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Forward to the Moon: lunar mission Artemis I begins


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    • By European Space Agency
      Image: Concordia is a research station in Antarctica that places you farther away from humankind than even the International Space Station. Every year, ESA sponsors a medical doctor to spend a year, or "winterover," at Concordia station. This year, our medical doctor is Jessica Kehala Studer, who is seen in this picture gazing at the Moon and the vast expanse of Antarctica. Around May, the Sun dips below the horizon for the last time, and the crew experiences four months of total darkness, with temperatures dropping to –80°C in winter. 
      The station serves as an analogue for space, mirroring the challenges and conditions faced by astronauts such as isolation, extreme cold and darkness, along with their impact on  health. Concordia is a unique platform for research in human physiology and psychology, as well as astronomy, meteorology, glaciology and other fields. 
      Last Saturday, we celebrated Moon Day: 55 years ago on 20 July 1969, humankind stepped on the Moon for the first time during the Apollo 11 mission. Today, ESA is a key part of NASA's Artemis programme which aims to return humans to the Moon. The insights gained from ESA's experience in analogue facilities such as Concordia will be invaluable for this mission. 
      Find out more about Concordia on our blog. 
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      In July 1968, much work still remained to meet the goal President John F. Kennedy set in May 1961, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. No American astronaut had flown in space since the November 1966 flight of Gemini XII, the delay largely a result of the tragic Apollo 1 fire. Although the Apollo spacecraft had successfully completed several uncrewed test flights, the first crewed mission still lay three months in the future. The delays in getting the Lunar Module (LM) ready for its first flight caused schedule concerns, but also presented an opportunity for a bold step to send the second crewed Apollo mission, the first crewed flight of the Saturn V, on a trip to orbit the Moon. Using an incremental approach, three flights later NASA accomplished President Kennedy’s goal.
      Left: The charred remains of the Apollo 1 spacecraft following the tragic fire that claimed the lives of astronauts Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee. Middle left: The first launch of the Saturn V rocket on the Apollo 4 mission. Middle right: The first Lunar Module in preparation for the Apollo 5 mission. Right: Splashdown of Apollo 6, the final uncrewed Apollo mission.
      The American human spaceflight program suffered a jarring setback on Jan. 27, 1967, with the deaths of astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire. The fire and subsequent Investigation led to wholesale changes to the spacecraft, such as the use of fireproof materials and redesign of the hatch to make it easy to open. The early Block I spacecraft, such as Apollo 1, would now only be used for uncrewed missions, with crews flying only aboard the more advanced Block II spacecraft. The fire and its aftermath also led to management changes. For example, George M. Low replaced Joseph F. Shea as Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager. The first Apollo mission after the fire, the uncrewed Apollo 4 in November 1967, included the first launch of the Saturn V Moon rocket as well as a 9-hour flight of a Block I Command and Service Module (CSM). Apollo 5 in January 1968 conducted the first uncrewed test of the LM, and despite a few anomalies, managers considered it successful enough that they canceled a second uncrewed flight. The April 1968 flight of Apollo 6, planned as a near-repeat of Apollo 4, encountered several significant anomalies such as first stage POGO, or severe vibrations, and the failure of the third stage to restart, leading to an alternate mission scenario. Engineers devised a solution to the POGO problem and managers decided that the third flight of the Saturn V would carry a crew.
      Left: Apollo 7 astronauts R. Walter Cunningham, left, Donn F. Eisele, and Walter M. Schirra participate in water egress training. Middle: Workers stack the Apollo 7 spacecraft on its Saturn IB rocket at Launch Pad 34. Right: Schirra, left, Cunningham, and Eisele stand outside the spacecraft simulator.
      As of July 1968, NASA’s plan called for two crewed Apollo flights in 1968 and up to five in 1969 to achieve the first lunar landing to meet President Kennedy’s deadline, with each mission incrementally building on the success of the previous ones. The first mission, Apollo 7, would return American astronauts to space following a 23-month hiatus. Planned for October 1968, the crew of Walter M. Schirra, Donn F. Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham would launch atop a Saturn IB rocket and conduct a shakedown flight of the Block II CSM in Earth orbit, including testing the Service Propulsion System engine, critical on later lunar missions for getting into and out of lunar orbit. The flight plan remained open-ended, but managers expected to complete a full-duration 11-day mission, ending with a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Preparations for Apollo 7 proceeded well during the summer of 1968. Workers had stacked the two-stage Saturn IB rocket on Launch Pad 34 back in April. In KSC’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB), Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham completed altitude chamber tests of their spacecraft, CSM-101, on July 26 followed by their backups three days later. Workers trucked the spacecraft to the launch pad on Aug. 9 for mating with the rocket. Among major milestones, Schirra, Eisele, and Cunningham completed water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 5, in addition to spending time in the spacecraft simulators at KSC and at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
      Left: The original Apollo 8 crew of Russell L. Schweickart, left, David R. Scott, and James A. McDivitt during training in June 1968. Middle: Lunar Module-3 arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in June 1968. Right: In July 1968, workers in KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building stack the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 8 mission.
