Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Tuesday / 10 August 2021

Posted on by

Moon-themed Music and Art Sent to ISS to be Monetized Via Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)

Artemis Music Entertainment teams with Nanoracks on first music (Clair de Lune played by Wing-Chong Kam) in space to be minted into NFT, a type of unique blockchain token used to assign ownership of media; version of Clair de Lune transmitted to ISS from Houston, traveling 201,168+ orbital km prior to Earth return; “Why Not Me” visual artwork accompanied, to become first of kind NFT with auction set for 13:00 HST 10 August on Notables platform; Proceeds benefit Students for the Exploration and Development of Space / Artemis Music Foundation

Pictured: Micah Johnson (L), Bob Richards; Credits: Artemis Music Entertainment, Micah Johnson

Friday / 30 July 2021

Posted on by

Plans for Observatories on Moon Gaining Traction in USA Academia and Industry

Gravitational-Wave Lunar Observatory for Cosmology (GLOC) is latest concept for conducting fundamental astrophysical research on Moon; Vanderbilt and Harvard astrophysicists K. Jani and A. Loeb contend conditions on Moon surface preferable to terrestrial and space for laser interferometry, propose <5 Hz instrument to validate general relativity / Lambda cold dark matter, observe type 1a supernovae; GLOC joins Artemis era radio astronomy from the Moon projects Farside Array for Radio Science Investigations of the Dark ages & Exoplanets (University of Colorado / JPL), FarView (Lunar Resources Inc) Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (NIAC); Optical astronomy underway includes Q1 2022 ILO-X (International Lunar Observatory) and Ultimately Large Telescope (University of Texas) study

Credits: Vanderbilt University, Karan Jani, John Templeton Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Friday / 23 July 2021

Posted on by

Moon Precession Cycle May Have Increased Effect on Earth Weather Conditions

18.6-year lunar nodal cycle caused by Moon’s 5.145° inclination from solar ecliptic may magnify coastal flooding, with peaks of high tide activity centering around mid-2030s amid 3.6 mm / yr sea level rise; Highlighting need for advanced laser-ranging facilities on lunar surface, vital for further understanding Earth-Moon system; UH Sea Level Center Director Philip Thompson (B) identifies Gulf of Mexico, CA, HI flood risk “at least quadrupling” while Administrator Nelson (T) states “NASA’s Sea Level Change Team is providing crucial information so that we can plan, protect, and prevent damage”

Credits: NASA, Creative Commons, NOAA, UH

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 25-28 June 2021

Posted on by

Artemis 1 SLS Stack Grows As NASA Prepares Deep Space Test Dummies For Orion

Artemis 1 At KSC Ready For 18-m Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Upper Stage Next Week, Now Fitted With 9.1-m Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Atop 65m Core, Itself Sitting Between 54-m Twin Solid Fuel Boosters; Orion Stage Adapter And Crew Module Mass Simulator To Follow In Stacking Sequence, Completed Total Height ~98m; Uncrewed Artemis 1 Launch Still Hoped For 2021, Acceleration And Kinetic Forces To Be Measured By Seated ‘Moonikin’, Radiation Exposure Tested With Torso ‘Phantoms’ Helga And Zohar, Equipped With 5,616 Dosimeters, Part of DLR / ISA Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment

 

Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 May 2021

Posted on by

NASA To Launch 21st Century Deep Space Laser Communications System

Laser Communications Relay Demonstrations (LCRD) To Launch To 35,405km Geosynchronous Orbit On Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) From Cape Canaveral Space Force Station 23 June, Powered By ULA Atlas V In 551 Configuration; Building On LADEE Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration Of 622 Mbps Downlink / 40 Mbps Uplink From Moon Orbit, LCRD Is Expected To Show Infrared Laser-Based Speed To / From Optical Ground Station 1 (California) & 2 (Hawaii) ‘10 To 100x’ Faster Than Existing Radio Frequency Comms

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 13 Apr 2021

Posted on by

NASA Viper Mission Leveraging Open-Source Software & Off-The-Shelf Hardware To Advance Moon And Mars Exploration

