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NASA picks four small US companies to make Artemis Moon tech

Brittany A. Roston | Jul 8, 2020

NASA has selected four small companies in the US to 'mature' tech for its upcoming Artemis Moon missions. The combined value of these follow-on contracts will amount to around $17 million, according to the space agency, which previously awarded the companies contracts to develop and demonstrate these technologies. NASA anticipates the contracts helping speed up the development of Moon tech that it needs to meet its deadlines.

NASA researchers say the Moon is more metallic than previously believed

Shane McGlaun | Jul 2, 2020

A team of researchers at NASA who were hunting for ice inside of polar craters made an unexpected finding that researchers believe could help clear up some of the mystery behind the Moon's formation. The researchers are the members of the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument team on the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The researchers found evidence that the subsurface of the Moon might be more abundant in metals such as iron and titanium than previously believed.

NASA Lunar Loo challenge seeks astronaut toilet concepts for the Moon

Brittany A. Roston | Jun 25, 2020

NASA has launched another challenge for the public, this one seeking concepts for a toilet design that could be used by astronauts on the Moon. Suitably called the Lunar Loo challenge, this competition is offering up $35,000 in prizes for teams who propose effective designs for toilets that can operate in both microgravity and lunar gravity environments.

NASA reveals water-hunting VIPER rover’s ride to the Moon

Chris Davies | Jun 11, 2020

NASA has named the company which will take its new Moon rover up to play on the lunar surface, paving the way for a crewed mission by hunting for potential resources for future astronauts. The $199.5 million contract for NASA VIPER was awarded to Astrobotic, which plans to use its Griffin lunar lander to safely take the rover out to its new home.

NASA taps Northrop Grumman to design Gateway outpost’s HALO module

Brittany A. Roston | Jun 6, 2020

NASA has struck a deal with Northrop Grumman that tasks the company with designing the first crew module for the future Gateway lunar outpost. Once completed and launched, this orbiting outpost will be the base station for planned future missions on the Moon, including a place where astronauts can live and perform experiments. The Gateway is part of NASA's larger mission to return to the Moon and increase its work on Mars.

NASA’s Artemis Accords are controversial new rules of space

Chris Davies | May 15, 2020

NASA has revealed the Artemis Accords, a set of principles guiding its upcoming crewed mission to the Moon and, beyond that, deeper into space to destinations like Mars. The guidelines and commitments cover topics like transparency, release of scientific data, and avoiding littering space with mission junk. However they're unlikely to reassure anybody who suspects Artemis is also a lunar resources land-grab.

ESA moon rover could explore dark craters using laser power

Shane McGlaun | May 15, 2020

An ESA program called the Discovery & Preparation program funded the design of a laser system that could keep a rover supplied with power up to 15 km away from a lander spacecraft. The ESA believes that the rover powered by laser light could be used to explore the permanently darkened craters on the poles of the Moon. These permanently dark craters are believed to be rich in water ice and other valuable materials.

Artemis Accords moon mining pact in the works with Trump admin: Report

Chris Burns | May 6, 2020

A "legal blueprint for mining on the moon" was tipped to be in the works in the White House under the U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords. A report this week suggests that a draft pact has not yet been "formally shared" with any U.S. allies as of yet. This agreement would be made in association with NASA and ideally agreed upon by by government officials around the world.

NASA reveals its three Artemis 2024 Moon lander firms

Chris Davies | Apr 30, 2020

NASA's three picks for human landing systems for the Artemis program have been confirmed, a shortlist for the system which will land US astronauts on the Moon by 2024. The candidate systems each have ten months to demonstrate they're worthy for the next round of the process. Conspicuously absent from the final three, however, is Boeing.

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight will search out ice in dark moon craters

Shane McGlaun | Apr 29, 2020

NASA is gearing up to send astronauts to the moon as part of the Artemis program. One challenge that astronauts participating in that program will face his being able to get enough supplies for an extended mission, particularly water. Water is a very heavy, yet critical resource, that is difficult to send from the Earth.

NASA plans to hunt Moon water with space lasers

Chris Davies | Apr 27, 2020

A briefcase-sized gadget hiding a powerful laser sounds like a James Bond gadget, but in fact it's what NASA aims to use to go hunting for water ice on the Moon's surface. Dubbed Lunar Flashlight, the proposed CubeSat will be instrumental in searching out potential sources of water that future NASA missions could use for deeper space exploration of Mars and more.

NASA wants to turn a Moon crater into a giant radio telescope

Brittany A. Roston | Apr 11, 2020

Last week, NASA published a new scientific proposal that suggests a large lunar crater should be turned into a big radio telescope. There would be multiple benefits to having a radio telescope on the Moon, according to NASA, which says that orbiting and Earth-based telescopes are subjected to interference and more. The crater telescope, if it ever proceeds to the point of being an actual project, would involve builder robots.