Category Archives: Space Exploration

The United States and Japan have entered into an agreement that will change the course of space exploration. 

According to the White House, in exchange for Japan providing a pressurized vehicle that will greatly expand astronauts’ ability to explore the lunar surface, NASA will include two Japanese astronauts in future Artemis missions to the moon. They will be the first non-Americans to walk on the moon should their Artemis mission happen before a planned Chinese flight.

NASA said the Japanese contribution to Artemis “will enable astronauts to travel farther and conduct science in geographically diverse areas by serving as a mobile habitat and laboratory for the astronauts to live and work for extended periods of time.” NASA also noted it can “accommodate two astronauts for up to 30 days as they traverse the area near the lunar South Pole.” The space agency aims to “use the pressurized rover on Artemis VII and subsequent missions over an approximate 10-year lifespan.”

American-Japanese relations have certainly had their ups and downs. In 1853, Commodore Mathew Perry led a squadron of United States Navy ships into Japanese waters and, with a combination of threats and diplomacy, ended Japan’s over two-century period of isolation and brought that country into the world. Eventually, after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, Japan became a world power,

Later in the 20th century, the United States and its allies engaged in a death struggle with Japan across the Pacific that began with the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and ended with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan spent most of the rest of the 20th century as an American ally in the Cold War but a rival in commerce and technology development.

In the 21st century, a new cold war has developed with China as the main enemy. Just as with the first version, part of that struggle is taking place in space. In starting the Artemis program, the United States has added quite a few features that are an improvement over the Apollo program to land a man on the moon, not the least of which is making the return to the lunar surface an international effort.

One of those features is the Artemis Accords, an agreement between nations about rules by which space exploration will be conducted. Switzerland and Sweden are the latest signatories of the accords which number 38 and growing.

NASA has also proven that Artemis is an international effort by including a Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen, as part of the Artemis II mission to circle the moon, scheduled for late 2025. The inclusion of two Japanese astronauts in subsequent Artemis missions is the next logical step in that strategy.

How do the two countries benefit from this lunar partnership?

Japan gets direct access to the technology that will be developed as a result of Artemis, which will have both space and earthly applications. Just as importantly, the country will have bragging rights for having its astronauts walk on the moon.

NASA gets what is in effect a lunar RV, a pressurized vehicle that can take two astronauts on long distances across the moon’s surface, visiting sites at a considerable distance from the landing site. Astronauts can work and live inside the vehicle in shirt sleeves and go outside in space suits to take geological samples and leave experiments. The deal is separate from the three commercial lunar rovers that NASA recently announced.

Large-scale space exploration projects, including the original Apollo program to land men on the moon and the International Space Station, have always had a soft political power component. The United States undertook the Apollo program to impress the world with its technological prowess, an important matter during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

Artemis has a similar soft political power aspect but with a major difference from Apollo. While the world was expected over 50 years ago to watch the original moon landings with awe (and fear on the part of the Soviets) the world is now being invited to join in on the next moon landings.

Now, the rest of the world, especially those countries that have signed the Artemis Accords, must be wondering how they can get their astronauts on Artemis missions to the moon. NASA is open for business and we can expect more announcements with more nations in due course.

Mark R. Whittington, who writes frequently about space policy, has published a political study of space exploration entitled “Why is It So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?” as well as “The Moon, Mars and Beyond,” and, most recently, “Why is America Going Back to the Moon?” He blogs at Curmudgeons Corner.

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Japans planning its first lunar steps with the Artemis program - The Hill

Lawmakers across Capitol Hill raised concerns last week that China is gaining on the US in orbit in both the civil and national security sectors.

The Select Committee on the Chinese Community Party held a roundtable on the new space race with Beijing on Wednesday. During separate hearings, top officials from NASA and DoD also fielded questions about the rise of China in space, while at the same time testifying on their stagnant budget requests for fiscal 2025.

Start your engines: The two leaders of the select committee didnt mince wordsthe US is in a space race with China, whether we like it or not.

I would hope that one day we can once again engage in cooperation with China and the PRC with regard to space exploration, but at the moment, under Xi Jinping, there is a real space race, said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL).

Former administration officials testified about the risk China poses to the US in orbit, from drawing US partners to do research on the Chinese space station if there is a gap in Americas presence in LEO post-ISS to Chinese counter space weapons that can enable them to threaten the entire militaryland, sea, air, and space.

Now is not the time for decreasing or flat space budgets, said retired Gen. John Raymond, the former head of the Space Force. China is not slowing down.