VIPER Water-Seeking Moon Rover Mission Set For 2023 To Utilize Crowdsourced Programming And Retail Computing Options Favored For Low Overhead, Interoperability, Widespread Familiarity; VIPER Deputy Lead Terry Fong Tells MIT Technology Review Open Source Enables His Team To More Quickly “Take Advances From The Research World And Put It Into Flight” And That The Negligible Time Lag To Moon Makes Utilization Of Commercially Available Hardware “Not Limited By Radiation, Hard Flight [Ratings]” Possible; Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Is Set To Run Popular Operating System Linux On Mars Flight NET 14 Apr; NASA Hosts A Slew Of Mission Planning Software Available To Interested Parties Worldwide

Credits: NASA

Friday / 26 Mar 2021

Posted on by

Lunar Vertical Solar Array Technology Moving Towards Realization With 5 Contractors On Project

Game Changing Development, A NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Initiative, Is Providing 5 Space Technology Companies (Astrobotic, ATK Space Systems, Honeybee Robotics, Lockheed Martin, Space Systems Loral) With 1-Year Base Contracts Worth Up To $700K/ea For Design Of Autonomously Deployable, Relocatable 9.75m Vertical Photovoltaic Panels; 2 Companies Are To Be Selected For Prototype Construction / Testing Contracts Valued Up To $7.5M/ea And Eventual Deployment Near Moon South Pole, Creating Artificial “Points Of Eternal Light”, Ensuring “Continuous Power For Artemis Lunar Habitats And Operations” Per Chuck Taylor, Project Lead At Langley

Credits: NASA, MIT / Allegra Boverman

Tuesday / 16 Mar 2021

Posted on by

NASA Solidifies Lunar Technology Development Relationship With Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL)

Task Order Adds US$30M To Existing Contract Of Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Led By JHUAPL, Which Will Continue To Bring Moon Exploration R&D Thought Leaders Representing 300+ Industry, Academia And Government Organizations Together, Addressing Considerable Engineering Challenges Present On Lunar Surface – Power Supply, Survivability, Dust Mitigation, In-Situ Resource Utilization, Excavation / Construction – With Semi-Annual Meetings, Workshops And Monthly Focus Groups Which Will Guide NASA Lunar Technology Goals And Implementation Plans; “Extensive Systems Engineering Experience In Space Missions” Of JHUAPL To Support Establishment Of “Sustainable Lunar Surface Capabilities” Per Nikki Werkheiser Of STMD

Credits: NASA, JHUAPL

Friday / 5 Mar 2021

Posted on by

China Advancing Lunar, Deep Space Plans With New Spacecraft

Currently The Only Country With Operations On Lunar Surface, China (Zhongguo) Is Augmenting Its Spacecraft Stable In Preparation For Major Robotic And Human Moon Missions; China Rocket Scientist And Member Of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Jiang Jie Tells State Media Super Heavy-Lift Launch And New Crew Vehicle Are Under Development By CASC (Rocket Building Subsidiary Of Prime Contractor CALT); SpaceNews Reports Likely SHLLV Specifications Of 4,140,000kg Launch Weight, 10m Diameter Core, 140,000kg Payload To LEO (Just 10,000kg Shy Of SpaceX Starship Projected Capacity), Kerosene-Fueled First Stage Making 4,448kN And LH2 / LOX Second Stage Producing 1957kN

Credits: CNSA, NASA

Tuesday / 2 Mar 2021

Posted on by

Magnetic Levitation Moon Railway Concept Being Studied For Feasibility

Transport Of Cargo, Raw Materials And People Across The Lunar Landscape Will Be Vital Aspect Of Moon Base Build-out Logistics In Coming Years, Necessitating Efficient Ground Transport; Flexible Levitation On A Track (FLOAT) Has Received Phase 1 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Funding For 9 Month, Up To US$125K Preliminary Study; Principal Investigator Ethan Schaler Of JPL Projects FLOAT System Capacity >100,000kg With Energy Requirement <40kW Over Multiple-Kilometer Scale Via Deployable Graphite / Flexible Circuit Track Utilizing Diamagnetic Force; Moon Rail Proposed In Early 20th Century By Lunar Visionaries

Credits: NASA, Ethan Schaler