Hi Community, 

 

The looming NASA science cuts are a reminder that open, cooperative exploration needs steady advocates. We’re proud of the work we’re doing at Open Lunar to keep lunar activities transparent and collaborative, irrespective of global politics and shifting agendas.

 

We’re making progress that we are excited to share. We’ll be at the LSIC spring meeting in May and have time set aside for one‑on‑one conversations. Meanwhile, our Lunar Registry is moving from prototype to pilot over the next few months. 

 

If your organization plans lunar operations and wants to co‑design, test, or contribute data, let’s connect and set shared norms.

 

Rachel Williams, Acting Executive Director

From the Blog 

Lunar News

 

Left: Illustrations of the ISRO Chandrayaan 2 and NASA LRO orbiters around the Moon; Right: Increase in separation between their orbits after Chandrayaan 2 performed a diversion maneuver. Images: ISRO / NASA / GSFC / Chris Meaney

Our Moon may be one of the largest satellites in the Solar System but its exploration has already concentrated in low lunar orbit, where mapping spacecraft from three countries have been concurrently flying from pole to pole between 50 to 150 kilometers above the Moon’s surface for three years. These are the US’ Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), India’s Chandrayaan 2 orbiter, and South Korea’s KPLO spacecraft. The Moon’s gravity being uneven means they operate in select orbital planes to maintain their orbits and avoid crashing into the Moon. But that also means their orbits often overlap, increasing the chances of these orbiters running into each other at high velocities.

 

The situation has compelled their three space agencies—NASA, ISRO, and KARI—to coordinate and share precise trajectory information of the lunar satellites with each other, and conduct many diversion maneuvers to avoid uncomfortably close passes.

 

Unfortunately, these largely manual coordination efforts from NASA, ISRO, and KARI can’t scale adequately for future exploration—given that there’s no agreed upon global lunar traffic management system in place. Even spacecraft briefly passing by lunar orbit on their way to the Moon’s surface can trigger alarms. Last year, KPLO avoided a close approach to Japan’s SLIM spacecraft before the latter’s Moon landing. The decision had to be taken within a day. The risks of cascading accidental collisions within the tight orbital mapping spaces our Moon’s gravity allows is increasing amid increasing Moon missions worldwide.

 

“If you announce a launch date, you should publish trajectory information”, says Mehak Sarang, Director of Industry Integration at the Open Lunar Foundation. Sarang has experience working on Moon missions, having last worked at ispace-US, a subsidiary of ispace Japan building a lunar lander with US-based Draper to carry scientific payloads for NASA’s CLPS program.

 

If all organizations operating at the Moon could securely access trajectory information of others in sufficient detail at a trusted node, it would not only reduce collision risks for everyone but also save on complex operational and analysis costs. It’s to this end that the Open Lunar Foundation is building the Lunar Registry, an accessible platform and database of public as well as appropriately private information on Moon missions worldwide. The Registry will allow space enthusiasts and organizations worldwide to contribute information and review its credibility to help everyone better explore and track past, active, and future Moon missions from across the globe.

Open Lunar News + Updates

As part of Massachusetts Space Week, Open Lunar’s Mehak Sarang spoke at MIT’s SpaceTech event, hosted by the AeroAstro department. She explored pressing issues in lunar governance and how recent missions are reshaping the Moon’s future. Mehak also shared how Open Lunar is working to ensure lunar activity remains peaceful, collaborative, and sustainable. Read more about her talk here.

Sam Jardine is representing Open Lunar Foundation at the UN COPUOS Legal Subcommittee 2025 64th session (5-16 May 2025) in Vienna, Austria.

Christine Tiballi has officially joined Open Lunar as our Lunar Registry Lead. After contributing as a Fellow on the Designated Lunar Areas project, she now steps into a key role to design, build, and launch the Lunar Registry. Stay tuned for the offical announcment soon! 

Our Director of Industry Integration, Mehak Sarang, will be at the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) Spring Meeting presenting on lunar governance and the registry project. She’s giving a talk, sharing a paper, and hosting a lunch. Planning to attend? Reach out for a coffee chat.

A space industry coalition is sending a formal letter to Congress challenging proposed reductions to NASA's Science Mission Directorate budget. The letter states that the contemplated 47% funding decrease would significantly impact ongoing spacecraft operations, future mission planning, the specialized workforce, and potentially affect areas related to national security interests. Read the letter here.

 

Community Corner

 

Rae joins Open Lunar with a rich background in nonprofit leadership, bringing expertise in operations, program management, and building meaningful external relationships. With experience spanning higher education, urban planning, social services, and climate initiatives, Rae’s diverse career equips her with a unique perspective on tackling complex global challenges. Join us in welcoming Rae to the team!

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