      The second flight, targeting a December 1968 launch, would feature the first crewed launch of the Saturn V rocket. The Apollo 8 crew of James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart would conduct the first crewed test of the LM in the relative safety of low Earth orbit. McDivitt and Schweickart would fly the LM on its independent mission, including separating the ascent stage from the descent stage to simulate a takeoff from the Moon, while Scott remained in the CSM. After redocking, Schweickart would conduct a spacewalk to practice an external transfer between the two vehicles. Workers completed stacking the three-stage Saturn V rocket (SA-503) in KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Aug. 14. The first component of the spacecraft, LM-3, arrived at KSC on June 9, while CSM-103, arrived on Aug. 12. Workers in the MSOB began to prepare both spacecraft for flight.
      Left: The original Apollo 9 crew of William A. Anders, left, Michael Collins, and Frank Borman during training in March 1968. Middle: Lunar Module-3 during preflight processing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida in August 1968. Right: Following the revision of the mission plans for Apollo 8 and 9 and crew changes, the Apollo 8 crew of James A. Lovell, Anders, and Borman stand before their Saturn V rocket as it rolls out of KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building in October 1968.
      The third flight, planned for early 1969, and flown by Frank Borman, Michael Collins, and William A. Anders, would essentially repeat the Apollo 8 mission, but at the end would fire the SPS engine to raise the high point of their orbit to 4,600 miles and then simulate a reentry at lunar return velocity to test the spacecraft’s heat shield. On July 23, Collins underwent surgery for a bone spur in his neck, and on August 8, NASA announced that James A. Lovell from the backup crew would take his place. Later missions in 1969 would progress to sending the CSM and LM combination to lunar orbit, leading to the first landing before the end of the year. Construction of the rocket and spacecraft components for these future missions continued at various contractor facilities around the country.
      Left: In Mission Control during the Apollo 6 mission, Director of Flight Crew Operations Christopher C. Kraft, left, Director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Robert R. Gilruth, and Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager George M. Low. Middle left: Chief of Flight Crew Operations Donald K. “Deke” Slayton. Middle right: Director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Kurt H. Debus. Right: Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
      Challenges to this plan began to arise in June 1968. Managers’ biggest concern centered around the readiness of LM-3. After its delivery to KSC on June 9, managers realized the vehicle needed much more work than anticipated and it would not meet the planned December Apollo 8 launch date. Best estimates put its flight readiness no earlier than February 1969. That kind of delay would jeopardize meeting President Kennedy’s fast-approaching deadline. To complicate matters, intelligence reports indicated that the Soviets were close to sending cosmonauts on a trip around the Moon, possibly before the end of the year, and also preparing to test a Saturn V-class rocket for a Moon landing mission.
      Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager Low formulated a plan both audacious and risky. Without a LM, an Earth orbital Apollo 8 mission would simply repeat Apollo 7’s and not advance the program very much. By sending the CSM on a mission around the Moon, or even to orbit the Moon, NASA would gain valuable experience in navigation and communications at lunar distances. To seek management support for his plan, on Aug. 9 Low met with MSC Director Robert R. Gilruth, who supported the proposal. They called in Christopher C. Kraft, director of flight operations, for his opinion. Two days earlier, Low had asked Kraft to assess the feasibility of a lunar orbit mission for Apollo 8, and Kraft deemed it achievable from a ground control and spacecraft computer standpoint. Chief of Flight Crew Operations Donald K. “Deke” Slayton joined the discussion, and all agreed to seek support for the plan from the directors of KSC and of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, as well as NASA Headquarters (HQ) in Washington, D.C. That afternoon, the four flew to Huntsville and met with MSFC Director Wernher von Braun, KSC Director Kurt H. Debus, and HQ Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips. By the end of the meeting, the group identified no insurmountable technical obstacles to the lunar mission plan, with the qualification that the Apollo 7 mission in October concluded successfully. Von Braun had confidence that the Saturn V would perform safely, and Debus believed KSC could support a December launch.
