Humanity's First Interplanetary Aircraft Has Flown for the Last Time...

NASA / JPL - Caltech

After Three Years on Mars, NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends (Press Release)

NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. While the helicopter remains upright and in communication with ground controllers, imagery of its January 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates that one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing, and it is no longer capable of flight.

Originally designed as a technology demonstration to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, the first aircraft on another world operated from the Martian surface for almost three years, performed 72 flights, and flew more than 14 times farther than planned while logging more than two hours of total flight time.

“The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best – make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.”

NASA to Discuss Ingenuity Mission in Media Call Today

In addition to video comments shared from Nelson about the mission’s conclusion, NASA will host a media teleconference at 5 p.m. EST today, Thursday, January 25, to provide an update on the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

Audio of the call will stream live on the agency’s website.

Participants in the call are expected to include:

- Lori Glaze, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington
- Laurie Leshin, director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California
- Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity project manager, NASA JPL

Media who wish to participate by phone can request dial-in information by emailing hq-media@mail.nasa.gov.

Ingenuity landed on Mars February 18, 2021, attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover and first lifted off the Martian surface on April 19, proving that powered, controlled flight on Mars was possible. After notching another four flights, it embarked on a new mission as an operations demonstration, serving as an aerial scout for Perseverance scientists and rover drivers.

In 2023, the helicopter executed two successful flight tests that further expanded the team’s knowledge of its aerodynamic limits.

“At NASA JPL, innovation is at the heart of what we do,” said Leshin. “Ingenuity is an exemplar of the way we push the boundaries of what’s possible every day. I’m incredibly proud of our team behind this historic technological achievement and eager to see what they’ll invent next.”

Ingenuity’s team planned for the helicopter to make a short vertical flight on January 18 to determine its location after executing an emergency landing on its previous flight. Data shows that, as planned, the helicopter achieved a maximum altitude of 40 feet (12 meters) and hovered for 4.5 seconds before starting its descent at a velocity of 3.3 feet per second (1 meter per second).

However, about 3 feet (1 meter) above the surface, Ingenuity lost contact with the rover, which serves as a communications relay for the rotorcraft. The following day, communications were reestablished and more information about the flight was relayed to ground controllers at NASA JPL.

Imagery revealing damage to the rotor blade arrived several days later. The cause of the communications dropout and the helicopter’s orientation at time of touchdown are still being investigated.

Triumphs, Challenges

Over an extended mission that lasted for almost 1,000 Martian days, more than 33 times longer than originally planned, Ingenuity was upgraded with the ability to autonomously choose landing sites in treacherous terrain, dealt with a dead sensor, cleaned itself after dust storms, operated from 48 different airfields, performed three emergency landings, and survived a frigid Martian winter.

Designed to operate in spring, Ingenuity was unable to power its heaters throughout the night during the coldest parts of winter, resulting in the flight computer periodically freezing and resetting. These power “brownouts” required the team to redesign Ingenuity’s winter operations in order to keep flying.

With flight operations now concluded, the Ingenuity team will perform final tests on helicopter systems and download the remaining imagery and data in Ingenuity's onboard memory. The Perseverance rover is currently too far away to attempt to image the helicopter at its final airfield.

“It’s humbling Ingenuity not only carries onboard a swatch from the original Wright Flyer, but also this helicopter followed in its footsteps and proved flight is possible on another world,” said Ingenuity’s project manager, Teddy Tzanetos of NASA JPL. “The Mars helicopter would have never flown once, much less 72 times, if it were not for the passion and dedication of the Ingenuity and Perseverance teams. History’s first Mars helicopter will leave behind an indelible mark on the future of space exploration and will inspire fleets of aircraft on Mars – and other worlds – for decades to come.”

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Scientists Will Soon Have Access to the Rest of the Geological Treasure Trove Collected at Bennu Over 3 Years Ago...

