Tag: Artemis

NASA’s Artemis 3 astronauts will put a moonquake detector on lunar surface

NeRD

The Lunar Environment Monitoring Station (LEMS) is one of the first three potential payloads NASA selected for the Artemis 3 mission, which will land humans on the moon in 2026 for the first time in more than 50 years. The compact, autonomous seismometer is designed to withstand the long, cold lunar night and operate during the day, continuously monitoring ground motion from moonquakes in the region around the lunar south pole, where Artemis 3 astronauts will land. LEMS is expected to operate on the lunar surface for at least three…

Read More

Slovenia Signs Artemis Accords, Joins Pursuit of Safer Space

NeRD

Matevž Frangež, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy, Tourism, and Sport signs the Artemis Accords on behalf of Slovenia with NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Ambassador Jamie L. Harpootlian, Rebecca Bresnik, Associate General Counsel for International and Space Law, and Slovenian Ambassador to the United States Iztok Mirošič standing behind. Credit: State Department NASA and Slovenia affirmed their cooperation in future space endeavors on Friday as Slovenia became the 39th country to sign the Artemis Accords. The signing certified Slovenia’s commitment to pursue safe and sustainable exploration of space for the benefit…

Read More

Sweden becomes 38th country to sign NASA’s Artemis Accords for moon exploration

NeRD

Another one signs the (moon) dust. Sweden is the newest nation to sign onto NASA’s Artemis Accords for peaceful and responsible exploration. During a signing event in Stockholm on Tuesday (April 16), Swedish Minister for Education Mats Persson penned the agreement alongside U.S. Ambassador Erik D. Ramanathan. “By joining the Artemis Accords, Sweden strengthens its strategic space partnership with the U.S. on space covering areas such as Swedish space research and the space industry, which in turn also strengthens Sweden’s total defense capability,” Persson said in a NASA statement. Related:…

Read More

NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover

NeRD

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama, hold signed copies of an historic agreement between the United States and Japan to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Under the agreement, Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two Japanese…

Read More

Media Invited to NASA’s Student Launch Challenge in Alabama

NeRD

Hundreds of students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico launched amateur rockets near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, during the Agency’s 2023 Student Launch competition. Credit: NASA/Charles Beason NASA’s 2024 Student Launch challenge will bring students from colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and informal education groups to launch amateur rockets and payloads Saturday, April 13, starting at 8:30 a.m. CDT at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Live streaming will begin at 8:20 a.m. CDT on NASA Marshall…

Read More

NASA picks 3 companies to design lunar rover for Artemis astronauts to drive on the moon

NeRD

NASA’s next moon car is starting to take shape. The agency has selected three private teams — led by the companies Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab, respectively — to develop their versions of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), the rover that Artemis astronauts will drive around the moon’s southern polar region beginning in 2030. “We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the moon,” Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, said…

Read More

NASA Selects Companies to Advance Moon Mobility for Artemis Missions

NeRD

An artist’s concept design of NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle. NASA NASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to advance capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use to travel around the lunar surface, conducting scientific research during the agency’s Artemis campaign at the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars. The awards leverage NASA’s expertise in developing and operating rovers to build commercial capabilities that support scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to begin using the LTV for…

Read More

A Home for Astronauts around the Moon

NeRD

Northrop Grumman/Thales Alenia Space The Gateway space station’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) module, one of two of Gateway’s habitation elements where astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for lunar surface missions, is one step closer to launch following welding completion in Turin, Italy. HALO, shown in this image from Oct. 23, 2023, will next undergo a series of stress tests to ensure its safety. Upon successful completion, the future home for astronauts will travel to Gilbert, Arizona where Northrop Grumman will complete final outfitting ahead of launch to…

Read More

NASA Names Finalists to Help Deal with Dust in Human Lander Challenge

NeRD

NASA selected 12 finalist teams to compete in the next round of the Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) competition. In 2023, NASA invited undergraduate and graduate students from accredited colleges and universities in the United States to propose innovative solutions to manage the lunar dust a spacecraft stirs up when landing on the Moon. NASA’s Artemis campaign will establish a long-term human presence on and around the Moon for the benefit of all, and one of the challenges the agency and its partners must address is the particularly dusty aspect of…

Read More

I Am Artemis: Mat Bevill

NeRD

Mat Bevill, the associate chief engineer for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program, stands in front of a four-segment solid rocket booster that powered the space shuttle at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.  NASA/Brandon Hancock Significant events in history keep finding Mat Bevill. As the associate chief engineer for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program, Bevill assists the program chief engineer by interfacing with each of the element chief engineers and helping make critical decisions for the development and flight of the SLS mega rocket that will…

Read More