A review of upcoming and past lunar missions of this decade shows a wide gap between notions of technological progress versus achieved reality.

Moon Monday #241 and Indian Space Progress #31

Plus mission updates.

And how science does not exist in a (lunar) vacuum.

Plus Artemis updates.

NISAR demonstrates peak peaceful uses of cutting-edge space technologies to solve humanity’s fundamental problems, and then some more.

Reviewing all recent advances from China as it prepares to perform crewed Moon missions. Plus more mission updates.

A look at the armada of robotic landers NASA is riding to the Moon this decade.

I’m thrilled to welcome Astrolab as a continuing yearly sponsor of my Moon Monday blog+newsletter!

California-based Venturi Astrolab Inc. (Astrolab) is developing the large multi-purpose rovers of FLEX and FLIP for advanced exploration of our Moon this decade and next. Through FLEX, Astrolab leads one

It was eight years ago that I wrote a guide on how to correctly and reliably install NASA’s popular HEASoft software on Linux, a software which is extensively used in high energy Astrophysics research.

I wrote it because the official guides on NASA HEASoft’s website

Read to the end for a jolly Jovian update!

A special early edition of Moon Monday for International Moon Day, July 20.

A complicated question to answer for a controversial flight intended to advance India’s grand ambition of indigenously sending humans to space.

I’m over the Moon to share that Open Lunar Foundation is continuing to be a sponsor of my Moon Monday blog+newsletter for the fifth year in a row! 🌕

Open Lunar is a non-profit organization that actively promotes cooperative, peaceful, and sustainable

And encouraging information sharing.

This article is a break from my usual flair because space communities worldwide are affected by this important topic, and I have some thoughts to offer to add to the discussions.

SpaceNews, a well known media publication in the global space industry, went paywalled for its website on July 1

A review of notable developments by country or region.

A look at recent Chinese milestones in the build up to crewed lunar missions, another blow(up) for Artemis, how Firefly’s Ocula can fill critical gaps for NASA, and more.

Plus: Examples of how Western media narratives of Chinese lunar activities misjudge capabilities and intent

ispace Japan’s second Moon lander

Plus more mission updates.

And other mission updates.

Plus: Firefly to carry UAE’s second lunar rover and more.

Our Moon may be one of the largest satellites in the Solar System but its exploration has been concentrated on select areas. One of these is low lunar orbit, where mapping spacecraft from three countries have been concurrently flying from pole to pole between 50 to 150 kilometers above the

Key news of the month: China has achieved the first ever daytime Earth-Moon distance measurement wherein a 1.2-meter telescope reflected an infrared laser off of a small retroreflector on the 61-kilogram Tiandu

Two announcements before we begin:

1. I’m honored to be moderating a fantastic panel on modern themes in global lunar exploration at the international Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) on Friday, May 9. If you’re attending GLEX in New Delhi, join us for the session. And, if

ISRO has been publishing monthly summaries of the varied activities and programs of India’s Department of Space (DOS) for years. Lately though, there have been consistent delays in publishing them by a month or two, and sometimes even more. The summaries have been trimmed too, now conveying less

And more such interesting Moon exploration updates from China’s National Space Day on April 24.

Plus: Exploration and science updates from the US, South Korea, and Europe.

And, countries allied with the US are facing delays in their own missions, allowing China to lead in this aspect of lunar exploration too.