Important Innovations

  GM & Lockheed Martin's Lunar Rover Source:  GM, Lockheed, NASA One Big Moonshot For automotive giant GM and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, their new partnership to develop a commercial lunar rover is one big Moonshot.  Their prototype looks a bit like a toy but this is not fun and games.  They intend to deliver their Lunar Mobility Vehicles (LMV) to customers by 2025.  The electric moon vehicle could prove to be an important part of NASA's Artemis Mission that will bring astronauts back to the Moon this decade, 50 years after the Apollo mission. A Big Commitment With or Without Government Funding Lockheed and GM intend to build the Moon vehicles with or without government funding.  There is no guarantee that they will win the NASA bidding process and be awarded a contract for use of the vehicle during the Artemis mission, set to launch in 2025.  The companies say they are building the LMV 100% for industrial use. They anticipate accelerating demand for lunar vehicles fr

Fleet of Rovers Being Developed to Carry People & Cargo on the Moon & Mars                                        Source:  Venturi Astrolab California's Venturi Astrolab California-based startup Venturi Astrolab has developed an interplanetary rover to transport people and cargo on the surface of the Moon and eventually on Mars.  The company has plans to build a fleet of rovers to meet NASA and commercial space companies' needs as humans become an interplanetary race.  Venturi Astrolab says the rovers will help establish and build bases on the Moon and the planets.  They add the rovers will "solve the local transportation problems" on the Moon.  The rovers are called FLEX for Flexible Logistics and Exploration. Capabilities and Technologies FLEX is incredibly flexible and dexterous.  It can crouch down, pickup payloads on the lunar surface and carry them to designated locations.  It can maneuver semi-autonomously and be controlled remotely. It can even be modi

Fleet of Rovers Being Developed to Carry People & Cargo on the Moon & Mars                                        Source:  Venturi Astrolab California's Venturi Astrolab California-based startup Venturi Astrolab has developed an interplanetary rover to transport people and cargo on the surface of the Moon and eventually on Mars.  The company has plans to build a fleet of rovers to meet NASA and commercial space companies' needs as humans become an interplanetary race.  Venturi Astrolab says the rovers will help establish and build bases on the Moon and the planets.  They add the rovers will "solve the local transportation problems" on the Moon.  The rovers are called FLEX for Flexible Logistics and Exploration. Capabilities and Technologies FLEX is incredibly flexible and dexterous.  It can crouch down, pickup payloads on the lunar surface and carry them to designated locations.  It can maneuver semi-autonomously and be controlled remotely. It can even be modi

  NASA's 1st Moon Rocket Mission Since Apollo                                                Source:  NASA Artemis 1 Artemis 1 NASA is making a return to the Moon.  The NASA Artemis 1 mission will be launched in February 2022.  It will contain the latest, next-generation of deep space exploration technologies for Artemis 1 to explore on and around the Moon.  NASA will use it huge and powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to reach the Moon.  The SLS rocket is 332 feet tall!  The Apollo missions officially ended in 1975.  NASA is investing a great deal of technology, strategic goals and NASA agency scientific aspirations into their newest venture to the Moon.  Integrated Testing Underway for Take-off This mission will be conducted without any human crew onboard.  What NASA calls final integrated tests are now taking place.  The tests include interface verification, total end to end communications systems, specific engineering programs and much more.  The technology involved is aw

  Inner-connectivity of the Moon & Humans                                   Source:  Stock image of Moon New Scientific Evidence of Ancient Superstitions About the Moon Ancient civilizations believed that the phases of the Moon triggered certain events.  They also believed that certain things happened only during specific phases of the Moon, like the full Moon.  New scientific research is providing credible evidence to support some of these superstitions about the interconnections between humanity and the Moon. Sleep Patterns A new study just published in the journal Science Advances demonstrates the impact of the phases of the Moon on sleep patterns.  100 volunteers from Argentina's indigenous communities and 450 volunteers from Seattle, Washington wore sleep trackers for two months to track their sleep patterns during the phases of the Moon.  The results are very surprising. Full Moon: Loss of An Hour's Sleep The indigenous people who participated in the research had very

