Important Innovations

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.  W...

Chinese Mars Lander Passes Important Landing Test Source:  Chinese Mars Lander Test China - Emerging Space Power China just successfully completed a landing test of its Mars lander that will contain a rover to explore Mars.  This puts China squarely on track for its Mission to Mars in the summer of 2020.  This mission involves landing on and exploring the Red Planet.  Mars is cold and barren but it's considered the only planet other than Earth that is habitable.  The Chinese space mission could contribute to the international effort to learn about and start understanding the climate conditions and mineral resources on Mars. Billions of Dollars Invested in Space China is pouring billions of dollars into its military-run space program.  It hopes to have a crewed space station in orbit by 2022.  China's space investment is paying off.  Early in 2019 it landed a rover on the far side of the Moon, which is a first.  Clearly, China is e...

NASA Plans Space Station for the Moon Source:  NASA Lunar Space Station Concept Lunar Vehicle to Orbit, Land and Serve as Astronaut Habitat NASA's plan is to put astronauts on the Moon again starting in 2024.  To expedite the missions, NASA plans to have a Lunar vehicle capable of orbiting and landing on the Moon.  It will also serve as a habitat for astronauts.  Canada has signed on as a partner and the European Space Agency is also interested in participating. It's called the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway. For details, check out this news blog Important Innovations Collection: NASA Plans New Space Station : Lunar Orbiter, Lander & Astronaut Habitat Source:  NASA Lunar Orbiter Concept Man on the Moon in 2024 NASA's plan is for ...