of California Observatories, University of Hawai’i,Hilo HI: Akamai Internship Program 2023.
o Jun 26 – Aug 25 — International Space University, ESA, Netherlands Space Office, Delft University of Technology, Leiden University,São José dos Campos, Brazil:35th ISU Space Studies Program (SSP 2023).
o Jul 8-17 — National Space Foundation, NOIRLab, International Dark-Sky Association, AURA, Online / Global: Globe at Night July Campaign; to raise awareness of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure & submit night sky brightness observations.
★ Jul 18 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon 9 / Starlink 6-15, SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB CA: Falcon 9 to carry second generation Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites; Falcon first stage to land on ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone ship in Pacific.
o Jul 18 — Jordan Space Research Initiative (JSRI), Orange Innovation Hub, Amman, Jordan:The Lunar Experience; including Robotics Corner, presentations, engaging educational content related to space through virtual and augmented reality equipment.
☆ Jul 18 — Moon: 3.7° NNE of Beehive Cluster, 11:00.
☆ Jul 18 — Apollo Asteroid 2020 UQ3: Near-Earth Flyby (0.008 AU).
WEDNESDAY
☆ Jul 19 — Hope Orbiter, Mars Orbit: UAE Hope, studying Mars atmosphere and climate, reaches 3 full years / begins 4th year off-Earth today, launched July 19, 2020 on JAXA H2A rocket.
☆ Jul 19 — Moon: 3.3° NNE of Mercury, 02:00; At apogee, 21:00.
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 54th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
●Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 47th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
☾Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – second year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations; 2023 theme ‘Beginning the New Lunar Journey for Humanity’.
o Jul 20 — Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), International Moon Base Alliance, Mission Control Inc., Neurospace Inc., Online / Melbourne, Australia:International Moon Day Tele-Robotics 2023; rovers for tele-operations from multiple sites across the globe will be used for international collaboration and cooperation: (PISCES) Helelani rover in Hawai’i, Mission Control Husky Rover in Canada, and Neurospace CubeR rover in Germany.
o Jul 20 — American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Melbourne Section, Moon Village Association (Australia), International Space University SHSSP23 Alumni, Online / Melbourne, Australia:Cooperation is the key for the New Lunar Journey.
o Jul 20-21 — Moon Village Association Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria:MVA Nigeria School Outreach; with the aim of bridging the existing gap in lunar education in Nigeria.
☆ Jul 20 — Moon: 7.3° NNE of Venus, 05:00; 3.8° NNE of Regulus, 09:00; 2.97° NNE of Mars, 22:00.
o Jul 22-23 — Moon Village Association Local Organizers, Online / Multiple Locations: 2nd International Moon Day; regional event of Spanish and Portuguese speakers Spain, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia.
★ Jul 23 — Chandra X-ray Observatory, HEO: NASA spacecraft in extended mission phase reaches 24th full year / begins 25th year of operations in Space; instruments able to detect X-ray sources 100 times fainter than any previous X-ray telescope; launched 1999.
★ Jul 23 — SpaceX, Launch Falcon Heavy / Jupiter 3-EchoStar 24,LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center FL: Falcon Heavy to launch Jupiter 3-EchoStar 24 broadband communications satellite for Hughes Network Systems; 23:04 EDT.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Astrophysics Group at the University of Exeter, we are pleased to announce the international...
Emanating from ~6km-wide comet with 5.3-year Solar orbit, visible in constellation Aquarius near star Delta Aquarii, fast, faint meteors peak on this night, best...
The International Research Conference is a federated organization dedicated to bringing together a significant number of diverse scholarly events for presentation within the conference...
Includes ~150 meetings covering the fields of COSPAR Scientific Commissions / Panels / Task Groups, such as SC B: The Earth-Moon System, Planets, and...
From 02 to 07 August 2026, a few thousand geoscientists across diverse disciplines will gather at the 23rd annual meeting of the Asia Oceania Geosciences...
NASA Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory) rover surpasses another full year of operations on Mars surface today; launched Nov 26, 2011 – landed Aug 5,...
This international lunar science meeting has two objectives: to provide a platform for leading experts to review recent advances across lunar research, from the...
At CSIR International Convention Centre. Key topics are Earth Observation, Developing Space Tourism, Space Supply Manufacturing. Cultural tours are offered.