Nat sec: On Tuesday, Space Force chief Gen. Chance Saltzman also sounded the alarm on the risks posed by China, and the resources likely to be allocated to the service to counter them since the fiscal 2025 budget request is $600M less than what the branch requested last year.

The problemwas the fact that the [Peoples Republic of China] in particular has built a very robust space-enabled targeting system, Saltzman testified at the Senate Armed Services Committee. Scaling up to develop not just the type of counter space capabilities that we need but the quantity of capabilities to hold those targets at risk is where were falling behind on the timeline. Were not just moving as quickly as I think we should.

Civil: On Wednesday, lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee asked NASA Administration Bill Nelson about how the agency was investing to keep pace with China within its flat fiscal 2025 budget request.

We gotta be realistic that China is really throwing a lot of money at it and theyve got a lot of room in their budget to grow. Their science is good, their engineering is good, Nelson said. We just better not let down our guard.

Clapback: Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) sharply questioned the witnesses at the China select committee roundtable on why its taking so long to get back to the Moon when Apollo happened more than five decades ago.

What the heck is going on and why arent we there already? he said. Why is it that these systems are taking so long to develop when we were there 50 years ago?

Former NASA chief Jim Bridenstines TLDR answer: take a look in the mirror.

We have had programs started and stopped with the whimsical budgets of politicians, he said. It is starts and stops and wasted billions of dollars and lots of time.

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DC Eyes Beijing's Investments In Space - Payload - Payload

UAH is known for graduating spectacular engineering students. (Hville Blast)

NASA has announced the winners of the 30th Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) winners. The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is one of the many winners selected across the country and around the globe. More than 600 students spanning across 72 teams participated this year.

HERC, the annual engineering competition, took place April 19 and 20 at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Read on to learn more about what the challenge entailed and what it means for UAH to win.

The HERC is one of NASAs longest-standing challenges, encouraging research and development of new technologies to assist in future space travel. The competition itself is an engineering design challenge meant to involve students from all over the world in the next steps to space exploration.

The primary objective of HERC is for teams of students to design, develop, build, and test human-powered rovers capable of traversing challenging terrain and a task tool for completion of various mission tasks.

Teams that applied can earn points in various ways: successfully completing design reviews, designing and creating a rover that meets the criteria and successfully completing course obstacles and mission tasks. Over the course of the project year, the team that accumulates the most points wins in their respective division.

UAH won first place in the college/university division, followed by Instituto Tecnolgico deSanto Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. UAH also won the Project Review Award for the college/university division.

UAH stands alongside several impressive winners at NASAs 30th HERC, including those from the following locations:

United States:

International:

Want to keep up with all the growth happening in Huntsville? FollowHville BlastonFacebook,TikTok,ThreadsandInstagram, and be sure tosubscribe to our newsletter.

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NEW: UAH wins first place in college division in NASA's 30th Human Exploration Rover Challenge - Hville Blast

The head of NASA appeared before the House committee to warn of a secret growing military presence in space and how the US is "in a space race" with China for the goal of arriving on the Moon first.

NASA administrator Bill Nelson

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NASA administrator Bill Nelson testified before the House appropriations committee on NASA's 2025 budget, and said the space agency has reason to believe China is increasing its presence in space, especially within the last 10 years. However, China's space presence remains "very, very, secretive", and that a lot of the nation's civilian space program is actually China's military space program in disguise.

Nelson said he hopes Beijing will "come to its senses and understand that civilian space is for peaceful uses", but added: "We have not seen that demonstrated by China." Furthermore, Nelson said that the US is expecting to land on the Moon again before China, and the US is in a space race against China for landing on the Moon again as there is concern that Beijing could land before the US and say, "OK, this is our territory, you stay out,'" said Nelson.

Ultimately, Nelson said the US won't lose its "global edge" in space exploration.

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NASA warns of secret military presence in space disguised as civilian programs - TweakTown

How often can you say you had an exclusive first look at an object being sent into deep space? That was the opportunity attendees had at the Opening Session of the 2024 SXSW Conference.

Director of NASAs Science Mission Directorates Planetary Science Division, Lori Glaze, and the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, Ada Limn, took to the SXSW stage on March 8 to unveil a piece of history that will be aboard NASA's Europa Clipper. The goal of this NASA rover is to determine whether Jupiter's second moon, Europa, could support life.

Ada Limn spoke about the similarities the arts share with space and how there is beauty and surrender in exploring the unknown.

Since the beginning of space exploration, inspirational messages have traveled aboard NASA spacecrafts. In keeping with this tradition, Limn's poem will be riding along with the Europa Clipper as well as engraved designs representing recordings of the word "water" in a diverse collection of human languages, co-signatures from over 2.6 million people from around the world, and more.

