SpaceX and Blue Origin Begin Development on Unmanned Variants of Their Human Landing Systems...

SpaceX

Work Underway on Large Cargo Landers for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions (News Release - April 19)

Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency and its partners will send large pieces of equipment to the lunar surface to enable long-term scientific exploration of the Moon for the benefit of all. NASA’s human landing system providers, SpaceX and Blue Origin, are beginning development of lunar landers for large cargo deliveries to support these needs.

NASA has contracted SpaceX and Blue Origin to provide landing systems to take astronauts to the Moon’s surface from lunar orbit, beginning with Artemis III. The agency has asked the two companies to develop cargo versions of their human lunar landers as an option under their existing contracts.

These cargo variants are expected to land approximately 26,000 – 33,000 pounds (12 to 15 metric tons) of payload on the lunar surface and be in service no earlier than the Artemis VII mission.

“It’s essential that NASA has the capability to land not just astronauts, but large pieces of equipment, such as pressurized rovers, on the Moon for maximum return on science and exploration activities,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, Human Landing System Program Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Beginning this work now allows SpaceX and Blue Origin to leverage their respective human lander designs to provide cargo variants that NASA will need in the future.”

NASA expects the cargo versions of the companies’ landers to be modified versions of the human landing systems currently being developed for Artemis III, IV and V. Modifications will include adjustments for payload interfaces and deployment mechanisms, and the cargo variants will not have human life-support systems.

This initial work allows the companies to proceed with development for their cargo landers through a preliminary design review, the step that establishes the basis for proceeding with detailed design. SpaceX is conducting its work under the NextSTEP Appendix H contract, and Blue Origin is conducting its work under NextSTEP Appendix P.

NASA officially exercised the options under those contracts in November 2023 to begin work on the large cargo landers.

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human missions to the Red Planet. Artemis requires the best of international space agencies, private industry and academia to establish the infrastructure for long-term scientific research and exploration.

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems and Orion spacecraft, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits and rovers, and Gateway lunar space station are the agency’s foundation for human exploration of deep space.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Blue Origin

Nation #39 Has Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

NASA

Slovenia Signs Artemis Accords, Joins Pursuit of Safer Space (Press Release - April 19)

NASA and Slovenia affirmed their cooperation in future space endeavors on Friday as Slovenia became the 39th country to sign the Artemis Accords. The signing certified Slovenia’s commitment to pursue safe and sustainable exploration of space for the benefit of humanity and took place during a U.S.-Slovenia strategic dialogue in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Offices.

“NASA welcomes Slovenia to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Today, the partnership between the United States and Slovenia crosses a new frontier. We live in a golden era of exploring the stars. That era will be written by nations that explore the cosmos openly, responsibly and in peace.”

State Secretary Matevž Frangež of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport signed the Accords on behalf of Slovenia, with James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, participating in the signing event.

"Slovenia joins the principles, values and rules on the peaceful use of space as a common good of humanity,” Frangež said.

Rebecca Bresnik, Associate General Counsel for International and Space Law, served as the senior NASA official at the ceremony, along with her husband, Randy Bresnik, who is a NASA astronaut of Slovenian descent.

“We are delighted to welcome Slovenia to the Artemis Accords family,” said Ambassador Jamie Harpootlian, the U.S. ambassador to Slovenia. “We recognize Slovenia as a rising leader in space. We look forward to taking our collaborations with Slovenia on science, technology and innovation to new frontiers.”

In 2020, the United States and seven other countries established the Artemis Accords to establish guidelines for the peaceful exploration and use of outer space. The Accords reinforce and implement key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

The Accords also strengthen the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices that NASA and its partners support, including the public release of scientific data.

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Nation #38 Has Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

NASA

NASA Embraces Sweden as Newest Member of Artemis Accords Family (Press Release - April 16)

On Tuesday, April 16, NASA welcomed Sweden as the 38th country to sign the Artemis Accords and commit to peaceful and safe space exploration. Minister for Education Dr. Mats Persson signed the accords on behalf of Sweden at an event in Stockholm.

“NASA welcomes Sweden to the Artemis Accords family,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our nations have worked together to discover new secrets in our Solar System, and now, we welcome you to a global coalition that is committed to exploring the heavens openly, transparently, responsibly and in peace. The United States and Sweden share the same bedrock principles, and we’re excited to expand these principles to the cosmos.”

Sweden affirmed its dedication to the sustainable use of space at the Swedish Government Offices. Participants included Persson and Ambassador Erik D. Ramanathan, the U.S. ambassador to Sweden, who gave remarks welcoming Sweden to the Accords family.

Pre-recorded remarks by NASA Administrator Bill Nelson played during the ceremony as well.

