Category Archives: NASA

Friday / 3 April 2020

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Lunar Landers On Track For 2021, First USA Surface Missions Since 1972

CLPS Awardees Astrobotic (US$79.5M) And Intuitive Machines ($77M) Report Lander Development Schedule On Track For July 2021 Launch, While Timeline For Only 3 Out Of 13 NASA Payloads Can Currently Be Confirmed; Winners Of NASA 19C Task Order To Polar Regions Late 2022 Expected To Be Announced Soon; Competitors For 19C Include IM, SpaceX, Moon Express, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada, Lockheed Martin, and Firefly Which Is Working With Israel Aerospace Industries On Genesis Lander (85-kg Payload Capacity) – An Advanced Version Of Beresheet 

Credits: Firefly, Astrobotic, IM

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 27-30 Mar 2020

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CLPS Enterprises Test Hardware And Compete For Upcoming Contracts

14 NASA Commercial Lunar Services Providers Are Eligible For Contracts; TALOS Thrusters Intended For Astrobotic Peregrine Lander Successfully Complete 60 Hot-Fire Tests; Firefly Aerospace Plans Orbital Launch And Builds Genesis Lander With 85-Kg Payload; Intuitive Machines Along With Astrobotic Has Task Order To Land Payloads On Lunar Surface NET July 2021; Moon Express & Other CLPS Providers Vie For Task Orders 20A To Possibly Be Awarded By 31 May To Land Volatiles Investigation Polar Exploration Rover, And 19D Expected By 30 Sep


Credits: Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, Intuitive Machines, Moon Express

 

Friday / 27 March 2020

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Artemis Program Continues As Long-Term Stimulus In Current Crisis

Orion Spacecraft For Artemis 1 Arrives At KSC Despite Lockdown At NASA Centers; Virus Crisis Seen As Reason To Accelerate Not Delay Human Moon Landings; Economic Downturn Means USA Needs Lunar Return Now More Than Ever; Turning Back Would Add Thousands Of Moonworkers To Unemployment Rolls; Studies Show That Spaceflight Investment Has Positive Multiplier Effects On Economy; Sustained Lunar Program Would Be Long-Term Stimulus For Earth

Credits: NASA, ILOA, SPC, Lockheed Martin; Mark Whittington – The Hill

Weekend Equinox Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 Mar 2020

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Artemis Goal Of Human Lunar Landings May Be Aided By SpaceX

Orion Spacecraft For Artemis 1 Completes Testing At NASA Plum Brook Station And Moves To KSC; Orion And Space Launch System Production And Testing Temporarily Pause Due To Virus Cautions; SpaceX Prepares for Historic American Commercial Crew Launch In May; Moon Landings In 2024-25 Are Seen As Imperative For Future Human Survival; Though SpaceX CEO Musk Expresses Doubts About Reaching Mars, Opportunity Exists For SpaceX To Capitalize The Moon


Credits: SpaceX, 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

Tuesday / 17 March 2020

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NASA Artemis Human Lunar Landing In 2024 To Bypass Gateway 

New NASA Associate Administrator For Human Exploration And Operations Mission Directorate Doug Loverro Commits To Artemis Bypassing Lunar Orbital Gateway; Human Landing Goal In 2024 Will Be Critical Path; Canada, Japan And European Space Agencies, Maxar Technologies And Northrop Grumman Contributing To Gateway; NASA Selects Space Weather Instrument Suite And ESA-Built Radiation Instrument Package As First Science Experiments On Future Gateway Space Station; Lunar Orbit Seen As Important For Long-Term Sustainable Presence On Moon Surface

Credits: NASA

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

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 Mar 2020

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Artemis Mission Sequence Leading To Human Moon Landing In 2024

USA Administration And NASA Remain Committed To First Woman, Next Man On Surface Of Moon By 2024; Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Nears Final Testing At Plum Brook Station; Space Launch System Core Stage Awaits Static Fire Testing At Stennis Space Center, Expected To Be Operational For Uncrewed Artemis I By Second Half Of 2021 Per Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk; Artemis II Human Lunar Orbital Mission To Follow In 2022; Boeing And Blue Origin Under Consideration To Build Human Landing System For Artemis III In 2024

Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 28 Feb – 2 Mar 2020

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Commercial Lunar Services Providers Enlisted For New Polar Rover

Commercial Lunar Payload Services 19C Proposals For Smaller Lander Mission Due First Week Of March; CLPS Providers Astrobotic And Intuitive Machines Building Landers For July 2021; NASA Seeking Bids From 14 CLPS Providers To Land New Rover At Moon Pole 2023; 350-Kg Volatiles Investigation Polar Exploration Rover Will Roam Several Kilometers For Up To 100 Days, Seek Water Ice With 4 Instruments Including One-Meter TRIDENT Drill; 19D Solicitation Expected To Follow, For Larger Cargo Landers Potentially To Moon Equator

Credits: NASA, Ceres Robotics

Friday / 28 February 2020

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CubeSats To Orbit Moon In 2021 To Prepare For Artemis 

NASA Small Spacecraft Technology Program Funds CubeSats For Moon; Lunar Flashlight Will Fly As Secondary Payload On Artemis-1; With Principal Investigator Barbara Cohen, Flashlight Will Examine Permanently Shadowed Regions Near South Pole For Water Ice Deposits; Rocket Lab Has Contract To Launch Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations And Navigation Experiment In 2021; 25-Kg CAPSTONE, Built By Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Will Reach Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit As Precursor To Lunar Gateway

Credits: NASA, Rocket Lab