Category Archives: NASA

Friday / 13 Sep 2019

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Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Resized And Rescheduled For 2022

Republic Of Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) Rescheduled To Launch July 2022; Size Of Spacecraft Increased From 500 Kg To 678 Kg To Allow More Science; US$166M Spacecraft Will Carry 4 Korea Payloads And Fly 9 Months Of 1-Year Mission In Elliptical Orbit To Maximize Science Return; Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) Will Use SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster; KPLO Will Carry NASA-Built ShadowCam Instrument To Search For Water In Permanently-Shadowed Lunar Craters

Credits: CNSA, NASA, KARI

Tuesday / 27 Aug 2019

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BIG Challenge Seeks Ideas For Permanently-Shadowed Regions Of Lunar South Pole

NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Is Sponsoring Breakthrough, Innovative & Game-Changing Idea Challenge; BIG Seeks Capabilities To Study Dark Permanently Shadowed Regions Of Moon; Craters And Caves In Lunar Polar Regions Have Remained Hidden For Billions Of Years; Proposals May Include Collecting Lunar Regolith, Transporting And Storing Water; Competition Is Open To Space Grant-Affiliated Universities; Separately ESA Open Space Innovation Platform Is Seeking Ideas For Detecting, Mapping And Exploring Permanently Shadowed Lunar Caves

Credits: NASA, JAXA

Tuesday / 20 Aug 2019

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National Space Council Faces NASA And Private Options For Reaching Moon

USA National Space Council Chaired By VP Mike Pence Meets 20 August At National Air And Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center, Venue Where Pence In 2017 Has Already Committed To Lunar Return; Former House Speaker And Free Enterprise Advocate Newt Gingrich Proposes US$2B Prize To First USA Company To Land Humans On Moon; SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell Claims They Can Land On Moon With Starship By 2023; Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Is Also In Competition

Credits: SpaceX, NASA, Blue Origin

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 16-19 August 2019

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Orion Tests Propulsion System; NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Managing Artemis Lunar Lander

European-Built Orion Service Module Completes Critical 12-Minute Firing Of Propulsion System At White Sands, New Mexico, Simulating Insertion Into Lunar Orbit And Return Trajectory To Earth; NASA Administrator Bridenstine With Members Of Congress Announce Marshall Space Flight Center Will Manage Artemis Lunar Lander With Large Portion Of Work At Johnson Space Center In Houston; Lisa Watson-Morgan Will Manage Lander Program; Orion Environmental Tests Will Be Conducted At Glenn Research Center

Credits: NASA

Friday / 2 Aug 2019

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New USA Commercial Lunar Lander Provider Contracts Could Be Awarded Before Oct 2019

As Announced By NASA Solicitation 80JSC019R0013, New Contracts For Lunar Landers Capable Of Delivering >10kg Payloads To Lunar Surface By 31 Dec 2023 Planned To Be Awarded To Begin 15 Oct 2019 And Possibly Extend Through 28 Nov 2028; RFP Responses Due By 29 Aug 2019; Urgency To Support Artemis Human Moon South Pole Landing By 2024, This Opportunity Will Add New Contractor(s) To Existing CLPS Contracts Which Are Now Held By Astrobotic ($79.5M) And Intuitive Machines ($77.2M), After Orbit Beyond Withdraws From Its $97M Contract

Credits: International Lunar Observatory Association, Astrobotic, Moon Express

Friday / 26 July 2019

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Artemis Spacecraft, Service Module, And Habitability Module Making Progress Toward 2024 Human Lunar Landing  

Orion Is Ready For Integration Into Artemis-1 Mission Planned By 2021; Vice President Pence At KSC Unveils Spacecraft Accompanied By Buzz Aldrin And Rick Armstrong Before Visiting Launch Complex 39A; Northrop Grumman Is Awarded Contract To Develop Minimum Habitation Module Based Upon Cygnus Spacecraft; ESA Formally Agrees To Contribute Additional Orion Service Module For Artemis-3 Human Lunar Landing; White House Reaffirms Commitment To Send Next Man And First Woman To Moon In 5 Years

Credits: NASA

Apollo11@50 Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 19-22 July 2019

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In Peace For All: Significant Time To Advance 21st Century Vision For Multi World Species

50th Observation Of 1969 Apollo 11 Landing At Tranquility Base Comes At Exciting And Critical Time For New Human Moon Landings; Crew Members Buzz Aldrin And Michael Collins Along With Neil Armstrong Family Meet At White House With USA President; Vice President Pence Giving Speech At Kennedy Space Center 20 July; Artemis Plan To Land First Women And Next Man At Moon South Pole 2024 Requires Additional Investment, Ideally 1% Of Federal Budget

Credits: NASA

SpaceWeek Edition
Mon-Sun / 15-21 July 2019

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US President, VP, Step Up For Artemis Moon Success
First Women Soon To South Pole Moon

Political And Financial Support For America Moon Return Imperative 2024 Has Broadest And Strongest Opportunity With Apollo@50 Lunar Highest Tide This July Space Month 2019: If Not Now, When? $20-40B Required For Artemis: NASA 1% Of US Govt FY Budget, New PPPs, International Cooperation For Moon, Mars, 21st Century Solar System Complete; Note Zhongguo / China Chang’e-4 Moon Far Side Jan 2019, India Chandrayaan-2 Moon South Pole Region Sep 2019

Credits: White House, Smithsonian, NASA, CNSA, ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 5-8 July 2019

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Colorado Experiments To Be Sent To Lunar Surface

Payloads For Commercial Lunar Services Providers Include Surface Electromagnetics Experiment, Which Could Be First Radio Telescope On Moon Surface; Co-Investigator Jack Burns Of University Of Colorado Is Also Principal Investigator Of Dark Ages Polarimetry Pathfinder Planned To Orbit Lunar Far Side By 2023; Colorado-Built Experiments For NASA CLPS Include Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System To Explore Moon’s Composition And Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder, Which Will Study Moon’s Crust

Credits: Orbit Beyond, University of Colorado Boulder

Tuesday / 25 June 2019

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Three Apollo Astronauts Say They Support Artemis Return To The Moon

At Cradle Of Aviation Museum In Long Island, 3 Apollo Astronauts Endorse Artemis Plan For Returning Humans To Moon; Rusty Schweickart Of Apollo 9 Supports Real And Resurgent Moon Program; Charlie Duke (R) Of Apollo 16 Is “All For It” And Excited For Artemis; Harrison Schmitt (L) Of Apollo 17 Expressed Concerns About Funding, Says That Engineering Lunar Hardware Is Full Of Surprises, Wants An “Apollo Management” Environment, Says Young People Are Essential, And Wishes NASA Good Luck

Credits: NASA, Cradle of Aviation Museum