Tag: Astrobotic
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NASA VIPER rover and Astrobotic Griffin lander select moon landing site for 2023
The NASA VIPER rover – a precursor mission to human landings in the south polar region of the Moon, and a mission started in 2019 under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program – has had its landing site selected for its 2023 mission. The rover, known as the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, is now…
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Intuitive Machines adds third mission following first lunar landings in 2022
Intuitive Machines (IM) has selected SpaceX to launch their third mission to the Moon. Named IM-3, the company’s Nova-C lander will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 currently targeted for the first quarter of 2024 following two Nova-C missions in 2022. Overall, IM is one of four Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) providers preparing for…
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Astrobotic selects SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch robotic lunar lander
A Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off in April 2019 with the Arabsat 6A commercial communications satellite. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now A commercial lunar lander built by Astrobotic will launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2023 to deliver a water-hunting NASA rover to the moon’s…
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WiBotic joins Astrobotic’s team to build wireless charging system for moon rovers
Astrobotic’s CubeRover prototype wheels over a simulated lunar surface. (Astrobotic via YouTube) Seattle-based WiBotic says it’s working on a wireless charging system and energy management software for moon rovers, in partnership with Astrobotic, Bosch and the University of Washington. The hardware and software for robotic lunar missions will build on the work that the UW…
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NASA selects proposals to demonstrate in-space refueling and propellant depot tech
Artist’s illustration of two Starship vehicles docked together in Earth orbit. Credit: SpaceX NASA has selected 14 companies for contracts of more than $370 million to advance technology for human missions to the moon and Mars. Most of the money will support flight demonstrations by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and other companies that could lead…
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NASA Selects Astrobotic to Deliver the VIPER Rover to the Lunar Surface
Astrobotic of Pittsburgh, PA has been selected to deliver NASA’s future Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, to the Moon. The Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative will provide NASA a “rapid acquisition” of commercial Lunar abilities, which will further the agency’s capability of science and commercial development of the moon. The first CLP contracts to…
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NASA Selects Astrobotic to Deliver the VIPER Rover to the Lunar Surface
Astrobotic of Pittsburgh, PA has been selected to deliver NASA’s future Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, to the Moon. The Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative will provide NASA a “rapid acquisition” of commercial Lunar abilities, which will further the agency’s capability of science and commercial development of the moon. The first CLP contracts to…
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NASA picks Astrobotic to deliver its VIPER rover to lunar south pole for nearly $200M
NASA has awarded a $199.5 million contract to Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic to deliver its VIPER rover to the moon’s south pole in 2023, marking one more not-so-small step for the commercialization of lunar exploration. VIPER, which stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, will conduct a detailed on-the-ground assessment of water ice buried in lunar soil.…
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NASA announces funding for moon and Mars mission tech
Astrobotic is one of 14 companies selected for NASA’s Tipping Point solicitation. This illustration depicts CubeRover, an ultra-light, modular and scalable commercial rover. Credit: Astrobotic/Carnegie Mellon University NASA announced agreements worth a combined $43.2 million with 14 commercial partners Friday — including Blue Origin and SpaceX — to fund experiments in propellant and power generation,…
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Astrobotic lunar lander to launch on ULA’s first Vulcan rocket
Artist’s concept of a Vulcan Centaur rocket with two solid rocket boosters. Credit: United Launch Alliance Astrobotic, a Pittsburgh-based company developing a robotic lunar lander, will launch its first moon mission under contract to NASA on the debut flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket in 2021, officials announced Monday. If successful, Astrobotic’s Peregrine…