NASA today announced that the Mojave, CA company was chosen for a sortie in 2022 to suss out the Moon’s South Pole utilizing its XL-1 lander. The mission will analyze the composition of the lunar surface, test precision landing techniques and investigate the radiation environment. The contract includes end-to-end services for delivery of eight payloads and operation for at least 12 days.
Executive order authorizes the commercial use of space resources
The document states that “Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law. Outer space is a legally and physically unique domain of human activity, and the United States does not view it as a global commons. Accordingly, it shall be the policy of the United States to encourage international support for the public and private recovery and use of resources in outer space, consistent with applicable law”
New space solar power company down under
Solar Space Technologies (SST), a recently-formed Australian company, is planning the development of a solar power satellite (SPS) system to provide electricity for Australia. The new company is developing the technology for deployment of an SPS, ground receiver sites and associated infrastructure. SST’s system would generate a total capacity of at least 18 gigawatts for the Australian electricity market which could also potentially be exported to other countries. In less than a decade, SST proposes the creation of an Australia-US public/private partnership, with additional participation by Japan, Canada, New Zealand and others for development of the SPS. A downloadable Executive Summary Brochure is available from the company website.
NASA’s vision for sustainable lunar development
The agency has just published a plan for a permanent return to the Moon as a proving ground for pushing on to Mars and beyond
New L5 space settlement concept published by NSS
The spinning dual-sphere orbital colony would house 200 settlers completely shielded by asteroid material and under 1G artificial gravity. The business case is promising if launch costs come down to $300/kg. The new paper was just posted on the NSS Space Settlement Journal, an open access journal chuck full of papers on space settlement enabling technologies.