INSPIRE Mission Among 24 Small Satellites Selected By NASA To Fly As Auxiliary Payloads In 2014-2016; Dual 3U INSPIRE CubeSats Will Be 1st To Travel Beyond Earth Orbit, Demonstrating Functionality In Interplanetary Space; Relatively Affordable (~US$3M) Moon Missions By Universities & Private Organizations Likely To Follow; LunarCubes Missions Briefing 11 April 2013 At NASA KSC
Image Credit: NASA
Bruce Cordell Outlines Evidence For Emergence Of New Apollo-Level International Space Age By Mid-Decade; Cites Cyclical Patterns In Politics, Economics, International Relations & Public Ebullience Over Past 200 Years; Significance Of New ‘Gold Rush In Space’ / Emergence Of Commercial Space, Geo-Political Significance Of Moon In Coming Years; Recent Poll Indicates 75% Of Americans Want Increased NASA Budget For Human Missions To Moon / Mars
Image Credit: 21stcenturywaves.com, cislunarnext.org
Golden Spike Co Receives Thousands Of Public Offers To Help, Starts Indiegogo Campaign To Get Humans To Moon By 2020; Mike Griffin (L) Former NASA Administrator Says No Significant Commercial Space Market Exists At LEO, Wants Permanent Moon Base Claiming Market Potential Is 10X Larger & Longer; Clark Lindsey of NewSpace Watch Argues NASA Commercial Contracts Effectively Increase Competition, Cost-Saving, Private Investment
Image Credit: Huntsville Times/R. Conn, GSC
Athena Emerging As Potential Launch Vehicle For Lunar Missions; More Launch Providers = More Competition / Lower Costs, Thus Goes Argument Inspiring US Air Force To Select Launch Vehicles Like Athena & Falcon 9; With Prior Success Launching A Lunar Mission (Lunar Prospector, 1998) The Lockheed Martin Rocket Could Also Be Viable Option For Emerging Commercial Space Moon Missions
Image Credit: NASA, GLXP
Application Deadline 1 March For LPI Summer Intern Program At NASA JSC; Interns Will Evaluate The Study Generated By Previous Student Teams – ‘Global Landing Site Study To Provide Context For Exploration Of The Moon’ – Then Conduct Detailed Assessment Of 1 Or 2 High-Priority Landing Sites Identified In That Report; Will Utilize Latest Lunar Data, Explore Potential Traverse Routes / Stations, ID Challenges; Program: 28 May- 2 Aug 2013
Image Credit: NASA, LPI
Stanford University Civil & Environmental Engineering PhD Candidate Henning Roedel Featured As ‘Future Star’ In Feb 2013 Issue Of NewSpace Global Publication Thruster; Roedel Interested In Construction In Extreme Environments, Conducting Research At NASA Ames On Lunar Biocomposite To Create Infrastructure On Moon
Image Credit: NewSpace Global, NASA, Stanford, facebook.com
3.5 Years Into Its Mission, LRO Continues To Provide Valuable Data And Spectacular Images Of Our Celestial Neighbor; To Date The Mission Has Provided 893,493 Images & Over 8,653 Derived Data Products To The NASA Planetary Data System; LRO Team Planning To Image GRAIL Impact Sites In March / April When LRO & Sun Are Directly Overhead
Image Credit: NASA
Apollo Lunar Industrial Park On Moon By 2025 Proposed As Nation Commemorates 10th Anniversary Of Columbia 7 Loss; Would Give Taxpayers Return On Considerable Investment In Apollo Moon Missions; NASA Administrator Bolden & Secy Of State Kerry Should Forge International Agreements With China, India, ISS Partners As Suggested By Space Author / Human Resource Development Consultant Philip R Harris
Image Credit: P. Harris, NASA
Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) Designed By NASA To Extract Water, Ice, For Fuel & Life Support From Regolith On Moon Or Other Dusty Bodies; 45kg, 0.75m-Tall Device Designed As Feeder For Lunar Resource Processing Plant; Current Design Likely To Evolve With Roll Out Of RASSOR-2 In Early 2014 For Testing
Image Credit: NASA
International Lunar Activity Gaining Momentum In 2010s As China Prepares For Chang’e-3,4,5 Lunar Lander Missions In 2013, 2015, 2017; Russia Luna-Glob Orbiter In 2015, Luna-Glob / Luna-Resurs Polar Landers in 2016, 2017; USA LADEE Orbiter In 2013; India Chandrayaan-2 Lander ~2015; Japan SELENE-2 Lander ~2018; Private Enterprise GLXP Landers 2014-2015, ILO-1 Lander 2015-2016, Golden Spike Company Human Mission ~2019
Credit: Dwayne Day – The Space Review
Image Credit: Corby Waste, fourth-millennium.net