[NASA HQ News] NASA Plans to Assign Missions for Two Future Artemis Cargo Landers

NASA Plans to Assign Missions for Two Future Artemis Cargo Landers

Nov 19, 2024

RELEASE 24-143

 

Early conceptual renderings of cargo variants of human lunar landing systems from NASA’s providers SpaceX, left, and Blue Origin, right. The large cargo landers will have the capability to land approximately 26,000 to 33,000 pounds (12-15 metric tons) of large, heavy payload on the lunar surface.

Credit: SpaceX/Blue Origin

NASA, along with its industry and international partners, is preparing for sustained exploration of the lunar surface with the Artemis campaign to advance science and discovery for the benefit of all. As part of that effort, NASA intends to award Blue Origin and SpaceX additional work under their existing contracts to develop landers that will deliver large pieces of equipment and infrastructure to the lunar surface.

NASA expects to assign demonstration missions to current human landing system providers, SpaceX and Blue Origin, to mature designs of their large cargo landers following successful design certification reviews. The assignment of these missions builds on the 2023 request by NASA for the two companies to develop cargo versions of their crewed human landing systems, now in development for Artemis III, Artemis IV, and Artemis V.

“NASA is planning for both crewed missions and future services missions to the Moon beyond Artemis V,” said Stephen D. Creech, assistant deputy associate administrator for technical, Moon to Mars Program Office. “The Artemis campaign is a collaborative effort with international and industry partners. Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches for crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued discovery and scientific opportunity.”

NASA plans for at least two delivery missions with large cargo. The agency intends for SpaceX’s Starship cargo lander to deliver a pressurized rover, currently in development by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), to the lunar surface no earlier than fiscal year 2032 in support of Artemis VII and later missions. The agency expects Blue Origin to deliver a lunar surface habitat no earlier than fiscal year 2033.

“Based on current design and development progress for both crew and cargo landers and the Artemis mission schedules for the crew lander versions, NASA assigned a pressurized rover mission for SpaceX and a lunar habitat delivery for Blue Origin,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager, Human Landing System, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “These large cargo lander demonstration missions aim to optimize our NASA and industry technical expertise, resources, and funding as we prepare for the future of deep space exploration.”

SpaceX will continue cargo lander development and prepare for the Starship cargo mission under Option B of the NextSTEP Appendix H contract. Blue Origin will conduct its cargo lander work and demonstration mission under NextSTEP Appendix P. NASA expects to issue an initial request for proposals to both companies in early 2025.

With the Artemis campaign, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future exploration of Mars. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, along with commercial human landing systems, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

For more on NASA’s Human Landing System Program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/hls

-end-

[NASA HQ News] NASA to Provide Coverage of Progress 90 Launch, Space Station Docking

NASA to Provide Coverage of Progress 90 Launch, Space Station Docking

Nov 18, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY M24-146

 

The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress spacecraft pictured on Feb. 7, 2023, from the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA

NASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station.

The unpiloted Progress 90 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 7:22 a.m. EST (5:22 p.m. Baikonur time) Thursday, Nov. 21, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Live launch coverage will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 9:35 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 23. NASA’s coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 8:45 a.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

The Progress 88 spacecraft will undock from the Poisk module on Tuesday, Nov. 19. NASA will not stream undocking.

The spacecraft will remain docked at the station for approximately six months before departing for a re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.

Get breaking news, images and features from the space station on Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

[NASA HQ News] NASA Selects New Leader of Space Technology

NASA Selects New Leader of Space Technology

Credit: NASA

Clayton P. Turner will serve as the associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Monday. His appointment is effective immediately.

Turner has served as the acting associate administrator of STMD since July. In this role, Turner will continue to oversee executive leadership, strategic planning, and overall management of all technology maturation and demonstration programs executed from the directorate enabling critical space focused technologies that deliver today and help create tomorrow.

“Under Turner’s skilled and steady hand, the Space Technology Mission Directorate will continue to do what it does best: help NASA push the boundaries of what’s possible and drive American leadership in space,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I look forward to what STMD will achieve under Turner’s direction.”

As NASA embarks on the next era of space exploration, STMD leverages partnerships to advance technologies and test new capabilities helping the agency develop a sustainable presence on the Moon and beyond. As associate administrator of STMD, Turner will plan, coordinate, and evaluate the mission directorate’s full range of programs and activities, including budget formulation and execution, as well as represent the programs to officials within and outside the agency.

Previously, Turner served as NASA Langley Research Center Director since September 2019 and has been with the agency for more than 30 years. He has held several roles at NASA Langley, including engineering director, associate center director, and deputy center director. Throughout his NASA career, he has worked on many projects for the agency, including: the Earth Science Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation Project; the materials technology development Gas Permeable Polymer Materials Project; the Space Shuttle Program’s Return to Flight work; the flight test of the Ares 1-X rocket; the flight test of the Orion Launch Abort System; and the entry, descent, and landing segment of the Mars Science Laboratory.

In recognition of his commitment to the agency and engineering, Turner has received many prestigious awards, such as the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, the NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal. He is also an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a Board of Trustees member of his alma mater, Rochester Institute of Technology.