NASA / Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold

NASA’S OSIRIS-REx Curation Team Reveals Remaining Asteroid Sample (News Release - January 19)

The astromaterials curation team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston has completed the disassembly of the OSIRIS-REx sampler head to reveal the remainder of the asteroid Bennu sample inside. On January 10, they successfully removed two stubborn fasteners that had prevented the final steps of opening the Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head.

Erika Blumenfeld, creative lead for the Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials (AIVA) and Joe Aebersold, AIVA project lead, captured this photograph of the open TAGSAM head including the asteroid material inside using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that shows extreme detail of the sample.

Next, the curation team will remove the round metal collar and prepare the glovebox to transfer the remaining sample from the TAGSAM head into pie-wedge sample trays.

These trays will be photographed before the sample is weighed, packaged and stored at Johnson, home to the most extensive collection of astromaterials in the world. The remaining sample material includes dust and rocks up to about 0.4 inch (one cm) in size.

The final mass of the sample will be determined in the coming weeks. The curation team members had already collected 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of asteroid material from the sample hardware before the lid was removed, surpassing the agency’s goal of bringing at least 2.12 ounces (60 grams) to Earth.

The curation team will release a catalog of all the Bennu samples later this year, which will allow scientists and institutions around the world to submit requests for research or display.

Source: NASA.Gov

Peregrine Is No More, While Japan Became the Fifth Nation to Softly Land on the Moon...

United Launch Alliance

NASA Science, Astrobotic Peregrine Mission One Concludes (News Release)

The first flight of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery service carrying agency science and technology, as well as other customer payloads intended for the Moon, has come to an end. After 10 days and 13 hours in space, Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One made a controlled re-entry on Earth over open water in the South Pacific at approximately 4:04 p.m. EST on January 18.

Astrobotic was the first commercial vendor to launch a mission to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, which aims to advance capabilities for science, exploration or commercial development of the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. There are seven additional CLPS deliveries awarded to multiple American companies, with more awards expected this year and for years to come.

The next CLPS commercial flight is targeted for no earlier than February.

Following a successful launch and separation from the rocket on January 8, the spacecraft experienced a propulsion issue preventing Peregrine from softly landing on the Moon. After analysis and recommendations from NASA and the space community, Astrobotic determined that the best option for minimizing risk and ensuring responsible disposal of the spacecraft would be to maintain Peregrine’s trajectory toward Earth, where it burned up upon re-entry.

“Space exploration is a daring task, and the science and spaceflight data collected from Astrobotic’s lunar lander is better preparing NASA for future CLPS deliveries and crewed missions under Artemis,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The future of exploration is strengthened by collaboration. Together with our commercial partners, NASA is supporting a growing commercial space economy that will help take humanity back to the Moon and beyond.”

Four out of five NASA payloads on Peregrine successfully powered on and collected data while in flight:

- Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer (LETS)
- Near-Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System (NIRVSS)
- Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS)
- Peregrine Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS)

NASA’s LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array) instrument is a passive experiment, and operations could only take place on the lunar surface.

NASA science teams are currently working to interpret the results. Preliminary data suggests that the instruments have measured natural radiation and chemical compounds in the area around the lander.

“Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission provided an invaluable opportunity to test our science and instruments in space, optimizing our process for collecting data and providing a benchmark for future missions,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The data collected in flight sets the stage for understanding how some of our instruments may behave in the harsh environment of space when some of the duplicates fly on future CLPS flights.”

NASA is committed to supporting its U.S. commercial vendors as they navigate the challenges of sending science and technology to the surface of the Moon.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Astrobotic

(2/2)Peregrine captured this video moments after successful separation from @ulalaunch Vulcan rocket. Counterclockwise from top left center is the DHL MoonBox, Astroscale's Pocari Sweat Lunar Dream Time Capsule, & Peregrine landing leg. Background: our big blue marble, Earth! pic.twitter.com/1y4OsosNDp

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 19, 2024

(2/3) Peregrine and its payload teams have made a meaningful contribution to our lunar future, and we thank everyone who supported this mission. Courtesy of @ulalaunch, this video was captured from their #Vulcan rocket's payload fairing.

