Category Archives: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 16-19 January 2015

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Moon South Pole
Drawing New Lunar Pioneers

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New Moon South Pole Ventures Including UK-Based Lunar Mission One & Russia-Based Lin Industrial Join Established Declarations Of Interest In Moon South Pole Missions By USA (RPM), American Enterprises Such As Shackleton Energy Corporation, Japan (SELENE-2), India (Chandrayaan-2), Russia (Luna-Glob), ESA, ILOA; Moon South Pole – Replete With Valuable Resources & Providing A Relatively Stable Thermal Environment – Is Generally Considered Optimal Location For Human Lunar Exploration / Settlement

Image Credit: JAXA, Lunar Mission One, Lin Industrial

Friday / 16 January 2015

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Moon Express Steadily Advancing
Moon Lander Technologies

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Moon Express Preparing For Phase 2 Test Flight Campaign Of Hydrogen Peroxide Fueled MTV-1X Lander After Successful Dec 2014 Test Flights At Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility “Moonscape” In Florida; Testing Is Being Conducted In Partnership With NASA Lunar CATALYST Program & In Pursuit Of GLXP Lander & Mobility Terrestrial Milestones Prizes; MTV-2X Vehicle Scheduled To Be Built & Tested In Q1 2015

Image Credit: Moon Express, NASA

Friday / 9 January 2015

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Cube Quest Challenge Summit For
Missions Near & Beyond Moon

Cube Quest Challenge Summit 2015

2-Day Summit At Moffett Field CA Held 7 & 8 Jan Introducing US$5M NASA Program For Teams To Design, Build & Deliver Flight-Qualified, SmallSats Capable Of Advanced Operations Near & Beyond Moon; Winner(s) Qualify For Mission To Launch On Maiden Flight Of SLS ~Nov 2018; (L-R) Ames Research Center Director Pete Worden, Cube Quest Challenge Administrator James Cockrell, Planetary Protection Officer Cassie Conley & Others Discuss Mission & Engineering Details, Secondary Payloads, How Cube Quest Relates To Human Exploration

Image Credit: NASA, Ames Research Center

Wednesday / 7 January 2015

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Astronaut Hoffman: Human Moon Missions Logical Next Step

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Former NASA Astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman Says It Makes More Sense To Revisit Moon Before Attempting Mars Missions; Moon On Average  Is ~600 Times Closer, Mission Would Be Cheaper, Shorter & Safer; Human Explorers Could Confirm Extent Of Water Ice Deposits, Potentially Begin Transforming Those Resources Into Rocket Fuel, Air, Drinking Water, Thereby Transforming Economics Of Space Travel; Hoffman Says, After 43 Years, USA / Humanity Needs To Get Used To Planetary Exploration Again, Practice / Test Systems & Prepare To Expand Society Into Solar System

Image Credit: ESA, ISU

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 19-22 December 2014

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Moon Express Lunar Missions Progressing With KSC Flight Tests

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MTV-1x Moon Express Lander To Undergo First Tethered Tests This Weekend At NASA KSC In Florida After Successfully Completing Full Pressurization, Telemetry & Static Thruster Tests This Past Week; Team Plans To Return To KSC In Early 2015 For Additional Testing Integrating H2O2 Thrusters, Star Tracker & Flight Vehicle Navigation Controls; 2015 Promises To Be Critical Year For Moon Express: Launch Agreement As Secondary Payload Expected, Payload Advancement To Flight Status, Integration Of ILO-X Payload, Continuation Of Fundraising To Achieve 2016 Launch

Pictured: Moon Express Co-Founders Bob Richards, Naveen Jain, Barney Pell with Buzz Aldrin

Image Credit: Moon Express

 

Wednesday / 17 December 2014

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Lunar Lander Technology Development Advancing At KSC In Florida

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Morpheus Lander Completes Final Test Flight At KSC, Climbing 240m, Making 30-Degree Glide Slope, Traversing 400m & Descending Into Simulated Moonscape; 1st Time Morpheus Was Completely Controlled By Autonomous Landing & Hazardous Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Laser-Guided Navigation System; Craft Is Used To Demonstrate Lander / Hopper Technologies That Could Be Used In Future Moon Missions; Moon Express Also Conducting Flight Tests At KSC As Part Of Lunar CATALYST Program, 1st Static Hot Fire Tests On On MX-1 Vehicle Successful (Inset), Tethered Flight Tests Upcoming

Image Credit: NASA, Moon Express

Wednesday / 10 December 2014

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Astronaut Hadfield: We Are Going To The Moon Next, “Because It Just Makes Sense”

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Canada Astronaut Chris Hadfield Says Moon Is Logical Next Stop For Human Space Explorers; Just 3 Days Away Moon Provides Ideal Environment To Develop & Test Technologies That Will Be Needed To Explore Mars & Beyond; Hadfield Praises NASA Work On Orion, Says Next Big Step Should Be To Construct Permanent Lunar Base; Criticizes Mars One Mission, Comparing It To 1845 Northwest Passage Expedition: “If We Started Going To Mars Any Time Soon Everybody Would Die”; Comments Made To Royal Geographical Society In London

Image Credit: NASA, futuretimeline.net

Thanksgiving Edition
Thu-Mon / 27 Nov – 1 Dec 2014

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CubeQuest Challenge To Advance Lunar Exploration

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With New Centennial Challenge NASA Offers 1st In-Space Competition & Largest Prize Ever; CubeQuest Challenge Offers 3 Separate Prizes: 4 (US$500K) Ground Tournaments To Qualify For Flight On First SLS Launch, Deep Space Derby $1.5M Prize To Demonstrate Communication / Durability At >400,000,000 Km From Earth, Lunar Derby $3M For Placing CubeSat In Stable Lunar Orbit & Demonstrating Communications / Durability; Program Manager Eric Eberly Says Contest Could Dramatically Improve Affordability Of Space Missions & Increase Research Possibilities

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 18 November 2014

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Morpheus Lander Set To Initiate New Series Of Test Flights

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First In New Set Of Morpheus Tests Today – Weather Permitting – Will Be A Tethered Flight, 2 Free Flights Scheduled For 1st Week Of Dec; Team Decided Additional Tests Were Warranted After Making Software Updates Related To Navigation Algorithms & Hardware Improvements Including Relocation Of Doppler Lidar Velocimeter; Morpheus Is Simply A Vehicle To Test ALHAT Technology Which Could Be Utilized For Future Moon / Planetary Landing Missions, Enabling Identification & Avoidance Of Rocks As Small As 0.3m & Missions To Previously Inaccessible Locations Such As Moon South Pole

Image Credit: NASA

 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 November 2014

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LRO Continues To Prepare For Future Moon Exploration

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Maintaining American Presence At Moon, 45 Years After Apollo 12 Mission, LRO Consistently Adding More Data & Imagery To Increase Global Understanding Of Value Of Moon For Humanity To Thrive In Solar System; Recent Imagery Of Lava Tubes And Sinuous Rilles In Oceanus Procellarum Region, Exploration Of This Area Could Provide Data On Timing & History Of Lunar Volcanism, Natural Radiation Shielding For Human Explorers, & In-Situ Resources Such As Large Pyroclastic Deposits; Keep Track Of LRO Current Location  

Image Credit: NASA