USA Policymakers Consider Firm Timeline, Cost Structure for Artemis III Human Moon Return — NLT 2026 July 4?
2026 is realistic goal for First Woman on the Moon near MSP, per NASA IG Paul Martin speaking to congressional Space and Aeronautics subcommittee hearing on Artemis Initiative crewed lunar landings; Originally slated for 2028, then accelerated to 2024 goal under previous administration, ‘technical risk’ now points to NLT 4 July 2026, which would appropriately coincide with USA Quarter-millennial; SLS launches anticipated to cost US$4.1B/ea, while total development spending to reach $93B through 2025 (total Apollo spending ~$257B inflation adjusted); Artemis organizational management, xEMU / flight suits, mobile SLS launchers, Orion, Astronaut Corps among areas of testimony focus; RFI for NASA Consolidated Applications and Platform Services cost reductions due 10 March
Recognizing communication needs of 90+ lunar missions under consideration for NLT 2030, Alessandro Balossino, Head of R&D for Italy microsatellite manufacturer Argotec and Faramarz Davarian, JPL Lunar Surface Communications Terminal Project Manager co-author announcement of 
Progress update on Artemis / First Woman on the Moon / First Person of Color on the Moon coming via 
USA VP Harris gives remarks 5 Nov at NASA GSFC in Greenbelt MD, research lab responsible for world-class Earth observation Landsat mission; As National Space Council Chair, Harris announced inaugural session of term 1 Dec, alluding to “comprehensive framework for space priorities” pending announcement; Climate change mitigation, beneficial technology transfer, commercial viability, security themes addressed; Historical invocations of first USA spaceflight by Alan Shepard, fellow Democrats JFK / LBJ, and 12 Moonwalkers followed by closing statement “While exploration of space defined 20th Century, the opportunity of space will define 21st Century”
Space-based technology and techniques with applicability to Earth climate and airspace management will be discussed 12 October at NASA Silicon Valley facility; Approach to coordination of wildfire fighting, Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations (STEReO), and air traffic control Airspace Technology Demonstration-2 (ATD-2) to be presented; VP Kamala Harris, leader of agenda-setting National Space Council, may take opportunity to advance space priorities including Artemis first woman / person of color on Moon
93km2 area between Nobile (85.2°S, 53.5°E) and Malapert craters 137km from Moon South Pole to be site of Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission, selection based on criteria including sunlight availability, Earth visibility / communication, likelihood of finding water and navigable terrain, winnowed from 15 considered sites and 4 finalists; 100-day nominal mission expected to traverse 16-24km while utilizing TRIDENT drill and 3 sensors, launch Q4 2023 on SpaceX Falcon 9 / Astrobotic Griffin under US$199.5M CLPS contract
5 USA companies engaged in Artemis-related engineering bolstered by $2.5-5M SBIR/STTR Sequential Phase 2 awards for maturation of technologies to aid sustainable exploration of Moon; Troxel Aerospace (Gainesville FL) investigating technique allowing use of Off-The-Shelf avionics in radioactive environment; Motiv Space (Pasadena CA) working on electric actuators to drive rovers/landers/robots on Moon and Mars; Alameda Applied Sciences (Oakland CA) building deep space smallsat propulsion; Advanced Cooling Technologies (Lancaster PA) and Ashwin-Ushas (Marlboro NJ) developing vehicle thermal regulation for exploration of PSRs
New procurement initiative Lunar Exploration Transportation Services (LETS), part of HLS program under Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, issues 
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 
Administrator Bill Nelson Outlines Vision For Future Of USA Space Activity, Telling