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Good morning. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin created the first footprints on the Moon 54 years ago today. We can’t wait to see—and write about—the next people to leave their mark.

In today's edition...
🌕 Upcoming Moon missions
❄️ Astroscale x Wind River
📝 The contract report

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A Full Moon in August

54 years have passed since Armstrong took that iconic step on the Moon, marking an apex in the Apollo program and lunar exploration more broadly. Starting in 1977, however, a 36-year quiet period ensued, with zero lunar landing attempts until 2013, and only six since then.

In a sign that the lunar lull is coming to an end, three uncrewed lunar landers—from three different countries—will head to the Moon this August.

India’s Chandrayaan-3: ISRO launched its Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon on July 14. The spacecraft consists of a propulsion module, a lander module, and a small rover. ISRO will attempt a south pole lunar landing on Aug. 23 or 24.

• This will be the nation's second lunar landing attempt after its Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft crash-landed on the lunar surface four years ago.

Russia’s Luna-25: Russia is expecting to launch its Luna-25 lander mission on Aug. 11, 45+ years after Moscow’s last mission to the Moon. The 800-kg spacecraft will head to the Buguslavsky crater at the lunar south pole to study the lunar regolith, examine the polar exosphere, and search for signs of water ice.

Japan’s SLIM Sniper: JAXA is targeting an Aug. 26 launch for its SLIM Moon Sniper lander aboard an H-2A rocket. Japan may be last to fly to the Moon next month, but the Sniper nickname undoubtedly takes first place…maybe ever. The name comes from how the spacecraft uses unique onboard cameras to identify craters, measure positioning, and pinpoint a landing. The mission's primary goal is to demonstrate its precision navigation and shock-absorbing landing legs.

The US comes marching in: The US won’t be part of the August Moon rush, but it does have two CLPS lunar missions scheduled later this year.

• Q3 IM-1. SpaceX plans to launch Intuitive Machine’s Nova-C lander aboard a Falcon 9.

• Q4 Peregrine. ULA’s Vulcan rocket is aiming to send an Astrobotic lander to the Moon on its maiden launch.

Advance Your Additive Manufacturing Knowledge with Velo3D

If you have struggled with production of high-quality, metal AM parts, our “Proof is in the Printing” roadshow is the perfect opportunity to speak with our team and learn how to overcome those challenges. Hear from Velo3D engineers as they share their experience in scaling up metal additive applications.

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Benefits to Attending

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Astroscale, Wind River Team To Clean Up Space Trash

Astroscale’s space vacuum is getting a boost.

The company is partnering with space software startup Wind River to provide the on-board computer for ELSA-M, a mission to remove multiple pieces of debris from orbit, according to a joint announcement Wednesday.

“Our ELSA-M service strives to solve satellite operators’ end-of-life disposal challenges,” Stephen Wokes, director of engineering at Astroscale, said in a statement. “With increasing regulatory, industry, and public pressure to prioritize space sustainability, Astroscale’s ELSA-M service presents a proactive way for satellite operators to protect the orbital environment and the services that they offer.”

ELSA’s brain: Wind River, which has spent the last 25+ years working with NASA and other space companies, announced its VxWorks operating system would be deployed in Astroscale’s ELSA-M Servicer Spacecraft.

Since ELSA-M requires extreme precision to pluck space debris out of orbit, the robotic spacecraft will need a platform that is driven by an intelligent, real-time computer vision processing system that can sort through all of the stuff floating around in space and determine what is human-made.

The big deal: Governments, space agencies, and public interest groups are advocating for acting ASAP to reduce space pollution, such as abandoned satellites. More than 27,000 pieces of what essentially amounts to trash are orbiting Earth, per NASA.

This floating solar system of metal chunks could make it harder for future space missions to navigate the universe. But deploying something to space is already expensive—nobody wants to spend the extra money tidying up their mess.

What next?: Astroscale will put VxWorks and ELSA-M to the test in 2025. The spacecraft is aiming to pick up and deorbit an inactive OneWeb comms satellite.

See You Next Month!

​Join Payload with Bank of America, Deloitte, and Velo3D for an evening of networking on Aug. 17. Food and drinks will be provided.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with space industry professionals. 🚀

In Other News

• NASA is putting the finishing touches on its Psyche spacecraft.

• The TROPICS satellites, which were recently deployed, are tracking their first hurricanes.

• TechCrunch took a deep dive into Umbra’s humble beginnings.

• Rep. Bill Posey highlighted the importance of a thriving commercial space industry in an op-ed.

The View from Space

While we’re talking space history, let’s not sleep on this photo Cassini took 10 years ago yesterday of Saturday’s rings with a pale blue Earth 900M miles in the background.