NASA Glenn Research Center Deputy Director, Dawn Schaible, became acting Langley Center Director in July and will continue to serve in this role. At NASA Langley, Schaible leads a skilled group of more than 3,000 civil servant and contractor scientists, researchers, engineers, and support staff, who work to advance aviation, expand understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, and develop technology for space exploration.

For more about Turner’s experience, visit his full biography online at:

https://go.nasa.gov/48UmkmS

-end-

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Receives 14th Consecutive ‘Clean’ Financial Audit Opinion

NASA Receives 14th Consecutive 'Clean' Financial Audit Opinion

Credit: NASA

For the 14th consecutive year, NASA received an unmodified, or "clean," opinion from an external auditor on its fiscal year 2024 financial statements.

The rating is the best possible audit opinion, certifying that NASA's financial statements conform with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for federal agencies and accurately present the agency's financial position. The audit opinion reaffirms the agency's commitment to transparency in the use of American taxpayers' dollars.

"For the 14th year in a row, NASA has delivered a reliable, accurate, and transparent report of our fiscal operations as we explore the unknown in air and space," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "I thank NASA's Chief Financial Officer Margaret Schaus for her leadership, and I am proud that NASA continues to uphold the public's trust in our goals, our missions, and our financial reporting practices. Such trust is critical to our agency's success."

The 2024 Agency Financial Report provides key financial and performance information and demonstrates the agency's commitment to transparency in the use of American taxpayers' dollars. In addition, the 2024 report presents progress during the past year, and spotlights the array of NASA missions, objectives, and workforce advanced with these financial resources.

"I am proud NASA has achieved its 14th consecutive clean bill of health on its financial statements," said NASA Chief Financial Officer Margaret Schaus. "I want to recognize the outstanding commitment of our NASA team to ensuring sound stewardship and transparency over the resources entrusted to our agency."

In fiscal year 2024, NASA continued preparation for Artemis II, a mission to send four astronauts around the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign. The agency also publicly unveiled the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft, which will change the way we travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound. Among other highlights, NASA built upon our longstanding efforts to study our Earth as a system, advancing our work on the NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite. This joint mission between the agency and ISRO is the first radar of its kind in space to systematically map the Earth.

For more information on NASA's budget, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/budget

-end-

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Awards Contract for NOAA’s Space Weather Program

Nov. 14, 2024

 

CONTRACT RELEASE: C24-039

 

NASA Awards Contract for NOAA's Space Weather Program

 

Credit: NASA

 

NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has selected Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio to build three coronagraphs for the Lagrange 1 Series project, part of NOAA's Space Weather Next program.

 

Once operational, the coronagraphs will provide critical data to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts, warnings, and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts, including electric power outages and interruption to communications and navigation systems.

 

This cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is valued at approximately $60 million, and the anticipated period of performance is from this November through January 2034, concluding after launch of the second coronagraph aboard a NOAA spacecraft. The third coronagraph will be delivered as a flight spare.

 

This contract award marks a transfer of coronagraph development from the government to the U.S. commercial sector. The contract scope includes design, analysis, development, fabrication, integration, test, verification, and evaluation of the      coronagraphs; launch support; supply and maintenance of ground support equipment; and support of post-launch instrument operations at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility. The work will take place at Southwest Research Institute's facility in San Antonio.

 

The coronagraphs will observe the density structure of the Sun's faint outermost atmosphere — the corona — and will detect Earth-directed coronal mass ejections shortly after they erupt, providing the longest possible lead time for geomagnetic storm watches. With this forewarning, public and private organizations affected by space weather can take actions to protect their assets. The coronagraphs will also provide data continuity from the Space Weather follow-on Lagrange 1 mission.

 

NASA and NOAA oversee the development, launch, testing and operation of all the satellites in the project. NOAA is the program owner providing the requirements and funding along with managing the program, operations, data products, and dissemination to users. NASA and its commercial partners develop and build the instruments, spacecraft, and provide launch services on behalf of NOAA.

 

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/

 

-end-

 

TO RECEIVE NASA NEWS RELEASES

NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail to hqnews-join@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message to hqnews-leave@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

 

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA, Peru Agree to Study Potential Sounding Rocket Campaign

NASA, Peru Agree to Study Potential Sounding Rocket Campaign

Nov 14, 2024

RELEASE 24-141

 

Peru's Vice Minister of Defense Policy César Medardo Torres Vega, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and Director of Peru’s National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen meet in Lima, Peru, Nov. 14, 2024, where the U.S. and Peru signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to study a potential sounding rocket campaign.

Credit: U.S. Embassy Peru

NASA and Peru’s National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) laid the groundwork for a potential multi-year scientific rocket launch campaign in the South American country.

Both countries signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding Thursday that includes safety training, a joint feasibility study for the potential campaign, and technical assistance for CONIDA on sounding rocket launches. Sounding rockets are small, low-cost rockets that provide suborbital access to space.

“We are excited to look at the possibility of once again launching sounding rockets from Peru,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who signed on behalf of the United States. “This agreement deepens our international partnership with Peru and the scientific research we conduct because of the country’s location along the magnetic equator. Together we will go farther.” 

Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen, head of CONIDA, signed on behalf of Peru. Brian Nichols, assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs for the U.S. State Department, and Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath, U.S. ambassador to Peru, also participated, among other Peruvian officials. The event took place during the week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum beginning Nov. 9 in Lima.

During his visit to Peru, Nelson also discussed the importance of international partnerships and collaboration in space and celebrated Peru’s signing of the Artemis Accords earlier this year.

The United States and Peru have a long history of space cooperation. NASA conducted sounding rocket campaigns at CONIDA’s Punta Lobos launch base in 1975 and 1983.

NASA uses sounding rockets to carry scientific instruments into space on suborbital flights to collect important science data and test prototype instruments. They yield invaluable data that enhance our understanding of Earth’s atmosphere and weather, our solar system, and the universe, and test equipment for deeper space travel.

Understanding our Earth’s atmosphere and how it is influenced by the Sun is crucial to protecting ground and space-based assets that we rely on every day, from the power grid to weather data and even navigation. 

For more information about NASA’s international partnerships, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/oiir

-end-

 

Inbox Astronomy: NASA's Hubble Sees Aftermath of Galaxy's Scrape with Milky Way

INBOX ASTRONOMY

NASA's Hubble Sees Aftermath of Galaxy's Scrape with Milky Way

Release date: Thursday, November 14, 2024 10:00:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Encounter Blew Away Most of Smaller Galaxy's Gaseous Halo

In an epic story of survival witnessed by the Hubble Space Telescope, one of our nearest galactic neighbors has crashed through the Milky Way galaxy's gaseous halo and lived to tell the tale. But in the process, this dwarf galaxy, called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), has been stripped of most of its own surrounding halo of gas. Researchers were surprised to find such an extremely small gaseous halo remaining – one around 10 times smaller than halos of other galaxies of similar mass. Still, the LMC has held onto enough of its gas to keep forming new stars. A smaller galaxy wouldn't have survived such an encounter. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure the size of the LMC's halo – something they could do only with Hubble.

  Read more  

Find additional articles, images, and videos at HubbleSite.org

  Please do not reply to this message.
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Inbox Astronomy mailing list.

 

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Administrator to Visit, Sign Agreement with Peru’s Space Agency

NASA Administrator to Visit, Sign Agreement with Peru's Space Agency

Continuing his engagement to deepen international collaboration and promote the peaceful use of space, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will travel to Lima on Wednesday.

Nelson will meet with Maj. Gen. Roberto Melgar Sheen, director of Peru's National Commission for Aerospace Research and Development (CONIDA) Thursday, Nov. 14, and sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding to enhance space cooperation. The memorandum of understanding between NASA and CONIDA will include safety training, a joint feasibility study for a potential sounding rockets campaign, and technical assistance for CONIDA on sounding rocket launches. 

Nelson will discuss the importance of international partnerships and collaboration in space and celebrate Peru's signing of the Artemis Accords earlier this year.

For more information about NASA's international partnerships, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/oiir

-end-

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Welcomes Denmark as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory

NASA Welcomes Denmark as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory

Nov 13, 2024

RELEASE 24-139

 

Credit: NASA

Following a signing ceremony Wednesday in Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen, NASA embraced Denmark as the 48th nation to commit to the safe and responsible exploration of space that benefits humanity.

“We welcome Denmark’s signing of the Artemis Accords today,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Denmark, as a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA), has contributed to space exploration for decades, including collaborating with NASA on Mars exploration. Denmark’s signing of the Artemis Accords will further international cooperation and the peaceful exploration of space.”

Christina Egelund, minister of higher education and science, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Denmark. Alan Leventhal, U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark also participated in the ceremony, and Nelson contributed recorded remarks.

“With the Artemis program, the United States is leading the way back to the moon, and Denmark wants to strengthen the strategic partnership with the United States and other partners for the benefit of both science and industry,” said Egelund. “The signing of the Accords is in line with the Danish government’s upcoming strategy for space research and innovation. As part of the strategy, Denmark seeks to strengthen ties with our allies such as the United States. Space holds great potential, and we want – in cooperation with other countries – to advance scientific breakthroughs and influence the development and use of the space sector in the future.”

In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords, identifying a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity. The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data. 

The commitments to the Artemis Accords and efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles support the safe and sustainable exploration of space.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

 

[NASA HQ News] Colorado Students to Connect with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station

Colorado Students to Connect with NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station

Nov 12, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY M24-145

 

(Oct. 25, 2024) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams is pictured at the galley inside the International Space Station’s Unity module at the beginning of her day.

Credit: NASA

Students from Colorado will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 14.

Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media.

The JEKL Institute for Global Equity and Access, in partnership with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, will host students from the Denver School of Science and Technology for the event. Students are building CubeSat emulators to launch on high-altitude balloons, and their work will drive their questions with crew.

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13, to Daniela Di Napoli at: daniela.dinapoli@scienceandtech.org or 832-656-5231.

For more than 24 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.

Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

-end-