Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: August 14-20, 2023

Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: August 14-20, 2023

Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, August 14-20, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.

What’s Happening in Space Policy August 20-26, 2023

August 20, 2023. Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of August 20-26, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess until September except for pro forma sessions.

Luna-25 Crashes Into Moon

August 20, 2023. Russia joined the growing list of lunar lander failures today. Luna-25 crashed into the Moon following an anomaly yesterday after a command was sent to change the spacecraft’s orbit. Communications were lost and the spacecraft  crashed into the surface. Luna-25 is the fifth lunar probe in a row launched by several countries and companies to fail since 2019. India was one of those failures in 2019, but it will try again with Chandrayaan-3, which is orbiting the Moon right now with landing scheduled for Wednesday.

Russia’s Luna-25 Lunar Lander Experiences Anomaly

August 19, 2023. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos is reporting today that Luna-25 experienced an anomaly after being commanded to adjust its orbit around the Moon in preparation for landing on Monday. Luna-25 is Russia’s first lunar probe in almost 50 years and Russian hopes are riding high that it will demonstrate that the country that racked up a number of robotic lunar “firsts” in the early years of the Space Age is still a player. Experts are analyzing the situation at the moment.

New “Lexicon for Outer Space Security” Ready for Final OEWG Session

August 19, 2023.  The fourth and final session of the United Nations Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats will take place at the end of this month. Previous discussions at OEWG and elsewhere highlighted the challenges of talking about a topic where terminology varies considerably within and among nations and other stakeholders. Now there is at least a starting point with the new “Lexicon for Outer Space Security” released by the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research and the Secure World Foundation.

State Department Kicks Off International Lunar Year Discussions

August 16, 2023. The State Department is starting discussions with U.S. stakeholders to organize an International Lunar Year. The ILY will build on the International Geophysical Year that heralded the beginning of the Space Age, the International Space Year of the early 1990s, and other international “years” that coordinate global scientific efforts and educate the public.

Intuitive Machines Sets November for Launch of IM-1 Lander

August 14, 2023. Intuitive Machines announced today that its first lunar landing mission is set for launch between November 15-20, 2023. IM-1 will land at the Moon’s South Pole as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

Weekly Roundup for SpacePolicyOnline.com: August 7-13, 2023

August 14, 2023. Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com in the last week, August 7-13, 2023, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.

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