“Sweden has an advanced space sector, and the societal benefits of space research and activities have grown in importance,” said Persson. “By joining the Artemis Accords, Sweden strengthens its strategic space partnership with the U.S. on space covering areas such as Swedish space research and the space industry, which in turn also strengthens Sweden’s total defense capability.”

The Artemis Accords are a set of principles to guide the next phase in space exploration, announced by NASA and the U.S. Department of State in 2020. The Accords provide important implementation of key obligations from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and reinforce the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

Additional countries will sign the Artemis Accords in the future, as the United States continues to work with international partners to establish a safe, peaceful and prosperous future in space.

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Mission Development Continues for the First Crewed Lunar Landing Since 1972...

NASA / Mehdi Benna

NASA Goddard to Build Quake Detector for Artemis III Moon Landing (News Release - April 16)

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will build a moonquake detector for astronauts to deploy on the Moon in 2026 during the Artemis III mission, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years.

NASA selected the instrument, the Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) as one of the first three potential payloads for Artemis III. LEMS is a compact, autonomous seismometer designed to carry out continuous, long-term monitoring of ground motion from moonquakes in the region around the lunar South Pole.

The data that LEMS gathers will help scientists study the Moon’s internal structure and could help refine our understanding of how the Moon formed.

Planetary scientist Mehdi Benna, of the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Center for Space Sciences Technology (CSST), leads the LEMS team at NASA Goddard.

“The LEMS project is the culmination of several years of collaboration between UMBC, University of Maryland, College Park, and NASA Goddard,” Benna said.

Benna began conceptualizing the idea behind the LEMS instrument in 2018 after realizing the need for technology that could withstand the Moon’s harsh conditions to measure lunar geophysical activity for a long duration of time.

The team began developing his idea of a small, self-sustaining station that operates almost like a buoy in the ocean — what Benna calls a “lunar buoy” — that can survive on the surface through the lunar night and operate during the day. In 2018, Benna’s team received funding from NASA’s Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation program to develop LEMS to flight readiness.

LEMS is intended to operate on the lunar surface from three months up to two years and could become a key station in a future global lunar geophysical network.

Moonquakes were first observed after Apollo astronauts placed seismometers on the lunar surface during their missions between 1969 and 1972. Moonquakes’ sources include the same tug of gravity between Earth and the Moon that causes ocean tides.

In addition, the Moon trembles as it expands and contracts due to temperature changes, like a house creaking when the weather heats up or cools down.

The Apollo seismic data was collected on the Earth-facing side of the Moon near the lunar equator. “We don’t have seismic data from the lunar South Pole that can inform us on the local and global lunar subsurface structure,” said Naoma McCall, LEMS co-investigator and seismologist at NASA Goddard.

UMBC leads LEM’s science investigation. NASA Goddard will build and operate LEMS.

The University of Arizona will supply LEMS’ two state-of-the-art seismometer sensors; Morehead State University in Kentucky will provide LEMS’ telecommunication system and the homebase of the mission’s operation center, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, will manage the instrument’s data processing and dissemination to the larger scientific community.

The other candidate instruments selected alongside LEMS are the Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora instrument, led by researchers at Space Lab Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, and the Lunar Dielectric Analyzer instrument, led by researchers at the University of Tokyo and supported by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

Together these instruments could collect valuable scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon, helping prepare NASA to send astronauts to Mars. Final manifesting decisions for Artemis III will be made at a later date.

Source: NASA.Gov

Nation #37 Has Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

NASA

NASA Welcomes Switzerland as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (Press Release - April 15)

Switzerland became the 37th country to sign the Artemis Accords at NASA Headquarters in Washington on Monday, April 15, affirming Switzerland’s commitment to the sustainable and beneficial use of space for all humankind.

“Today, we marked a giant leap forward in the partnership between the United States and Switzerland,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “As we welcome you into the Artemis Accords family, we expand our commitment to explore the unknown openly and peacefully. Discovery strengthens goodwill on Earth, and we are excited to expand our countries’ shared values and principles to the cosmos.”

At approximately 11:30 a.m., Guy Parmelin, Swiss Federal Councillor and Minister for Economic Affairs, Education & Research, signed the Accords on behalf of Switzerland. Other participants in the ceremony included:

- Valda Vikmanis-Keller, acting deputy assistant secretary, Department of State
- Martina Hirayama, state secretary, Head of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation
- Jacques Pitteloud, Swiss Ambassador to the U.S.
- ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Marco Sieber, Swiss national
- Renato Krpoun, Head of Swiss Space Office
- Professor Peter Wurz, Director of Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Bern

“Switzerland has a long-standing partnership with NASA on human space exploration as well as space and Earth sciences,” said Parmelin. “With the signature of the Artemis Accords we renew our commitment to jointly explore the heavens above us.”

