OrbitalHub

NASA dicit:

While NASA is working aggressively to meet our near-term goal of landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, our Artemis program also is focused on taking steps that will establish a safe and sustainable lunar exploration architecture. NASA is taking a critical step forward by releasing a solicitation for commercial companies to provide proposals for the collection of space resources.

To meet NASA’s requirements, a company will collect a small amount of Moon “dirt” or rocks from any location on the lunar surface, provide imagery to NASA of the collection and the collected material, along with data that identifies the collection location, and conduct an “in-place” transfer of ownership of the lunar regolith or rocks to NASA. After ownership transfer, the collected material becomes the sole property of NASA for our use.

NASA’s goal is that the retrieval and transfer of ownership will be completed before 2024. The solicitation creates a full and open competition, not limited to U.S. companies, and the agency may make one or more awards. The agency will determine retrieval methods for the transferred lunar regolith at a later date.

Over the next decade, the Artemis program will lay the foundation for a sustained long-term presence on the lunar surface and use the Moon to validate deep space systems and operations before embarking on the much farther voyage to Mars. The ability to conduct in-situ resources utilization (ISRU) will be incredibly important on Mars, which is why we must develop techniques and gain experience with ISRU on the surface of the Moon.

Video credit: NASA/Sonnet Apple

NASA dicit:

Preparing to explore the surface of the Moon goes well beyond designing and building safe spacecraft and spacesuits. NASA also has to ensure the surface vehicles and suits have the mobility required to do science, and that astronauts have the tools they need to identify and scoop up rock and soil samples. Additionally, NASA astronauts are trained in geology, spending countless hours practicing doing science at locations on Earth that resemble regions they might see on the Moon. All this is done in an effort to establish a long-term presence on the Moon and to help answer some outstanding science questions about the history of Earth and of the solar system.

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/James Tralie (ADNET): Lead Producer, Lead Editor/Lonnie Shekhtman (ADNET): Lead Writer/Kelsey Young (NASA/GSFC): Scientist/Trevor Graff (Jacobs Technology): Scientist/Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET): Technical Support/”Saana” and “Seasons” by Torsti Juhani Spoof from Universal Production Music

Blue Origin dicit:

The Blue Origin National Team, which includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper, was selected by NASA to begin to develop the Artemis Human Landing System.

Using existing and in development technologies provides the head start needed to meet NASA’s goal of landing at the South Pole of the Moon. Lockheed Martin’s Ascent Element is based on Orion; Northrop Grumman’s Transfer Element is based on Cygnus; and Blue Origin’s Descent Element is based on the Blue Moon lander and BE-7 engine, which has been in development for several years.

Video credit: Blue Origin

NASA dicit:

Engineers at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Elkton, Maryland successfully conducted the third and final test of the attitude control motor (ACM) that provides steering for the Launch Abort System (LAS) on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, qualifying the motor for Artemis II, Orion’s first mission with astronauts. The LAS, consisting of three solid rocket motors, is designed to carry crew to safety in the event of an emergency during launch or ascent atop the agency’s Space Launch System rocket.

During the 30-second test, eight high pressure valves directed more than 7,000 pounds of thrust in multiple directions while firing at freezing conditions. All three motors on the LAS will be qualified for crewed flights ahead of Artemis II, another step that brings NASA closer to sending the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024.

Video credit: NASA Johnson

Wikipedia dicit:

The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out predominately by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) with the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region by 2024. NASA sees Artemis as the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.

Video credit: NASA

Wikipedia dicit:

Artemis 1 (known as Exploration Mission-1 or EM-1 before the introduction of the Artemis program) is the second planned flight of the uncrewed Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to be launched on the first flight of the Space Launch System. The launch is planned from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center no earlier than November 2020. The Orion spacecraft will spend approximately 3 weeks in space, including 6 days in a retrograde orbit around the Moon. It is planned to be followed by Artemis 2 between 2022 and 2023.

The Block 1 version of the SLS rocket used on this mission will consist of two five-segment Solid Rocket Boosters, four RS-25D engines built for the Space Shuttle program and an Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. Artemis 1 mission is intended to demonstrate the integrated spacecraft systems prior to a crewed flight, and in addition, test a high speed reentry (11 km/s or 6.8 mi/s) on Orion’s thermal protection system.

Video Credit: NASA