16 January 2019
China unveils future space plans
... as deep as 2 metres. It is reported that the probe will carry on board, a Panoramic Camera (PCAM), Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR), and the Lunar Mineralogical Spectrometer (LMS). If all goes according to plan, then more Chang’e missions are...
10 June 2020
New map boosts chances of finding water on the Moon
... that the most favorable ice deposits for mining are likely tens of centimeters or deeper within the lunar regolith, even in locations where ice is currently stable at the very surface. High concentrations though are distributed randomly...
January 2019
Materials make the space mission
... use of local materials has also been demonstrated: a 1.5 tonne building block has been printed using simulated lunar regolith. Up in orbit, 3D printers for polymers are already present on the ISS and a metallic printer is set to join them...
April 2025
Racing to the Moon
..., clean and efficient nuclear fusion reactions without generating large amounts of radioactive waste. Helium-3 is deposited into lunar regolith by the solar wind and is not readily available on Earth. Even before President Trump started asserting...
April 2019
Protecting our lunar legacy
..., either by rover tracks, engine exhaust or even eventually, new footprints. Tests were done on the way the lunar regolith is disturbed in different controlled conditions. A 93-page document emerged from these studies with the title ‘Recommendations...
September 2020
Commercial opportunities beyond Earth orbit
... cost effectively will be through reusable launch vehicles. A concept for constructing a lunar base using automated 3D printers, making use of lunar regolith as building material. SpaceX recently succeeded in the Falcon-9 launch of astronauts to the...