Embrace the mystery with Limn and Glaze. Watch the entire Opening Session, Explore Space & Poetry With NASA & Poet Laureate Ada Limn, below and experience the moment Limn shares a piece of history that is set to launch into deep space in October 2024.

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Explore Space and Poetry with NASA and Poet Laureate Ada Limn - sxsw.com

Chris Carberry is CEO of Explore Mars, Inc. and author of "The Music of Space" and "Alcohol in Space." Joe Cassady is Director, Civil Space at L3Harris as well as Executive VP of Explore Mars, Inc. They contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The United States appears to be entering the golden age of space exploration. Over the past few years, the nation has conducted an unprecedented number of launches, countless space hardware developments, and notched innumerable other milestones. Nevertheless, despite these accomplishments, the United States could lose its decades-old leadership in space exploration and technology to China.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is making steady drives forward in all aspects of human and robotics capabilities. China's space accomplishments over the past few years include the success of the Long March 5B heavy-lift vehicle and the construction of the Tiangong space station. In 2019, China became the first nation to successfully "soft-land" a vehicle, the robotic Chang'e 4 rover-lander duo, on the far side of the moon. Then, a year later, the Chang'e 5 mission successfully accomplished a sample-return mission from the moon.

Related: China moving at 'breathtaking speed' in final frontier, Space Force says

More recently, on March 20, 2024, China launched its relay satellite, Queqiao-2. This accomplishment will enable the Chinese to conduct operations on the far side of the moon, and lays the groundwork for the Chang'e 6 lunar far side sample return mission later this year, to be followed by the Chang'e 7 lander and rover in 2026 and the Chang'e 8 mission in 2028, which will include a lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) demonstration. China has also announced a goal for surface missions by Chinese taikonauts, possibly by 2030. And, as the United States and its partners continue to struggle with achieving a Mars Sample Return mission, China has announced its goal to conduct such a mission in 2030.

While these accomplishments still pale by comparison to those of the United States over the past 60 years, the rate at which the Chinese have been catching up is alarming. According to a 2022 Pentagon report, the U.S. could lose its lead in space technology as soon as 2045. The report notes that, while U.S. industrial capacity is expanding, "the upward trajectory of the People's Republic of Chinais even steeper, with a significant rate of overtake, requiring urgent action." The report added that "the U.S. lacks a clear and cohesive long-term vision, a grand strategy for space that sustains economic, technological, environmental, social and military (defense) leadership for the next half century and beyond."

Why is this important? Investment in space exploration and development capabilities is an investment in the country. These endeavors bolster innovation and new markets, as well as national standing, diplomacy and national security, while at the same time assure that the United States remains the undisputed leader in scientific discovery, inspiration and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. And while NASA is a civilian space agency, we can't ignore the broader implications of surrendering our lead in space. According to the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission's report to Congress, "Beijing has specific plans not merely to explore space, but to industrially dominate the space within the moon's orbit of Earth. China has invested significant resources in exploring the national security and economic value of this area, including its potential for space-based manufacturing, resource extraction, and power generation, although experts differ on the feasibility of some of these activities."

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The good news is that the United States still has a clear advantage in this competition. Over the past several years, we have seen the successful launch of the Artemis 1 mission, with Artemis 2 and 3 scheduled to occur by the end of 2027. Meanwhile, commercial entities are launching at an unprecedented rate, significantly expanding our overall national capacity to reach space. In short, this is our race to lose.

Related: NASA's Artemis program: Everything you need to know

Given the progress that the United States has made in developing space infrastructure and capabilities in recent years, why are we at risk of being surpassed? Dean Cheng of the U.S. Institute of Peace told us thatpart of the problem is, while people are interested in space, it is not as in the public imagination and concern as it was during the Space Race of the 1960s, when there were space launches every few weeks. Ironically, because space has become more routinized, there is less concern about competition. With so many other major national issues that hold center stage, the Administration and Congress also do not appear to be appropriately focused and motivated in what truly constitutes the new Space Race. Stable bipartisan support remains, but we seem to lack a sense of national urgency.

Nevertheless, unlike most domestic programs, our plan to send humans to the moon and Mars is something of a "unicorn" in our divisive political environment. It represents a program and an objective that has had strong bipartisan support for over a decade. This rare example of political solidarity should not be ignored. It should be embraced as evidence that our elected officials can unite on some issues and in so doing, help to solidify our national standing for decades to come.

