Announcement – 3rd PromoMoon Initiative for Moon Village Generation in honor of Dr. Alexander Degtyarev

The application deadline has been extended to February 16, 2024.

We are pleased to announce the start of the 3^rd PromoMoon Initiative for Moon Village Generation in honor of Dr. Alexander Degtyarev. Yuzhnoye State Design Office and Moon Village Association invite everyone, from enthusiasts to professionals, to take part in this initiative.

To apply, please follow the link:

About the Initiative

The Moon Village Association and the leading Ukrainian space engineering company Yuzhnoye State Design Office are organizing the 3^rd PromoMoon Initiative for Moon Village Generation in honor of Dr. Alexander Degtyarev.

If you have novel ideas, solutions, concepts, and projects for lunar-related technologies, and you want to contribute to human permanent presence on the Moon, you are welcome to participate in the 3^rd PromoMoon Initiative.

The international team of leading space experts will select the best technical concepts and the winners will get support for their research through free-of-charge expert B2B mentorship and Q&A sessions. The best application(s) will be also provided with an opportunity to present their idea during the IAC-2024 Moon-related technical sessions.

The Initiative inspires Moon Village Generation to develop ideas for future sustainable lunar activities and provides an opportunity to advance their engineering maturity level.

Who can apply?

• Individuals
• Teams of students
• Teams of young professionals
• Startups
• Spinoffs
• SMEs
• Others

Application Categories

1. Transportation TO and FROM the Moon:
   • space launch systems
   • spacecraft 
   • launch/landing pads
   • other
2. Transportation ON the Moon:
   • rovers 
   • hoppers 
   • landers
   • other

3. Power systems for the Moon infrastructure (production, storage, distribution)
4. Infrastructure, construction, and ISRU on the Moon:
   • habitats
   • life support systems
   • ISRU
   • other
   • Other

The 2^nd PromoMoon Initiative Retrospective

This year, teams from six countries around the world participated in the Initiative.

On April 10^th, 2023, Yuzhnoye SDO’s Founding Day, the results of the first stage of the selection were announced, where the Top-7 teams had been selected.

On June 20^nd, 2023, as a result of a careful selection by the team of international experts, three finalists were chosen as the winners of the Initiative (in no particular order): 

• Samer El Sayary (Egypt) with the project «Oasis & Iris» 
• SME EcoIslands LLC, Colin Lennox (USA) with the project «Resource Extraction from Solution using Self Organizing Wetland Bioreactors» 
• Startup Lunar cargo P.C., Charalampos Kosmas (Greece) with the project «Lunar cargo» 

They showcased innovative ideas that make a significant contribution to the advancement of lunar exploration technologies.

From July 11^th to July 13^th, experts from the Yuzhnoye SDO and the Moon Village Association conducted mentoring sessions with the winners. During these sessions, they received feedback on their projects and suggestions for further implementation.

On July 18, 2023, the Initiative’s award and closing ceremony took place. The ceremony was broadcast live on the MVA’s YouTube channel and featured members of the Moon Village Association’s board of directors, representatives from Yuzhnoye SDO, and the winning teams themselves.

The Moon Village Association and Yuzhnoye State Design Office express their sincere gratitude to the experts who participated in this competition:

• John C. Mankins – MVA Vice President, President of Artemis Innovation Management Solutions LLC and of Mankins Space Technology, Member of the Boards for the National Space Society and SPACE Canada
• Christophe Bonnal, CNES Senior Expert
• Prof. Dr. Bernd J. Hoefer – Chairman & CEO of A9C Capital W.L.L.
• Oleksandr Berdnyk – Head of Group at Yuzhnoye State Design Office, Space Launch Systems and Launch Vehicles
• Andrii Pustovharov – Head of Group at Yuzhnoye State Design Office, Missile Complexes and Space Launch Systems Ground Infrastructure
• Serhii Podolskii – Deputy Chief Designer, Head of Design Division at Yuzhnoye State Design Office, Liquid-Propellant Propulsion
• Iryna Husarova – Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Lead Specialist at Yuzhnoye State Design Office, Special Rocket and Space Systems
• Yevheniia Yermolenko – Head of Department at Yuzhnoye State Design Office, Marketing and Strategic Planning

We also extend our gratitude to all the participants who took part in this competition. Your involvement and enthusiasm demonstrate that we have incredible potential for the development of space technologies.

Once again, congratulations to the winners of this competition, and we encourage all of us to continue striving for new heights.

We invite everyone interested to participate in all upcoming initiatives of the Moon Village Association and Yuzhnoye SDO. We stand on the threshold of incredible discoveries and achievements in the field of space research, and your contribution to this area is of great significance.

To apply, please follow the link:

Moon Village Association

The Moon Village Association (MVA) has been recently created as non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Vienna. Its goal is the creation of a permanent global informal forum for stakeholders like governments, industry, academia and the public interested in the development of the Moon Village. The MVA fosters cooperation for existing or planned global moon exploration programs, be they public or private initiatives. It comprises of more than 600 participants to MVA activities from more than 50 countries and 33 Institutional members around the globe, representing a diverse array of technical, scientific, cultural and interdisciplinary fields. MVA partners with non-space organizations to promote international discussions and formulation of plans to foster the implementation of the Moon Village and is creating international, national and regional networks to engage civil society around the world.

Yuzhnoye State Design Office

Yuzhnoye State Design Office is the leading Ukrainian as well as one of the most well-known and recognized scientific and design companies in the field of space technology development. This recognition is based on the exceptional experience in space technologies development gained during almost 70 years of the company`s activity. Yuzhnoye SDO has robust capabilities based on the unique experience in the development of rocket and space technologies, which contributes to the status of Ukraine as a country with rich technological and scientific potential. Efforts of Yuzhnoye SDO team and partner organizations have resulted in development of nine types of space launch vehicles atop of which more than 1100 spacecraft were orbited as a result of almost 500 launches. Yuzhnoye SDO possesses scientific, engineering, and production capabilities to implement full cycle of creation and operation of rocket-space systems and equipment. The important advantage of Yuzhnoye is an impressive school of engineering and design specialists.

Bibliographic Reference

Dr. Alexander Degtyarev served as General Designer-General Director of Yuzhnoye State Design Office, the world-known Ukrainian leading aerospace company. His main interest was in aerospace engineering he had succeeded in. Due to his extensive, more than 40 years’ experience in engineering, designing and development testing of launch vehicle systems, he managed to resolve a number of topical challenges in aerospace industry. Dr. Degtyarev’s scientific achievements found their application in the well-known international space projects such as Sea Launch, Land Launch, Dnipro, Cyclone, Antares, Vega. Due to the large-scale projects led by A. Degtyarev, Yuzhnoye SDO made a major contribution to broadening international cooperation in space exploration for peaceful purposes, developing space science and enriching the Ukrainian economy. Interplanetary missions and establishment of human habitations on the Moon and Mars were not only cherished dreams of Dr. Alexander Degtyarev, but also a way forward for the technologies development by the company that he successfully ran. Consistently, Yuzhnoye SDO has developed Lunar Research & Industrial Base Concept and initiated a number of related studies even before it has globally become the mainstream. Yuzhnoye SDO was among those companies who joined MVA as an institutional member right after the organizations establishment.

Dr. Alexander Degtyarev, being MVA Advisory Council Member, was a consistent supporter of MVA`s activities.