Category Archives: Advanced Technology

Thursday / 21 May 2015

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ISDC 2015 Focusing On Breakthrough Technologies For Lunar / Space Exploration

ISDC2015

Over 1,000 Attendees Meeting At NSS International Space Development Conference In Toronto, Canada 20-24 May; Robert Richards Of Moon Express To Speak Today On ‘Breakthrough Technologies Shaping Our Future’; Friday To Feature Presentations On The International Lunar Decade By Dave Dunlop & Vid Beldavs, Plus A Keynote Presentation By Apollo 11 Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin; Lunar Workshop To Include Presentations On Lunar Surface Solar Power / Power Beaming, Supporting A Cislunar Econosphere, Mapping Lunar Lava Tubes

Image Credit: National Space Society, Canadian Space Commerce Association, Moon Express, LinkedIn

Friday / 15 May 2015

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Honeybee To Develop Lunar Heat Flow Probe & Craft For ISRU / Space Exploration Honeybee CubeSats Lunar Probe

Honeybee Robotics Of Brooklyn NY Receiving NASA Small Business Phase 1 Contracts Worth Up To US$125K Each To Design: Advanced Lunar Probe (Similar To Apollo 15 & 17 Instrument) For Measuring Moon Endogenic Heat Flow, Thermal Gradient & Conductivity; 3D-Printed Harvester CubeSat With Cold-Gas Thrusters Which Can Continue To Refuel Itself For ‘Eternal’ Moon / Asteroid / Mars / Europa Missions; ISRU Volatiles Extractor For Moon / Mars / Asteroids; Hermetically-Sealed Canisters For Sample Return Missions

Image Credit: NASA, Honeybee, ESA / The Science Office Ltd.

Friday / 8 May 2015

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Moon Express Advances Moon Mission At Kennedy Space Center

Moon Express 2015

Moon Express Testing Lunar Lander Test Vehicle MTV-1X At Shuttle Landing Facility / Company’s New Home At KSC In Florida; Bob Richards States KSC Has Communications, Safety & Hazard-Field Infrastructure, Talent / People, Room To Expand For Moon Mission Development; Company Seeks To Win Google Lunar XPrize, Build New Propulsion System, New Vehicles, Series Of Private Robots To Bring Resources Of Moon To Earth & Solve Current Earth-Moon Transportation Challenges

Image Credit: NASA/Lunar CATALYST Initiative, Ben Smegelsky, Moon Express Inc.

Tuesday / 5 May 2015

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Astrobotic Gains 3 More Contract Awards From NASA

AstroboticSTTR0515

GLXP Contender Announces US$375,000 In Contract Awards Through NASA Small Business Technology Transfer Program; Astrobotic, In Partnership With Carnegie Mellon University, Will Advance 3 Proposals For Resource Exploration On & Under Surface Of Moon / Other Planetary Bodies: Develop Sensors To Precisely Detect Minerals In Lunar Regolith, Develop Imaging Technology To Map Lunar Robot Surroundings While In Shadowed Polar Craters, Create Navigation / Perception Technology For Flying Robots To Explore Lunar Caves Without Communication To Earth

Image Credit: Astrobotic, NASA

Friday / 1 May 2015

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Copernicus Space Science Program To Feature Space Elevators & GLXP Team Puli GLXP Exosphere

Exosphere Conference In Budapest, Hungary 13-31 July With Theme ‘An Endogenously-Powered Space Elevator’ To Focus On Modeling Various Power Supply Systems, Potential Markets Resulting From Reduced Cost Payload Delivery To / From Orbit, Asteroid & Moon Mining Industries; Hungary GLXP Team Puli Will Demonstrate Its Lunar Rover; Program Supported By PuliSpace Founder (BL) Dr. Tibór Pacher, Space Elevator Expert Larry Bartoszek (BC), Enrico Dini (BR) Of D-Shape Company Which Is Experimenting With 3D-Printed Lunar Bases

Image Credit: Exosphere, GLXP, Team Puli, D-Shape, NASA SSERVI

Wednesday / 29 April 2015

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Bigelow Developing Expandable Technology With Eye Towards Lunar Operations

BigelowCarswell

Expandable Habitats Pioneered By Bigelow Aerospace Could Facilitate Lunar Settlement More Quickly & Affordably Than Generally Believed; Bigelow Set To Launch BEAM Module – With 16 Cubic Meter Volume – To ISS Sep 2015; Larger BA 330 Modules To Follow Before Company Begins Enabling Individuals, Companies & Countries To Extend Human Activity To Moon Utilizing Its Habitat Systems; Basic Lunar Habitat Could Consist Of 3 BA 330s, 4 Propulsion Buses & 4 Docking Nodes

Image Credit: Bigelow Aerospace, Space Age Publishing Company

Tuesday / 28 April 2015

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Astrobotic Advancing Navigation Technology For Lunar Landing

AstroGE

GLXP Contender Selected By NASA Flight Opportunities Program To Test Navigation Technology; Astrobotic Will Demonstrate Reliability Of Soft Landing System Aboard Masten Space Systems’ Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle; Developed With Nvidia & General Electric, 4kg Avionics System Supposedly Capable Of Pinpoint Lunar Landing With Hazard Avoidance Down To 20cm, Touchdown Accuracy To 3m; GLXP Teams Must Declare Registered / Scheduled Launch By End 2015

Image Credit: Astrobotic, GE, Nvidia

Friday / 17 April 2015

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5th International Lunar Surface Applications Workshop Last Day

LSA5

Final Day Of LSA5 In Cocoa Beach FL Will Feature Russell Cox (L) Of Flexure Engineering On ‘The Lunar Initiatives’, David Dunlop (R) Of NSS On ‘International Lunar Decade’, & Presentations On The Business Of Being An Astropreneur; Other Lunar Leaders Include Bob Richards (Moon Express), Dan Hendrickson (Astrobotic), Jim Keravala (Shackleton Energy); Conference Advancing Collaborations, Ideas For Robotic Science / Resource Prospecting & Human Exploration / Settlement Missions; 5th LunarCubes Workshop To Be Held Oct 6-9 In San Jose CA; LSA5 Speech By Astronaut Cady Coleman & Panel Discussion Available

Image Credit: Flexure Engineering, NSS, Bigelow, Isaac Brekken/The New York Times/Redux/Eyevine

Thursday / 2 April 2015

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Lunar Dust Experiments Opening Future Exploration Possibilities

DustyMoon0415

LADEE Results Indicate Tail Of Nanoscale Particles Trailing Moon, Likely Expelled By Asteroid Impact, <0.001g / Square Meter; LADEE Spectrometer PI Says Phenomenon Could Offer New Way To Study Surface Of Airless Planetary Bodies, “Collect Their Tails Rather Than Landing On Them”; Moon RIDERS Educational Project Testing System To Remove Lunar Dust From Moon Lander Equipment Using High Voltage Square Waves Being Tested At NASA Ames; Project Is Collaboration Of Hawai`i High Schools, NASA, GLXP Teams, PISCES

Image Credit: NASA, kealakeherobotics.org

Friday / 27 March 2015

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ARM Project To Revive NASA Human Missions To Cislunar SpaceARM

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