Important Innovations Collection

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 fo...

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...

 Inner-connectivity of the Moon & Humans                                  Source:  Stock image of Wolf 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 res...

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 tra...

BE-7 Lunar Lander Rocket Engine:  4th Successful Test                                           Source:  Blue Origin BE-7 Test Bezos Says BE-7 Will Land 1st Woman on the Moon Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has announced that his space company Blue Origin has completed its fourth successful test of its lunar lander rocket engine, the BE-7.  He added the BE-7 will land the first women astronaut on the Moon.  This comment is interesting because Bezos is not taken to making predictions.  Unlike SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, he is very conservative and quiet about what he wants to target, until he achieves it. NASA's Big Artemis Competition For Blue Origin, SpaceX and Dynetics, the stakes couldn't be higher.  They are competing to be NASA's partner in the Artemis mission which will take astronauts to the Moon in 2024.  It will be the first...

Where There Is Water, There May be Life                                                                                         Source:  NASA Moon 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 astronaut...

NASA & Nokia's Bell Labs Building Lunar Connectivity                                                 Source:  4G stock image Wired, Connected Moon 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 luna...

New Space Agreement Between US and Italy Source:  NASA Focus: Technology For 2024 Artemis Mission to the Moon 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 explore...

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 se...

Global Debate Over Moon Laws for Living & Working There Source:  Stock Moon image 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 ...

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.  Not just for the...

India's Bold Space Goals 2020's Source:  ISRO Lunar Explorations and Global Cooperation India is a growing leader in the exploration of space.  Of particular interest is India's many lunar exploration successes.  India is providing vital data from its multi-year Chandrayaan-2 mission that is now orbiting the Moon.  The images are being provided to the NASA-led Artemis program, which is a multinational effort to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2024.  The images of the surface of the Moon are vital to determine the best landing spot on the Moon for the next team of astronauts. Back in 2009, India was the first to discover ice deposits on the surface of the Moon. In 2021, it plans to launch Chandrayaan-3 that will include another landing attempt.  Their Vikram lander failed to land safely on the Moon as part of the Chandrayaan-2 mission. US-India Space Cooperation Accelerating President Trump in his late February 2020 trip to India p...

China Space Economic Zone Source:  Chinese Academy of Sciences - Far Side of Moon with Earth in the Distance Trillions of Dollars at Stake In 2020, China secured a leadership role in space exploration.  It made the first landing on the far side of the Moon with Chang'e-5Ti, its mission service module.  Since that space milestone, China has stated that it wants to establish a "Space Economic Zone" between the Earth and the Moon.  From mining minerals to establishing in space solar power, the zone is projected by Chinese officials to be capable of generating $10 Trillion a year for China by 2050. Specific Goals News of China's goals and intent came in a speech given by a top official with China Aerospace Sciences and Technology (CASC), which is China's main, state-run space contractor.  To reach its space goals, China intends to develop low cost launch and space vehicles to exploit the economic potential of space.  CASC wants breakthrough space tr...

China's Chang'e 4 Lunar Rover Find Source:  China Lunar Exploration Project Unusual, Gel-Like Substance China's Chang'e 4 lunar rover has discovered an unusually colored, gel-like substance in its exploration of the far side of the Moon.  The rover named Yutu-2 made the discovery on what the Chinese are calling lunar day 8. Scientists at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center changed the rover's itinerary to focus its instrumentation on the substance found in a small crater.  The material's color and luster is unlike anything surrounding it on the lunar surface. What Is It? The big question remains what the substance is.  Thus far, Chinese scientists haven't offered any explanation.  Other experts theorize that it could be melted glass from the collision of a meteorite with the Moon's surface. Lunar Mystery Chang'e 4 made the world's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019.  It's exploring the dark side ...

Starhopper Rocket Prototype Passes Highest & Final Test Source:  Space X Next: On to Orbital Prototypes for 2021 Launch Another big victory for SpaceX.  Starhopper, its Starship vehicle designed to colonize Mars, passed with flying colors its final test flight.  On its own, the vehicle was launched and rose several hundred feet into the air above the company's facility in south Texas.  Once it reached the targeted height, it flew sideways and then smoothly landed on a different pad at the SpaceX facility.  The test took 57 seconds and it was a big success.  The ceiling set by the FAA for test flights is 500 feet. Two New Starship Prototypes Starship Starhopper now hands the baton over to two orbital prototypes - Starship Mk1 and Starship Mk2.  Both are powered by at least three Raptor, next generation engines that SpaceX is developing.  Tests on these prototypes will result in the operational Starship and flights beginning in 2021....

