{"id":17642,"date":"2020-09-18T21:33:59","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T13:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-touts-lunar-landing-tech-and-blue-origin-says-therell-be-a-flight-test-soon\/"},"modified":"2020-09-18T21:33:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T13:33:59","slug":"nasa-touts-lunar-landing-tech-and-blue-origin-says-therell-be-a-flight-test-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-touts-lunar-landing-tech-and-blue-origin-says-therell-be-a-flight-test-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA touts lunar landing tech, and Blue Origin says there\u2019ll be a flight test \u2018soon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_584606\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-584606\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-584606\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/200918-newshepard3-630x422.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Origin New Shepard landing\" width=\"630\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/200918-newshepard3-630x422.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/200918-newshepard3-768x514.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/200918-newshepard3.jpg 1032w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-584606\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship makes a precision landing in May 2019. (Blue Origin Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong famously had to dodge a boulder-strewn crater just seconds before the first moon landing in 1969 \u2014 but for future lunar touchdowns, NASA expects robotic eyes to see such missions to safe landings.<\/p>\n<p>And Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture is helping to make it so.<\/p>\n<p>Today NASA talked up a precision landing system known as SPLICE (which stands for Safe and Precise Landing \u2013 Integrated Capabilities Evolution). The system makes use of an onboard camera, laser sensors and computerized firepower to identify and avoid hazards such as craters and boulders.<\/p>\n<p>NASA says three of SPLICE\u2019s four main subsystems \u2014 the terrain relative navigation system, a navigation Doppler lidar system and the descent and landing computer \u2014 will be tested during an upcoming flight of Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship. The fourth component, a hazard detection lidar system, still has to go through ground testing.<\/p>\n<p>In a tweet, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said technologies such as SPLICE \u201ccan provide spacecraft with the \u2018eyes\u2019 and analytical capability\u201d for making safe landings. Blue Origin answered with a tweet of its own:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1306955741383852034&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2020%2Fnasa-touts-lunar-landing-tech-blue-origin-says-therell-flight-test-soon%2F&amp;sessionId=35897389d8c49e9dafd8f6aaa8e5c71923d4a677&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1306955741383852034\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782799075305499827=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Very cool flight tests coming\u2026we look forward to #NewShepard flying these lunar landing technologies soon. https:\/\/t.co\/4c6S1aiuMj<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Blue Origin (@blueorigin) September 18, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a long nine months since New Shepard\u2019s most recent uncrewed test flight \u2014 primarily due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Before COVID-19, Blue Origin executives had voiced hopes of flying people on New Shepard by the end of 2020, but that time frame now seems out of the question. (To be fair, Bezos and others at Blue Origin have given optimistic forecasts for flights with people on board since 2016.)<\/p>\n<p>Now another timeline is looming large: NASA\u2019s Artemis program is aiming to land astronauts on the moon by as early as 2024, and the lander being developed by Blue Origin and its partners could play a key role in those lunar missions.<\/p>\n<p>SPLICE could also guide the robotic landings leading up to the crewed missions, as well as future landings on Mars.<\/p>\n<p>Back in 1969, NASA left it up to Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to pick the right spot within a target landing area that measured roughly 3 miles wide and 11 miles long. The target zone for the Viking Mars landers in 1976 was an even wider ellipse, spanning 62 miles by 174 miles.<\/p>\n<p>Robotic landing technology has improved markedly since then: The landing ellipse for the Mars Curiosity rover in 2016 was a mere 4 by 12 miles. But SPLICE should be able to plot pinpoint touchdowns for future human and robotic explorers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re building is a complete descent and landing system that will work for future Artemis missions to the moon and can be adapted for Mars,\u201d project manager Ron Sostaric said in NASA\u2019s news release. \u201cOur job is to put the individual components together and make sure that it works as a functioning system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Landing precisely on other worlds\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QSlcLNPCZ5M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>SPLICE\u2019s camera is programmed to take up to 10 images per second, and feed them into a computer that\u2019s pre-loaded with satellite images and landmark coordinates. The computer continuously compares the real-time views with the database to guide the spacecraft toward the safest site, while making sure to avoid hazards.<\/p>\n<p>A version of the terrain relative navigation system will be used when NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover descends to the Martian surface next February.<\/p>\n<p>SPLICE\u2019s navigation Doppler lidar system is designed to kick in during mid-descent, scanning the terrain with laser beams to keep track of the lander\u2019s relative velocity and trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>A separate laser-scanning system, the hazard detection lidar, will look out for obstacles within a 55-yard radius. That\u2019s precisely the kind of system that could have steered the Apollo 11 lunar module well clear of that troublesome crater, avoiding the tense moments that marked Armstrong\u2019s touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>SPLICE could open up landing zones in areas of the moon and Mars that previously couldn\u2019t be considered due to potentially hazardous terrain \u2014 for example, the permanently shadowed craters of the moon\u2019s south polar region, or ledges overlooking the huge Martian canyon known as Valles Marineris.<\/p>\n<p>If all goes well with New Shepard\u2019s flights and SPLICE\u2019s other trial runs, precision landing technologies could help robotic lunar probes find their way to a safe landing starting as early as next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship makes a precision landing in May 2019. (Blue Origin Photo) Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong famously had to dodge a boulder-strewn crater just seconds before the first moon landing in 1969 \u2014 but for future lunar touchdowns, NASA expects robotic eyes to see such missions to safe landings. And [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[304,1508,509,2043,625,190,1250],"class_list":["post-17642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-artemis","tag-blue-moon","tag-blue-origin","tag-lunar-lander","tag-moon","tag-nasa","tag-new-shepard"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17642"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}