  New Glenn Rocket Part of NASA's Commercial Launch Fleet                                            Source:  Blue Origin Jeff Bezos's Rockets Soaring Into Space Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin has scored a big win.  NASA has selected the New Glenn rocket as a launcher for future NASA missions in the mid-2020's.  New Glenn joins NASA's fleet of launch vehicles. New Shepherd NASA has launched Blue Origin's New Shepherd suborbital vehicle dozens of times to fly payloads into space.  The New Glenn is an orbital launcher that can reuse its first stage booster rocket.  Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos says he expects the vehicle will carry humans as well as cargo into space. Space Technology New Glenn is a two stage booster rocket vehicle.  The rocket's reusable first stage is designed to re-fly twenty-five times, after touching down in the ocean and being retrieved.  It can carry up to 14 tons to geostationary orbit and 50 tons to low Earth orbit.

  Starship Performs Well, Then Explodes on Landing                                                                                Source:  SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Learns and Moves Forward SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle is the centerpiece of CEO Elon Musk's dreams to take humanity on affordable trips to the Moon and Mars.  On December 9, 2020, the Starship prototype launched for a test flight.  The vehicle performed well and reached an altitude of  41,000 feet - it's highest as of that date.  And it performed record setting, acrobatic flips in the air before landing.  The test flight went perfectly until the landing, when the test vehicle blew up in a fiery explosion.  No one was hurt.  Entrepreneur/inventor/CEO Elon Musk had a uniquely scientific take on the episode.  He learned from the fiery landing, made conclusions based on data the test provided and found ample reasons to move forward.  His reactions provide insights into the way one of America's most successful inn

  CEO Elon Musk's Starship to Mars Source:  SpaceX Flight Test to 40,000 Feet Starship is Space X CEO Elon Musk's space vehicle designed to carry humans to the Moon and Mars.  The prototype has been tested twice before in so-called "hop" tests to 500 feet.  This week, Musk has been cleared by the FAA to test the vehicle at 40,000 feet, an altitude higher than most planes climb.   Musk Downplaying the Critical Test Interestingly, Musk is downplaying the critical test of the vehicle's aerodynamic design and flight capabilities.  He's calling it a learning experience. On the SpaceX website, Musk said "With a test like this, success is not measured by reaching specific objectives but by how much we can learn."  He predicts a 30% chance of its reaching 40,000 feet. Starship is SpaceX's Centerpiece to Travel to Mars & the Moon Starship is Musk's next generation, reusable launch vehicle.  It is the centerpiece of Musk's plans to make space t

  Where There Is Water, There May be Life                                                                                          Source:  Moon Stock Image Big Scientific Discovery Push Is Underway NASA's SOPHIA Telescope has discovered water on the Moon.  That is a very big finding because the presence of water holds the potential of the presence of life.  Areas with the presence of water on the Moon and on other planets are the prime locations that NASA targets to search for new forms of life in space. NASA's Critical New Questions NASA is now asking a series of critical questions about the findings.  How much water is there in the places that SOPHIA has spotted?  How can the water be used by future astronauts in the 2024 Artemis mission to the Moon?  NASA says it is using rovers, spacecraft, telescopes and more in pursuit of answers to these critical questions. What We Know Now & What's Upcoming in 2028 NASA findings have already confirmed that there is more water o

NASA & Nokia's Bell Labs Building Lunar Connectivity                                                                                Source:  4G stock image Wired, Connected Moon for Astronauts NASA and Nokia's Bell Labs are building a 4G network on the Moon.  Bell Labs has been awarded a $14.1 million contract for the project.  Bell Labs is partnering with spaceflight engineering company Intuitive Machines.  The purpose is to provide US astronauts with a more robust means of communications. 5G Coming Next As is happening on Earth, the 4G network on the Moon will be upgraded to 5G over time.  The 4G system is being built to withstand the Moon's radiation, extreme temperatures and space's vacuum.  The astronauts will use the 4G network for data transmission, control of lunar rovers, streaming of high definition videos and for real time navigation of the lunar surface.  Bell Labs will deploy small cell technology, which is much smaller and requires less energy than the

