Canada Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program Announces New Opportunities, US$2.5M Awards
Canadian Space Agency LEAP Offering Capability Demonstration Funds From US$115M / 5-year Allocation; Projects Intended To Display Canada-Produced Technology Useful To International Artemis Partnership; $1.9M Already Granted To Canadensys Aerospace Of Ontario For Development And Deployment Of 360° Panoramic Lunar Surface Imager, $644,000 Awarded To NGC Aerospace For GNSS-style Moon Network Which Will Aid Precision Landing, Both Are Expected To Launch NLT April 2024; Upcoming LEAP Cycles 3 And 4 (Due 26 Feb And 27 Aug 2021, Respectively) Are To Distribute Up To $3.1M/Each
Pictured: CSA President Lisa Campbell; Credits: CSA, CSYS, NGC, NASA
Artemis III Science Definition Team To Present Findings Of 
Intent On Gathering Data Relevant To Primordial Cosmology, Future Lunar-Based Astronomy Missions Were Presented By CU Boulder Professor Jack Burns At LEAG 2020: ROLSES, Set To Land On Moon In Oct 2021 As Part Of CLPS Carrier Intuitive Machines Nova-C Science Payload, Will Monitor 10 kHz – 10 MHz Spectrum With Antennae At 1 & 2 m Above Lunar Surface, Testing Response; LuSEE In 2024 Will Measure Electromagnetic Fields On Farside; DAPPER Orbiter Aims For 2025 And 10-km Diameter FARSIDE In Planning Stages Would Have Major SETI Potential
UAE Vice President / Ruler Of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (L) Declares 10-Year (2021-2031) Plan Of National Space Program Just Over 1 Year After First UAE Citizen Reached Space / ISS; US$6B Plan Includes Emirates Moon Exploration Project – A 2024 Lunar Mission “With National Competencies”, Astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri (R) And Reserve Candidate Sultan Al Neyadi Are Currently Students At JSC NASA Astronaut Candidate Training Program, With Another Pair From UAE Also To Join 2021 Class – Indicating Possible Artemis Ambitions; Earth Observation And Mars Hope Probe Also Emphasized
New Agreement Signed Sep 21 Supersedes Prior MoU Between USAF / NASA; Document Notes Realm Of USA Space Activity In Process Of Expansion From Geostationary (35,785 km) To Cis-Lunar (437,741 km), Increasing ‘Space Domain Awareness’ Mandate 1000x; Rationale For Cooperation Based On Mutual Planetary Defense Objectives Such As Meeting Goal Of Detection / Characterization Of 90% Of All NEOs <8,046,720 km From Earth By End Of 2020 Through e.g. Shared Use Of USSF Space Surveillance Telescope; Areas Of Cooperation Identified Include Communications, Navigation, Manufacture, Logistics, Recruitment, Launch Support, Search / Rescue
Orbital Maneuvers Patent (#
Ancient Lunar Ice, Possibly Trapped In Permanently Shadowed Craters For Billions Of Years, May Offer Insight Into Origin Of Water In Solar System; Johns Hopkins / UT-Austin Study Warns Computer Simulations Show Exhaust From 1,200-kg Lunar Lander, Approximately The Size Of CLPS Vessels Peregrine (Astrobotic) And Nova-C (Intuitive Machines) Set To Launch In Second Half Of 2021, Would Cause 30-40% Of Lander Vapor To Remain 2 Months Later, Creating Anthropogenic Atmosphere, With 20% Eventually Solidifying Around Poles
NASA Science Mission Directorate Planetary Science Division, Led By (L) Lori Glaze, Forming Science Definition Team To Prioritize Lunar Science To Be Conducted By Artemis III Crew At Undetermined Site Within 6 Degrees Of Moon South Pole; 