The Artemis Accords, established by NASA and the U.S. Department of State in 2020, reinforce the 1968 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies otherwise known as the Outer Space Treaty. They also emphasize a commitment on behalf of the U.S. to the Registration Convention, the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, and other standards that NASA and its partners support.

Many more countries are anticipated to join the Artemis Accords in the months and years to come, as NASA continues to facilitate a safe, peaceful and prosperous future in space with its international partners.

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David Wellendorf

The CST-100 Now Sits Atop Its Rocket for Next Month's Crewed Flight to the ISS...

Boeing

Starliner Rollout to Space Launch Complex-41 Complete (News Release)

The spacecraft now sits atop an Atlas V rocket

The first CST-100 Starliner to fly astronauts rolled out of its factory early in the morning on Tuesday, April 16, with teammates and astronauts there to wish the spacecraft farewell.

The spacecraft emerged from the back of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility on a transport vehicle and left the parking lot at about 5 a.m. Eastern Time. It then made a slow, carefully orchestrated, 10-mile (16-kilometer) trek to United Launch Alliance’s Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The spacecraft was later hoisted and integrated on top of ULA’s Atlas V rocket.

“Having a chance to get to meet and personally know our flight crew members, it will mean that much more when we see them leave for the pad,” said Richard Skinner, who serves as the convoy coordinator on launch day overseeing the transport operation of crew to ULA’s launch complex.

Work will continue in the VIF before the May 6 launch to ensure that the Atlas V and spacecraft are properly communicating with each other prior to launch.

“Functionally this rollout was similar in nature to previous rollouts,” Amanda Ireland, Boeing’s Spacecraft Liaison Officer said, including “treating the spacecraft with the greatest care and detail.” Ireland said the importance of having a successful Crew Flight Test is essential in ensuring that multiple providers are able to reach different low-Earth orbit locations in the future while advancing human spaceflight.

Source: StarlinerUpdates.com

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NASA / Kim Shiflett


NASA / Kim Shiflett


NASA / Kim Shiflett

Astronauts Butch Wilmore, @Astro_Suni, @AstroIronMike, @Astro_Kutryk, @Astro_Maker1 and @Astro_Kimiya are here to see the #Starliner spacecraft off. pic.twitter.com/PHaZsLoIb7

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) April 16, 2024

The CST-100 Will Head to the Launch Site Tomorrow for Next Month's ISS-bound Mission...

Boeing

Starliner Rollout Preparations Continue (News Release)

Weight and center-of-gravity operations complete

Following fueling and checkout operations, the Boeing team moved the Crew Flight Test spacecraft out of the Starliner facility’s hazardous processing area to a machine that weighs and measures the center of gravity (CG) of the spacecraft. Using the high bay crane, the engineers and technicians lifted Starliner into place and secured it onto the machine.

Previous weigh-ins of the Crew Module and Service Module, where the weight and CG machine tilts the elements up to 30 degrees along their principle axes, were taken to get highly-accurate measurements of the individual elements. Once mated, loaded with cargo and fueled, a final weight and CG measurement is taken of the completed spacecraft.

Through this method, engineers are able to validate an accurate center of gravity of the entire integrated spacecraft, which needs to be within a volume about the size of an American quarter. Accurate weight and CG measurements are critical to the nominal performance of both the entire integrated spacecraft and launch vehicle during ascent and the spacecraft during on-orbit maneuvers and reentry.

After the weight and CG measurements, the Boeing team used the high bay crane again to move Starliner to a staging area inside the high bay, where a transport vehicle provided by ULA known as a KAMAG, or “K-MAG,” was waiting. The team then secured Starliner to the transporter, where it is now ready for the overnight trek to its launch site, Space Launch Complex-41.

Source: StarlinerUpdates.com

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Tomorrow, @BoeingSpace will roll the #Starliner spacecraft from its production facility at @NASAKennedy to the launch site in preparation of @NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test to the @Space_Station.

Launch is targeted for NET 10:34pm ET on May 6: https://t.co/mWg2z4pVRZ pic.twitter.com/kvSXniBjqN

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) April 15, 2024

The Next Moon-bound Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Continues to Undergo Testing at KSC...

David Wellendorf

Artemis II Orion Inside Altitude Chamber (Photo Release - April 10)

On April 10, 2024, the Artemis II Orion spacecraft is seen inside the west altitude chamber in the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will undergo electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Inside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Orion #Artemis II capsule is lifted into a vacuum chamber...where the Moon-bound spacecraft will undergo electromagnetic compatibility and interference testing.

