Biden-Harris Administration Start Term With Apollo / Artemis Invocations, Moon Rock, NASA Appointments
New USA Leaders Signal Awareness Of Transcendent / Unifying Nature Of Lunar Exploration, In First Formal Address To Country As Vice President, Kamala Harris Declares “We Shoot For the Moon, Then We Plant A Flag In It”; President Joseph Biden Reportedly Places Lunar Sample In Oval Office Adjacent To Benjamin Franklin Portrait; NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk / Senior White House Appointee Bhavya Lal Announce Appointments; SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell Muses Artemis Human Return To Moon Realistic Timeline “Slightly Later Than 2024” Per SpaceNews
Credits: NASA, Youtube
Space Manufacturing Forays Largely Focusing On Thin Layer Additive Processes, Taking Advantage Of Vacuum In LEO And In-Situ 
Priorities And Advantageous Conditions For Science During NASA Human Landing Officially Planned For 2024 Include Moon As Stable / Quiet Platform For Farside Long Wavelength Radio Observation, With Special Attention On 21-cm “Dark Ages” Spectrum From Dawn Of Universe; Position Just Outside Earth Magnetosphere Conducive To Heliophysical Investigations On Electrodynamic Interactions With Surrounding Plasma Fields; Low Seismicity Ideal For Interferometer-Based Study Of Relatively / Gravitational Waves And Calibration; 60 Earth-Radii Distance 4x Shorter Than L1 Point Used For Long-Term Climate Observation; Lunar Cataclysm Hypothesis May Be Validated Via South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return If Dated 4.1Ga / Younger
SLS Rocket, Central To Achieving USA Space Policy Directive 1 / Human Moon Landings, To Conduct Fueled Rehearsal Test Of Core Stage NET 7 Dec, Hot Fire NET 21 Dec; NASA Expanding CLPS Program, Releasing RFP For Payloads And Research Investigations On The Surface Of The Moon (PRISM), Lunar Science Slated For Late 2023 / Early 2024 Delivery; Zhongguo / China To Attempt First Lunar Sample Return In 44+ Years On 23 Nov (21:00 UTC); ESA Ground Stations Providing Support For Chang’e-5 Month-Long Mission Also To Assist In Artemis Series
USA Newspace Company Intuitive Machines Set For
Administrator Jim Bridenstine Signals Term Will Not Extend Into Biden/Harris Government, Reported By Aerospace Daily; Current NASA Head Ranks “Continuity Of Purpose” As Vital Aspect Of Program Success, Which Has Seen Lunar Progress Stymied By Inter-Administration Reprioritization In Past; “Bipartisan, Apolitical… Strong Support For Artemis” Found On “Both Sides Of The Aisle”, Bridenstine Assures; With Appointment 23 April 2018, The 13th NASA Administration May Be Shorter In Duration Than Historically Typical, However Achievements (Building Artemis Coalition, Human Lander Contracts) Have Significantly Advanced Space / Lunar Exploration Momentum
Administrator Jim Bridenstine Says NASA Wants To Recreate “The Awe Of Apollo For A New Generation – The Artemis Generation” By Utilizing Contemporary And Innovative Visual Technologies Such As High Definition Recording, Wide Angle/Panoramic Lenses, Virtual Reality, Digital Compression, Selfie Sticks And Body Cameras During Artemis II, 2023; Media, Academia, Industry, Organizations And Individuals Are Encouraged To Submit Imagery Ideas NLT 11 Dec; Bridenstine Widely Praised Within Space Community For Deftly Steering Major Powers Toward Moon Exploration Coalition Despite Uncertain Political Realities, And Ought To Be Retained
NASA HLS Program Manager Lisa Watson-Morgan Oversees CBR Process, Customized To Establish Standards For Each Of 3 Unique Lander Designs: Traditional Approach By Blue Origin Group Awarded US$579M, Stripped-Down Strategy From Dynetics / 25+ Subcontractors Awarded $253M And Novel In-Space Refueling Method From SpaceX Initially Awarded $135M + $53M For Propellant Transfer Demonstration; Safety, Construction, Testing / Validation Considered; Watson-Morgan Is Confident That Diversity Of Design Advances “Bold And Challenging Objective Of Sending Astronauts To The Lunar South Pole”; 
Artemis III Science Definition Team To Present Findings Of 
Target Of First Crewed Lunar Mission Of 21st Century, Artemis 3, Called Into Question At Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Online Meeting; Focus For Sustainable Occupation Has Been On Polar Region Since 2008 ISRO Chandrayaan-1 Confirmation Of Water Ice; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine Says “Inspiration Of Going Back To An Original Apollo Site Would Be Pretty Amazing” While HEOMD Administrator Kathy Lueders Comments “We’re Looking At Different Ways To Get More Communities To Participate In That [Landing Location] Decision”; Equatorial Landings Require Less Fuel / Technical Challenge