Study Conducted By Irina Kitiashvili Of NASA Ames Research Center Indicates Upcoming 11 Year Solar Cycle Least Active In 2 Centuries, Solar Sunspots At 2025 Maximum Estimated 30-50% Less Frequent Than 2013 Solar Maximum, Reducing Risk Of Deleterious Solar Storm Radiation For Artemis Mission Instrumentation And Astronauts, Including First Women On The Moon
Credits: NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, ESA
Construction Of US$10B Space Launch System Continues Since January Throughout Government Shutdown; Top Half Of First Core Stage Is Assembled In Vertical Stacking Cell At NASA Michoud Assembly Facility In New Orleans; Manufacture And Checkout Of 10 Solid Rocket Booster Segments Is Completed At Northrop Grumman In Utah; SLS Will Produce 8.8 Million Pounds Of Thrust, More Than Saturn V; Uncrewed Orion Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) Scheduled To Orbit Moon In 2020; Second Core Stage Beginning Construction At MAF; EM-2 Projected For 2022 Will Carry Crew Of 4, Potentially Including First Woman To Orbit Moon
Credits: NASA
Lockheed Martin Releases Detailed Concept For 62,000 Kg Reusable Human Lunar Lander, Launching From Lunar Orbital Platform To Support 4-Person Crew For 2 Weeks On The Surface; Also Soliciting Proposals For Payloads To Fly On Orion; Russia And China Express Interest In Joint Projects, Including Space Center On Hainan Island To Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicles; India Chandrayaan-2 And Israel SpaceIL Planning Moon Landings In Early 2019; Private Companies Aiming For Moon Include Blue Origin, Bigelow Aerospace, Astrobotic, Moon Express, ispace Japan, Golden Spike Company.
Credits: Lockheed Martin, Airbus
Planning For Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, NASA Requesting Industry Proposals For Power-Propulsion Element To Launch On Commercial Rocket By 2022; Orion To Rendezvous With PPE During Exploration Mission 3; EM-3 Will Also Bring European System Providing Refuelling, Infrastructure And Telecommunications (ESPRIT) Plus US-Built Habitation Module; Additional Modules To Be Brought On Exploration Missions 4 And 5; Critics Claim LOP-G Lacks Clear Mission Of Moon Or Mars
Credits: NASA
This Week Marks 35 Years Since Sally Ride Became The 1st American Woman In Space, Commemorated By New USA Forever Postage Stamp; After Shattering The Ultimate Glass Ceiling, Ride Said “Weightlessness Is A Great Equalizer”; Another Of The “Original Six” Women Astronauts, Anna Lee Fisher — 1st Mother In Space On STS-51 Discovery, Becomes The Godmother To Viking Latest Ocean Ship, Orion, Same Name As NASA Crew Ship That Could Take The 1st Women To The Moon
Credits: USPS, Viking Cruises, NASA, SPC
USA 2017 Administration Could Support New Effort To Reclaim Greatest Achievement In History With SLS 2021-23; China Long March 9 Expected Completion 2025, Proposes Human Moon Missions 2031-2036; India GSLV Mk. 3 Might Launch Crews To Space ~2021; Russia Hopes For Human Lunar Orbit 2027, Surface Mission 2029 If Funding Remains Consistent; Japan Working On Robotic SLIM Mission; ESA Proposes Moon Village; Independent Astrobotic, Moon Express, ILOA Missions And / Or Formation Of International Entity Could Increase Momentum Toward Ultimate Goal Of Lunar Exploration, Science, Resources For Earth
Credit: NASA, ESA, CNSA, ISRO, JAXA
13 CubeSats Hitching Ride To Translunar Space Aboard SLS EM-1 Test Flight 2018; Each No More Than 6 Units, 14 Kg; 10 Payloads Already Confirmed; 7 Selected By NASA Through NextSTEP (SkyFire, Lunar IceCube), Human Exploration & Ops Mission Directorate (NEA Scout, BioSentinel, Lunar Flashlight) And Science Mission Directorate (CuSP, LunaH-Map); 3 International; 3 TBD Pending Outcome Of CubeQuest Challenge; SLS Will Release Primary Payload Orion On Lunar Trajectory, Then 13 CubeSats To Deploy From Stage Adapter
Credit: NASA, Morehead State University
Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) First Test Flight Of New Space Launch System With Uncrewed Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle On 21-Day Circumlunar Trajectory NLT Nov 2018; Will Also Carry And Deploy 10 Other CubeSat Missions; Latest Announcement Introduces JAXA EQUULEUS (EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft) And OMOTENASHI (Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor), As Well As ASI / Agrotec ArgoMoon
Credit: NASA, JAXA, AIS / Argotec
Next-Generation Human Space Transportation Beyond Low Earth Orbit Progressing With Orion Spacecraft Designed For Deep Space Exploration; Contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) Working Closely With NASA In Constructing The Craft; Dr. Michael Hawes, LMSSC VP & Program Manager Discusses Goal Of Deep Space & “We’re Going To Do That Building From The Moon Out” Noting The Benefits Of A Station On Moon Far Side With Power & Communications
Credit: NASA, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) Under Development By NASA To Launch Humans To Moon Orbit, While Private Companies Such As Golden Spike Aim For Moon Surface 2018-2020s; US$1.25B Robotic Mission To Launch Dec 2020, Travel 2 Years To Asteroid (Potentially 2008 EV5), Spend 400 Days Searching For 4-Meter Diameter Boulder, Bring Selected Boulder To Moon Orbit; Astronauts Will Then Launch 2025 To Moon Orbit, Dock With & Study Rock Via SLS / Orion; Additional Cislunar / Moon Surface Missions Under Consideration
Image Credit: NASA, Boeing Co., New Scientist