Category Archives: Lunar Communications

Holiday Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 2-5 Apr 2021

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Lunar Commercial Communication Ecosystem Is Major NASA Initiative For Coming Years

Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN), Overseer Of NASA Deep Space Network, Near Earth Network And Space Network Is Aiming For Full Commercialization Of Direct To Earth Ground Stations By 2023, Tracking And Data Relay Satellites Commercialization By 2030; Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) To Ride With CLPS Provider Firefly Aerospace On Blue Ghost Lander In 2023 To Investigate Feasibility Of Extending GNSS Signals For PNT From Earth To Cislunar Space; Orbital Relay Constellation Linked To Surface Nodes Governed By Voluntary Interoperability Standard LunaNet To Be Implemented 2024-2028

Credits: NASA

Friday / 16 Oct 2020

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Nokia To Build 4G Data / Communications Network For Moon Build-Out

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”

Credits: Nokia, NASA

Friday / 25 Sep 2020

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Cis-Lunar Exploration, Science, Security Are Focus Of NASA – USSF MoU

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

Credits: NASA, USSF

Tuesday / 11 Aug 2020

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Lunar Laser Ranging  (LLR) Techniques Advance With First 2-Way Infrared Signals Between NASA LRO + Grasse Station

Goddard Space Flight Center And University Côte d’Azur Collaboration Results In First Infrared Photons (~200 Out Of Tens Of Thousands) Received Back From LRO Reflector (15 × 18 × 5 cm, Traveling ~1.6 km Per Second); LRO Array And Other LLR Important For Understanding Lunar Dust / Degradation Of Apollo & Lunokhod Surface Reflectors, Refining Lunar Distance & Orientation, ‘With Implications For Both Lunar Interior Properties And For Astrophysics And Fundamental Physics’; New LLR Opportunities To Come From Future Commercial And Human Moon Landings

Pictured: Researchers from this collaboration; Credits: GSFC, NASA, Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, IRD, Géoazur, CNRS-INSU, CNES, ANR, MIT EAPS, et al

Tuesday / 21 April 2020

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American Astronautical Society Hosts Streaming Thought Exchange On Lunar Habitation Realities

NASA Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative Lead (L-R) Niki Werkheiser Will Moderate Interactive Panel Envisioning ‘Technology For Sustainable Moon Operations’ Including Planetary Scientists Clive Neal Of Notre Dame And Rachel Klima Of Johns Hopkins; Moon-based Life Support, Social Organization, Infrastructure To Be Explored In Depth; Part Of Ongoing Hangout Series ‘Future In Space’, Online Participation Is Free And Open To Public, Opportunities For Question Submission To Expert Panel; Event Begins Thursday, 23 April At 15:00 EDT Accessible Via Youtube, Periscope, FaceBook And Twitch

Credits: AAS, NASA, JPL, JHUAPL

Friday / 17 April 2020

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Cislunar Navigation And Reconnaissance Technologies Advanced By USAF Contract Awards

Xplore Of Seattle WA Granted US$50k Via AFWERX To Draft Situational Positioning Technology Concepts Similar To Terrestrial GPS, In Press Release Founder Lisa Rich Says Xplore Will “Rapidly Advance Space Domain Awareness Now That Cislunar Space Operations Is A Focal Point”; Rhea Space Activity Of Washington DC And Saber Astronautics Of Sydney, AUS / Boulder CO Also To Receive $50k For Earth-Based Data Gathering Interface “Space Cockpit” With Remote Controls; Establishment Of Cislunar Infrastructure To Benefit National / Civilian Space Agencies And Commercial / Independent Enterprise

Credits: Xplore, Rhea, Advanced Space, CAPS, KUNC, NASA

Friday / 20 March 2020

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Global Positioning System Satellites To Aid Artemis Lunar Missions 

NASA Intends To Use Signals From 24+ Operational GPS Satellites In 20,000-Km Earth Orbit With Receivers On Moon; GSFC Developing Lunar GPS Receiver Based Upon NavCube System Being Tested On ISS; JPL Scientists Kar-Ming Cheung (L) And Charles Lee (R) Estimate That GPS Allows Lunar Navigation With 200-300 Meter Accuracy; Navigation Could Be Improved With Small Relay Satellite In High Lunar Orbit

Credits: NASA, JPL

Friday / 13 March 2020

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University Teams Building SmallSat Demonstrations For Artemis 

NASA Small Spacecraft Technology Program Selects Nine University Teams For Small (<180 Kg) Satellite Demonstrations Supporting Artemis; Universities Will Receive Up To US$200K For Lunar Projects; Arizona State University Tempe Will Test Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture; University Of Colorado Boulder Will Build SmallSat Lunar Communications System In Collaboration With JPL; University Of California Irvine And University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Will Both Test Electrospray Thrusters; Future SmallSats Could Provide Communications And Navigation For The Moon

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 10 March 2020

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Artemis Student Challenge Awards University Teams For Cosmic Crops And Lunar Communication Laser Development

NASA Awards Nearly US$1M To Eight University Teams; University Of Arizona Colleges Of Engineering, Agriculture And Life Sciences, Team Led By Murat Kacira, Receives $84,333 To Develop Improved Water And Nutrient System For Growing Cosmic Crops In Microgravity (L); Colorado School Of Mines, In Cooperation With University Of Arizona, Receives $114K To Test Laser For Communicating With Tiny ‘FemtoSat’ Spacecraft, Shown By Jekan Thanga (R), Launched Across Moon; Laser Communication System May Be Used For Exploring Permanently Shadowed Regions Of Lunar South Pole

Credits: University of Arizona

Friday / 7 February 2020

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SSTL Lunar Pathfinder Data Relay To Provide Communication With South Polar Region By 2022

UK Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) Building Lunar Pathfinder Data-Relay; 280-Kg Spacecraft Is Intended To Provide Affordable Communications With S-Band And UHF Links To Missions On Surface, And X-Band Link To Earth; Will Enable Lunar Polar And Farside Missions With An Alternative To Earth-Based Deep Space Networks; Planned For Launch In 2022, Lunar Pathfinder Will Operate In Elliptical Orbit For Long-Duration Line-Of-Sight Visibility Of South Polar Region And Aitken Basin; Sue Horne Of UK Space Agency Talks Of Communicating From Lunar Orbit To Surface

Credits: NASA, SSTL