Peregrine has flown so Griffin may land. pic.twitter.com/XweEz4OGOl

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 19, 2024

(3/3) Carnegie Mellon University's Iris rover wheels wave goodbye.

Ad luna per aspera. pic.twitter.com/BsR23PDbRt

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 19, 2024

Japan makes history with tense, successful moon landing https://t.co/M0KcsvYqDz pic.twitter.com/GRRl3iQtxr

— SpaceNews (@SpaceNews_Inc) January 19, 2024

Japan becomes fifth country to land on the moon with JAXA's SLIM spacecraft https://t.co/0ul9d2cWhO

— CNBC (@CNBC) January 19, 2024

The Peregrine Moon Lander Will Re-enter Earth's Atmosphere in Four Days...

Astrobotic

With NASA Science Aboard, Astrobotic’s Mission Continues to Evolve (News Release)

The following NASA statement is attributed to Dr. Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington:

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, Astrobotic’s Peregrine became the first American commercial lunar lander to launch on a mission to the Moon. Under the Artemis campaign, NASA is supporting exploration through the development of a lunar economy fostering a new commercial robotic delivery service carrying NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon in advance of future missions with crew.

The privately designed and developed Peregrine robotic spacecraft uses novel, industry-developed technology, some of which has never flown in space. Shortly after a successful launch and separation from the rocket on January 8, the spacecraft experienced a propulsion issue that would ultimately prevent it from softly landing on the Moon.

Astrobotic said on its current trajectory, Peregrine will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday, January 18, and is likely to burn up. Astrobotic worked with NASA’s assistance to assess the most appropriate action, and this is the best approach to safely and responsibly conclude Peregrine Mission One.

While it’s too soon to understand the root cause of the propulsion incident, NASA continues to support Astrobotic, and will assist in reviewing flight data, identifying the cause, and developing a plan forward for the company’s future CLPS and commercial flights.

Spaceflight is an unforgiving environment, and we commend Astrobotic for its perseverance and making every viable effort to collect data and show its capabilities of Peregrine while in flight. Together, we will use the lessons learned to advance CLPS.

Source: NASA.Gov

America's Newest X-Plane Has Been Unveiled in All Its Fully-Painted Glory!

NASA / Steve Freeman

NASA, Lockheed Martin Reveal X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft (News Release)

NASA and Lockheed Martin formally debuted the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft on Friday. Using this one-of-a-kind experimental airplane, NASA aims to gather data that could revolutionize air travel, paving the way for a new generation of commercial aircraft that can travel faster than the speed of sound.

“This is a major accomplishment made possible only through the hard work and ingenuity from NASA and the entire X-59 team,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “In just a few short years we’ve gone from an ambitious concept to reality. NASA’s X-59 will help change the way we travel, bringing us closer together in much less time.”

Melroy and other senior officials revealed the aircraft during a ceremony hosted by prime contractor Lockheed Martin Skunk Works at its Palmdale, California facility.

The X-59 is at the center of NASA’s QueSST mission, which focuses on providing data to help regulators reconsider rules that prohibit commercial supersonic flight over land. For 50 years, the U.S. and other nations have prohibited such flights because of the disturbance caused by loud, startling sonic booms on the communities below.

The X-59 is expected to fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound, or 925 mph. Its design, shaping and technologies will allow the aircraft to achieve these speeds while generating a quieter sonic thump.

“It’s thrilling to consider the level of ambition behind QueSST and its potential benefits,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator for aeronautics research at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA will share the data and technology we generate from this one-of-a-kind mission with regulators and with industry. By demonstrating the possibility of quiet commercial supersonic travel over land, we seek to open new commercial markets for U.S. companies and benefit travelers around the world.”

With rollout complete, the QueSST team will shift to its next steps in preparation for first flight: integrated systems testing, engine runs and taxi testing for the X-59.

