Tag Archives: Moon Rover

Sci-Tech

Moon Rover Driver & French Astronaut Join Monaco Prince For Visit Of New Moon Rover Lab

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PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO, APOLLO 15 COMMANDER DAVID SCOTT AND ASTRONAUT JEAN-FRANCOIS CLERVOY VISITING VENTURI SPACE 
Monaco, November 2024 – Gildo Pastor, President of the Monegasque company Venturi Space, welcomed HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, General David Scott – the first person to have driven a rover on the Moon and Commander of the Apollo 15 mission – and astronaut Jean-François Clervoy.

As a prelude to the lunar missions in which Venturi Space will participate in 2025 and 2026, its President, Gildo Pastor, invited Prince Albert II of Monaco and former astronauts David Scott and Jean-François Clervoy to learn more about the upcoming programme and the advanced technologies developed by Venturi Space’s European bases (Monaco, Switzerland, and France) as part of their collaboration with the North American strategic partner, Venturi Astrolab, Inc. This US-based entity is developing multi-purpose rovers optimised for the needs of the lunar South Pole: FLIP, which will become operational in 2025, and FLEX, scheduled for launch with SpaceX in 2026 at the earliest. FLEX is also one of three mobility solutions shortlisted by NASA for the Artemis V mission in 2030.
In the presence of Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister for External Relations and Cooperation; Pierre-André Chiappori, Minister for Finance and the Economy; HE Maguy Maccario-Doyle, Monaco’s Ambassador to the United States of America; and Frédéric Genta, Interministerial Delegate for Attractiveness and Digital Transition, the visit consisted of five main stages:

-A presentation of the FLIP and FLEX rovers,
-An overview of Venturi Space Monaco’s lunar battery manufacturing technologies and techniques,
-A discussion of the upcoming missions of Venturi Astrolab and Venturi Space, featuring insights from David Scott and Jean-François Clervoy,
-A presentation of Venturi Space Switzerland’s hyper-deformable lunar wheel technology,
-An exhibition by Philippe Tondeur dedicated to the helmets and suits of aerospace history.‘ Venturi Space is taking on a very serious challenge! The FLEX rover is very different from the one I drove, it’s much bigger and will have an enormous operating life. It seems to me that the teams are doing a good job, and I wish them good luck.’ – General David Scott.

‘I’m passionate about space exploration and wheeled vehicles. Welcoming the first person to have driven a rover on the Moon, in the presence of the Sovereign and Jean-François Clervoy, brings me immense pleasure’ – Gildo Pastor, President of Venturi Space.
Sci-Tech

9 Years Since China Landing- NASA Warns They Could Take Over The Moon

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It’s the 9th anniversary of China’s 2014 Moon landing and it deserves special attention. Many Westerners are unaware of their impressive accomplishment because for the most part it was not reported in the mainstream media. Even now, getting information on China’s mission is challenging and the reports that are readily available seem to be from non-Western sources such as Al-Jazeera or in the case of the following video: WION- India’s self proclaimed “first world news network”.

Something else you may be unaware of

China's Tiangong space station- basically Mir2.0
Tiangong, officially the Tiangong space station, is a permanently crewed space station constructed by China and operated by China Manned Space Agency in low Earth orbit between 340 and 450 km above the surface. wikipedia

Should we be surprised that these nations are eager to distribute their news and accomplishments? China and India are the main rivals to the United States in terms of Space launches and exploration and if they are ahead of the West then chances are no one here wants to run headlines emphasizing this fact.

The politicization of space is not a new concept.

Shortly after the end of World War 2,  Russia and America (using captured Nazi German rockets and scientists) relied on their own geniuses such as Sergei Korolev and Katherine Johnson in a heated race to enter space and to push forward with the goal of landing a man on the Moon. President Lyndon Johnson called this “the ultimate high ground“.  Russia did not succeed in a manned Moon landing but they did successfully land an advanced Rover which was controlled from the Earth by a team of operators. Clearly the Moon is an important place to visit even at incredible risk and financial cost.

What compelled China to show up decades later than the USA?

"It was confirmed as a new mineral by voting by the New Mineral Classification and Nomenclature Committee (CNMNC) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). This mineral is the sixth new mineral discovered by humans on the moon."

What can we expect next? China is planning a crewed landing. America is planning a crewed landing. It’s a brand new space race.  For the Silo, Neil Corman.