Key developments to watch out for this year as both China and the US aim to land humans on the Moon by the end of this decade.
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• Jatan Mehta
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Website & Blog of Jatan Mehta, a globally published & cited space writer. Read deep dives on global lunar and space exploration.
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• Jatan Mehta
Articles on Chandrayaan 2, the orbiter to remember
* ISRO’s Chandrayaan 2 orbiter has been creating the highest resolution map of the Moon * Lunar science galore from Chandrayaan 2 * How the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter is a Sun watcher at the Moon * International collaboration and outlook: * ISRO has been aiding NASA in Artemis crewed Moon landing site selections * NASA,
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• Jatan Mehta
Articles on Chandrayaan 1, India’s first Moon mission
* Looking back at Chandrayaan 1 and forward to Artemis * How NASA and India discovered water on our Moon * Interviewing Chandrayaan 1’s Mission Director * How Chandrayaan 1 viewed a solar eclipse from the Moon * Tangent: Kids in South Korea and a Moon mission Like my efforts to provide free resources
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• Jatan Mehta
Did NASA’s Artemis II mission really do lunar science or go to the Moon for all humanity?
An unfortunate breakdown of too many giant leaps of imagination.
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• Jatan Mehta
Poem: Back to the Moon..
For me not thee, but still for humanity..
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• Jatan Mehta
Poem: Selene, smashed not shattered
Tucked in a tiny timed capsule against its wonky, worldly windows mesmerized the momentary Moonfarers at sweeping sights of Selene Creased by craters and crowning peaks melts and mountains molded in weeks amid barrages of ballistically laid beads lingered the landscape of Luna What the world could view is impact
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• Jatan Mehta
Artemis II astronauts gazed at our Moon with joy, curiosity, and reverence. Through finer robotic orbital views, so can you.
Thanks to our robotic explorers, and the great leveler that is the Internet, you too can “Copy, Moon joy.” | Moon Monday #270
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• Jatan Mehta
Why haven’t humans gone back to the Moon no longer a valid question thanks to NASA Artemis II lunar flyby
Plus: A poetic ode to our exploration of Luna | Moon Monday #269
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• Jatan Mehta
Poem: Antariksh ki pyaas / The thirst for space
Original in Hindustani, followed by its English translation (though not as lyrical): Antariksh ki pyaas Woh bachpan ki kitaabe jisne dikhaye sitaare aaj bhi yaad se nihaare Durbin ki drishti me jagmag falak aur yaano ki gati se graho ki jalak Kalpana se Chaand par chalna aur brahmand ke brahman
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• Jatan Mehta
India’s rockets will not meet its civil space and strategic launch manifest even at peak performance
Part 3 of India’s space launch crisis | Indian Space Progress #37
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• Jatan Mehta
Ignition, not yet liftoff, of NASA’s ambitious Artemis Moonbase plans | Moon Monday #268
Plus: NASA in final prep to launch Artemis II astronauts around Luna.
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• Jatan Mehta
China surfaces details of spacecraft to land humans on Luna by 2030 | Moon Monday #267
From landing system development to trajectory design and landing site selection to abort scenarios.
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• Jatan Mehta
Moon Monday #266: Current mission updates and future governance questions
* On February 25, NASA rolled back the SLS rocket and its attached Orion spacecraft from the vehicle’s launchpad at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to its assembly building about seven kilometers away. Technicians then replaced a dislodged seal in a fueling interface of the rocket’s
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• Jatan Mehta
NASA falters in communications yet again with Lunar Trailblazer failure | Moon Monday #265
Plus: Parallel developments show how open access NASA is when the agency is at its best.
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• Jatan Mehta
Everything you should know and track about NASA’s Apollo-style Artemis rejig in its chase of China to the Moon
NASA is also borrowing the “manned” from Apollo while at it. | Moon Monday #264
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• Jatan Mehta
Moon Monday #263: Artemis II, a Canadian capcom, Chandrayaan, and Long March 10
Also, fun new guestbook for those who read till the end. 🌝
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• Jatan Mehta
China conducts a multi-element test unlike any other nation in firm march to Luna | Moon Monday #262
Plus NASA Artemis updates.
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• Jatan Mehta
When ISRO loses a PSLV rocket, India loses a launchpad in the present and the future
To understand the pride and perils of the PSLV is to understand India’s launch infrastructure and its risky commonalities | Indian Space Progress #35-36
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• Jatan Mehta
Moon Monday #261: A shortfall in Artemis II testing and NASA’s communications
Dear NASA, China’s space missions exist too. So do your own planetary science missions.
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• Jatan Mehta
How NASA has planned to keep Artemis II astronauts safe throughout their Moon mission
Moon Monday #260: Safety planning spans all phases and aspects of the crewed lunar mission, weaved into hardware, operations, and astronaut training. 🦺
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• Jatan Mehta
Moon Monday #259: Lunarbound astronauts enter quarantine as Artemis II launch approaches
Plus mission updates.
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• Jatan Mehta
Publicly sharing my poetry booklet’s downloads & sales stats
Does a no-nonsense approach to being an indie author work?
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• Jatan Mehta
The next 10 years in space
And sunset on a valuable resource.
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• Jatan Mehta
Moon Monday #258: Tests China will conduct this year in prep towards landing humans on Luna
Plus: Artemis and other updates, and articles on Japan’s lunar endeavors.
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• Jatan Mehta
Moon Monday #257: NASA preps to send astronauts to Luna
Plus mission updates.
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• Jatan Mehta
Coverage of India’s exploration of Mars
* Reviewing Mangalyaan, India’s first Mars mission * India’s Mars orbiter completes six years at the red planet, but where is the science? * Debate: Mangalyaan’s low science output still reflects on ISRO * Mangalyaan spacecraft terminated—it was never a science mission * My article on Mangalyaan was rejected 8 times
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• Jatan Mehta
All the rovers heading to the Moon over the next 10 years | Moon Monday #256
As lunar exploration ramps up worldwide, our celestial companion is slated to be explored by increasingly advanced rovers of all sorts over the next 10 years. Not all of them will be successful, and so the reason for this post is not just to garner excitement about the possibilities of
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• Jatan Mehta
Articles on Japan’s Moon missions
* The joint Indo-Japanese Chandrayaan 5 LUPEX mission will drill for water on the Moon * JAXA welcomed us into the era of precision Moon landings * How ISRO aided this feat * Japan’s road to landing astronauts on the Moon * The need for resilience in private Moon landing missions through expansive and
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• Jatan Mehta
Poem: The dawn of your light
Like the dawn of the blaze of a lander over the grays touches your light and spans the open lunar sky A descent energetic yet graceful methodical and careful Spawned from the blue marble verse you bring the best in us. Poem notes: I’ve had the privilege and pleasure
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• Jatan Mehta
Achievements and shortfalls in global lunar exploration in 2025
Moon Monday #255: Capturing the state of the world’s lunar exploration efforts this year.