Explaining how a single payload got on a Moon lander in the new space age can be complicated. Latest example: US-based Draper’s first Moon landing mission part of NASA CLPS launching no earlier than 2026, whose lander is being developed by ispace US, will commercially carry a retroreflector from the Italian Space Agency via a deal with ispace Europe. 😄
I wrote a guide on how to follow NASA CLPS mission updates: https://jatan.space/how-to-follow-nasa-clps-updates/ 🚀
And in the latest Moon Monday, I cover updates on CLPS, ispace, Artemis, Chandrayaan 4, and more! https://jatan.space/moon-monday-issue-209/ 🌗
The recent launch of Moon landers by ispace Japan and US-based Firefly is a good time to remind you, dear readers of my Moon Monday blog+newsletter, that as stated in my public Editorial Independence Policy, I do not own shares of any space company, primarily to keep my writings unbiased.
It doesn’t matter if the company is publicly listed like Intuitive Machines or ispace Japan, or if it offers private stock like many others in the industry. I own none of it. As such, any enthusiasm, neutrality, or criticism expressed in my coverage of lunar and space developments is intended to be genuine. I wish all publishers, writers, and creators in the space industry revealed beforehand if they have any such vested interests. How else can we know whose piece of praise to trust?
I have exactly nothing to gain financially from private lunar companies whether they go public or commercial. My Moon Monday blog+newsletter is sustained purely through organization sponsorships and individual reader donations. And so if you like my work aimed at a better future on our Moon for people worldwide, support my writing.
Yesterday I introduced another friend to an RSS reader: journal.jatan.space/why-use-r…
He loved it. I’m going to elevate the space industry’s information consumption one human at a time. Or at least that of the people I care about.
Giving the $1/month Micro.one a try for my new microblog at moonmehta.jatan.space. ✨
It can be followed only via RSS or the Fediverse @moonmehta@micro.blog. I’m so tired of trying to make crossposting of microposts to social networks work properly when I don’t even like them. No, not even Mastodon and Bluesky.
Glad that my article on what makes a Moon landing “successful” has been featured by the Medium Editorial. ✨
P.S. You will always find the original free version of my articles on my blog, which you can subscribe for free.
Getting entire blog posts as responses is so much better than getting comments. We now have a third such post responding to mine. It’s like emails but public! Love talking in links.
Matthew says:
In a world where nothing really happens to you unless you’ve documented it for the entertainment of strangers, I would insist on an undocumented life.
Another blog post in response to mine. This really is the way.
Manu thinks:
The vast majority of people on social media won’t move to blogging because what they get out of social media is not the same thing you get out of blogging. I think it’s a false equivalence.
Blogging is primarily a solitary, output-driven, activity. People have blogs because they want to share, they want to express their thoughts and feelings. Social media is instead driven by consumption. Sure, some people are power users and post 5000 times a day, but the vast majority of users are lurkers who just scroll their timelines, follow other people and their interactions are limited to likes and the occasional comment.
This dovetails with what I’ve long considered to be two separate problems:
- Empower people to own their reading experience on the Web
- Enable them to write and share independently
People doing one may not need, or feel the need, for the other.
Something unexpected happened recently. I had covered someone’s published research on my Moon Monday blog+newsletter. I don’t know the person but they saw that and so reached out to ask if I would write a recommendation letter for their visa application abroad. After some thought and basic checks, I agreed and did so. I never thought I could help people with my work this way as well. Some might say: why would I do this without expecting anything back? Because I can. My goal with Moon Monday is to advance lunar exploration globally, and I think this does just that.
Blogs are a powerful, resilient way to do independent journalism, which we direly need more of in today’s world. Denying their monetization means denying such possibilities.