📹: NASA/Frank Michaux pic.twitter.com/3G0OdI4pHl

— Rich Par (@AstroPnoy) April 12, 2024

America's Closest Asian Ally May Soon Have an Astronaut on the Moon Thanks to an Artemis Mission...

NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover (News Release)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon.

Japan will design, develop and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface.

Today, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida also announced, “a shared goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission, assuming important benchmarks are achieved.”

The pressurized lunar rover is intended to enable astronauts to travel farther and work for longer periods on the lunar surface. The signing took place April 9 at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Along with Nelson and Moriyama, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) President Hiroshi Yamakawa also participated in the signing.

“The quest for the stars is led by nations that explore the cosmos openly, in peace, and together. This is true for the United States and Japan under the leadership of President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida,” said Nelson. “America no longer will walk on the Moon alone. With this new rover, we will uncover groundbreaking discoveries on the lunar surface that will benefit humanity and inspire the Artemis Generation.”

An enclosed and pressurized rover will enable astronauts to travel farther and conduct science in geographically-diverse areas by serving as a mobile habitat and laboratory for the astronauts to live and work for extended periods of time. It will be able to accommodate two astronauts for up to 30 days as they traverse the area near the lunar South Pole.

NASA currently plans to use the pressurized rover on Artemis VII and subsequent missions over an approximate 10-year lifespan.

“It was an honor to sign the historic implementing arrangement that will be long remembered as the symbol of the new era of Japan-U.S. partnership for the lunar exploration,” said Moriyama. “Under the partnership stronger than ever, we will drive the initiative together with JAXA, including the development of the pressurized rover that vastly extends the exploration capability on the lunar surface, to realize the shared goal for Japanese and American astronauts to, together, explore the Moon.”

The arrangement falls under the “Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes,” which was signed in January 2023 and recognizes the nations’ mutual interest in peaceful exploration.

The framework agreement facilitates a broad swath of joint activities between the countries, including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, safety and mission assurance, and much more. In addition to the agreement for lunar surface exploration, the partners will build on the framework agreement with future agreements for Japan’s participation in NASA’s Dragonfly mission and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

The U.S. and Japan also intend to collaborate on JAXA’s Next-generation Solar-observing Satellite, SOLAR-C, which will investigate the mysteries of solar atmospheres by conducting observations of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

“The pressurized rover will be a powerful contribution to the overall Artemis architecture as Japan and the U.S. go hand-in-hand with international and industry partners to the lunar surface and beyond,” said Yamakawa. “JAXA is ready to assist MEXT and push this forward with our science and technological expertise to establish sustainable human presence on the Moon.”

Under the Gateway Implementing Arrangement signed in 2022, NASA will also provide an opportunity for a Japanese astronaut to serve as a Gateway crew member on a future Artemis mission and Japan will provide Gateway’s environmental control and life-support systems and cargo transportation.

Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon, make new scientific discoveries, and explore more of the lunar surface than ever before for the benefit of all.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA and Japan announced new efforts to advance space cooperation. Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized Moon rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration, enabling astronauts to travel farther and work for longer periods on the lunar surface: https://t.co/USO77koqhh https://t.co/5mRUmZPta6

— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2024

The Moon Is About to Get Its Own Time Zone...

NASA

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Releases Celestial Time Standardization Policy (Press Release - April 2)

Knowledge of time in distant space-operating regimes is fundamental to the scientific discovery, economic development and international collaboration that form the basis of U.S. leadership in space. Today, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is releasing the first-ever U.S. government policy memorandum on time standards at and around celestial bodies other than Earth, building upon the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Cislunar Science and Technology Strategy.

“As NASA, private companies and space agencies around the world launch missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond, it’s important that we establish celestial time standards for safety and accuracy,” said OSTP Deputy Director for National Security Steve Welby. “Time passes differently in different parts of space—for example, time appears to pass more slowly where gravity is stronger, like near celestial bodies—and as a result the length of a second on Earth is different to an observer under different gravitational conditions, such as on the Moon. A consistent definition of time among operators in space is critical to successful space situational awareness capabilities, navigation and communications, all of which are foundational to enable interoperability across the U.S. government and with international partners.”

A unified time standard—Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC)—will act as the established standard to enable cislunar operations and can be tied to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time on Earth. This policy directs NASA to work with the Departments of Commerce, Defense, State and Transportation to deliver a strategy for the implementation of LTC no later than December 31, 2026.

NASA will also coordinate with other federal agencies as appropriate and international partners through existing international forums, including Artemis Accords partner nations.

More information and the full policy are available here.

Source: The White House