Expected RFP For Robust Nuclear Power On Moon By 2027
NASA Advisory Council Technology, Innovation, And Engineering Committee At Sep 1 Meeting Signals Intention To Issue Request By Early Oct For Proposal To Build 10-Kilowatt Fission Reactor, Spacenews Reports; System To Support Human Activity Level Of Energy Demand In Excess Of Currently Deployed Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators Which Power Deep Space Probes / Rovers; Funding Bill In House Of Representative Also To Appropriate US$110M For Spacecraft Nuclear Propulsion Development; NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Administrator Jim Reuter Planning For $1.1B Or $1.58B Total Science Funds
Credits: NASA
A Lunar Vehicle Capable Of Both Autonomous And Crewed Function, Powered By Hybrid Hydrogen Fuel Cells / Solar Panel, Receives Nickname Homage To Venerable ‘Land Cruiser’ Line Of Off-Road Vehicles Said To Ensure Occupants ‘Come Back Alive’; The 6-wheeled, 6-meter Long Vessel Is To Contain 42.67 Meter2 Pressurized Crew Cabin And Have Range Of ~10,000-km, About The Circumference Of The Moon; Lunar Cruiser Considered Focal Point For Team Japan Study Meeting, A 100+ Strong Association Of Japan Enterprises With Goal Of Lunar Society Actualization
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
NASA Science Mission Directorate Planetary Science Division, Led By (L) Lori Glaze, Forming Science Definition Team To Prioritize Lunar Science To Be Conducted By Artemis III Crew At Undetermined Site Within 6 Degrees Of Moon South Pole; 
