Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 12-15 April 2013

USA Congress Advocating Moon Base

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US Rep Bill Posey (R-FL) Reintroduces 2011 Bill Called RE-Asserting American Leadership (REAL) In Space Act Which Tasks NASA To Send Astronauts To Moon By 2022 With Goal Of Establishing Long-Term Settlement; Bill Co-Sponsored By 8 Other Republican & Democrat House Members; Proponents Claim That Clear / Attainable Lunar Goal Will Give Renewed Direction To NASA, Allow For Testing Of Technologies To Master Extraterrestrial Surface Operations

Image Credit: NASA, poseyhouse.gov

Friday / 12 April 2013

Bigelow-NASA Agreement To Build Moon Base

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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

Thursday / 11 April 2013

Russia Moon Plans Setting Up Long-Awaited Human Mission

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Plans For Robotic Moon Missions Demonstrate Russia Space Exploration Priorities; Further Evaluation Of Russia Space Activities / Plans Indicates Russia Intention To Finish What They Started — Land Human On Moon; Igor Mitrofanov Of IKI Says Renewed Robotic Lunar Program Will Enable Human Outpost On Moon; US$25-30B Launch Facility Development Proposal Submitted To Russia Federation Government Would Facilitate Human Moon Mission By 2028  

Image Credit: Eisenhower Institute, IKI

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 5-8 April 2013

Lunar Aspirations

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2 Successful Americans Of India Origin Inspired By Dreams Of Going To Moon; US Astronaut Sunita Williams Says Her 1 Dream Yet To Come True Is To Go To Moon; Moon Express (ME) Chairman Naveen Jain Says Moon Will Play Vital Role In Future Of Earth’s Planetary Protection, Ideal Place To Study / Harvest Asteroids; First Task Of ME Is To Explore Moon Resource Hotspots With Robotic Explorers, Leading Way For 1st Permanent Human Outpost

Image Credit: NASA, Intelius

Wednesday / 3 April 2013

Future Of Space Law

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Iran Lawyer Babak Shakouri Examines Space Law Issues Likely To Arise With The Advent Of Lunar / Space Settlements; Legal Framework Of Free Market Economic System With Positive Economic Exchange Rate With Earth, Recognition Of Private Property Ideal; Proposes Specialized Space Code Of Conduct To Cover Legal Topics Within Multinational Habitats; Should Administrative Legal Regimes Be Independent Or Earth-Based?

Image Credit: unl.edu, en.memory-alpha.org

Tuesday / 2 April 2013

Asteroid To The Moon

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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

Friday / 22 March 2013

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

Wednesday / 20 March 2013

Characterizing The Lunar Poles: Ben Bussey Seminar

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Ben Bussey Of John Hopkins University APL Presenting Data – Acquired By Recent Fleet Of International Lunar Spacecraft – Characterizing Moon Poles, 27 Mar At NASA Lunar Science Institute In CA, USA; Results Useful For Planning Future Robotic & Human Missions; Geology Of Poles, Surface & Subsurface Properties, Possibilities For Surface Operations / Regolith Excavation / Drilling & Potential Instrumentation Needed For Science From / On Moon

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 19 March 2013

Golden Spike / LPI Human Moon Mission International Science Workshop

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International Science Workshop Hosted By Golden Spike Co & LPI, 3-4 Oct 2013 In Houston, TX; Overview Of Potential Landing Sites, Experiments & Geological Traverses GSC Astronauts Will Undertake On Moon Starting In 2020; Theme: Lunar Science After 20 GSC Human Moon Missions; Program Committee – Including Alan Stern (L), Steve Mackwell (R), Clive Neal – Hope Event Will Multiply Interest In GSC Missions From International Science & Space Agencies 

Image Credit: Golden Spike Co., Lunar And Planetary Institute

Tuesday / 12 March 2013

Moon Is Priority Destination For Leading NewSpace Entrepreneurs

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Robert Bigelow Confirms Desire To Help Develop Lunar Base; Robert Richards Discusses Moon Express Mission, Implications And Value Of Lunar Mining; Golden Spike Company Conducting Video Contest As Part Of Indiegogo Fundraising Campaign; Canadian Space Commerce Association Head Says Off-World Mining Will One Day Surpass Earth Mining, Suggests Adding Tax Benefits To Start Up Companies

Image Credit: NASA, Moon Express, Bigelow Aerospace, Golden Spike Co.