However, we must not repeat the policy mistakes of the Apollo program of the 1960s and early 1970s. While Apollo successfully landed crews on the moon by the end of the 1960s, it was not a sustainable program from a budgetary or political perspective. Upwards of 4%of the annual federal budget was committed to Apollo (as compared to NASA's current budget of less than 0.5% of the federal budget). The program also only had one significant political objective to beat the Soviet Union to the moon. It succeeded spectacularly in this regard. It was unquestionably a major milestone in human history. But after its success and the realization that the Soviet Union was abandoning its lunar aspirations, there remained little political motivation to continue the program, and it was abruptly halted.

NASA's current budget is unlikely to increase dramatically in the near future, but the United States can nevertheless still build a sustainable program that ensures that we retain our hard-earned status as the preeminent space nation. Rather than the military-like campaign of the Apollo program, we have a chance to prevail by harnessing the ingenuity and capabilities of our U.S. commercial industry and our international partners. By doing so, we simultaneously advance a vital national interest but also stimulate innovative new markets and strengthen our international alliances.

Are there risks? Of course. Virtually every great human accomplishment has required innumerable forms of risk. However, by accepting these risks, we will give ourselves a very real chance that the rest of the 21st century will not only be an American century but one where we have nurtured major new markets and created stronger international relations.

Note: An expert panel will be discussing this topic at the 2024 Humans to Mars Summit taking place on May 7-8, 2024 at the Jack Morton Auditorium, at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

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Are we prepared for Chinese preeminence on the moon and Mars? (op-ed) - Space.com

Space has long been a frontier for geopolitical competition. Credit: IM_photo via Shutterstock.

The US-led Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding principles designed to guide peaceful cooperation in the exploration of outer space, including the Moon and eventually Mars. They cover provisions on transparency, interoperability, registration of space objects, release of scientific data, protecting space heritage, the use of space resources, deconfliction of space activities, and emergency assistance.

The Accords were established in 2020 by eight founding nations: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and of course the US.

The Accords build upon existingbut now deeply outdatedspace regulations, including the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, 1968 Rescue and Return Agreement, 1972 Liability Convention, and 1975 Registration Convention. As a sign of the breadth of countries signing the Accords, Slovenia became the 39th nation to sign the Accords on April 19, 2024. In doing so, Slovenia became the third European signatory in just five daysSwitzerland and Sweden signed the Accords on April 15 and April 16, respectively.

India, which has been able to punch above its budget in space, signed the Accords back in June 2023. This forms part of a broader trend of strengthening ties between India and the US in space.

China and Russia, the two other space superpowers aside from the US, are notable absentees from the signatories of the Artemis Accords. This is unsurprising, particularly in light of the current geopolitical climate. Space has long been a frontier for geopolitical competition.In recent years, heightened security concerns surrounding China and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have further isolated Beijing and Moscows space operations from the West. It isnt in China or Russias interests for the US-led Artemis Accords to succeed in such circumstances.

In a marriage of necessity, with no other major allies to turn to, China and Russia are increasingly teaming up in space to take on the US space juggernaut. The US spent $73.2bn on space programs in 2023China and Russias combined spending totalled just $17.56bn. China and Russia have announced plans to put a nuclear power plant on the Moon by 2035, which will fuel a planned joint China-Russia Moon base. Partnerships are at the core of the space economy. No one, even Nasa, can go it alone.

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However, a new body of space regulation fit for the 21st century and which all major space superpowers are party to is desperately needed. The Artemis Accords are of course non-binding. But they make a good start in attempting to set norms on peaceful cooperation in space. This is an essential first step in proactively tackling potential geopolitical flashpoints looming in this frontier.

One such concern is conflict for resources on the Moon. There are possibly trillions of dollars worth of untapped lunar resources. Without global regulations or norms in place to guide ownership and mining rights, disputes over lunar resources could quickly spiral into an unwanted confrontation.

Space debris is also a real concern. As of November 2023, there are currently over 130 million pieces of space debris in orbit, according to the EU Space Agency. The likelihood of collisions will rise as more objects are launched into space. Yet, there is no global legal framework targeting the issue of space debris. Only in 2023 did the US Government issue the worlds first space debris fine.

Cooperation on space regulationeven an Artemis Accord-style agreement in the interimbetween all major space players needs to become a global priority. Discussions need to focus on regulations or norms concerning the ownership and mining rights of lunar resources and the removal of space debris. Then, efforts can shift to more long-term issues surrounding asteroid mining and the colonisation of Mars. The US, China, and Russia need to get around a table and start working together on global space regulation.

