MoonBase✓

A lunar rover can measure its distance from a lander by timing short radio pulses. ESA's UWB demonstrator has three terminals to test ranging and data exchange on ispace's Mission 3, planned for 2028. Hardware reviews passed; lunar testing is still ahead.

A Moon-bound upper stage needs more than extra fuel. ULA's Oct. 23 update describes a Centaur with ~50% more propellant capacity, new tank material and human-rating work still ahead. Development targets a 2028 Artemis launch.

A lunar rover needs to know where it is before choosing a safe route. QUT's Oct. 7 Roo-ver update highlights work on positioning and robotic vision. The new model has been unveiled; its Moon journey is targeted for 2030.

A reactor makes heat; spacecraft systems need electricity. NASA's Oct. 20 SR-1 update assigns Sierra Lobo the conversion system linking the two. The planned Mars mission would test nuclear electric propulsion, with launch targeted for late 2028.

Apollo 15 hardware has spent 50+ years on the Moon. An Oct. 21 National Academies report recommends revisiting Mons Hadley to study that exposure. A useful test of how materials age for future missions; a recommendation, not an approved flight.

Lunar landing practice includes motion, not just screens. NASA's Oct. 26 update says Ames combines in-house and partner motion-based simulators for astronauts and engineering teams. This is ground preparation for future landings, not a lunar flight.

NEO Surveyor's sunshade carries 864 solar cells: one structure will shield its infrared telescope and power the spacecraft. NASA's Oct. 26 update reports completed solar-array performance tests. This is prelaunch hardware progress, not asteroid detections.

A lunar rover must work for someone inside a pressurized spacesuit. NASA's Oct. 20 update says astronauts tested a Pegasus mockup for usability and crew comfort. This is ground design validation, not a rover already on the Moon.

Dragonfly's first flight was on a computer testbed, not Titan. NASA combined flight software and flight-like avionics with simulated camera and lidar data. The useful milestone: testing how navigation and landing systems work together before launch.

A fuel gauge is harder to read in microgravity, where liquid clings to tank walls. NASA’s SEES team modeled when acoustic tank measurements could estimate fuel mass on IM-3. The lunar-mission demonstration is planned, not completed.

A lunar base needs a weather station for hazards too. NASA selected LEMS-SP to monitor micrometeoroids and drifting volatiles near the south pole, with a seismometer for lunar quakes. The payload is planned, not yet deployed.

Mars dust doesn't all shake off. NASA's Oct. 26 update says Perseverance found the finest particles still attached after years of driving and drilling. Those measurements can guide spacesuit materials and ways to keep dust out of future habitats.

The Moon has subtle colors. During April's Artemis II flyby, astronauts saw blues linked to titanium-rich rock and greens linked to volcanic or impact glass. NASA says these clues can help future explorers interpret geology and spot potential resources.

A rover wheel can do more than drive. ESA’s RPS would use electrical signals and temperature readings to look for buried lunar ice. First-version electronics have been tested; Rashid-3’s Moon launch is planned no earlier than 2029.

Lunar infrastructure needs radiation data, not just terrain maps. ESA says the planned MoonRAD orbiter would monitor particles and plasma for years, improving space-weather models to help protect crews and electronics. Not yet deployed.

Idefix is travelling with MMX, but a hard step lies ahead: righting itself after a bouncing landing on Phobos. DLR says gravity there is under 1/1,000 of Earth's. Landing is planned for 2028/29; rover data will help select MMX's landing site.

Mapping without sunlight: ESA says the proposed Moonraker orbiter would use LiDAR to measure lunar terrain in 3D. That could help map permanently shadowed polar regions where cameras struggle. A mission concept, not a completed lunar survey.

The Moon's wobble spreads the laser echoes from Apollo reflector arrays. ESA's MPAc uses one large reflector aimed at Earth to sharpen that return, targeting millimetre-scale ranging. Tests are complete; its IM-3 lunar flight is still planned for 2027.

ESA's OASIS concept would let lunar experiments share power, communications and night-survival support, rather than each carrying its own systems. It's in feasibility and preliminary definition studies, not deployed on the Moon.

Faster lunar rovers could spend less time travelling and more time doing science. ESA's FASTNAV completed 11 days of Earth field tests on Oct. 8, targeting autonomous driving at 1 m/s. The navigation software is not flight-ready yet.