International Moon Day 2025: Honoring the Past, Planning the Future
July 20 marks International Moon Day, a significant occasion that celebrates the Apollo 11 landing and promotes awareness of the importance of the Moon for science, culture and survival (Multi World Civilization). Established by Moon Village Association and endorsed by the United Nations since 2021, International Moon Day 2025 will see myriad events worldwide, including the main event in Abu Dhabi UAE with the theme One Moon, One Vision, One Future. So far, 5 nations have landed on the Moon and 2 commercial companies operated from the surface. There are 3 more lunar landings planned for the second half of 2025: Blue Origin NET Sep, Intuitive Machines NET Oct, and Astrobotic / Astrolab FLIP NET Nov. NASA Artemis 2 could fly as early as February 2026, carrying the first people to the Moon since 1972. SpaceX continues to push forward with super-heavy Starship testing, which is vital for the planned Artemis Moon landing NET June 2027. SpaceX and Blue Origin are intending to land cargo on the Moon surface to support the development of the Artemis Moon Base near the Moon South Pole. China is advancing its Long March 10 super heavy rocket, Mengzhou crewed spacecraft and Lanyue crewed lunar lander, aiming for a potential 2029 touchdown, while strategically involving national, commercial and academic parties for the International Lunar Research Station. (Image credits: MVA, NASA) |
MONDAY☆ Jul 14 — International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 73 seven-member crew expected oversee the departure of four members of Axiom-4 today who will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean; results from the AstroSee mission (using the 3 Astrobee CubeSats aboard ISS) being analyzed for following 17-month autonomous spacecraft docking tests; USA budgetary considerations now proposed to add US$250M per year in FY2025-29 towards ISS support and potential commercial follow-on platforms. ☆ Jul 14 — Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou 20 three-member crew expect arrival of Tianzhou 9 with cargo this week; on Earth, after completing isolation and recovery protocols, the crew of Shenzhou 19 discuss the extravehicular activities and 88 experiments carried out during their 6-month mission; ground controllers monitoring object with COSPAR ID 2021-035-E, possibly a CubeSat, recently released from Tiangong into orbit. ☾ Jul 14 — Moon Enterprise News: Weekly lunar advisories coming soon… ☆ Jul 14 — CNSA, Launch Long March 7 / Tianzhou 9, Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Island, China (19°N): Next cargo ship to launch to Tiangong Space Station, supplying Shenzhou 20 crew. ● Jul 14 — Texas A&M University, American Society of Civil Engineers, College Station TX: Abstracts Due: ASCE Earth & Space 2026 Conference; to be held Apr 13-16. ● Jul 14-18 — LPI, USRA, JHUAPL, NASA, SWRI, Laurel MD: Progress in Understanding the Pluto System: 10 Years after Flyby; at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. ☆ Jul 14 — Mercury: At aphelion, 0.4667 AU from Sun, 03:00. ☆ Jul 14 — Uranus: 4.3° SE of Pleiades, 22:00. ☆ Jul 14 — Apollo Asteroid 2019 AQ11: Near-Earth Flyby (0.066 AU) |
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● = Terrestrial and o = International terrestrial events in local time; ☾ = Moon, ★ = Space and ☆ = International space events in Hawai’i time unless noted. |
Weekly Planet Watch – Morning Planets: Venus (ENE), Jupiter (ENE), Saturn (S), Uranus (E), Neptune (S); Evening Planet: Mars (W).
