Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Friday / 13 March 2020

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University Teams Building SmallSat Demonstrations For Artemis 

NASA Small Spacecraft Technology Program Selects Nine University Teams For Small (<180 Kg) Satellite Demonstrations Supporting Artemis; Universities Will Receive Up To US$200K For Lunar Projects; Arizona State University Tempe Will Test Deployable Optical Receiver Aperture; University Of Colorado Boulder Will Build SmallSat Lunar Communications System In Collaboration With JPL; University Of California Irvine And University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Will Both Test Electrospray Thrusters; Future SmallSats Could Provide Communications And Navigation For The Moon

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 10 March 2020

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Artemis Student Challenge Awards University Teams For Cosmic Crops And Lunar Communication Laser Development

NASA Awards Nearly US$1M To Eight University Teams; University Of Arizona Colleges Of Engineering, Agriculture And Life Sciences, Team Led By Murat Kacira, Receives $84,333 To Develop Improved Water And Nutrient System For Growing Cosmic Crops In Microgravity (L); Colorado School Of Mines, In Cooperation With University Of Arizona, Receives $114K To Test Laser For Communicating With Tiny ‘FemtoSat’ Spacecraft, Shown By Jekan Thanga (R), Launched Across Moon; Laser Communication System May Be Used For Exploring Permanently Shadowed Regions Of Lunar South Pole

Credits: University of Arizona

Tuesday / 25 February 2020

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  Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program To Encourage Canada Companies In Artemis Supply Chain

Canada Space Agency (CSA / ASC) Releases Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program Announcement Of Opportunity; LEAP AO Is Intended To Position Canada Companies In Lunar Mission Supply Chain For The 2024 Artemis Human Landing Date; LEAP Program Is Funded At US$150M With AO Funded At $13M And Individual Companies Receiving Up To $2M; Interested Commercial Enterprises Include ABB Canada, Canadensys Aerospace, Mission Control Space Services And Moon Express Canada; Letters Of Intent Are Due 20 March, With AO Due 31 Mar

Credits: CSA / ASC, Canadensys, Mission Control Space, Moon Express

Friday / 21 February 2020

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Artemis Moon Enterprises Underway At Langley Research Center To Support 2024 Human Landings 

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Continues Lunar Programs Following Visit By VP Pence Reaffirming Commitment To Artemis; Navigation Doppler LIDAR Being Developed At Langley Will Aid In Determining Exact Spacecraft Position During Landing; Langley Researches On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly And Manufacturing For Lunar Orbit Applications; Clayton Turner Is New Center Director And Jill Marlowe Is New Associate Center Director For Technical At Langley

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin

Tuesday / 18 February 2020

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  Permanently Shadowed South Polar Region Operations To Be Studied By Universities Under BIG Idea NASA Awards

NASA 2020 Breakthrough, Innovative And Game-Changing (BIG) Idea Challenge To Award Nearly USD$1M To Eight University Teams For Demonstrating Ways To Work In Moon’s Darkest Regions; MIT AeroAstro Team, Supervised By Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman, Will Build 100-Kg Multifunctional Expandable Lunar Lite Tall Tower (MELLTT) To Extend 100 Feet From Lander; Northeastern University Will Build SCOUT Rover And DOGHOUSE Support Module; Concepts Will Be Designed To Operate In Permanently Shadowed Regions Near Lunar South Pole

Credits: NASA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tuesday / 4 February 2020

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Blue Origin To Test BE-7 Lunar Lander Engine At Edwards AFB

Blue Origin Partners With Air Force Research Laboratory To Develop Test Facility For BE-7 Lunar Lander Engine, Signs 15-Year Cooperation Agreement; Facility Will Test BE-7 In Simulated Space Environments; New 10,000 Pound Thrust Engine Is Designed For In-Space Applications Including The Blue Moon Lunar Lander; Blue Origin “O’Neill Building” Headquarters In Kent, Washington, Features Blue Moon Mockup Along With Science Fiction Spaceships; Blue Origin Hiring Engineers To Compete For NASA Lunar Contracts

Credits: Blue Origin, Air Force Research Lab

Tuesday / 17 Sep 2019

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Masten Space Systems Testing Technology For Future Lunar Landers

Masten Space Systems Testing Lunar Surface Navigation System On Xodiac Rocket In Mojave, California; System Developed By Draper Aerospace Will Provide Real-Time Mapping Of Lunar Surface With Images Laid Over Satellite Maps; NASA Safe Precise Landing Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) Project Seeks To Improve Upon The Primitive Apollo Landing Computers; Terrain Navigation Systems Will Aid Future Human Lunar Landings Starting In 2024; Founder Dave Masten Developing XL-1 Lander To Carry 100-kg Payload To Lunar Surface

Credits: Masten Space Systems

Friday / 16 Aug 2019

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Japan Lunar Surface Society Plans Pressurized Rover And Future Lunar Activities

JAXA, Toyota And Mitsubishi Are Joining In A Lunar Surface Society In September To Study Sustainable Lunar Activities; Toyota Is Teamed With JAXA To Study Pressurized Lunar Rover For Crew Of 2-4; Fuel Cells Would Give 6-Wheeled Rover 10,000-km Range; JAXA, Led By Hiroshi Yamakawa, Hoping To Send Rover To Moon In 2029; Avatar X, A Partnership Between JAXA And All Nippon Airways, Building Futuristic Lunar Robotics Center On Island Of Kyushu

Credits: JAXA, Cloud Architects, Avatar X

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 August 2019

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Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Announces Lunar Surface Autonomous Science Payloads (LSASP) R&D Request For Proposal

6 Contracts Are Being Offered By Public Works And Government Services Canada (PWGSC) To Study And Develop Technology Beneficial To Future CSA Lunar Missions; Concept Studies May Be Funded Up To CAD$200K, Research Including Technology Development May Be Funded Up To CAD$700K (US$526K); Duration Of Contracts Are Up To 18 Months, Deadline Is 27 Sep @ 14:00 EDT; RFP Scope Of Work States, “Polar Destinations, In Particular, The Far Side South Pole Destination Are The Most Likely Destinations Of Interest And The Primary Targets”

Credits: NASA, CSA/ASC, Moon Express Canada

Friday / 2 Aug 2019

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New USA Commercial Lunar Lander Provider Contracts Could Be Awarded Before Oct 2019

As Announced By NASA Solicitation 80JSC019R0013, New Contracts For Lunar Landers Capable Of Delivering >10kg Payloads To Lunar Surface By 31 Dec 2023 Planned To Be Awarded To Begin 15 Oct 2019 And Possibly Extend Through 28 Nov 2028; RFP Responses Due By 29 Aug 2019; Urgency To Support Artemis Human Moon South Pole Landing By 2024, This Opportunity Will Add New Contractor(s) To Existing CLPS Contracts Which Are Now Held By Astrobotic ($79.5M) And Intuitive Machines ($77.2M), After Orbit Beyond Withdraws From Its $97M Contract

Credits: International Lunar Observatory Association, Astrobotic, Moon Express