Category Archives: Artemis Program

Friday / 10 May 2024

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NASA Soliciting Thoughts on Landing Site Value and Non-Interference in Lunar Operations

Expanding on Artemis Accords Section 11 (Deconfliction of Space Activities), which evokes legal concepts such as ‘due regard’ and ‘safety zones’ in consideration of activity on the Moon with potential to interfere in the activities of another signatory, NASA Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) seeking guidance on landing site valuation (with special emphasis on MSP), how such value may degrade with contamination and mitigation measures; Secure World Foundation, Moon Village Association, For All Moonkind, Open Lunar Foundation among stakeholder groups working to formulate lunar policy; Questionnaire due 7 June 2024

 
Pictured: OTPS Associate Administrator Charity Weeden; Credits: CNSA, NASA

Tuesday / 7 May 2024

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NASA OIG Identifies Needed Orion Improvements Ahead of Crewed Artemis 2 Mission

Report NASA’s Readiness for the Artemis 2 Crewed Mission to Lunar Orbit recommends significant review of Orion spacecraft systems prior to integration and stacking of the Lockheed-Martin / Airbus-built capsule on Artemis SLS rocket for NET Sept 2025 launch of Artemis 2, in light of Artemis 1 anomalies including 100+ areas of unexpected heat shield degradation during reentry, melting of separation bolts, and 4.5-hour communication outage; NASA plans to increase material between separation bolts before Artemis 3 redesign and upgrade DSN servers to prevent a reoccurrence of Goldstone outage, considering modification to less strenuous reentry trajectory

 
Credits: NASA OIG

Friday / 26 April 2024

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Intuitive Machines Well Positioned to Capitalize on Growing Cislunar Economy

Predicting US$250M revenue in 2024 and estimating $70M cash on hand, market analyst Stephen Tobin makes bullish case for Houston TX-based Intuitive Machines (LUNR) despite $53M negative equity as of Q4 2023 earnings report; Pointing to success of IM-1 and upcoming NASA CLPS-funded IM-2 and -3 missions NET Q4 2024 / 2025 as well as $30M Lunar Terrain Vehicle (with Boeing, Northrop Grumman), $719M Joint Polar Satellite System (with KBR), and $5M Fission Surface Power (with X-energy) contracts, Tobin suggests IM lunar services will be in demand by commercial interests and small national space agencies eager to utilize Earth-Moon / cislunar transport, operational and communication capabilities

 
Credits: Intuitive Machines

Thursday / 25 April 2024

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International Lunar Observatory Association Selected for Chang’E-7 Galaxy Imaging Payload

ILOA Hawai’i is honored to be selected as a Chang’E-7 payload to conduct Galaxy / Astronomy imaging from Shackleton Rim on the surface of the Moon about 2026; ILOA advances its Moon missions, most especially its flagship ILO-1 destined for Malapert Summit for observation and communication, in the spirit of peaceful and productive cooperation, equality and mutual benefit – in Space, on Earth, and perhaps most importantly, on the Moon; ILOA, and ILOA-affiliated Space Age Publishing Company, also advocate that independent associations, business enterprises, universities and non-profits (NGOs) be encouraged and accepted for participation in the USA-initiated Artemis Accords, as they are in the UN and the China-led ILRS International Lunar Research Station

 
Credits: ILOA, CNSA, DSEL, NASA

Tuesday / 23 April 2024

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NASA Reportedly Considering Major Change to Mission Design of US$93B Artemis Program

Artemis 3 could be modified to test Orion-Starship docking and habitability in LEO or perform Gateway rendezvous in lunar orbit rather than a full-fledged human surface landing as originally envisioned, per Ars Technica report citing anonymous sources; ‘NASA continues to work toward… Artemis III test flight to land astronauts near the lunar South Pole in September of 2026’ per official response; Hardware challenges include Orion heat shield modification, spacesuit and lander development; Operational complexity including first in-space cryogenic refueling likely also contributing to reassessment

 
Credits: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 12-15 Apr 2024

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Japan Astronauts to Join 2 Artemis Lunar Surface Missions, Perhaps Becoming First Non-Americans on Moon