1.4 Billion Celebrate as Shukla Advances India Human Spaceflight Program
India philosophy about space missions is, “We will not forget the farmer and the fisherman.” ISRO former head S Somanath notes the vision of “spinoffs for society, science for self-reliance,” as India astronaut Shubhanshu “Shux” Shukla conducts experiments aboard the ISS and adds “experiential depth to planning, life-science payloads and long-duration spaceflight goals.” Current ISRO Chair V Narayanan said Shukla’s trip provides “valuable insights and inputs for the development of India’s human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan,” which aims to make India the 4th country to fly people to and from LEO by March 2027 and to put humans on the Moon by 2040. Shukla and 3 others are the 1st named astronauts for Gaganyaan, and Shukla speaks from the ISS and tells students, “You can become future astronauts, even walk on the Moon.” Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN–SPACe), following the footsteps of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), is coordinating and enabling private enterprise contributions to ISRO national space activities. International collaborations are also increasing: one example is the NASA M3 instrument which became 1st to detect water molecules on the surface of the Moon via the Chandrayaan Mission-1. (Image credits: Axiom Space, ISRO, IN-SPACe, NSIL) |
Ongoing… ● May 27 – Jul 25 — USRA Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston TX: Exploration Science summer intern program; activities will support Artemis missions. ● Jun 1 – Jul 19 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Online / Orlando FL: Astronaut Challenge; aiming to raise US$74,000 for 74 Astronaut Scholars. ● Jun 2 – Aug 10 — University of Hawai’i Institute for Astronomy, Islands of Hawai’i, O’ahu, Maui: Paid research internship for undergraduate students. ● Jun 10 – Sep 30 — Adventures in Astronomy, Online / Bridgeport CT: Adventures in Astronomy-Approaching Infinity; 17 Zoom classes with George Roush. o Jun 30 – Aug 22 — International Space University, Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies (KOFST), Hanyang University ERICA Campus, Seoul, S Korea: 37th Space Studies Program (SSP). ● Jul 9 – Aug 7 — National Academies, Online / Washington DC: Accepting input from science community to prioritize high-value lunar destinations—excluding the poles—for human exploration. TUESDAY● Jul 15 — Washington Space Business Roundtable, Washington DC: WSBR Luncheon: Space Nuclear Panel; featuring Bhavya Lal (NASA), Joe Cassady(L3Harris), Alex Gilbert (Zeno Power). ☾ Jul 15 — Moon: Within circle of diameter 3.37° with Saturn and Neptune, 21:00; 3.4° NNW of Saturn, 22:00; 2.45° NNW of Neptune, 23:00. ☆ Jul 15 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 MA90: Near-Earth Flyby (0.043 AU) |
WEDNESDAY
● Jul 16 — Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, Online / Laurel MD: Testing, Interfacing, and Funding Workshop; focused on in situ resource utilization (ISRU); 11:00-17:00 EDT.
o Jul 16 — International Astronautical Federation Workforce Development / Young Professionals Programme Committee, Online / Paris, France: Episode 3 of IAF Earth Observation and Technical Committees Webinar Series; 14:00-15:00 CEST.
● Jul 16 — Maryland Space Business Roundtable, Greenbelt MD: MSBR Luncheon: Featuring General Lester L. Lyles.
o Jul 16-17 — UK Space Agency, Manchester, United Kingdom: 2025 UK Space Conference.
THURSDAY
★ Jul 17 — Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) P2, Moon Orbit: NASA ARTEMIS P2 craft reaches 14 full years / enters 15th year in lunar orbit since 2011; 1 of 5 satellites launched 2007 to study Earth magnetosphere.
● Jul 17 — National Security Space Association (NSSA), Arlington VA: Space Investors Forum; registration US $499 for nonmembers, $399 for members, free for government.
☾ Jul 17 — Moon: At last quarter, 14:38.
☆ Jul 17 — Apollo Asteroid 2022 YS5: Near-Earth Flyby (0.044 AU)
FRIDAY
● Jul 18 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Online / Orlando FL: NASA Astronauts Eileen Collins and Charlie Precourt speak for the Astronaut Challenge, which is aiming to raise US$74,000 for 74 Astronaut Scholars.
☆ Jul 18 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 MY89: Near-Earth Flyby (0.077 AU)
SATURDAY
● Jul 19 — Frontiers of Flight Museum, The Moon Society, National Space Society of North Texas, Dallas TX: 17th Annual Moon Day.
● Jul 19 — Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Online / Orlando FL: Founders’ Day Celebration.
☆ Jul 19 — Apollo Asteroid 2018 BY6: Near-Earth Flyby (0.035 AU)
SUNDAY
☾ Jul 20 — Apollo 11 56th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First Human mission to land on Moon in 1969; 1st steps by humans on another World taken by Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin; Command Module piloted by Michael Collins.
☾ Jul 20 — International Moon Day / Space Exploration Day, Global: Celebrating the 1st people walking on the Moon / another celestial body – 4th year in which International Moon Day is a recognized / endorsed declaration by the United Nations.
● Jul 20 — Viking 1 Mars Lander 49th Observation, Nationwide USA / Global: First USA spacecraft to successfully land on another planet; originally scheduled for July 4, landing was delayed until this day in 1976 due to rough landing site.
o Jul 20 — Moon Village Association (MVA), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: International Moon Day (IMD 2025) Main Event: One Moon, One Vision, One Future.
● Jul 20 — NASA, SSERVI, Albuquerque NM: Excursion to Very Large Array in conjunction with 2025 NASA Exploration Science Forum (NESF2025).
☾ Jul 20 — Moon: Within circle of diameter 5.04° with Uranus and Pleiades, 01:00; 5.0° N of Uranus and 0.85° N of Pleiades, 02:00; at perigee, distance 368,019 km, 03:53.
☆ Jul 20 — Apollo Asteroid 2025 ME92: Near-Earth Flyby (0.034 AU)