      Slayton called Borman, who was with Lovell and Anders conducting tests with their spacecraft in Downey, California. He ordered Borman to immediately fly to Houston, where he offered him command of the new circumlunar Apollo 8 mission, which Borman accepted. His crew would swap missions with McDivitt’s, who agreed to fly an Earth orbital test of the LM in February 1969, putting that crew’s greater experience with the LM to good use. The training challenge fell on Borman’s crew, who now had just four months to train for a flight around the Moon.
      Left: Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips. Middle left: Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight George E. Mueller. Middle right: Deputy Administrator Thomas O. Paine. Right: Administrator James E. Webb.
      On Aug. 14, representatives from MSC, MSFC, and KSC attended a meeting in Washington with NASA Deputy Administrator Thomas O. Paine and Apollo Program Director Phillips, the senior Headquarters officials present as NASA Administrator James E. Webb and Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight George E. Mueller attended a conference in Vienna. The group discussed Low’s proposal and agreed on the technical feasibility of accomplishing a circumlunar flight with Apollo 8 in December. During the discussion, Mueller happened to call from Vienna and when they presented him with the proposal, he was at first reticent, especially since NASA had yet to fly Apollo 7. He requested more information and more time to consider the proposal so he could properly brief Webb. Paine then polled each center director for his overall assessment. Von Braun, who designed the Saturn V rocket, stated that whether it went to the Moon or stayed in Earth orbit didn’t matter too much. Debus stated that KSC could support a Saturn V launch in December – as noted above, his team was already processing both the rocket and the spacecraft. Gilruth agreed that the proposal represented a key step in achieving President Kennedy’s goal, and emphasized that the mission should not just loop around the Moon but actually enter orbit. Following additional discussions after Webb’s return from Vienna, he agreed to the plan, but would not make a formal decision until after a successful Apollo 7 flight in October. NASA kept the lunar orbit plan quiet even as the crews began training for their respective new missions. An announcement on Aug. 19 merely stated that Apollo 8 would not carry a LM, as the agency continued to assess various mission objectives. Ultimately, the plan required President Lyndon B. Johnson’s approval.
      Left: Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong ejects just moments before his Lunar Landing Research Vehicle crashed. Middle left: Pilot Gerald P. Gibbons, left, and astronaut James B. Irwin prepare to enter an altitude chamber for one of the Lunar Module Test Article-8 (LTA-8) vacuum tests. Middle right: Astronauts Joe H. Engle, left, Vance D. Brand, and Joseph P. Kerwin preparing for the 2TV-1 altitude test. Right: One of the final Apollo parachute tests.
      As those discussions took place, work around the country continued to prepare for the first lunar landing, not without some setbacks. On May 8, astronaut Neil A. Armstrongejected just in the nick of time as the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) he was piloting went out of control and crashed. Managers suspended flights of the LLRV and its successor, the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV), until Oct. 3. Astronauts used the LLRV and LLTV to train for the final few hundred feet of the descent to the Moon’s surface. On May 27, astronaut James B. Irwin and pilot Gerald P. Gibbons began a series of altitude tests in Chamber B of the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) at MSC. The tests, using the LM Test Article-8 (LTA-8), evaluated the pressure integrity of the LM as well as the new spacesuits designed for the Apollo program. The first series of LTA-8 tests supported the Earth-orbital flight of LM-3 on Apollo 9 while a second series in October and November supported the LM-5 flight of Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission. In June, using SESL’s Chamber A, astronauts Joseph P. Kerwin, Vance D. Brand, and Joe H. Engle completed an eight-day thermal vacuum test using the Apollo 2TV-1 spacecraft to certify the vehicle for Apollo 7. A second test in September certified the vehicle for lunar missions. July 3 marked the final qualification drop test of the Apollo parachute system, a series begun five years earlier. The tests qualified the parachutes for Apollo 7.
      History records that Apollo 11 accomplished the first human landing on the Moon in July 1969. It is remarkable to think that just one year earlier, with the agency still recovering from the Apollo 1 fire, NASA had not yet flown any astronauts aboard an Apollo spacecraft. And further, the agency took the bold step to plan for a lunar orbital mission on just the second crewed mission. With a cadence of a crewed Apollo flight every two months between October 1968 and July 1969, NASA accomplished President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.
      John Uri
      NASA Johnson Space Center
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. This long-duration photograph was taken at night from the orbital complex as it soared 258 miles above western China. NASA and Boeing will host a news conference with mission leadership at 11:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, July 25, to provide the latest status of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test aboard the International Space Station. NASA previously planned an audio-only media teleconference to host the discussion.
