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Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #9 February 6, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Commercial Crew Development [CCDev], Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup, NASA.
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With the cancellation of NASA’s Constellation program this week—and subsequent shift to a focus on private space—the Google Lunar X PRIZE has taken on greatly added significance, especially to Americans, as private space essentially is becoming our program. What role America plays in the integration and colonization of the Moon, will now be driven by what our private companies and citizens can accomplish.

Keep an eye here this coming week for a special look at the American Google Lunar X PRIZE efforts, and what they’re up to as they (along with companies like SpaceX) take on the mantle :)

But, without further ado, here’s your two-week edition of the GLXP Roundup!:

The X PRIZE Foundation held their third Google Lunar X PRIZE team summit! A recap:

All the other news and bits from across the spectrum:

Phew! Tons of big stuff for that one, and virtually all of it was in only one of the two weeks. Pace should only continue with NASA’s new mandate :) Keep an eye out this week for my posts on the American GLXP efforts and on those big CCDev contracts!

Reactions to Cancellation of Constellation February 3, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in NASA, Obama, Sen. Bill Nelson, Senate, private sector.
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The Obama administration’s cancellation of the Constellation program (and its plan to return to the Moon) has understandably sparked quite a, ah, constellation of reactions and commentary. Here’s a quick look at the spectrum:

First and foremost, and most telling, is what current NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said about the decision:

“The truth is that we were not on a path to get back to the moon’s surface.” -Charles Bolden

That suggests there were far deeper issues at hand than just Ares and various delays, and that Constellation’s future had developed into a black hole. That complicates the efforts of many in Congress (usually from constituencies with many NASA jobs) to fire ‘salvos‘ back and keep the program:

“We’re going to have to get the president to do more for NASA. America’s global leadership in science and technology is at stake if we don’t maintain a more robust space exploration program.” -Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL)

“The cancellation of Orion is especially troubling and goes against the recommendations of the Augustine Commission.  The State of Florida has made significant investments to prepare KSC facilities for Orion, and the Space Coast anticipated, invested in, and planned for the commitment to be fulfilled in order to help preserve jobs.” -Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL)

While Congress is clearly not thrilled (unless you’ve got a private spaceport developing in your backyard), private space is happy to take on the mantle:

“President Obama has given NASA a bold and exciting new mission: to once again push the limits in technology and exploration, promote innovation, and foster a vibrant commercial spaceflight sector…This initiative is on par with the government Airmail Act that spurred the growth of early aviation and led to today’s passenger airline industry, which generates billions of dollars annually for the American economy.” -Bretton Alexander, President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation

All of this, Bolden’s quote in particular, is, I think, neatly bookended by the expression today from a certain lunar authority:

“Thank you, Mr. President.” -Buzz Aldrin

It’s Official: Constellation Cancelled, No NASA Return to Moon; Shift Towards Private Space February 1, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Constellation, NASA, Norm Augustine, Obama, SpaceX, U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee, Vision for Space Exploration.
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With the release of its 2011 budget proposal, the Obama administration has concurrently announced, in no uncertain terms, that the current NASA Constellation program is cancelled.

“The President’s Budget cancels Constellation and replaces it with a bold new approach that invests in the building blocks of a more capable approach to space exploration…” -Official White House website, 2011 Budget fact Sheet

The fact sheet goes on to explain the new direction focusing on private space, including some significant funds:

  • $1.2 billion for transformative research in exploration technology that will involve NASA, private industry, and academia, sparking spin-off technologies and potentially entire new industries
  • $500 million to contract with industry to provide astronaut transportation to the ISS, reducing the sole reliance on foreign crew transports and catalyzing new businesses and significant new jobs.

“Entire new industries”, “catalyzing new businesses” and jobs…As hinted at in his campaign space plan (and by his initial Commerce Secretary appointment of NM Gov. Bill Richardson), Obama clearly believes in the economic potential of an industry-focused NASA. Note that the ISS contract mentioned there is already awarded—SpaceX just needs to prove its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are human-ready for the option to vest, and both Orbital and SpaceX are already the new ISS cargo suppliers.

