Return to the MOON

The Moon is about to get busy, both in orbit and on the surface

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2022 is going to be a bumper year for lunar missions. Orbiters. are set to begin hunting for potential resources, while landers plan on alighting at the lunar south pole for the first time, and a fleet of rovers are set to scuttle across the surface.

Several of these missions are participating in NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) project, which pays commercial spaceflight enterprises to carry payloads to the Moon's surface in preparation for the upcoming Artemis landings (see page 60). Elsewhere in the world, spacecraft from national space agencies and commercial companies based in India, Japan, Russia and South Korea are readying to make the trip. Lunar rush hour is about to begin.

Nova-C IM-1, Intuitive Machines

A lunar lander due to launch as part of NASA's CLPS scheme in early 2022, Nova-C IM-1 will carry five NASA payloads, CubeSats and a mini-rover from UK-led company Spacebit.

CAPSTONE, NASA