Tag: Moon
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Project Morpheus successfully conducts free flight 7
Project Morpheus – an experimental lander project – has enjoyed a successful free flight at its test range at the end of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) on Monday. Previously delayed by poor weather at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) – along with technical issues – Monday’s free flight achieved another milestone for the technology demostrator…
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Golden Spike recruit Draper to evaluate lunar landing sites
The Golden Spike company are continuing to push forward with their ambitious plans to reinitiate crewed missions to the surface of the Moon. The commercial company announced a partnership with Draper Laboratory on Wednesday, with the goal to evaluate potential lunar landing sites. Golden Spike: Formed in 2010, Golden Spike is led by Board Chair…
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YIR (Part II) – Lunar and Saturnian exploration captures public’s attention
Capturing and holding the attention of the general public for space exploration purposes is often a difficult thing to achieve. But 2013 saw not only NASA but also the China National Space Administration do just that through a series of new and continuing voyages to the Moon and Saturn. YIR Part II: Lunar exploration –…
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Chang’e-3: Chinese lunar rover heading to the Moon
The Chinese have begun their most ambitious lunar mission to date, following the successful launch their Long March 3B rocket carrying the Chang’e-3 probe and Yutu lunar rover. Launch was on schedule at 17:30 UTC on Sunday, taking place from the LC2 Launch Complex at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Chinese Moon Mission: The Chang’e-3 mission…
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Examining Buzz Aldrin’s roadmap to Mars
Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin recently released “A Unified Space Vision,” his personal plan for humankind’s next two decades in space. Blending elements from today’s space flight reality with visions for missions yet to come, Aldrin foresees the United States leading the charge to a permanent human presence on Mars by 2040. Pondering the present future:…
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Golden Spike promote lunar sample return options
The Golden Spike company have revealed interest in conducting lunar missions that combine robotic landers with human expeditions to the Moon. The company recently hosted a workshop with an international audience of scientists, focusing on landing sites, sample returns, and aspirations of the international lunar scientific community. Golden Spike: Led by Board Chair Gerry Griffin and…
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Dual SLS launch campaign required for NASA’s Lunar return
A return to the surface of the Moon would require two Space Launch System (SLS) rockets launching over half a year apart, with a four person crew being transported to the Lunar surface on a multi-billion dollar Lander for a seven day sortie mission. The overview, provided in the latest Concept Of Operations (CONOPS) document,…
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EM-1: NASA managers request ambitious changes to debut SLS/Orion mission
Just months after changing Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) into an asteroid rendezvous mission, NASA managers have issued a Change Request to alter the debut flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) with Orion. The change would result in Orion being sent 70,000 km past the Moon on a 25 day flight. Exploration Roadmap: As SLS…
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NASA Authorization Act pushes for Moon and Mars priority
The House Science space subcommittee’s 2013 Authorization Act intends to refocus NASA’s exploration path towards prioritizing the goal of landing humans on both the Moon and Mars, according to draft document. Ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, the political direction also pours cold water on the realigned Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) to explore a captured…
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From Space Station to Moon Base – Bigelow expands on inflatable ambitions
Two months after signing a non-funded Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA, Bigelow Aerospace has made great progress toward identifying new ideas for private-public partnerships for human space exploration of the solar system, with discussions complementing NASA’s near- and long-term exploration goals with the private sector’s burgeoning development of exploration facilities for Earth orbit and…