What does this mean for moon colonization? It means that NASA itself won’t be landing anyone on the moon.

There is a lot of ‘doom and gloom’ out there about how there won’t be humans on the Moon anytime soon, which is a false assertion—the Chinese program is full-steam-ahead, and if private space can be trusted with the ISS contracts at this early stage, then they’re on a course to be putting men on the Moon before long; perhaps even before NASA would have landed men anyways.

Americans will be on the Moon again soon; they’ll just have to hitch a ride with a company or an international effort to get there. And the U.S. will remain a major lunar player, with many private companies and Google Lunar X PRIZE efforts being American.

The fact sheet doesn’t say anything about new human exploration options, such as the ‘Flexible Path‘ suggested by the Augustine panel, so word remains to be seen regarding that, and whether NASA will shift to a manned asteroid mission or mission to Mars’ moons.

Widespread Reports: No Funding for NASA Return to Moon; $6 Billion for Private Space January 27, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Constellation, NASA, Obama, private sector.
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Ahead of Obama’s 2011 budget proposal in February (which officials have said will be where he reveals his direction for NASA), widespread reports have surfaced confirming that there will not be funding for NASA’s plans to return to the moon, effectively ending any attempt by NASA to establish a lunar base without international or private cooperation.

At the same time, there’s word that Obama has authorized that NASA’s budget actually be increased over the next few years, namely with a $6 billion project to spur the development of commercial rockets (e.g., SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Lockheed/Boeing’s Atlas V and  Delta IV):

“We do believe it is time for American companies to come into this program. The investment in that will be $6 billion over five years. This is serious, serious investment that we believe will reduce that gap [in human spaceflight] from what it would have been with the program of record between shuttle retirement and the Ares I and Orion [capsule] coming on line.”- An unspecified administration official; “Obama officials: NASA to get $6 billion for commercial rockets“, Orlando Sentinel

This was foreshadowed back in Obama’s 2008 campaign space plan—where he planned to “amplify NASA’s reach” with the private sector.

With the Ares 1 rocket facing cancellation and Constellation seeing severe delays as a result of that, private space may have managed to land a man on the Moon long before NASA got there, even with full budgeting. So I see this as acknowledgement of that inevitability–and of the economic benefit of taking all those billions and directing them back into the economy (via private space), while effectively accomplishing the same thing.

Orbiting Atlas #6: Oceanus Procellarum—The Ocean of Storms January 25, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Apollo, Orbiting Atlas.
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Orbiting Atlas is a weekly series here  at Luna C/I looking at notable points inselenography—the geography of the Moon. Come by every Monday for an exploration of a different locale, and its potential regional significance :)

For this edition of the Orbiting Atlas, we set sail off to…

Oceanus Procellarum (The Ocean of Storms)

The destination of Apollo 12 (as pictured above), the massive Oceanus Procellarum is perhaps the largest single region on the Moon (and by far the largest non-highland region)—hence the “Ocean” label.  About 1,300+ miles from north to south and ranging from 450-600 miles wide, it’s approximately the size of Mongolia.

Being essentially a giant Mare, the mostly-flat Oceanus serves as the lunar great plains. While generally featureless, there are a few points of special interest along the eastern edge—namely, the unusually-bright crater Aristarchus, and the longest groove on the Moon, Vallis Schröteri (the intended destination of Apollo 18 before cancellation).

Aristarchus is potentially an interesting target for geologic study and/or resources, as its brightness is due to its youth and relative lack of weathering from the solar wind.

In the long run, the vast size and flatness of the Ocean of Storms could lend to both convenient helium-3 harvesting (lots of elbow-room, few obstacles, and plenty to go around?) and long-range transportation and exploration tests, perhaps providing a comparable environment to large sections of Mars.