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As space exploration increases, effective space regulation is a necessity - Verdict

NASA announced the winners on Wednesday of the third annual Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition designed to teach K-12 students about the power of radioisotopes for space exploration.

The competition asked students to learn about NASAs Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), nuclear batteries the agency uses to explore some of the most extreme destinations in the solar system and beyond. In 250 words or less, students wrote about a mission of their own enabled by these space power systems and described their own power to achieve their mission goals.

The Power to Explore Challenge is the perfect way to inspire students our Artemis Generation to reach for the stars and beyond and help NASA find new ways to use radioisotopes to power our exploration of the cosmos, said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Entries were split into three groups based on grade level, and a winner was chosen from each. The three winners, along with a guardian, are invited to NASAs Glenn Research Center in Cleveland for a VIP tour of its world-class research facilities.

The winners are:

Congratulations to this years winners and participants together, we discover and explore for the benefit of all, Fox said.

The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn about space power, celebrate their strengths, and interact with NASAs diverse workforce. This years contest received nearly 1,787 submitted entries from 48 states and Puerto Rico.

Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate and an invitation to the Power Up virtual event held on March 15 that announced the 45 national semifinalists. Additionally, the national semifinalists received a NASA RPS prize pack.

NASA announced three finalists in each age group (nine total) during Total Eclipse Fest 2024 in Cleveland on April 8, a day when millions of Americans saw a brief glimpse of life without sunlight, creating an opportunity to shed light on how NASA could power missions without the Suns energy at destinations such as deep lunar craters or deep space. Finalists also were invited to discuss their mission concepts with a NASA scientist or engineer during a virtual event.

The challenge is funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorates RPS Program Office and administered by Future Engineers under the NASA Open Innovation Services 2 contract. This contract is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate.

For more information on radioisotope power systems visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/rps

-end-

Karen Fox/Charles Blue Headquarters, Washington 301-286-6284/202-802-5345 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov/charles.e.blue@nasa.gov

Kristin Jansen Glenn Research Center, Cleveland 216-296-2203 kristin.m.jansen@nasa.gov

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NASA Announces Winners of Power to Explore Challenge - NASA

MT. HOOD, Ore. (KATU) Researchers from six universities, including Oregon State, have teamed up with NASA to test a walking robot on the terrain of Mount Hood.

They're trying to see how this robot would withstand the surface of the moon or even Mars.

NASA often uses rovers, but the hope with this four-legged robot is that it will be able to roam through the terrain of different planets in the future.

Another goal of this project is to create a partnership between human scientists and these four-legged robots.

Instead of using the robot as a tool, they are hoping to find an algorithm that lets the robot make some scientific decisions.

If not, the robot would try to decide what a human would do, to at least make one for a human to understand.

KATU spoke with a member of the project and the OSU team, Cristina Wilson, to ask why they chose Mount Hood.

Mt. Hood is our lunar-like environment, so our moon has tons of craters and there is a lot of uncertainty right now about the structure of those craters, how much lunar ice is present. Mt. Hood has many variations of slopes and valleys that run down the mountain, it also has glacial ice.

Researchers plan to test it at White Sands National Park because of the sandy environment that mimics the Martian surface.

This summer, the teams will head back to Mt. Hood to test the robot once again.

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NASA tests walking robot on Mount Hood for space exploration with universities - KTVL

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 Swedens total defense capability," Persson said in a NASA statement.

Related: Switzerland signs Artemis Accords to join NASA in moon exploration

The event in Stockholm comes just on the heels of Switzerland's signing of the Artemis Accords the day before. Greece and Uruguay were also included in February. Sweden is now the 38th nation to join the accords, which were established in 2020, as the first Artemis moon launch inched closer to reality.

The Accords mirror principles set out in 1967, as part of the Outer Space Treaty to help govern international cooperation space.NASA is using the refreshed agreement as a guideline for the Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts back to the moon for the first time since Apollo 17, in 1972.

In the agency's statement, NASA administrator Bill Nelson welcomed Sweden to the expanding space club.

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"Our nations have worked together to discover new secrets in our solar system, and now, we welcome you to a global coalition that is committed to exploring the heavens openly, transparently, responsibly, and in peace," Nelson said, adding, "the United States and Sweden share the same bedrock principles, and we're excited to expand these principles to the cosmos."

NASA plans to return to the moon no earlier than 2025 with its Artemis 2 mission, which will see four astronauts fly around the moon and back. The following year, the agency aims to put a crew of four on the lunar surface with Artemis 3, marking humanity's first return to our natural satellite since 1972.

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Sweden becomes 38th country to sign NASA's Artemis Accords for moon exploration - Space.com