We Did It, MoonDAO!

Over two years of relentless passion, determination, and unwavering belief in the power of our community. And now, we’re here to celebrate something monumental—we’ve sent our SECOND individual to SPACE!

On August 29th, Dr. Eiman Jahangir, a brilliant cardiologist and lifelong space enthusiast, blasted off on Blue Origin's New Shepard. Among billions of people on Earth, only about 700 can claim they've journeyed to space—and Dr. Jahangir is now one of them, thanks to the extraordinary efforts of MoonDAO and our incredible community!

Dr. Jahangir's story is one of perseverance, dreams, and the unbreakable human spirit. From growing up in Tehran during the harrowing days of the Iran-Iraq War, where the sound of rockets and bombs was a constant reminder of the fragility of life, to finding inspiration in the power and beauty of rockets at Nashville’s Adventure Science Center and Huntsville, Alabama's Space & Rocket Center—his journey has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Inspired by future plans to send humans to Mars and NASA sending humans to the ISS, Dr. Jahangir pursued his passion relentlessly, becoming a cardiologist and twice making it as a finalist to become a NASA astronaut. For over 15 years, he held onto his dream of going to space, and now, through the collective power of our MoonDAO community, we helped make that dream a reality.

This wasn’t just another space mission—this was OUR mission!

We’ve been through a lot together over the past (nearly) three years, from the initial crowdfunding, to the Coby Cotton NS-22 launch, fighting over a year for Yan KeJun who was initially selected to go to space on this seat, to a long launch hiatus with New Shepard, to the Ticket to Space reselection ultimately going to Dr. Eiman Jahangir, but united all the while as a global community with one vision: democratizing and decentralizing access to space. Through MoonDAO, we’ve shown the world that space is not just for the elite few but for anyone who dares to dream big, work hard, and that the power of a passionate community online can do some really big things.

Eiman’s flight is a shining example of what we can achieve together. We had more than 2,200 entries from around the world by people who entered for a chance to go to space, and now, Dr. Eiman lived out a dream that millions have only imagined. As he looked back at our beautiful Earth, struck by the stark contrast of the bright blue planet against the darkness of space, he carried not just a MoonDAO flag and a bit of swag, but the hopes, dreams, and pride of every single member of MoonDAO.

This moment is historic, and it belongs to ALL of us!

So let’s take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come. This all started as a wild dream, a vision of a future where space is accessible to more than just the select few. We are MoonDAO. We are the Internet’s Space Program. We are making history. And we’re just getting started!

Want to play a more active role in our next chapter to unlock and accelerate the space ecosystem? Apply to become a citizen in the Internet's Space Program.

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Open Vote

The Earthlight Foundation is asking the MoonDAO community to sponsor the New Worlds conference and Space Cowboy Ball at Space Center Houston (Houston, Texas) on 1-2 November 2024. This $20,000 “Spice” sponsorship level will:

• demonstrate MoonDAO's commitment to space exploration and engagement with the space community;
• give MoonDAO a forum to help EarthLight shape “space culture” as a thought leader and expand public support of space development; and
• offer unparalleled visibility and networking opportunities with industry leaders and enthusiasts to grow the MoonDAO community.

Vote Now

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Bite-Sized Space News

ESCAPADE Delayed

NASA has delayed the launch of its ESCAPADE mission to Mars, which was initially planned for next month, affecting Blue Origin's debut of its New Glenn rocket. The decision to postpone until at least next spring was made after a review of launch preparations and consultations with relevant agencies to avoid potential technical and cost issues. The ESCAPADE mission, designed to study the interactions between the solar wind and Mars' magnetosphere, has a narrow launch window due to the alignment of Earth and Mars, making even minor delays significant. Blue Origin, while supportive of NASA's decision, is now shifting its focus to advancing New Glenn's second flight, moving it from December to November, which will also serve as its first National Security Space Launch certification flight.

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Polaris Dawn

SpaceX is preparing for another attempt to launch the Polaris Dawn mission, a bold endeavor that will send four civilians into space, including the Van Allen radiation belts, and conduct a historic spacewalk. The launch is scheduled from Kennedy Space Center as early as 3:38 a.m. ET on Tuesday, with additional opportunities later that morning and on Wednesday. Previous attempts in August were delayed due to technical and weather issues, and weather could again pose a challenge, with a 60% chance of unfavorable conditions.

The mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who is also funding and commanding the mission, will require precise weather conditions for both the launch and the crew's return, as they will only have five to six days of oxygen supplies. The spacewalk will mark the first extravehicular activity by a private civilian crew. SpaceX is managing this mission alongside its obligations for NASA's Europa Clipper launch, which will require a reconfiguration of the launchpad from a Falcon 9 to a Falcon Heavy.

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Starliner Returns

Boeing's Starliner capsule has returned to Earth after an uncrewed mission from the International Space Station (ISS), marking the start of new NASA investigations. This mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT), was Starliner's first with astronauts, but they were not aboard during the return due to issues with the capsule's reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. As a result, the astronauts originally scheduled to return on Starliner will now stay aboard the ISS until February 2025, when they are set to return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

These unforeseen issues, including thruster failures and overheating linked to their placement, have delayed Starliner's operational crewed flights, with the next mission tentatively set for August 2025. NASA and Boeing are focusing on understanding and fixing these problems, with the possibility of another test flight before Starliner is certified for regular astronaut missions. Despite these challenges, NASA noted that the capsule performed well during re-entry and landing, achieving most of its mission objectives.

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Upcoming Launches

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Polaris Dawn on Tue Sep 10, 2024 2:38 AM GMT-5 from LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
• Roscosmos Soyuz 2.1a | Soyuz MS-26 on Wed Sep 11, 2024 11:23 AM GMT-5 from Site 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 9-6 on Wed Sep 11, 2024 9:45 PM GMT-5 from SLC-4E, Vandenberg SFB, California, USA