jatan.space 🌙

First launch of Skyroot's Vikram-1 rocket from ISRO's Sriharikota launch complex. Images: Skyroot AerospaceThe successful launch of Skyroot Aerospace's small Vikram-1 rocket on July 18, sans the mixed outcome for payloads, has been hailed as a revolutiona

The global rush to the Moon this century is catalyzed in major part by the presence of water ice, soil rich in oxygen and metals, and other such resources. The long-term bet is that extracting resources in-situ on Luna, using oxygen and hydrogen as rocket

Craft launched from Luna, no tethercan go farther, fasterwhile being lighterExploring more worldswith joy and curiosityhosting ideas, deploying empathyand even skepticism for humanityFrom the edge of a gravitational wellthey can push the discourseand shap

Before we begin, I'm thrilled to share that Open Lunar Foundation is continuing as a sponsor of my Moon Monday blog+newsletter for the sixth year! Open Lunar is a US-based non-profit organization with a global team that develops bottom-up tools of lunar g

It wasn't until 1959 that any being on Earth saw our Moon's farside for the first time. Because the Moon is tidally locked to Earth, we only ever see its familiar nearside face. In the early days of space exploration, the Soviet Luna 3 and spacecraft succ

Chang'e 4 lander on the farside of the Moon, as imaged by the Yutu 2 rover. Image: CNSAChina pioneered exploring our Moon's mysterious farside with the Chang'e 4 and Chang'e 6 missions. Soil a...

A montage of some asteroids and comets photographed up close by spacecraft. Image: The Planetary SocietyWhy explore asteroids, comets, and other small worldsWhen to worry about an asteroid hitting EarthPsyche, exploring a metal worldJapan wants to sample

Our Moon is a unique place to answer fundamental questions about our Solar System and also help enable sustained human presence in space. Over years, I've been writing accessible stories about the Moon's said value for as broad an audience as I can. I've

I'm very much a Moon person but I've written a bit about Mars over the years as well, highlighting a few key aspects about the red planet's exploration which I thought aren't discussed as much or in detail.NASA explores MarsA comparison of three generatio

As lunar exploration ramps up worldwide, our celestial companion is slated to be explored by increasingly advanced rovers of all sorts over the next 10 years. Not all of them will be successful, and so the reason for this post is not just to garner excite