Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Friday / 19 April 2013

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Google Lunar X PRIZE Update

GLXP Update

20 GLXP Teams At Recent Chile Summit Give Updates On Progress: White Label Space Now Solely Based In Japan Will Change Name; Part-Time Scientists Working On COMRAY Project To Provide Communications With In-Space Assets; Independence-X Scoping Out Potential Launch Sites In Malaysia; Barcelona Moon Announces Launch Contract Jun 2014; Astrobotic / SpaceX Has Launch Oct 2015; Omega Envoy & Moon Express Plan 2015 Launches; More Collaborations / Mergers, Publicity Expected

Image Credit: GLXP

Thursday / 18 April 2013

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LRO CRaTER Instrument Helping In Development Of Future Spacecraft

CRaTER0413

CRaTER Instrument Precisely Measures Potentially Dangerous Radiation In Space & Its Effects On Human Tissue / Electronics; Data Shows High-Mass / High-Energy Cosmic Rays (HZE Particles) Make Up Only 1% Of Radiation Detected, Yet Account For 50% Of Energy Deposited By Radiation; Researchers Also Able To Determine Effects Of Different Types Of Radiation; Findings Helping Researchers Optimize Spacecraft Shielding Without Making Them Too Heavy

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 12 April 2013

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Bigelow-NASA Agreement To Build Moon Base

Bigelow-NASA

Bigelow Aerospace Lunar Base Project Expected To Receive NASA Contract / Funding To “Extend & Sustain Human Activities Across The Solar System;” 3 BA-330 Inflatable Habitats With Propulsion Tanks & Power Units Would Be Joined In Space & Piloted To Moon Surface, Offer 990m3 Of Room, House Up To 18 Astronauts; Robert Bigelow Confident Habitats Could Accommodate Uneven Surface, Says Moon Great Practice For Mars & Beyond

Image Credit: Bigelow, Samuel Coniglio

Tuesday / 9 April 2013

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Astrobotic Advancing Autonomous Landing Systems

AstroboticSensors0413

Series Of Tests Underway In Astrobotic Contract With NASA To Demonstrate Autonomous Landing System For Moon / Asteroids / Planets; Astrobotic Successfully Flew Sensor Package On Uncrewed Helicopter Operated By Pilot On Ground; Next Step Is To Land Helicopter Autonomously – Without GPS, Then Test System On Astrobotic Griffin Lander; Landing Sensor Uses 2 Cameras, Inertial Measurement Unit, & Scanning Laser

Image Credit: Astrobotic Technology, Inc.

Friday / 5 April 2013

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Russia Solidifies Moon Exploration Plans

Russia Moon 5 Missions

Igor Mitrofanov Of IKI Reveals Russia Moon Exploration Missions: 2015 Luna-Glob South Pole Lander To Analyze Regolith / Exosphere & Test Volatiles; 2016 Luna-Glob 100-km Altitude Polar Orbiter To Map Surface / Landing Sites; 2017 Luna-Resurs-1 South Pole Lander To Test Drilling System For Cryogenic Sampling; 2019 Luna-Resurs-2 Polar Sample Return Mission; 2020 Luna-Resurs-3 Rover To Study Surface & Store Subsurface Samples; Human Missions Could Follow

Image Credit: IKI, NASA, RSA

Tuesday / 2 April 2013

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Asteroid To The Moon

AsteroidTowing0413

Human Asteroid Landing Mission Proposed By USA President Obama May Take Place In Lunar Orbit; NASA Expected To Request US$100M In Next Budget To Begin Preparations For 10-Year (~2015-2025) US$2.65B-Robotic Mission To Capture 7-m Diameter, 500,000-kg Asteroid & Tow It To High Lunar Orbit; Spacecraft Would Employ Ion Thrusters, Deploy Massive Inflatable Bag To Envelop Asteroid

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 28 March 2013

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Morpheus Rising Again

MorpheusRising0313

Morpheus / ALHAT Team Building New Morpheus 1.5B & 1.5C Vehicles For Static Hot Fire & Dynamic Tethered Tests This Spring At NASA JSC, Project Will Then Return To Free-Flight Testing At KSC This Summer; Morpheus Had 26 Successful Test Flights Before Aug 2012 Crash Caused By Vibration Breaking Connection Of Navigation Instruments; New Craft Design Will Protect Against Shaking; Project Goal To Develop Craft Capable Of Autonomous Moon Landing

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 22 March 2013

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Apollo F-1 Engines May Help Get Us Back To The Moon

LED F-1 Engines

Saturn V F-1 Rocket Engines That Took Humans To The Moon Recovered From 4.8 km Beneath Atlantic Ocean By Bezos Expeditions; 5.8-m Tall By 3.8-m Wide Engineering Feat Impacted Water At 8,047 km/hr; NASA MSFC Engineers Refurbishing / Testing Components From Museums To Develop SLS – Next Generation Heavy Launch Vehicle; F-1 Is Most Powerful Single-Chamber Liquid-Fueled Rocket Engine Ever Developed, Provides 6.6M Newtons Of Thrust, 32M Horsepower

Image Credit: Bezos Expeditions

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 15-18 Mar 2013

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Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration Ready For Launch

LLCD0313

Rigorous Testing & Integration Of LLCD System On LADEE Spacecraft Complete; Technology Demonstration Will See Data Sent From Lunar Orbit To Earth At Up To 622 Mbps – 6 Times The Rate Of Advanced Radio Communication Systems; Hundreds Of Millions Of Short Infrared Pulses Sent Precisely Every Second To Any One Of 3 Ground Telescopes In New Mexico, California & Spain; LADEE To Launch In Aug 2013

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 15 March 2013

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Chang’e-3, Chang’e-5 Spacecraft Advancing

Chang'e-3 & 5

China Chang’e-3 Lander Camera Reaches Completion, Being Tested With Lunar Satellite Payload Subsystem; Will Take 360° Color Images Of Moon Surface & Monitor Rover; Mission To Launch Late 2013; Chang’e-5 Prototype Will Consist Of Chang’e-2 Orbiter Base Structure & Chang’e-5 Return Capsule; Capsule To Begin Atmosphere Re-Entry Testing Before 2015; Spacecraft / Lunar Sample Of At Least 2 kg Estimated To Re-Enter At 11.2 km/s; Chang’e-5 Mission NET 2016

Image Credit: xinhuanet.com, dragoninspace.net