Category Archives: NASA

Friday / 22 November 2013

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Launching Life To The Moon In 2015

Plants On Moon

Lunar Plant Growth Habitat Team Of NASA Ames Research Center Will Try To Grow Arabidopsis, Basil, Sunflowers, Turnips In Coffee-Can-Sized Aluminum Cylinders On Moon; NASA Expects To Build / Launch For Under US$2M By Buying Space On Commercial Launch Of GLXP Team; Chief Biologist Dr. Robert Bowman (Center) Points Out Need To Understand Plant Ability To Overcome Stress Of Space Radiation, Moon Partial Gravity, Small / Controlled Environment For Use In Human Solar System Buildout

Image Credit: NASA, Hemil Modi

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 15-18 Nov 2013

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Moon Express Mission Advancing

moonXtest1113

Silicon Valley-Based GLXP Team Analyzing Data From Successful Tethered Hover Flight Test Of Its Guidance, Navigation & Control Software Aboard NASA Mighty Eagle Prototype Lander; Team Will Determine If It Is Ready To Proceed With Closed Loop Free Flight Test; Philanthropist Klee Irwin (L) Announces 6-Figure Investment In Moon Express; Pictured (R): ME Principal GNC Engineer Jim Kaidy 

Image Credit: Moon Express

Friday / 15 November 2013

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South Korea Commits To
2020 Moon Mission

KARI 2020 Moon Mission

Prime National Objective Announced By S Korea President Park Geun-Hye To Send Lunar Lander, 10-20 Kg Rover To Look For Rare Minerals & Orbiter To Moon In 2020 Aboard Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 Rockets; 15 Government-Funded Research Institutions Led By KARI To Begin Collaborating In 2014, Hope To Overcome Challenges With NASA Support; May Need ~$655M To Complete Project By 2020; Also Potential For KARI Associate Membership In SSERVI

Image Credit: KARI, K. Dietsch/UPI/Newscom

Thursday / 14 November 2013

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Bigelow Report: COTS Model & Property Rights Can Facilitate Lunar Base

BigelowNASAReport1113

Report Prepared By Robert Bigelow Under NASA Space Act Agreement Recommends That NASA Pursue A Partnership With Industry To Develop Beyond LEO / Cislunar Space; Permanent, Semi-Commercial Lunar Base Achievable & Affordable In Next 10 Years; Private Companies / Individuals Would Need To Acquire Property Rights On Moon / Other Bodies If Plan Is To Be Viable; Bigelow Already Applying To FAA / AST For Review Of Lunar Property Rights Policy

Image Credit: Bigelow Aerospace, NASA

Wednesday / 13 November 2013

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9 Research Teams Selected For NASA SSERVI

SSERVIteams1113

William Bottke – Southwest Research Institute, Boulder CO; Daniel Britt – University Of Central FL, Orlando FL; Ben Bussey – Johns Hopkins University APL, Laurel MD; William Farrell – NASA Goddard SFC, Greenbelt MD; Timothy Glotch – Stony Brook University, NY NY; Jennifer Heldmann – NASA Ames, Moffett Field CA; Mihaly Horanyi – University Of Colorado, Boulder CO; David Kring – Lunar & Planetary Institute, Houston TX; Carle Pieters – Brown University, Providence RI

Image Credit: SwRI, UCF, APL, NASA, Stony Brook U, CU, LPI, Brown University

Friday / 8 November 2013

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Universities Partner With NASA,
Open Science Centers

SSERVI, Universities

University Of Cincinnati To Open Neil Armstrong Space Science Institute To Promote Space-Based Research & Engineering In Partnership With Ames Research Center; University Of Central Florida Daniel Britt (L) Awarded US$6M Grant To Establish Center For Lunar & Asteroid Surface Science; Will Aid NASA In Planning Exploration Missions To The Moon, Asteroids, Mars Moons; Chosen As 1 of 9 Organizations Under SSERVI Program

Image Credit: UCF, UC, SSERVI, NASA

Wednesday / 6 November 2013

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Morpheus Set To Resume Lunar Landing Technology Demonstrations

MorpheusKSC1113

New Morpheus Vehicle To Arrive KSC 12 Nov; Will Conduct Dry Run, Wet Run & Test Readiness Review In Early Dec; 3 Free Flight Operations & First Flight Campaign In Mid Dec; Craft Will Then Help Test Key Technologies Such As In-Space Propellant Transfer; Team Hopes To Scale Up 500-kg Payload Lander So It Is Able To Land Habitat With Crew On Moon

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 23 October 2013

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LunarSail Project Completes First Round Of Funding

LunarSail1013

ARES Institute Raises Over US$15K Via Kickstarter Campaign; Mission To Demonstrate Ability Of Spacecraft To Navigate Itself Into Lunar Trajectory & Lunar Orbit With Solar Sail; Spacecraft Will Utilize CubeSat Design, Volume ~1000 Cubic Cm; Applying For Low-Cost / No-Cost Launch Under NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative, Due Date For CLI Proposals 26 Nov 2013; Project Leader Matthew Travis Says Mission Achievable For Under $100K

Image Credit: lunarsail.com

Tuesday / 22 October 2013

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ESA Hosting Lunar Sample Return Workshop

ESTECsampleReturn1013

Workshop On Science & Challenges Of Lunar Sample Return In ESA ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands On 18-19 Feb 2014; Event Co-Organized By NASA SSERVI & Russia IKI; Objectives: Discuss How Sample Return Missions Can Support Future Exploration, Scientific Priorities, Mission Requirements / Technical Challenges; ESA Intends To Cooperate With Russia On Moon Lander & Sample Return Missions, & With NASA On Human Missions

Image Credit: ESA, IKI, NASA

Tuesday / 15 October 2013

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LADEE Settling Into Lunar Orbit,
Preparing Communications Demonstration

LLCD1013

Lunar Atmosphere & Dust Environment Explorer Now In 250-Km Near-Circular Equatorial Orbit; Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration To Begin 17 Oct, LADEE To Link Up With Ground Stations In New Mexico, California & Canary Islands, Achieve Downlink Speed 622Mbps / Uplink Speed 20Mbps, Technology Could Revolutionize Deep Space Communication; Around 11 Nov Probe Will Drop To ~50Km Altitude For 100-Day Science Mission

Image Credit: NASA