Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Tuesday / 23 June 2020

Posted on by

Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition Advances Artemis Lunar Exploration / Commerce

University Teams From Across USA Compete In NASA National Institute Of Aerospace Administered RASC-AL; Space Ideas Judged By Professionals From SpaceX, NASA, Blue Origin, Aerojet Rocketdyne; University Of Puerto Rico Wins South Pole Multi-Purpose Rover Category / Overall First Place With EMPRESS: Exploration Multi-Purpose Rover For Expanding Surface Science – Continuing Winning Streak From 2019; Commercial Cislunar Space Development Is New Category For 2020, Won By University Of Texas For Lunar Engraver; Top 2 Teams Secure Place At AIAA Hosted ASCEND 2020 Nov 16-18

Credits: NASA, NIA, UPR, UT, GIT, UM

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 May – 1 June 2020

Posted on by

 Asteroid Day TV Hosts Globally Accessible Video Content Over Next Month

In Celebration Of 6th Asteroid Day Luxembourg-Based Asteroid Foundation To Share Media From BBC, ESA, ESO, TED, Discovery And Others June 1 – July 4 Featuring 24-hour Live Broadcast On 30 June, Official Asteroid Day By UN Resolution; Asteroids Capture Interest Not Only For Scientific Knowledge And Planetary Security, But Also For Resource Extraction Which Could Fund Exploration; Lunar Outpost May Provide Superior Vantage Point For NEO Detection, Which Founders (L-R) Danica Remy, Rusty Schweickart, Brian May, Grigorij Richters Hope To Increase To 100,000/Year, ‘100X’ Petition Signed By 50,000+ Including 125+ Astronauts

Credits: Asteroid Day, NASA, ESO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 May 2020

Posted on by

ESA Advancing Laser Powering Techniques For Exploration Of Permanently Shadowed Lunar Craters

PHILIP (Powering Rovers By High Intensity Laser Induction On Planets) Envisions Lander Situated Between Shackleton And de Gerlache Craters Near Moon South Pole Equipped With 500-watt IR Laser Supporting Remote Exploration Of Shadowed Areas In Which Solar Power Is Inaccessible By Directing Energy To Photovoltaic Module On 250-kg Rover; 10-month Study Conducted By Leonardo Company Of Italy And National Institute Of Research And Development For Optoelectronics Of Romania, Funded By ESA Discovery & Preparation Division

Image Credits: ESA, EADS, NASA

Tuesday / 28 April 2020

Posted on by

SpaceBit Aims To Land “Arachnid-Like” Asagumo Rover Built On Modular 6U CubeSat Chassis

SpaceBit Of UK Reportedly Creating Redundant Designs Amid Global Supply Chain Uncertainty, Allowing Independent Assembly Of 1-1.3 kg Rover In USA, UK, Japan; Spacebit Mission One Striving To Meet Q3 2021 Maiden Launch Of ULA Vulcan Centaur / Astrobotic Peregrine Lander; Partnered With Yuzhnoye Design Office, Ecuadorian Space Agency, Dereum Labs Of Mexico; Pavlo Tanasyuk Signs Agreement At 3rd MVA Workshop & Symposium With Japan Company Dymon To Image Asagumo On Lunar Surface, Spacebit To Reciprocate With Picture Of Yaoki Rover

Credits: Spacebit, Astrobotic, ULA

Tuesday / 21 April 2020

Posted on by

American Astronautical Society Hosts Streaming Thought Exchange On Lunar Habitation Realities

NASA Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Lead (L-R) Niki Werkheiser Will Moderate Interactive Panel Envisioning ‘Technology For Sustainable Moon Operations’ Including Planetary Scientists Clive Neal Of Notre Dame And Rachel Klima Of Johns Hopkins; Moon-based Life Support, Social Organization, Infrastructure To Be Explored In Depth; Part Of Ongoing Hangout Series ‘Future In Space’, Online Participation Is Free And Open To Public, Opportunities For Question Submission To Expert Panel; Event Begins Thursday, 23 April At 15:00 EDT Accessible Via Youtube, Periscope, FaceBook And Twitch

Credits: AAS, NASA, JPL, JHUAPL

Friday / 3 April 2020

Posted on by

Lunar Landers On Track For 2021, First USA Surface Missions Since 1972

CLPS Awardees Astrobotic (US$79.5M) And Intuitive Machines ($77M) Report Lander Development Schedule On Track For July 2021 Launch, While Timeline For Only 3 Out Of 13 NASA Payloads Can Currently Be Confirmed; Winners Of NASA 19C Task Order To Polar Regions Late 2022 Expected To Be Announced Soon; Competitors For 19C Include IM, SpaceX, Moon Express, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, Lockheed Martin, and Firefly Which Is Working With Israel Aerospace Industries On Genesis Lander (85-kg Payload Capacity) – An Advanced Version Of Beresheet 

Credits: Firefly, Astrobotic, IM

Friday / 13 March 2020

Posted on by

University Teams Building SmallSat Demonstrations For Artemis 

NASA Small Spacecraft Technology Program Selects Nine University Teams For Small (<180 Kg) Satellite Demonstrations Supporting Artemis; Universities Will Receive Up To US$200K For Lunar Projects; Arizona State University Tempe Will Test Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture; University Of Colorado Boulder Will Build SmallSat Lunar Communications System In Collaboration With JPL; University Of California Irvine And University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Will Both Test Electrospray Thrusters; Future SmallSats Could Provide Communications And Navigation For The Moon

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 10 March 2020

Posted on by

Artemis Student Challenge Awards University Teams For Cosmic Crops And Lunar Communication Laser Development

NASA Awards Nearly US$1M To Eight University Teams; University Of Arizona Colleges Of Engineering, Agriculture And Life Sciences, Team Led By Murat Kacira, Receives $84,333 To Develop Improved Water And Nutrient System For Growing Cosmic Crops In Microgravity (L); Colorado School Of Mines, In Cooperation With University Of Arizona, Receives $114K To Test Laser For Communicating With Tiny ‘FemtoSat’ Spacecraft, Shown By Jekan Thanga (R), Launched Across Moon; Laser Communication System May Be Used For Exploring Permanently Shadowed Regions Of Lunar South Pole

Credits: University of Arizona

Tuesday / 25 February 2020

Posted on by

  Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program To Encourage Canada Companies In Artemis Supply Chain

Canada Space Agency (CSA / ASC) Releases Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program Announcement Of Opportunity; LEAP AO Is Intended To Position Canada Companies In Lunar Mission Supply Chain For The 2024 Artemis Human Landing Date; LEAP Program Is Funded At US$150M With AO Funded At $13M And Individual Companies Receiving Up To $2M; Interested Commercial Enterprises Include ABB Canada, Canadensys Aerospace, Mission Control Space Services And Moon Express Canada; Letters Of Intent Are Due 20 March, With AO Due 31 Mar

Credits: CSA / ASC, Canadensys, Mission Control Space, Moon Express

Friday / 21 February 2020

Posted on by

Artemis Moon Enterprises Underway At Langley Research Center To Support 2024 Human Landings 

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Continues Lunar Programs Following Visit By VP Pence Reaffirming Commitment To Artemis; Navigation Doppler LIDAR Being Developed At Langley Will Aid In Determining Exact Spacecraft Position During Landing; Langley Researches On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly And Manufacturing For Lunar Orbit Applications; Clayton Turner Is New Center Director And Jill Marlowe Is New Associate Center Director For Technical At Langley

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin