ispace Japan Expands USA Presence, Aims For CLPS Awards With Draper-led Team
Moon Exploration Company ispace, Fueled By US$125M+ Funding, Opens Location In Denver CO; 1st Generation Lander Hakuto-R Set For 2022 / 2023 Missions Has ~30-kg Payload Capacity, Design Of New Heavier Class Lander Meeting CLPS / Artemis Requirements To Be Overseen By USA Lander Program Director Kursten O’Neill (L) And CEO Kyle Acierno (R), Production To Be Contracted To General Atomics; ispace Has Grand Vision Of “One Earth-Moon Ecosystem” Actualized Through Mission Sequence In Which “Swarms Of Rovers” Facilitate Human Activity On Lunar Surface
Credits: ispace
LRO Data Indicates ~10-20% Of PSRs Sufficiently Cool (<110 K) To Allow Ice Formation Are Depressions Casting 1-cm – 1-km Shadows, Widely Dispersed Across Moon Polar Regions (>80° Latitude); Inclusion Of “Mini Cold Traps” In Study By UC Boulder / PSI Researchers Suggests Total Possible Lunar Ice Containing Area Is ~40,000 km2 (23,000 km2 Within <20° Moon South Pole, 17,000 km2 Within <20° Moon North Pole); Total PSRs Comprise Just 0.15% Of Total Surface Area; Relatively Small Cold Traps May Offer More Favorable Mission Parameters Than Large Craters
Astrobotic, A Private NewSpace Enterprise With Carnegie Mellon Origins, Has New Home Located In Historic Manchester Neighborhood Of Pittsburgh; Renovation Of 4,366-m2 Former Post Office Reportedly 1/3 Complete, Containing Space For Fabrication, Laboratories, Administration; Further Construction To Include Drone / Rover Testing Areas; US$79.5M Peregrine Mission Launching July 2021 To Lacus Mortis Area (44.96°N, 25.62°E) Of Moon Will Be Controlled From 1016 North Lincoln Ave, As Will 2 Moon South Pole Missions: $5.6M MoonRanger Rover (Carried By XL-1 Masten Lander Dec 2022) And $199.5M Griffin (To Deliver VIPER 2023)
Ancient Lunar Ice, Possibly Trapped In Permanently Shadowed Craters For Billions Of Years, May Offer Insight Into Origin Of Water In Solar System; Johns Hopkins / UT-Austin Study Warns Computer Simulations Show Exhaust From 1,200-kg Lunar Lander, Approximately The Size Of CLPS Vessels Peregrine (Astrobotic) And Nova-C (Intuitive Machines) Set To Launch In Second Half Of 2021, Would Cause 30-40% Of Lander Vapor To Remain 2 Months Later, Creating Anthropogenic Atmosphere, With 20% Eventually Solidifying Around Poles