  Focus - Technology For 2024 Artemis Mission to the Moon Source:  NASA Potential $1 Billion Plus in New Space Business for Italy The US and Italy have signed an agreement to explore space together.  Specifically, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Italy's Undersecretary to the Presidency Riccardo Fraccaro have agreed to cooperate on NASA's Artemis mission that will land US astronauts on the Moon.  Other space projects are also covered in the agreement.  According to the CEO of the Italian aerospace and defense group Leonardo, the agreement will generate at least $1.16 billion for the Italian space industry. Artemis and Italy's Technology NASA's Artemis mission aims to land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.  NASA wants to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon by the end of this decade.  Leonardo CEO Allesandro Profumo says Italy will be making a significant technology contribution by developing habitable surface modules for human

  NASA Solicits Private Companies to Mine the Moon                                             Source:  NASA - Venus Is This The Rise of Planet Snatching? The head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, claims that Venus is a Russian planet.  His reasoning is that a Russian spacecraft was the first and only spacecraft to do a soft landing there.  He added Russia wants to send its own new mission to Venus in addition to an already proposed joint venture with the United States called "Venera-D". President Trump, The Planet Snatcher Rogozin is a a former deputy Prime Minister of Russia.  Several months ago, he accused President Donald Trump of planet snatching as the US started a process of developing international accords to govern mining rights and other commercialization of the Moon and planets.  Last week, NASA began seeking private companies that are part of lunar missions to provide NASA with moon dirt and moon rocks and be paid for it. Venus and Life The R

  NASA Will Pay Thousands for Moon Dirt and Moon Rocks Source:  Moon stock image  Moon Commercial Exploration About to Expand NASA wants to mine the Moon. And to do so, it just announced that it's looking for companies to do lunar mining.  This is a bold bid by NASA to start the commercial development of the Moon.  The initial purpose is to help US astronauts establish permanent bases on the Moon and "live off the land".  And, then for NASA to move forward to Mars where astronauts would need to live off the resources available there. The new program to find valuable resources on the Moon and later Mars is part of NASA's Artemis Project and it is open to international companies. International Companies Encouraged to Participate NASA is looking for private companies, that are already part of space explorations, to collect rocks and dirt from the lunar surface and sell them to NASA, as part of a technology development project.  NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted:

Global Debate Over Moon Laws for Living & Working There NASA's Artemis Accords NASA just released a set of basic principles designed to govern how humans will live and work on the Moon.  They are called the Artemis Accords and include the main tenets of what is designed to become an international agreement for the exploration of the Moon. It has already sparked international debate.  Russia is angry that it's not part of the early negotiations.  In fact, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has accused the Trump Administration of "planet snatching" in its efforts to drive formation of the Accords.  China too has complained that it isn't part of the early negotiations. Lunar Safety Zones and Mining Rights The Accords are designed to establish safety zones around lunar bases to prevent what NASA calls "harmful interference".  They would permit companies and nations to own the lunar resources that they mine.  The Accords are par

Trump Administration Writing the Rules Source:  NASA Artemis Accords The Trump Administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining of valuable minerals on the Moon and safety  zones to protect lunar bases. This is part of a new US sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords.  The Accords would bypass the United Nations.  It's an attempt to rally allies behind NASA's plan to put humans and space  stations on the Moon in 2024 in the Artemis Mission. "Planet Snatching" The Russians for one are not pleased with the Trump Administration's initiative.  The Artemis Accords have  been called "planet snatching" by the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos.  Yesterday, the Kremlin toned down the rhetoric but said the proposed legal blueprint would need to be thoroughly analyzed to see if it complies with international law. Moon's Strategic Value The Moon has tremendous strategic value. 

NASA Awards Contracts for Moon Spacecraft Source:  Blue Origin & Jeff Bezos Humans Back on the Moon by 2024 NASA just awarded contracts to three companies to build spacecraft capable of landing astronauts on the Moon.  Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, SpaceX founded by Tesla's Elon Musk and Dynetics, a  subsidiary of the IT company Leidos, are the winners. Is There Life in Space? The contract is a big win for Bezos and Blue Origin.  He has been urging NASA to explore the Moon's south pole where scientists have discovered water in the form of ice.  Water is the key ingredient that NASA targets in its search for life in space.  Bezos has  been pushing his Blue Moon lunar lander. He's pulled in Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Draper Labs as part of his Blue Moon development team.  According to Bezos, "We're not going back to the Moon to visit.  We're going ba