MoonDAO’s mission is to create a self-sustaining, self-governing colony on the Moon to act as a launch point for humanity to explore the cosmos. Here are the latest updates from the team. Be sure to sign up below to learn more about how you can get involved with the Internet's Space Program.
Space Drugs, Zero Gravity, and a Return to the Moon
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Hey Reader, Welcome to Mooney Monday, the weekly newsletter from MoonDAO! In this newsletter, we will keep you updated on the latest developments in the world of space exploration and the progress of the MoonDAO community. Whether you're a space enthusiast, a blockchain enthusiast, or simply someone who is curious about the future of space exploration, Mooney Monday has something for you. We hope you enjoy this weekly newsletter and that it inspires you to participate in the MoonDAO community and help us make space exploration accessible to all. MoonDAO UpdatesMoonDAO in ZERO GRAVITY!MoonDAO contributors, guests, partners, and three astronauts gathered on Florida’s Space Coast to experience microgravity aboard a totally full ZeroG flight. See what Pablo Moncada, MoonDAO Founder, had to say about this event (MoonDAO's first ever ZeroG flight): I had the extraordinary pleasure to join Charlie Duke, Doug Hurley, Astro Nicole and Christina Korp in ZeroG.
The MoonDAO community funded, organized, and executed on chartering an entire ZeroG flight with our partner Space for a Better World.
Thirty people joined us to learn alongside the masters, spending an entire weekend together having dinner, serendipitously watching the Intuitive Machines Moon landing together, and discussing our off-world future.
MoonDAO did a lot to make this exclusive experience accessible: Two people were voted to join by the MoonDAO community to help communicate the experience to others. The winners were Anastasia Stepanove and Ellie in Space — I’m very excited to watch their videos as they share their experience with others.
Another member, Justin Park, won via random selection and joined us alongside three other MoonDAO core contributors (ryand2d , Phil Linden and myself) who were selected as a reward for their contributions to MoonDAO. I especially want to highlight ryand2d who was the unsung hero coordinating so many things behind the scenes.
We also had the pleasure of watching the Intuitive Machines lunar landing with Charlie Duke, and captured his thoughts in an interview we’ll publish soon on the MoonDAO YouTube channel. Intuitive Machines made history being the first U.S. Moon landing since 1972 - the year Charlie went to the Moon.
On a personal note, I’m very proud of the entire MoonDAO team, this flight was over one year in the making, and we worked really hard to make this happen.
About the experience, I thought I’d be able to imagine what Zero Gravity was like, but it really is beyond words. You have to feel it. I’d recommend it to anyone who gets the chance to go someday.
I’m looking forward to creating many more experiences like this for our community. Many strong connections were made and new ideas seeded.
Go MoonDAO! To the Moon! 🌙
Do you want to see us run another ZeroG flight in the future? Register your interest by filling out this form. We’ll be getting more video footage from the GoPros mounted in the cabin, but if you want to see what the experience was like, there are quite a few social posts circulating now, with more to come!