Building on prior agreements under which a Japan Astronaut will join a Gateway mission in lunar orbit (JAXA is to provide life support and power for I-Hab module and deliver supplies via HTV-XG spacecraft), USA and Japan are increasing lunar cooperation to include 2 opportunities for JAXA crewmembers to join Artemis Moon landings; In exchange Japan is to provide pressurized lunar rover designed to accommodate 2 astronauts for MSP sojourns up to 30 days on Artemis mission 7 and beyond over 10 year nominal lifespan

Pictured: (Clockwise) USA President Joe Biden, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Credits: JAXA, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 Mar – 1 Apr 2024

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First Instruments Slated for Deployment on Lunar Surface by Artemis 3 Crew Announced

3 science payloads are approved to continue development targeting NET 2026 Artemis 3 human landing (final manifest will be fixed later): Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS), Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF), Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA); Trio of instruments are intended to contribute to 3 of 7 objectives articulated in Artemis III Science Definition Team Report; LEMS (University of Maryland) seismometer to record MSP quakes; LEAF (Space Lab Technologies) will study germination and growth of Brassica rapa, Wolffia, Arabidopsis thaliana varieties; LDA (University of Tokyo) to measure regolith electrical fields / variance with temperature

Credits: NASA / JPL, UMBC, Quest Thermal, Space Lab Technologies

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 22-25 March 2024

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Strong Focus on Malapert Mountain at 2024 LPSC Reflects Growing Interest in Strategic Lunar Area

Numerous researchers have converged to analyze the structure, content and relative advantages of landing human and robotic mission on Malapert Massif as highlighted by studies presented at the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in The Woodlands, Texas; Geological EVA Science Among Impact Craters and Permanently Shadowed Regions Near a Summit Ridge on Malapert Massif proposes 3 EVA traverses emanating from 85.964°S, 357.681°E landing site to collect samples from 50-35K regolith; High Resolution Geomorphic Map provides detailed crater morphology / PSR locations; Hazard Mapping of the Southern Lunar Surface: Candidate Artemis Landing Site notes maximum average temp of 193.3K / minimum 46.4K

Pictured: Malapert Massif Sun visibility (L) Malapert Massif Earth visibility (R)
Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University; Bourque, M. et al. (2024) LPSC 55 Abs #2493; Iqbal, W. et al. (2024) LPSC 55 Abs #1009; Kring, D. et al (2024) LPSC 55 Abs #2078

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 March 2024

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Artemis Human Return to the Moon Progressing as CLPS Robotic Exploration Continues

NASA plan to achieve crewed lunar landing in 21st century, perhaps NLT 4 July 2026, advanced by SpaceX Starship IFT-3 achieving 106km altitude, 5,750 km/h velocity and cryogenic propellant transfer tech demo before breaking up 65km above Indian Ocean – booster landing and successful atmospheric reentry are goals for IFT 4; Lockheed Martin / Airbus Orion spacecraft undergoing 8 months of testing at Neil Armstrong Test Facility; Blue Origin projecting NET 2025 launch of Blue Moon MK1, which does not require in-space refueling; Intuitive Machines preparing to carry 3 JPL CADRE rovers and US$41.6M µNova hopper to Reiner Gamma Q4 2024; Astrobotic anticipating schedule challenge for Griffin mission to deliver VIPER to Nobile Crater currently set for 2024

Credits: SpaceX, NASA / JPL-Caltech / Jordan Salkin

Friday / 1 March 2024

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SpaceX and NASA Preparing Starship for In-Space Docking Ahead of Possible Mid-March IFT-3

10-day dynamic testing of 200+ scenarios conducted at NASA JSC will assist mission planners in validating computer modelling of spacecraft docking, crucial to operations for Artemis 3 human landing and subsequent missions slated to transfer crew and supplies between Starship HLS, Orion capsule and Lunar Gateway under US$4.04B contracts; SpaceX is reportedly working towards 3rd attempt at orbital launch NET mid-March from Starbase TX to 100-km NE of Kaua’i HI, pending 17 corrective actions required by FAA following Orbital Flight Test-2 mishap investigation, conditions IFT-3 launch license

Credits: NASA, SpaceX