Category Archives: Artemis Program

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 25-28 June 2021

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Artemis 1 SLS Stack Grows As NASA Prepares Deep Space Test Dummies For Orion

Artemis 1 At KSC Ready For 18-m Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Upper Stage Next Week, Now Fitted With 9.1-m Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Atop 65m Core, Itself Sitting Between 54-m Twin Solid Fuel Boosters; Orion Stage Adapter And Crew Module Mass Simulator To Follow In Stacking Sequence, Completed Total Height ~98m; Uncrewed Artemis 1 Launch Still Hoped For 2021, Acceleration And Kinetic Forces To Be Measured By Seated ‘Moonikin’, Radiation Exposure Tested With Torso ‘Phantoms’ Helga And Zohar, Equipped With 5,616 Dosimeters, Part of DLR / ISA Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment

 

Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 4-7 June 2021

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World Space Leaders Meet As Two Distinct Lunar Coalitions Take Shape

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson In Talks With Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin On Future Of ISS Partnership As USA And Russia Presidents Biden And Putin Prepare For Geneva Summit 16 June; Nelson Predicts Space Travel “On Agenda”, Characterizes Biden As “A Fan Of Space”; Concurrently, Roscosmos And CNSA To Co-Host Meeting On International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) At Global Space Exploration Conference 2021 In St. Petersburg, During Which Potential International Partners Expected To Respond To Participation Invites; ISRO, ESA Have Yet To Commit To 11 Nation-Strong Artemis Coalition Or ILRS, Raising Possibility Of Dual Membership

Credits: NASA, TASS, ESA, Wikipedia

Tuesday / 18 May 2021

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Lunar / Deep Space Exploration, Commercialization Are Top Priorities For New NASA Leadership

Administrator Bill Nelson Outlines Vision For Future Of USA Space Activity, Telling Florida Today A “Dual Track” Approach Will Emphasize “Commercial Activity” In Support Of Artemis Moon Mission Sequence And Related Technologies, While NASA Exploration Extends “Out Of Low-Earth Orbit”; Nelson Also Expresses Hope That International Cooperation May Be Furthered As “Space Is The Unique Environment Where Enemies Can Come Together” And Reflects On NASA’s Positive Image Around The World And Diplomatic Significance

Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 7-10 May 2021

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10 Living Apollo Moon Workers Maintain Human MultiWorld Status As Artemis Era Dawns

As Artemis Generation Women And Men Train For 2024-2026 Lunar Missions, It Is Appropriate To Reflect Upon The Surviving Astronauts Who Explored On And Around The Moon, Earth Nearest Celestial Neighbor / Key Launch Point To Galaxy – They Are, In Order Of Seniority: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin, Tom Stafford, David Scott, Bill Anders, Fred Haise, Harrison Schmitt, Charles Duke And Ken Mattingly; Artemis Astronauts Will Hopefully Reach Moon In Time For Apollo Era To Pass Exploration Torch

Credits: NASA, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia Commons

Tuesday / 27 Apr 2021

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Suit For Moon South Pole, Lunar Gateway, ISS To Be Developed For NASA By Industry

Commercial Crew-Style “Service-Based Model” To “Accelerate Industry And Our Artemis Exploration Plans” Per Deputy Associate Administrator For Advanced Exploration Systems Mark Kirasich; Design Cycle, Maintenance And Training To Be Managed By One Or More Partners With NASA Oversight; xEVA And Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) Programs To Continue Within NASA, Concurrent With Commercial Program – Providing Redundancy; Responses To Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services RFI 80JSC21XEVAS Due 29 April

Credits: NASA, Boeing, SpaceX, HI-SEAS

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 23-26 Apr 2021

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NASA Administrator Nominee Reaffirms USA Commitment To Artemis Human Lunar Landings, Competitive Contract Practices

In Testimony To Senate Commerce Committee Nominee Bill Nelson Pledges “Moon Should Be A Place That Is Not Militarized” Under Artemis Accords, Urges Cooperation Between Nations Participating In Lunar Activity; Committee Chair Maria Cantwell Advocates For “Dissimilar Redundancy” In Human Lander Program, Opening Possibility Of Future Additional Contracts; Nelson Insists “Timetable For 2024 Is Still There”, Implying That SpaceX Confidence In Keeping Schedule Deciding Factor In Award; Confirmation In Full Senate Expected 28 April

Credits: NASA, US Senate

Tuesday / 20 Apr 2021

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Artemis 3 Crew Could Arrive On Moon In SpaceX Human Landing System Starship

The NASA-led Artemis Coalition Will Transit From Lunar Orbit / Orion Spacecraft To Surface Via Moon-Specific Variant Of SpaceX Starship, Possibly By 2024 But Likely NET 2026; Firm-Fixed-Price US$2.89B Contract Awarded Through Next Space Technologies For Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2) Thought To Be Reflective Of SpaceX Technical Prowess, Compatibility With Future Launch Systems, And Lowest Bid; Award Is To Be Followed By A Long-Term Contract Opportunity, Open To Other Enterprises, To Provide Lunar Surface To Gateway Transport For Ongoing, Sustainable Operations

Credits: SpaceX, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 16-19 Apr 2021

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Biden / Harris Administration To Continue Artemis Moon To Mars Objective As New NASA Leadership Forms

Former Senator And Payload Specialist Bill Nelson Expected To Be Confirmed As 14th NASA Administrator On 21 April, Former Space Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy Is Deputy Administrator Nominee; 2022 Discretionary Budget Request Includes US$24.7B For NASA – A 6.3% ($1.5B) Increase Over 2021, With $6.9B Dedicated To Artemis Program, A $325M Increase; Space Technology R&D Also Sees $325M Increase To $1.4B, Earth Science Increased $250M To $2.3B; In Addition To First Woman, Administrators Have New Goal To Send First Person Of Color To Moon, Possibly By 4 July 2026, Via $2.9B SpaceX Moonship

Credits: NASA OIG, SpaceX

Tuesday / 13 Apr 2021

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NASA Viper Mission Leveraging Open-Source Software & Off-The-Shelf Hardware To Advance Moon And Mars Exploration

VIPER Water-Seeking Moon Rover Mission Set For 2023 To Utilize Crowdsourced Programming And Retail Computing Options Favored For Low Overhead, Interoperability, Widespread Familiarity; VIPER Deputy Lead Terry Fong Tells MIT Technology Review Open Source Enables His Team To More Quickly “Take Advances From The Research World And Put It Into Flight” And That The Negligible Time Lag To Moon Makes Utilization Of Commercially Available Hardware “Not Limited By Radiation, Hard Flight [Ratings]” Possible; Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Is Set To Run Popular Operating System Linux On Mars Flight NET 14 Apr; NASA Hosts A Slew Of Mission Planning Software Available To Interested Parties Worldwide

Credits: NASA

Tuesday / 30 Mar 2021

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Artemis Program Human Landing System Award Expected Within Month, New Budget Within Week

HLS, The Human-Rated Lander System Planned To Ferry Humans From Lunar Orbit To/From Surface, Is On Track For One Or More Selections For Flight Demonstration, Per SpaceNews Coverage Of Comments Made By NASA MSFC Director (T) Jody Singer And Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk Both Affirming Timeline And Opening Possibility Of Reducing SLS Launch Costs, Redirecting Saved Funds Towards HLS – Currently Funded ~US$850M With Projected ~$3.3B Required; FY2022 Biden / Harris Administration Budget To Focus On National Infrastructure, Space Advocates Urge Emphasis On Cislunar Infrastructure

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin