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LSSW: Lunar Surface Architecture Status–Intro to NASA's Lunar Concept Review Process March 26, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA , 1 comment so far

ConstellationPanorama

That spiffy panorama kicks off the first really big presentation of the Lunar Surface Systems Workshop from Feb 25-27th, 2009–the Lunar Surface Architecture Status overview. (Check out the full series of LSSW coverage here at Luna C/I).

My coverage of this presentation should stretch over a good number of posts, as it is really stuffed with fun new details on everything related to NASA’s eventual outpost.

“Since forming, the LSS Project Office has focused primarily on supporting the ongoing agency work to define a viable Lunar Architecture, the framework for defining how to return humans to the moon.” -Slide 3 (PDF)

The presentation begins with slides introducing the topic, as well as the Lunar Surface Systems project office, e.g. as quoted above.

The first big topic is the Lunar Concept Capability Review (LCCR). This was a major review that occured in July 2008, the first biggie in the process of lunar outpost concept development (after over three years of concept work).

It’s this review that spurred the LSSW workshop I’m covering here–NASA issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) that resulted in 12 study contracts (private, university, etc.) to develop innovative lunar concepts for presentation to NASA. The LSSW is where the results of these studies were presented (and then posted online as PowerPoint PDFS), and with them has come an avalanche of new details and imagery of the lunar outpost, and the functionalities/technology NASA is looking at for it.

The next big review is in mid-2010, with a “significant focus on maturing International Partner relationships and discussion”. Another BAA is also in the works, with a size and timetable to be announced at a later date.

With all the background on the review process out of the way, the presentation moves into the details and scenarios for the outpost; so, stay tuned, and I’ll begin coverage of those goodies with my next LSSW feature post :)

New Details on SYNERGY MOON and Their Lunar-Direct Google Lunar X PRIZE Effort March 25, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Lunar-direct , add a comment

The newest Google Lunar X PRIZE team, SYNERGY MOON, has provided some additional details and clarification (through an interview with Space Fellowship and a subsequent comment on a post here at Luna C/I covering the announcement) on their private lunar effort, and specifically, the neat method they are utilizing in the process.

The team plans a somewhat unusual (and old-school) lunar-direct method, using an adaptation of Interorbital Systems‘ Neptune rocket (other versions of the rocket pictured above). I’m actually currently reading an excellent book–The Lunar Exploration Scrapbook by Robert Godwin–that goes into great detail (with images galore) of many of the early lunar-direct systems, so it’s really cool to see the concept making a comeback.

Thanks to Randa Milliron, CEO of Interorbital Systems, for that comment and clarification :) I originally had some confusion on whether they meant  literally lunar-direct, in the classic sense.

Below is a rendered video of the final stage of the rocket: the actual lander.

Keep an eye on SYNERGY MOON’s Youtube channel (and those of the other teams) for an increasing stream of cool videos on the X PRIZE’s teams’ progress :)

Robots in the Garden: Odyssey Moon Partnering With Paragon To Put Greenhouses On the Moon March 23, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : lunar plantlife, Odyssey Moon, Paragon , 3comments

Leonard David (a space reporting vet who often has insider tidbits at various locales), over at the Coalition for Space Exploration‘s blog, reports that leading Google Lunar X Prize contender Odyssey Moon and space development corporation Paragon will announce this week that they have teamed up for one giant leap for plantkind: delivering a biological greenhouse to the Moon’s surface.

“Growing the first plant on another world has enormous symbolic importance as well as important scientific research value for creating self-contained lunar outposts and eventual settlements, notes Odyssey Moon founder, Bob Richards.” -”Moon Partnership: Green Thumbs Up“, Leonard David, Spacecoalition.com

Paragon is a company with a long list of projects, many thermal and biological, for NASA; SpaceX‘s groundbreaking Dragon capsule; and others.

This is one of the first Odyssey Moon missions to become public besides their Google Lunar X PRIZE effort, “MoonOne“; “MoonTwo”, a mission delivering an International Lunar Observatory to the moon, was announced last July.

The Artemis Project has a solid essay on the subject of lunar greenhouses. Being able to generate oxygen and food on the Moon will be a big boon; the concept seems like an inevitable one as part of lunar development, and to get started now makes a lot of sense. A greenhouse could be cared for robotically, and getting a headstart will help the technology be ready by the time colonists arrive around 2020-2024.

Robots growing plants on a world with no humans… now there’s an interesting existential concept for ya.

Obama's NASA Administrator List Thinning With Appointments March 22, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : African-American History, NASA, Obama , add a comment

The candidate list for the new NASA Administrator (previous being Mike Griffin, who has since begun working on starting GriffinSpace, LLC) under President Obama has been thinning as of late through various appointments.

Scott Gration, originally thought a leading contender, was recently posted as envoy to Sudan; and now today, other leading candidate Steve Isakowitz has been reappointed to his current role as the CFO of the Department of Energy.

This leaves two candidates, barring any dark horses: Lester L. Lyles, and Sen. Bill Nelson‘s favorite, Charles Bolden–a former astronaut and Deputy Administrator nominee.

To keep up on all the latest skinny on NASA’s internal goings-on, I highly recommend two great blogs that cover the subject well: Space Politics and NASA Watch :)

LSSW: NASA's John Olson Presents Exploration and Architecture Plans, In Brief March 19, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA, rover , add a comment

For the second feature in my series of Lunar Surface Systems Workshop coverage, I’m going to be taking a look at the second opening remarks–a 9-slide beauty presented by Dr. John Olson of NASA’s ESMD (Exploration).

The presentation begins with some introductory content–why explore the Moon, and more on the partnerships potential detailed in the first presentation. 

What’s talked about next is “Architecture Development Driven by a Strategy”, a chart noting where NASA has been and the next steps in the program. It mentions an major NASA review that comes up a lot in this LSSW forum—the June 2008 Lunar Concept Capabilites Review (LCCR).  At this stage, there are surface system concepts (hence this forum exploring them) but no final designs, with a big NASA review of the concepts coming in June 2010.

Now comes some really cool stuff:

LunarMobilityCompar

That spiffy rendering comes in a discussion of the Lunar Architecture Framework. The rendering compares the Lunar Electric Rover (aka Small Pressurized Rover; which made an appearance in President Obama’s Inaugural Parade), which can carry astronauts comfortably for two-week ventures, to the more utility/construction-oriented Lunar Chariot and the old Apollo rover.

The slide’s bullets are below:

            -Characterize critical environmental parameters and lunar resources

            -Test technical capabilities as needed (Build-up approach)

The sorties mentioned sound like a fun concept–astronauts hopping around  in the lander to different locations on the Moon, perhaps even to visit other countries’ bases. And of course, they could also be overseeing robotic missions to points of interest from the base. Also of note is the lean towards solar—there are concepts proposed for nuclear options, but this suggests they take a back seat strategically, if you will.

The graphic below is an even more fun one: a labeled rendering of the outpost itself. It’s extremely cool, and also fairly self-explanatory, so I’ll let you click below and explore that personally:

LabeledNotionalElements

Check back tomorrow for the beginning of my look at the incredible, titanic Lunar Surface Architecture Status, filtered down with loving attention on its individual elements so it’s easier to digest :) (It updates the status on basically every element, so generally expect a post on each element, with all the background and links you need.)

LSSW: The NASA Exploration Introduction March 18, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA , 1 comment so far

It’s time today for the first feature in my new series of coverage of the NASA Lunar Surface Systems Workshop presentations.

First up to the plate is the brief introduction by Doug Cooke, Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. At 5 slides, the presentation isn’t a whopper like many from this forum were, but it still manages to hold some goodies.

It begins with a straightforward summary of the foundation of NASA’s exploration policy:

And, perhaps most significantly:

The last point, highlighted in the presentation, ties into some of the main themes of President Obama’s campaign space plan–in particular, Obama’s desire to “reach out to include international partners and to engage the private sector to amplify NASA’s reach”. NASA is also currently studying the idea of an International Lunar Network: a system of infrastructure nodes installed across the lunar globe by different nations and organizations. The linked page there sets a 2013 start date for the ILN.

The best visual treat is embedded below (click for larger):

exploration-roadmap

That is NASA’s roadmap outlook for the development of the lunar exploration program. The most interesting aspect is the ~2018 era, where development is complete and the Lunar Outpost Buildup begins (running through 2025).

The rest of the presentations for the workshop are an overview of, and concepts for, all the technology that will compose the actual outpost as it builds over that 2018-2025 period. So, stay tuned, as all the best details on that are soon to come here at Luna C/I :)

LSS = More: Luna C/I's Lunar Surface Systems Workshop Coverage Begins! March 17, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Event Coverage, Habitat, infrastructure, lunar land use planning, Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA , 1 comment so far

Today begins a major new series of coverage here at Luna C/I: an in-depth look at all the concepts presented at NASA’s Lunar Surface Systems Workshop (LSSW), which took place on Feb. 25-27th, 2009 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

NASA has posted the 18+ PowerPoint presentations from the event, and they are absolutely stuffed with exciting new information and renderings. While everything presented was conceptual (as requested by NASA from the study groups represented), these presentations are an invaluable resource that give a vivid picture of what NASA’s lunar outpost and technology will be like, right down to the nuts and bolts. This represents a vast expansion of the publicly available details on what the base’s nitty-gritty will be like.

There’s an amazing amount of detail to be found, and what I’m going to do here at Luna C/I over the next few weeks is present the best details from the forum in an easier-to-digest form. I should have at least one feature a day (often more), and will typically cover the significant topics of each presentation with seperate posts.

I’ll be going in chronological order, starting with NASA’s introductory presentations. Expect sweet renderings from the PDFs, links and background galore on what they’re talking about, and more juicy lunar base details than you can shake a stick at :)

Should be a very busy few weeks–so sit back, stay tuned, and get ready for an outpouring of neat features. And, of course, you can always check out the presentations yourself—but I’m not kidding when I say it’s a truly vast amount of information :)

Exciting times, and I hope you enjoy all the goodies that these presentations have to offer.

RASC-AL Student Competition Finalists Announced by NASA/NIA March 10, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : lunar land use planning, lunar transportation, NASA , add a comment

NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace have announced the Moon Design finalists in their university-student competition, the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) forum.

The 15 finalists are composed of teams from 5 graduate schools and 10 undergraduate programs, who will present concepts regarding one of the four themes.

The themes include the expansion from a lunar outpost to lunar settlements (including global lunar transportation); concepts for the initial lunar outpost and challenges it could face; methods to ‘bring the world along’ with virtual exploration (e.g. like the Google Lunar X PRIZE’s Mooncast); and ways to improve sample return from the lunar surface.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s engineers, leaders, and bloggers (less than two years removed from my Bachelor’s myself), and these kinds of presentations are always interesting, so I’ll be keeping an eye out when the forum comes around in June for any particularly insightful nuggets :)

MoonPop: Sam Rockwell as a Helium-3 Miner in "Moon" (2009) March 8, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Helium-3, MoonPop, private sector , add a comment

It’s time for another in my running series of features on the Moon and lunar colonization in pop culture, and today’s is as related as pop culture could possibly be: the upcoming film “Moon“.

Having premiered at the 2009 Sundance Festival and slated for wide release June 12th, “Moon” stars Sam Rockwell (IMDB) as a helium-3 miner (!) stranded at his private-industry mining outpost for three years.

To have a wide summer release than even mentions helium-3, never mind is largely about it, is going to be some amazing PR for the base race.

The movie is directed by Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie; Bowie’s first big hit was, of course, Space Oddity (a previous MoonPop feature here itself).

Below is a clip from the film (via a Teaser-Trailer.com Youtube video), involving an accident Rockwell has with his helium-mining vehicle:

Keep an eye here for coverage of the film, and the impact it has as a landmark of the Moon in pop culture.

New High-Quality Footage of Armstrong’s First Step March 7, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, NASA , add a comment

New Footage of Armstrong’s First Steps

That’s a new video of Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the Moon, which has surfaced originally from a DVD rip by the site Depleted Cranium and made its way through numerous Twitter ReTweets and blogs of all kinds across the internet.

The first step is at 3:53 on the video—it’s interesting to think about his first observations on the “sandy” lunar regolith, especially in the current context of the fact that helium-3 is mined largely from that very regolith.

A funny fact about that first step: Armstrong actually flubbed what he had originally intended to say.