Lunar Manufacturing Capability To Be Advanced By Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 

DARPA (Budget ~US3.5B) To Host Proposers Day Webcast 26 February, 13:00-16:00 (EST), Orienting Potential Applicants In Anticipation Of Broad Agency Announcement On Novel Orbital And Moon Manufacturing, Materials And Mass-Efficient Design Program; Initiative Seeks To Apply DARPA (Formerly ARPA, Founded In Response To Sputnik-1) Ethos Of “Explicitly Reaching For Transformational Change” To Lunar Surface And In-Space Construction; Three 18-Month Phases Will Focus On 1-MW Solar Array Materials / Design Proof Of Concept (Phase 1); 100m-Diameter RF Reflector (Phase 2); Long-Wave Infrared Telescope (Phase 3)

Credits: DARPA, Pictured: Acting Director Peter Highnam (L), Defense Sciences Office Program Manager Bill Carter (R)