Masten Working with Partners to Advance Lunar Communications, Landing Plume Containment, Inclusivity in Mojave
NASA Flight Opportunities in collaboration with LA-based Zandef Deksit utilizing Masten Xodiac VTVL to test lander-ejected ExoCam for use on Moon at Mojave Air & Space Port, Masten advancing regolith / ceramic blasted pads, hosting NASA Large Vehicle Landing Surface Interaction program with goal of dust mitigation; Swedish Space Corporation, working to achieve space launch capability at Esrange Space Center (68°N, 21°E) near Kiruna, Sweden NET 2022, to provide XL-1 lander communications – launching NET Nov 2023; Masten in discussions with Navajo Nation to foster engineering education opportunities
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) to provide communications spacecraft operating on S, X and UHF frequency bands from elliptical lunar orbit, ESA is first major customer under US$23.5M / 5 year agreement formalized at Royal Society in London as launch-for-service exchange with NASA being pursued; David Parker of ESA says “robust & fast communications… will be available to all” in signing release 
Houston TX team behind Nova-C robotic lunar lander striving to achieve 26 Feb IM-1 mission to equatorial lunar nearside via SpaceX Falcon 9, partnering with IronNet on IT security, MDA providing landing sensors; IM-2 in Q4 2022 to set “
Recognizing Inevitable 
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
Part Of US$370M+ NASA Tipping Point Awards Announced By Administrator Bridenstine At LSIC 14 Oct, Nokia Of North America (Subsidiary Of Finland Parent Company) Granted $14.1M To Build Cis-Lunar LTE Network, A Highly Vital Component Of Artemis 2024 Human Moon Landing Plan And 2028 Moon Base Establishment; Nokia Had Planned To Launch Lunar Network In Conjunction With Vodafone, Audi And PT Scientists In 2018; Bridenstine Boldly Proclaims New Infrastructure Will Empower “Biggest, Broadest, Most Diverse Inclusive Coalition Of Researchers And Explorers In The History Of Humankind”
New Agreement Signed Sep 21 Supersedes Prior MoU Between USAF / NASA; Document Notes Realm Of USA Space Activity In Process Of Expansion From Geostationary (35,785 km) To Cis-Lunar (437,741 km), Increasing ‘Space Domain Awareness’ Mandate 1000x; Rationale For Cooperation Based On Mutual Planetary Defense Objectives Such As Meeting Goal Of Detection / Characterization Of 90% Of All NEOs <8,046,720 km From Earth By End Of 2020 Through e.g. Shared Use Of USSF Space Surveillance Telescope; Areas Of Cooperation Identified Include Communications, Navigation, Manufacture, Logistics, Recruitment, Launch Support, Search / Rescue