The Apollo 12 mission provides an interesting anecdote about the weather: while taking off from Earth en route to the ‘Ocean of Storms’, their rocket was, of course, hit by lightning. :)

Check out an HD video of the Oceanus’ northwestern side taken by the Japanese orbiter Kaguya:

Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #8 January 23, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup.
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As Obama’s State of the Union address and February loom with NASA’s future hanging in the balance, the Google Lunar X PRIZE rolls along. This week’s tidbits from across GLXP-dom:

I also got my cardinal red “Fundamentals of the Google Lunar X PRIZE” t-shirt in the mail this week, which I wore proudly to an event at OMSI with lunar historian Andrew Chaikin :D

Sister Blog to Luna C/I Launched: Astronauts on ‘Roids! January 20, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Astronauts on Roids, NASA, Obama.
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I’ve now launched an additional space blog: Astronauts on ‘Roids!

With NASA and President Obama reportedly looking very seriously at making a manned asteroid mission NASA’s new mandate, I’ve launched a new blog at http://www.asteroidmission.com to cover all the developments :) It’ll run concurrently with Luna C/I, as even if NASA doesn’t itself build a moon base after all, there’s all kinds of other nations and private efforts going full steam ahead.

To see how this potential manned asteroid mission came about, keep an eye on ‘Roids as I’ll be detailing the story as Obama’s State of the Union address (January 27th) and 2010 budget (early February) approach, with NASA’s future direction to be set by one of the two :) And stay tuned here as the Google Lunar X PRIZE and other private and international efforts heat up to full swing…

Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #7 January 17, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup.
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As we start to get used to writing that funny “/10″ at the end of dates, it’s time for another week’s dose of Google Lunar X PRIZE goodness:

Andrew Chaikin Lecture at OMSI in Portland, Friday January 22nd! January 14, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Andrew Chaikin, OMSI, Picture of the Week.
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Preeminent lunar historian, lecturer. and expert Andrew Chaikin (author of A Man on the Moon and the current occupier of my coffee table, Voices from the Moon) is going to be making an appearance to discuss the LCROSS results—and give a guided tour of the Moon–here at OMSI in my native Portland, OR on Friday, January 22nd at 7pm! The event is free with a $2 suggested donation.

I’ll be there in person to check it out, and if you have the money, there’s a spiffy $250 Space Gala fundraiser the next day (being 26 and scraping by in typical PDX fashion, no gala for me this time ;) )

This all leads up an OMSI’s new, extensive future-of-space exhibit: “SPACE: A Journey to Our Future“. You’ll be able to tour a replica of a future lunar camp (!), build an Ares rocket, inspect actual rocks from Mars and lunar meteorites, and more… I’m pumped about the lunar base bunk beds! :) The exhibit runs January 30th-May 31st, 2010.

Orbiting Atlas #5: Baco January 11, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in Baco, Orbiting Atlas, bacon.
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Orbiting Atlas is a weekly series here  at Luna C/I looking at notable points inselenography—the geography of the Moon. Come by every Monday for an exploration of a different locale, and its potential regional significance :)

Today, the Orbiting Atlas takes a whimsical turn to…

Baco

Located in the lunar highlands, about 380 miles southeast of the famous Tycho crater, the usually plain crater has taken on a new flavor of interest this past week…

The story begins with the new German Google Lunar X PRIZE team, Part Time Scientists, noting during a presentation that everything is better with bacon…including moon colonization. This slice of genius inspired a lot of folks on Twitter, cooking up the idea of a ‘Bacon X PRIZE’. The official Lunar X PRIZE blog, The Launch Pad, promptly posted a poll to name this tasty concept.

Despite the given name being “Baco”, it is named after British philosopher Roger Bacon. My research hasn’t turned up why, exactly, it wasn’t just simply named “Bacon” (if you know, feel free to comment below).

Now, for the conspiracy theorists and Jayson Stark loyalists out there: A search for ‘Part Time Scientists bacon’ brought up almost entirely results on, of course, Roger Bacon himself. Add to the pan that the man who named the crater, astronomer Johann Heinrich von Mädler, is himself—just like the Part Time Scientists team—German, and you begin to wonder…

Is German bacon destined for the Moon? And if so, will fate bring it to the very crater which (kind of) bears its name? :)

If I have any influence over it, I’ll make sure that someday, even if it’s 40 years down the road, bacon ends up in this crater, one way or another…because a little comedy in space goes a long way, right? :)