Cubesats in Command Source:   NASA Cubesat High Theater in Low Earth Orbit Two cubesats (small satellites) powered by steam performed a complicated and coordinated maneuver in space today.  With the help of NASA on the ground, one of the spacecraft commanded the other to close the 5.5 mile gap between them.  It did so successfully. Old Fashioned Steam Power The twin spacecrafts' fuel tanks are filled with water.  Thrusters convert the water into steam which propels the cubesats.  NASA says today's maneuvers demonstrate how small spacecraft can work together on future missions.  NASA adds these spacecraft are designed to operate in swarms.  These space teams could be deployed in the future for deep space exploration and work autonomously to explore new worlds.  NASA plans on sending cubesats to the Moon in 2020.  For a free Kindle borrow of my latest book "Big Space News 2019", go to  amazon.com/author/ekane  https://www...

Second Lunar Mission in a Year Source:  NASA image of the Moon To Explore Moon's South Pole - Unchartered Territory India is gearing up to launch its second Moon mission within a year on Monday, July 22.  The mission is daring, ambitious and exciting.  India will land a rover on the Moon's South Pole which is unexplored territory.  The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) categorizes the mission as "Boldly going to where no country has gone before".  The aim is to explore for water and helium 3.  That isotope is so abundant on the Moon, that it has the potential to meet global energy needs for 250 years.  That is if the substance can be harnessed. Staking Out Space Leadership India is establishing itself a position of leadership in space, alongside of the US, Russia and China.  It has ambitious plans including a manned space mission by 2022.  All of the technology it is using for the July 22 mission was made in India, accordi...

Moon is a Waystation to Mars Source:  Artemis on the Moon Artemis Lunar Program NASA has announced that it intends to build a long term presence on the Moon.  The Agency says that will eventually help humans to get to Mars.  NASA has a strategy.  The Moon will provide a waystation to Mars and it will serve as a testing ground for the technology needed for interplanetary exploration and habitats. Sustainable Architecture for Humans in Space According to the Administrator of NASA Jim Bridenstine, NASA is working to build "a sustainable open architecture" to return humans to the Moon by 2024.  Mr. Bridenstine testified this week before a US Senate committee in Washington, DC.  He said that NASA is building for the long term on the Moon  and then is going to use the Moon as a base to go to Mars and beyond. Outerspace Technology Testing Site NASA considers the Moon a testing stage where new technologies can be proven before going to Mars....

To Roam the Moon, Mars and Asteroids Source:  ETH Zurich Dynamic Walking & Flight Phases The Spacebot, a quadruped robot, was created by students at the ETH Zurich and ZHAW Zurich, Switzerland.  It's designed to travel in low gravity environments like the Moon, asteroids and Mars.  It travels by "Dynamic Walking" similar to the travel methods used by the original lunar explorers, the Apollo 11 crew, who used a hopping gait in the low gravity environment of the Moon, 50 years ago. Dynamic Walker The bot travels by leaping.  All four legs leave the ground and leap to heights over six feet.  This allows for full flight phases with all legs off the ground.  The lower the gravity the longer the flying time.  The Spacebot is currently being tested at the European Space Agency (ESA). The Swiss team says the robot basically behaves like a mini-spacecraft.  They add, this type of dynamic walking is more efficient and saves energy in low gra...

NASA Funded Project Source:  Stock image of  Moon Telescopes to Look Deep Into the Universe A NASA funded lab at the University of Colorado is developing robots to deploy small, highly advanced telescopes on the far side of the Moon.  In the next ten years, the NASA team will send a rover aboard a lunar lander spacecraft and place it on the dark, far side of the Moon. Humans & Machines Working Together The plan is to set-up a network of small telescopes.  The deployment will be performed by the rover's robotic arm.  The arm will be controlled by astronauts in an orbiting lunar station called Gateway.  Gateway will serve as transit to and from the Moon and as a refueling station for deep space missions. New Telescopic Views of Deep Space On the far side of the Moon, the telescope will be free of light and noise.  That will enable a unique and pristine gaze into the deep reaches of space.  It's a leading edge example of projects un...