Category Archives: Astronaut Training

Tuesday / 4 January 2022

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Land of the Rising Moon:
Japan Plans Human Lunar Landing as Early as 2026, Two 2022 Robotic Landers

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces hope for Japan to be 2nd nation (and 1st from Asia) to land Astronaut on Moon via Artemis missions 4-8 (2026-2029); Canada Astronaut to fly around Moon 2024 / Artemis 2, two USA selected to land 2025 / Artemis 3; JAXA Astronaut recruitment period open until 4 March; SLIM lander preparing for launch 2nd half 2022; ispace HAKUTO-R launch NET July with 2 rovers; Japan budgeting for Cislunar Gateway tech contributions, HTV-X cargo ships ~2026, human lunar surface rover ~2029

Credits: JAXA, ISAS, NASA, ispace

Wednesday 5 June 2019

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Advancing Women Lunarnauts:
NEEMO-23 Hosts All Female Crew, ILOA & MVA Open 1st Women On The Moon Essay Contest 2019

NEEMO-23 (TR) In Aquarius Underwater Lab Off Florida Coast Occurs 10-19 June With Commander Samantha Cristoforetti, Astronaut Candidate Jessica Watkins, Shirley Pomponi & Csilla D’Agostino; First Woman In Space, Valentina Tereshkova, Being Honored 16 June – Alongside Sally Ride (1st Woman From USA 18 June) And Liu Yang (1st Woman From China 16 June); Highlighting Significance Of Landing Women On Moon Surface, International Lunar Observatory Association, With Moon Village Association, Launch ‘2019 First Women On The Moon Essay Contest’ Week Of 17 June: Flying Grand Prize Winner To Galaxy Forum Hainan 2020: China 25-28 Feb At Hilton Wenchang

Credits: NASA, NOAA, ILOA, MVA, Roscosmos, CNSA, USF / Csilla Ari / National Geographic Open Explorer, Pat Rawlings

Friday / 25 Jan 2019

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Europe Funds Studies On Lunar Mining, Astronaut EVAs, Lunar Gravity Effects

ESA Signs 1-Year Lunar Regolith Feasibility Study Contract With Arianespace To Launch “Ariane 64” Vehicle With PTScientists Lunar Lander By 2025 To Search For Oxygen, Water, Helium-3 To Produce Fuel; Pangaea-X Test Campaign In Lanzarote Spain Advancing Lunar EVA Simulations, Communications, Tools, Science Protocols; ESA-DLR-NASA Collaborate On Moon 1/6th Gravity Study To Understand Physiological Impact Of Living, Working On Moon

Credits: ESA, PTScientists, Ariane Group

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 19-22 Oct 2018

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International Efforts Aiming For Village On Moon

European Space Agency, Major Advocate Of International Moon Village, Planning 1000 Square-Meter Luna Facility At ESA Astronaut Centre In Cologne, Germany; Regolith Simulant EAC-1 Will Be Used For Experiments To Construct Habitats;  China “Lunar Palace” Yuegong-1 Simulates Moonbase On 370-Day Mission; 500 Cubic-Meter Habitat Contains Integrated Living / Work Module And Two Plant Cultivation Modules; Experimental Crops Including Corn And Peanuts Grown In Closed Environment; International MoonBase Alliance Aims To Build Lunar Analog On Island Of Hawai’i

Credits: Beihang University, ESA

 

Friday / 29 June 2018

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Buzz Aldrin Vision For Human SpaceFlight Institute, Lunar Gateway, Global / China Space Collaboration

Iconic Astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin Launching Houston-Based Human SpaceFlight Institute To Pioneer Research For Future Human Space Systems / Missions, Host Workshops & Internships – Will Announce High-Level Strategic Partners Oct 2018; Aldrin Advocates For Return To Moon Surface, Sees Lunar Gateway As Major Opportunity To Work With China, Advance Fuel / Power Tech, Build Deep Space Infrastructures Or Multiple Gateways To Reach Mars & Beyond; Inspiring Announcements Anticipated For 49th And 50th Observation Of Apollo 11 On 20 July

Credits: NASA, Buzz Aldrin via Twitter

Friday / 2 Feb 2018

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Human Exploration Research Analog HERAnauts To Begin 45-Day Space Simulation Mission

Group Of 4 Compensated Volunteers Out Of ~400 Applicants To Perform >18 Investigations During HERA XVI Mission (Campaign 4 Mission 4) At Johnson Space Center, Houston TX 3 Feb – 19 Mar; Closed Habitat Of 148.1 m3 Volume Consists Of 3-Story Core, Airlock & Hygiene Facilities; Research Will Focus On Behavioral Performance, Team Performance, Crew Medical, And Enabling Technologies Including Low Latency Teleoperations Study, Lighting Protocols for Exploration, ISS Food Intake Tracker, STARWatch™ Sleep Measures For Spaceflight; Results Will Support Future Human Moon, Mars, Solar System, SLS / Orion, Potential Deep Space Gateway Missions