Charlie Duke Reaction to Lunar LandingAs Pablo mentioned above, we just happened to be in town together for the Intuitive Machines lunar landing attempt for Odysseus and IM-1 (more on that in a minute), alongside Charlie Duke. We watched the attempt alongside Charlie for what would potentially be the first US return to the Moon since 1972. In the moments after touchdown, we pulled Charlie aside to get his reaction to the news. Check out the excerpt here: Stayed tuned for the full-length interview with Charlie, coming soon! Bite-Sized Space NewsOdysseus Has LandedIntuitive Machines' Odysseus lander achieved a significant milestone on February 22 by becoming the first non-governmental spacecraft to successfully land on the Moon. However, the landing wasn't without its challenges. Initially, the company announced that the lander was upright, but it was later revealed that it had tipped onto its side due to a high horizontal velocity upon descent. The vehicle descended at 6 mph, slightly faster than expected, while moving laterally at 2 mph. That combined with a potential collision with a stray rock likely led the lander to spin as it touched down and caused it to tip over. This unexpected landing orientation has caused operational difficulties, such as the inability to point the high gain antenna towards Earth for transmitting images, as well as limited power due to fewer solar panels being illuminated than expected. Despite these setbacks, mission operators demonstrated quick thinking by utilizing the lander's laser rangefinders to measure its distance from the Moon, which was crucial for guiding its landing. However, this method failed initially because the safety switch for the lasers had not been turned off before launch. Fortunately, the NASA LiDAR onboard, called NDL, provided the necessary measurements after a software patch was sent to integrate it with Odysseus' navigation system. Although Odysseus missed its precision landing target by about 1.5 kilometers, the mission is still considered a success for Intuitive Machines. The lessons learned from this mission will be valuable for future lunar endeavors, including two upcoming missions to the south pole and Reiner Gamma, both with NASA as the primary customer. Overall, Odysseus' achievement is a positive indication for the continued partnership between private companies and NASA through the CLPS program. Intuitive Machines still has time to implement learnings from this landing into IM-2, set to launch at the end of this year. MoonDAO was in Houston last fall (for Part 1 of our ZeroG flight) and got a tour of Intuitive Machines, including getting up close with the lander now on the Moon! Discussions with IM are still underway about how we might work together in the future for our lunar presence. Space DrugsVarda Space Industries, a California startup specializing in in-space manufacturing, has successfully completed its inaugural space mission, marking a significant achievement in off-Earth manufacturing. The mission involved the return of a capsule containing crystals of an antiviral drug grown in orbit, making Varda only the third company to recover an intact spacecraft from orbit, following SpaceX and Boeing. With plans to play a major role in off-Earth manufacturing, Varda aims to capitalize on the unique advantages offered by microgravity conditions in space, such as the absence of convection and sedimentation forces. The successful completion of the W-1 mission demonstrates Varda's potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry in space, with ambitions to make the process more efficient and cost-effective using small, uncrewed capsules serving as both mini-factories and return vehicles. Crew-8NASA and SpaceX are gearing up for the Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), following a successful flight readiness review on February 25. The launch, scheduled for March 1 from the Kennedy Space Center, will carry a crew of NASA astronauts and a Roscosmos cosmonaut to the ISS for a six-month stay. three NASA astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and one Roscosmos cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin. Additionally, preparations are underway for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle's first crewed flight, expected in April, amid a busy schedule of ISS missions. The upcoming missions highlight the continued collaboration between NASA and commercial partners in advancing space exploration. Upcoming Launches
That’s it for your MoonDAO updates this week. Join us on Discord to stay up-to-date with all the latest developments. |
MoonDAO
The Internet's Space Program
MoonDAO’s mission is to create a self-sustaining, self-governing colony on the Moon to act as a launch point for humanity to explore the cosmos. Here are the latest updates from the team. Be sure to sign up below to learn more about how you can get involved with the Internet's Space Program.
Hey Reader, MoonDAO Updates Anastasia Stepanova on MoonDAO Live! This Wednesday (May 1st) we’ll be joined by Anastasia Stepanova on this week's episode of MoonDAO Live! Anastasia is an experienced analog astronaut and mission specialist, a PhD student at the Colorado School of Mines, and all around amazing person in the space industry. We’ll be chatting with Anastasia about her experience on our recent ZeroG flight (check out this short video), what she learned attending this year’s Space...
Hey Reader, Happy Earth Day to everyone! MoonDAO Updates Meet Dr. Eiman Jahangir In case you missed it, last Thursday MoonDAO presented the winner of the Ticket to Space sweepstakes, Dr. Eiman Jahangir. We had an awesome livestream event where we introduced him to the MoonDAO community and everyone else watching. Credit: Cassandra Klos Watch a replay of the livestream and an interview with Eiman on: YouTube X LinkedIn Facebook Eiman was born in Tehran, Iran and moved to Nashville, TN at age...
Hey Reader, MoonDAO Updates Meet Our 2nd Astronaut It’s for real… Everything has been made official and we’re SO excited to finally announce who is going to space!!! Three months ago, MoonDAO wrapped up the Ticket to Space sweepstakes, which received more than 2,200 entries coming in from all over the world. This week we’re going to have a special livestream event to finally announce the lucky individual who has been selected as MoonDAO’s second citizen astronaut to ride aboard a future New...