Tag: Moon
-
NASA ESD set key Orion requirement based on Lunar missions
NASA’s new spaceship, the Orion crew capsule, will be able to actively host a crew for 21 days, a requirement designed to cover all exploration missions, but mainly those outlined in the Lunar sorties Design Reference Missions (DRM) – missions that will see the crew spend more time in Orion, compared to long duration missions…
-
NASA Exploration Roadmap: A return to the Moon’s surface documented
The latest documentation relating to the efforts to create an Exploration Roadmap for NASA’s future has provided the strongest indication to date that the Agency wants to return US astronauts to the surface of the Moon. Listed as a Lunar Surface Sortie (LSS) mission, the Exploration Systems Development Division (ESD) revealed their plans via their…
-
Exploration Mission 1: SLS and Orion mission to the Moon outlined
The debut of the Space Launch System (SLS) will send the Orion (MPCV) on a 7-10 day mission to the Moon, with an aim to qualify the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) and Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) Orion to carry humans into deep space. Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) involves sending Orion around the far side…
-
GRAIL twins successfully arrive in Lunar Orbit
NASA’s two Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft have successfully completed their planned main engine burn and have arrived in lunar orbit. GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B will study the moon to yield a better understanding of the internal structure and thermal evolution. This will allow scientists to formulate a model of the Moon’s formation which…
-
Building the Roadmap for SLS – Con Ops lays out the LEO/Lunar Options
With evaluations continuing into NASA’s future crewed exploration aspirations, the foundations behind what should be a definitive roadmap – otherwise known as Exploration Systems Development (ESD) Design Reference Missions (DRM) – are starting to come to light, as outlined in the Space Launch System (SLS) Concept Of Operations (Con Ops) document. SLS Mission Ability –…
-
Exploration Gateway Platform hosting Reusable Lunar Lander proposed
In a potential marriage of the Space Launch System (SLS) with a central exploration plan, a Boeing-authored presentation has proposed an Exploration Gateway Platform architecture that not only returns man to the lunar surface – via the use of only one SLS launch to a reusable Lunar Lander – but provides a baseline for pathfinders…
-
Protecting Apollo sites from future visiting vehicles under NASA evaluation
As NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) produced the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites, NASA managers are working on internal plans to protect the “heritage sites” from potential damage from future visiting spacecraft – such as the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) vehicles – listing a…
-
India launch debut moon mission in collaboration with NASA and ESA
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched their Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft on their debut mission to the moon. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL-C11) lifted-off from Sriharikota, India early on Wednesday, local time. The PSLV-C11 is an uprated version of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle standard configuration. Weighing 316 tonnes at lift-off, the vehicle uses…