Space Stories: Distant Metalic Mining, Mapping Water on the Moon, and Lunar Cell Phone Service

^{Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the Odin spacecraft approaching an asteroid. (Astroforge)}

Here are some recent stories of interest related to the upcoming Intuitive Machines’ launch to the Moon.

—CNN: “A Tiny Spacecraft is Poised to Launch on an Unprecedented Deep-space Mission. The CEO Behind it is ‘Terrified’“

His venture may seem far out, but asteroid mining CEO Matt Gialich has no illusions. The engineer cofounded the bold California startup AstroForge in 2022 with the aim of hunting for precious metals in space, and he is all too aware that success is not guaranteed…The probe is set to lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 26. AstroForge’s spacecraft will ride alongside Athena, a lunar lander developed by the startup Intuitive Machines, until it breaks off on its own.

—Caltech: “NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer is Launching to the Moon’“

NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission is led by Caltech’s Bethany Ehlmann, professor of planetary science and the Allen V. C. Davis and Lenabelle Davis Leadership Chair and director of the Keck Institute for Space Studies, and the mission is operated by IPAC at Caltech. The Lunar Trailblazer small satellite, or smallsat, will orbit the Moon to understand the nature of water on the Moon’s surface, providing maps to guide future robotic and human explorers. Prior missions have seen hints of ice and other forms of water that could be used in a variety of ways, from purifying it for human use, to processing it for fuel and breathable oxygen for future human Moon landings.

—Fox News: “NASA Will Test Cell Phone Service on the Moon in Latest Mission’“

NASA and Intuitive Machines are gearing up for a Wednesday evening liftoff, and one of the payloads will test a moon-based cell network. Researchers with Nokia Bell Labs Solutions Research developed the network and say it’s the same tool that we use here on Earth when we pick up our phones and make a call. But they had to make a cell tower much smaller so it could fit in a rocket and land on the moon.