[ad_1] NASA says it could send tiny rovers to the Moon one day in addition to its water ice-hunting VIPER robot that’s scheduled for launch in 2022. Before the agency can do so, though, it has to develop tiny scientific payloads for its tiny rovers — and it needs your help to make that happen. […]
Category: Moon
NASA reveals the next company to deliver expedition tech to the Moon
[ad_1] Humankind is one step closer to its next lunar expedition, as NASA has awarded a contract that will see foundational exploratory kit delivered to the surface of the Moon ahead of manned missions in 2024. California’s Masten Space Systems has won the $75.9 million contract to transport and operate eight payloads to the Moon’s […]
NASA warns Moon base plans might slip by a year
[ad_1] Loverro stressed that NASA wasn’t ditching the Gateway. Rather, he saw the administration pursuing a slower spending increase that would help attract foreign partners. The statements (along with delays in Boeing’s Space Launch System) suggest that NASA’s schedule for the Artemis program might be too aggressive. Critics have argued that the White House’s timetable, […]
NASA accepts applications for astronauts for the first time in four years
[ad_1] NASA says that you’ll need to be a US citizen with either a master’s degree in a STEM field or an equivalent, such as two years of work toward the doctorate in your field, a medical doctorate or the combination of a completed test pilot school program (finished by June 2021) with a STEM […]
NASA wants students’ help designing tech for the Moon and Mars
[ad_1] The awards will be relatively modest at $15,000 to $50,000, but NASA stressed that this doesn’t necessarily involve tangible products. It can also involve research that fills “knowledge gaps” or reduces risks, for instance. Proposals are due by April 24th. The competition may not lead to a major breakthrough in NASA’s Moon and Mars […]
SpaceX approved to build Starship factory and research hub in LA
[ad_1] SpaceX has pursued the permit for some time after first identifying and subsequently leasing the site back in 2018. As Reuters notes, the company has the option to terminate the permit within 180 days, and indeed, it canceled a similar permit two years ago when it moved the initial phase of the Starship project […]
Rocket Lab will launch a NASA cubesat to the Moon
[ad_1] The tiny satellite (it weighs just 55lbs) will first conduct a navigation demo with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, but it’s ultimately meant to be a “pathfinder” that will help the Artemis program’s Gateway spacecraft safely approach the Moon. This deal isn’t surprising given the current NASA administration’s privatization efforts. At the same time, it […]
Trump’s next budget could give NASA a huge funding windfall
[ad_1] The problem, of course, is that budgets need congressional approval — and there’s no guarantee the budget will go through Congress unaltered. A House subcommittee recently put forward a bill that would push the Moon landing to 2028 and shift the focus to a Mars orbital mission in 2033. And it wouldn’t be surprising […]
ESA opens plant that turns moondust into oxygen
[ad_1] As that suggests, this process could have an upshot for Moon explorers by producing useful alloys to construct habitats or repair vehicles. There’s a lot of work needed before plants like this can go to the Moon. It needs to store oxygen instead of simply venting the gas. Likewise, scientists would need to determine […]
Lexus imagines space vehicles for humans on the Moon
[ad_1] Out of the seven concepts, envisioned by five different designers, the one that got published was a motorcycle-like vehicle called Zero Gravity. While it’s supposed to be ridden like a motorbike, it doesn’t have wheels — it was designed with magnetic levitation in mind. Image: Karl Dujardin/Lexus The other concepts are just as interesting, […]