Credits: JSC, NASA, HERA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 Sep 2017

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International Human Moon, Deep Space Mission Simulations

Beijing, China 200-Day Moon Simulation With 2 Women & 2 Men Living In Yuegong-1 (Lunar Palace-1) Until Jan 25, 2018 Complete With Two 50m2 Greenhouses / Bio-Regenerative Life-Support Systems Experiments Vital For Lunar Settlement; Next Group Will Perform 105-Day Mission Jan 25 – May 10, 2018; Commercial Company Space Garden 6-Person Mock Lunar Mission Performing 20 Spaceflight Experiments In Pila, Poland “Habitat Lunares” Concludes Lunar Expedition 1, Planning For 2 Additional Missions In 2017; NASA Human Exploration Research Analog Campaign 4 Mission 2 In 148.1 m3 Habitat At JSC Houston TX Scheduled Aug 5 – Sep 18 Cut Short Due To Hurricane Harvey

Credits: Xinhua/Ju Huanzong, Monica Alcazar-Duarte, NASA, CCTV

USA Independence Day Edition
Fri-Tue / 30 June – 4 July 2017

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Human 2020 Return To Moon Also Supported By Stephen Hawking

First Women / Americans On Moon As Soon As 2020 Is Within Reach – Advances Made By SpaceX On Falcon Heavy, Dragon Crew & Interplanetary Transportation System, Blue Origin New Glenn, New Shepard & New Armstrong, Bigelow Lunar Inflatable Habitats, Moon Express And Astrobotic Lunar Landers, NASA SLS / Orion And New Astronaut Class With 5 Women & 7 Men; Returning “In Peace For All” To Reclaim Greatest American / Human Advance Is Vital For Long-Term Survival And First Step To Launching Into Solar System And Galaxy; Stephen Hawking States Countries Should Collaborate To Build Moon Settlement Within 30 Years; NASA, ESA, China, India, Russia, Canada And Others Support Moon Base Construct – Focusing On Moon South Pole New Frontier To Utilize Materials And Energy; The Time To Achieve Pioneering 21st Century Return To Moon To Solidify Multi World Species Status Is Now

Credits: NASA, N. Moeller, Space Age Publishing Company, Behrokh Khoshnevis

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 23-26 June 2017

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Next Gen Spacesuits Needed For Women And Men IVAs, EVAs At LEO, Moon, Mars

2017 Audit Discusses Spacesuit Advances Required For Future Cislunar Gateway, SLS / Orion Flights, Moon & Mars Surface, Accommodations For Astronauts Of Various Sizes, Improvements In Glove, Hydration, Nutrition Systems; Lunar Dust Mitigation Technologies Integrated Into Spacesuits Proposed By Kavya Manyapu Includes Carbon Nanotube Flexible Electrodes To Eject Sharp, Magnetic Moon Dust; Lockheed Martin Proposes 8-Legged, Rocket-Powered Spacesuit For Mars Moons; NASA Has 11 Fully Functioning Extravehicular Mobility Units (145 kg) & Agency ‘Years Away From Deep Space Suits’; China Currently Utilizing Feitian EVA Suit (120 kg, Cost US$4.4M) Modeled After Russia Orlan Suits (104 kg); Final Frontier Design, SpaceX, Boeing Working On Light-Weight, Flexible, Low-Cost IVA Suits

Credits: NASA / Eugene Cernan, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, CNSA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 12-15 May 2017

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China, USA Simulate Long-Duration Human Moon Missions In Closed Habitats

Beijing, China Hosts 1-Year Moon Mission Analog With 8 Volunteers In 2 Groups (2 Women, 2 Men In Each) Living In Yuegong-1 (Lunar Palace-1) Complete With Two 50m2 Greenhouses / Bio-Regenerative Life-Support Systems Experiments Vital For Lunar Settlement; 1st Group Will Remain For 60 Days, 2nd Group 200 Days, Then 1st Group Return For 105 Days; NASA Human Exploration Research Analog Campaign 4 (HERA-4) Is Ongoing From 6 May – 19 Jun At JSC, Houston TX 148.1 m3 Habitat; 4 Team Members Will Test New Space Food & Hardware Prototypes Including Simulated Exploration Vehicle, Use 3-D Printer; 3 Additional 45-Day Missions Run In Aug, Oct, Feb 2018

Credits: Beihang University – Beijing University for Aeronautics and Astronautics, Xinhua, Ju Huanzong, NASA