Tag: Moon
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NASA challenges companies to mine lunar soil
Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani NASA announced Thursday it plans to purchase lunar soil from a commercial company, an effort the agency’s top official said is intended to set a precedent for the transfer of ownership of extraterrestrial material and stimulate a market harvesting resources from bodies throughout the solar system. The initiative is starting small, but…
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Rust on the Moon. How is that possible without oxygen and liquid water?
Humanity’s fleet of robotic explorers peppered throughout the solar system continue to reveal new and exciting pieces of information regarding other members of the Sun’s stellar family. New research from India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission shows the Moon is rusting. The baffling discovery led scientists on an intriguing search for the answer to how this seemingly…
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SLS booster test-fired in Utah
An SLS flight support booster was test-fired Wednesday in Utah. Credit: NASA/Northrop Grumman/Scott Mohrman Northrop Grumman test-fired a five-segment solid-fueled booster for NASA’s Space Launch System Wednesday at the company’s test facility in Promontory, Utah. The powerful rocket ignited at 3:05 p.m. EDT (1:05 p.m. MDT; 1905 GMT) Wednesday and burned for a little more…
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Blue Origin and its partners deliver a lunar lander mock-up to NASA
An engineering mock-up of the crew lander vehicle designed by Blue Origin and its partners stands tall inside Building 9 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas. (Blue Origin Photo) An all-star space industry team led by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has assembled a mock-up of its proposed lunar lander right…
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Penultimate piece of NASA’s first SLS rocket arrives at Kennedy Space Center
The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter for the first Space Launch System test flight was offloaded from NASA’s Pegasus barge July 30 and transferred into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: TOSC/Tracy Yates One of the final pieces for the first test flight of NASA’s huge Space Launch System heavy-lift…
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Northrop Grumman outlines HALO plans for Gateway’s central module
With the first two major elements of NASA’s Lunar Gateway under contract and development, Northrop Grumman has outlined their plans for the overall Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, which will serve as the primary habitation and nexus for the lunar station. HALO will now launch in a fully integrated configuration with Maxar’s Power and…
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Maxar making progress with Power and Propulsion Element for Gateway
Last year, NASA awarded Maxar Technologies the contract for the Power and Propulsion Element, the very first Lunar Gateway contract and, at the time, the first module scheduled to be launched. The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) acts as Gateway’s service module, providing solar electric propulsion for orbital adjustments, and electricity with its solar arrays. …
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Maxar making progress with Power and Propulsion Element for Gateway
Last year, NASA awarded Maxar Technologies the contract for the Power and Propulsion Element, the very first Lunar Gateway contract and, at the time, the first module scheduled to be launched. The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) acts as Gateway’s service module, providing solar electric propulsion for orbital adjustments, and electricity with its solar arrays. …
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NASA chief still hopeful to get more money for moon landing effort
File photo of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls House lawmakers this week proposed to fund NASA’s human-rated lunar lander development program at less than one-fifth of the level the Trump administration wanted, but NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Wednesday the House budget bill is just the “opening salvo” in an appropriations process that…
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SLS booster segments arrive in Florida, but stacking on hold until core stage test
The 10 booster segments for the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System travel across a bridge between Titusville, Florida, and the Kennedy Space Center on Monday, June 15. Credit: Northrop Grumman Fueled segments of the solid rocket boosters that will lift off on the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System have arrived at…