      The agency will provide live coverage on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
      Participants include:
      Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing United States-based media seeking to attend in person must contact the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston no later than 9:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, July 25, at 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. U.S. and international media interested in participating by phone must contact NASA Johnson or NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov by 10:30 a.m. the day of the event. A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
      Engineering teams with NASA and Boeing recently completed ground hot fire testing of a Starliner reaction control system thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. The test series involved firing the engine through similar in-flight conditions the spacecraft experienced during its approach to the space station, as well as various stress-case firings for what is expected during Starliner’s undocking and the deorbit burn that will position the spacecraft for a landing in the southwestern United States. Teams are analyzing the data from these tests, and leadership plans to discuss initial findings during the briefing.
      NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the orbiting laboratory on June 6, after lifting off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5. Since their arrival, the duo has been integrated with the Expedition 71 crew, performing scientific research and maintenance activities as needed.
      As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the mission is an end-to-end test of the Starliner system. Following a successful return to Earth, NASA will begin the process of certifying Starliner for rotational missions to the International Space Station. Through partnership with American private industry, NASA is opening access to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities.
      For NASA’s blog and more information about the mission, visit:
      https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
      -end-
      Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
      Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1100
      joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
      Steve Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky
      Kennedy Space Center, Florida
      321-867-2468
      steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
      Leah Cheshier / Sandra Jones
      Johnson Space Center, Houston
      281-483-5111
      leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      ICON, shown in this artist’s concept, studied the frontiers of space, the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. NASA/Goddard/Conceptual Image Lab NASA’s ICON mission studied the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere. ICON provided critical insights into interplay between space weather and Earth’s weather. The mission gathered unprecedented detail of airglow, showed a relationship between the atmosphere’s ions and Earth’s magnetic field lines, and provided the first concrete observation to confirm Earth’s long-theorized ionospheric dynamo. Nearly a year after ICON accomplished its primary mission, communication was lost in November 2022 for unclear reasons. NASA formally concluded the mission after several months of troubleshooting could not regain contact. After contributing to many important findings on the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission has come to an end. ICON launched in October 2019 and after completing its two-year mission objectives in December 2021, it operated as an extended mission for another year.
      “The ICON mission has truly lived up to its name,” said Joseph Westlake, heliophysics division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “ICON not only successfully completed and exceeded its primary mission objectives, it also provided critical insights into the ionosphere and the interplay between space and terrestrial weather.”
      The ICON spacecraft studied a part of our planet’s outermost layer of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere. From there, ICON investigated what events impact the ionosphere, including Earth’s weather from below and space weather from above.
      The ionosphere is the lowest boundary of space, located between 55 miles to 360 miles above Earth’s surface. It is made up of a sea of particles that have been ionized, a mix of positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons called plasma. This frontier of space is a dynamic and busy region, home to many satellites — including the International Space Station — and is a conduit for radio communications and GPS signals.

      Video explaining the features of the ionosphere, Earth’s outmost layer of the atmosphere. It is home to the aurora, the International Space Station, a variety of satellites, and radio communication waves.
      NASA/Goddard/Conceptual Image Lab/Krystofer Kim Both satellites and signals can be disrupted by the complex interactions of terrestrial and space weather. Studying and understanding the ionosphere is crucial to understanding space weather and its effects on our technology.
      The ICON mission captured unprecedented data about the ionosphere with direct measurements of the charged gas in its immediate surroundings alongside images of one of the ionosphere’s most stunning features — airglow.
      ICON tracked the colorful bands as they moved through the ionosphere. Airglow is created by a process similar to what creates the aurora. However, airglow occurs around the world, not just the northern and southern latitudes where auroras are typically found. Although airglow is normally dim, ICON’s instruments were specially designed to capture even the faintest glow to build a picture of the ionosphere’s density, composition, and structure.
      The lowest reaches of space glow with bright bands of color called airglow. NASA Through the principle of Doppler shift, ICON’s sensitive imagers also detected the motion of the atmosphere as it glowed. “It’s like measuring a train’s speed by detecting the change in the pitch of its horn — but with light,” said Thomas J. Immel, ICON mission lead at the University of California, Berkeley. The mission was specifically designed to perform this technically difficult measurement.

      A New Ionospheric Perspective
      The ICON mission’s comprehensive view of the upper atmosphere provided valuable data for scientists to unravel for years to come. For instance, its measurements showed how the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption disrupted electrical currents in the ionosphere.
      “ICON was able to capture the speed of the volcanic eruption, allowing us to directly see how it affected the motion of charged particles in the ionosphere,” Immel said. “This was a clear example of the connection between tropical weather and ionospheric structure. ICON showed us how things that happen in terrestrial weather have a direct correlation with events in space.”
