Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Friday / 12 July 2013

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Astrobotic Reduces Moon Payload Delivery Cost

Astrobotic

GLXP Team Astrobotic Technologies Inc. Offers 30% Price Reduction For Payload Delivery To Moon Aboard Its Lunar Lander / Rover With Launch Set Oct 2015 Via SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket; US$99K/kg For Trans-Lunar Injection, $1.2M/kg For Lunar Surface Delivery On Lander, $2M/kg On Rover; Lander & Rover Will Power & Support Payload Operations For 10 Days, Then Hibernate For 14-Day Lunar Night & Recover After Sunrise, Continue Operations

Image Credit: Astrobotic

Wednesday / 10 July 2013

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Solar Sail CubeSat Project Aiming For Moon

LunarSail

Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc Developing CubeSat Mission To Demonstrate Ability Of Solar Sail Spacecraft To Navigate Itself Into Lunar Trajectory & Insert Itself Into Lunar Orbit; 1000 Cubic Cm Craft Would Be First To Reach Lunar Orbit Under Its Own Power For Entire Journey; ‘Citizen Space Mission’ Seeking Crowdfunding To Build Craft For US$50,000, Solar Sail Via Government Grant; Launch Target Date End 2016

Image Credit: Lunarsail.com

Tuesday / 9 July 2013

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Interplanetary CubeSats Could Open Possibilities For Lunar Exploration

CATcubesat0713

0.5-kg CubeSat Ambipolar Thruster (CAT) Could Propel 5-kg Cubesats To Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Beyond For 1/1000 Of Current Mission Costs; University Of Michigan Team Led By Benjamin Longmier Fundraising To Test New CAT Plasma Engine That Could Open Solar System For CubeSats; International Workshop On Implications & Opportunities Arising With Advent Of LunarCubes Set For 13 Nov 2013 In Palo Alto CA, USA

Image Credit: Kickstarter, lunarcubes.com

Wednesday / 3 July 2013

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Lunar Telerobotic Mission Demonstrated By ISS Astronaut

BurnsTest0713

Astronaut Chris Cassidy Pilots NASA Rover For 3 Hours Across Mock Lunar Surface At Ames Research Center; Remotely Directed Robot Unfurled ‘Antenna Film’ Developed By Jack Burns / University Of Colorado Boulder Scientists For Lunar Farside Radio Telescope Mission Concept; Burns & Team Hope To See Rover / Radio Telescope Deployed By Similar Telerobotic Technique Via Orion Mission To Earth-Moon L2

Image Credit: NASA, lunar.colorado.edu

Tuesday / 18 June 2013

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International – Commercial Partnering For Moon Exploration

ILDC - Buzz

International Lunar Development Corp. Proposed By Buzz Aldrin To Facilitate Unified International, Commercial & Academic Partnerships To Advance Moon Exploration & Settlement; China, India, Russia, Japan, Europe, USA, NewSpace Companies Such As Bigelow, Shackleton Energy, Golden Spike Urged To Implement Step-By-Step Space Plan; Humans Need To Become Multi-World Species For Long-Term Survival, Will & Should Settle On Moon Long Before Mars, Europa, Etc

Image Credit: Bigelow Aerospace, PISCES, Shackleton Energy Co., GSC

Friday / 14 June 2013

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From Hawai`i To The Moon To Deep Space

Buzz Aldrin, PISCES

Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin (L) Says Geography / Geology Of Big Island, Hawaii Is Excellent Analog / Testing Ground For Permanent Moon Base; He Encourages Learning In Hawaii, Settlement Of Moon, Then Mars & Beyond; Also Supports PISCES Technology Development For Robotic & Human Missions Beyond LEO – Rob Kelso (R) Exec Director Featured On The Space Show 21 June; ISDAC-USIS Workshop On 22 June In Colorado Continues Discussion Of ‘Moon Permanent Base Headed By Buzz Aldrin’

Image Credit: Getty Images, IAF, ESA/Foster, WHT/A.Pacheco

Thursday / 13 June 2013

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ILOA – China Collaborate On Moon Telescope Observations

ILOA, China NAOC

ILO-X 180 X 70mm Telescope Built For ILOA Of Hawaii USA By Moon Express Launching To Moon 2015; Will Observe Galaxies, Stars, Planets, Moon, Earth; ILOA MoU With National Astronomical Observatories of China Enables Exchange Of ILO-X Observing Time With Lunar Telescope On Chang’e-3 Launching Late 2013; Also Collaborating With Golden Spike Co For Human Moon Missions (2018-2020); Learn More At Galaxy Forum China 22 Sep ‘Human Moon Missions: Giant Steps Into The Galaxy’

Image Credit: ILOA, NAOC

Wednesday / 12 June 2013

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CRaTER Reveals Plastics Provide Lightweight Radiation Shielding

LED061213

Researchers At University of New Hampshire & SwRI Report That Data From LRO’s CRaTER Validates Computer Models Which Indicate Lightweight Materials Offer Superior Shielding From Radiation; Lead Author Cary Zeitlin Of SwRI Calls Plastics “Pound-For-Pound More Effective For Shielding Against Cosmic Radiation Than Aluminum”; These Lower Mass Alternatives Open The Door To Deep Space Missions & A Permanent Human Presence On The Surface Of The Moon

Image Credit: NASA, SwRI, UNH

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 7-10 June 2013

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Morpheus & Mighty Eagle Moon Landers Undergo Advanced Testing

Mighty Eagle, Morpheus

Morpheus Vertical Takeoff & Landing Vehicle Performs Successful 74-Second Tethered Test Flight At JSC In Houston, TX; Next Test Within 1 Week; Mighty Eagle Moon Lander Prototype Undergoing Heat Shield Inspections & System Leak Checks At MSFC In Huntsville, AL; Flight Tests Planned For July To Include Optical Hazard Avoidance – About 200 Tons Of Dirt Will Simulate Lunar Landing Situation, Vehicle To Demonstrate Ability To Detect Hazards

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 5 Jun 2013

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Next USA Moon Orbiter Passes Tests In Preparation For Launch

LADEEnts0613

LADEE Passes Series Of Qualification Tests Conducted By National Technical Systems Inc At NASA Ames In CA; Spacecraft Subjected To High Levels Of Acoustics, Vibration & Shock Mimicking Launch / Space Travel, Is Now One Step Closer To 5 Sep 2013 Launch; Mission Will Utilize 3 Science Instruments To Gather Data On Lunar Atmosphere / Dust Environment From 50-Km Retrograde Equatorial Orbit

Image Credit: NASA, NTS