      Another scientific breakthrough was ICON’s measurements of the motion of ions in the atmosphere and their relationship with Earth’s magnetic field lines. “It was truly unique,” Immel remarked. “ICON’s measurements of the motion of ions in the atmosphere was scientifically transformational in our understanding of behavior in the ionosphere.”
      Visualization of ICON orbiting Earth and taking measurements of the wind speed (green arrows) and ion fluctuation and direction (red lines) at the geomagnetic field lines (purple lines). When the wind changes direction, the ion fluctuation changes to flow downward.NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/William T. Bridgman With ICON’s help, scientists better understand how these interactions drive a process called the ionospheric dynamo. The dynamo, which lies at the bottom of the ionosphere, remained a mystery for decades because it is difficult to observe.
      ICON provided the first concrete observation of winds fueling the dynamo and how this influences space weather. Unpredictable terrestrial winds move plasma around the ionosphere, sending the charged particles shooting out into space or plummeting toward Earth. This electrically charged tug-of-war between the ionosphere and Earth’s electromagnetic fields acts as a generator, creating complex electric and magnetic fields that can affect both technology and the ionosphere itself.
      “No one had ever seen this before,” Immel said. “ICON finally and conclusively provided experimental confirmation of the wind dynamo theory.”

      An Iconic Legacy
      On Nov. 25, 2022, the ICON team lost contact with the spacecraft. Communication with the spacecraft could not be established, even after performing a power cycle reset using a built-in command loss timer. Though the spacecraft remains intact, other troubleshooting techniques were unable to re-establish contact between the ICON spacecraft and mission operators.
      “ICON’s legacy will live on through the breakthrough knowledge it provided while it was active and the vast dataset from its observations that will continue to yield new science,” Westlake said. “ICON serves as a foundation for new missions to come.”
      By Desiree Apodaca
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

      Media Contact: Sarah Frazier
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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      Last Updated Jul 24, 2024 Related Terms
      Earth’s Atmosphere Earth’s Magnetic Field Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division ICON (Ionospheric Connection Explorer) Ionosphere Missions Science Mission Directorate Space Weather The Sun Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
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    • By NASA
      3 Min Read NASA Sponsors New Research on Orbital Debris, Lunar Sustainability
      From lunar orbit, astronauts pointed cameras out the window of their spacecraft to capture photos of the moon's surface. Credits: NASA As part of NASA’s commitment to foster responsible exploration of the universe for the benefit of humanity, the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) is funding space sustainability research proposals from five university-based teams to analyze critical economic, social, and policy issues related to Earth’s orbit and cislunar space.
      The new research awards reflect the agency’s commitment identified in NASA’s Space Sustainability Strategy to ensure safe, peaceful, and responsible space exploration for future generations, and encourage sustainable behaviors in cislunar space and on the lunar surface by ensuring that current operations do not impact those yet to come.
      Three of the five awards will fund research that addresses the growing problem of orbital debris, human-made objects in Earth’s orbit that no longer serve a purpose. This debris can endanger spacecraft, jeopardize access to space, and impede the development of a low-Earth orbit economy. 
      The remaining two awards focus on lunar surface sustainability and will address key policy questions such as the protection of valuable locations and human heritage sites as well as other technical, economic, or cultural considerations that may factor into mission planning. 
      “The sustainable use of space is critical to current and future space exploration,” said Ellen Gertsen, deputy associate administrator for the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Mitigating the risks of orbital debris and ensuring future generations can utilize the lunar surface are of paramount importance. These awards will fund research to help us understand the economics, the policy considerations, and the social elements of sustainability, generating new tools and evidence so we can make better-informed decisions.” 
      A panel of NASA experts selected the following proposals, awarding a total of about $550,000 to fund them: 
      Lunar surface sustainability 
      “A RAD Framework for the Moon: Applying Resist-Accept-Direct Decision-Making,” submitted by Dr. Caitlin Ahrens of the University of Maryland, College Park  “Synthesizing Frameworks of Sustainability for Futures on the Moon,” submitted by research scientist Afreen Siddiqi of Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Orbital Debris and Space Sustainability 
      “Integrated Economic-Debris Modeling of Active Debris Removal to Inform Space Sustainability and Policy,” submitted by researcher Mark Moretto of the University of Colorado, Boulder  “Avoiding the Kessler Syndrome Through Policy Intervention,” submitted by aeronautics and astronautics researcher Richard Linares of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology  “Analysis of Cislunar Space Environment Scenarios, Enabling Deterrence and Incentive-Based Policy,” submitted by mechanical and aerospace engineering researcher Ryne Beeson of Princeton University  Share
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      Last Updated Jul 23, 2024 EditorBill Keeter Related Terms
      Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy (OTPS) View the full article
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