The aircraft is set to take off for the first time later this year, followed by its first quiet supersonic flight. The QueSST team will conduct several of the aircraft’s flight tests at Skunk Works before transferring it to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, which will serve as its base of operations.

“Across both teams, talented, dedicated and passionate scientists, engineers and production artisans have collaborated to develop and produce this aircraft,” said John Clark, vice president and general manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “We’re honored to be a part of this journey to shape the future of supersonic travel over land alongside NASA and our suppliers.”

Once NASA completes flight tests, the agency will fly the aircraft over several to-be-selected cities across the U.S., collecting input about the sound the X-59 generates and how people perceive it. NASA will provide that data to the Federal Aviation Administration and international regulators.

The X-59 is a unique experimental airplane, not a prototype – its technologies are meant to inform future generations of quiet supersonic aircraft.

At 99.7 feet long and 29.5 feet wide, the aircraft’s shape and the technological advancements that it houses will make quiet supersonic flight possible. The X-59’s thin, tapered nose accounts for almost a third of its length and will break up the shock waves that would ordinarily result in a supersonic aircraft causing a sonic boom.

Due to this configuration, the cockpit is located almost halfway down the length of the aircraft – and does not have a forward-facing window. Instead, the QueSST team developed the eXternal Vision System, a series of high-resolution cameras feeding a 4K monitor in the cockpit.

The QueSST team also designed the aircraft with its engine mounted on top and gave it a smooth underside to help keep shockwaves from merging behind the aircraft and causing a sonic boom.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Steve Freeman


NASA / Steve Freeman


NASA / Steve Freeman


NASA / Steve Freeman

Introducing the X-59, our experimental supersonic aircraft that aims to make sonic booms quieter, and help lift the ban on commercial supersonic flight. Your ears – and pets – will love it. Follow @NASAAero for #Quesst mission updates. pic.twitter.com/lj3Di11Ek5

— NASA (@NASA) January 12, 2024

Astrobotic Continues to Make the Most of Its Ill-Fated Inaugural Lunar Mission...

Astrobotic

NASA Science, Data Collection Ongoing Aboard Peregrine Mission One (News Release)

NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative aims to deliver science and technology to the Moon to advance our capabilities in lunar exploration. Shortly after launch, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander experienced a failure in the propulsion system, causing a critical loss of propellant.

Astrobotic announced that due to the failure, Peregrine will not achieve a soft lunar landing for this mission. Efforts by the Astrobotic team have recovered the spacecraft and allowed Peregrine to remain operationally stable collecting data about the interplanetary environment.

All NASA payloads that can power on have received power and are effectively gathering data, although interpreting the results will require some time.

Both Astrobotic and NASA are taking advantage of this flight time by extending the science of Peregrine Mission One into cislunar space. NASA payloads including NSS (Neutron Spectrometer System), LETS (Linear Energy Transfer Spectrometer), PITMS (Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer) and NIRVSS (Near Infrared Volatile Spectrometer System) have successfully powered on while the spacecraft has been operationally stable.

Since the LRA (Laser Retroreflector Array) instrument is a passive experiment that can only be conducted on the lunar surface, it cannot conduct any operations in transit.

A novel NASA space technology guidance and navigation sensor, which Astrobotic incorporated as a Peregrine lander component, NDL (Navigation Doppler Lidar), has also been successfully powered on.

“Measurements and operations of the NASA-provided science instruments on board will provide valuable experience, technical knowledge and scientific data to future CLPS lunar deliveries,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Some of the NASA-provided payloads aboard Peregrine were already scheduled for future lunar flights. The team is taking this opportunity to collect as much science data as possible and to further characterize the performance and functionality of the science instruments while the spacecraft follows its current trajectory.

Astrobotic is striving to extend Peregrine’s mission, allowing for additional data collection for NASA’s and other customers’ payloads.

Two of the payloads, NSS and LETS, are making measurements of the radiation environment in interplanetary space around the Earth and the Moon. The two instruments are measuring different components of the radiation spectrum, which provide complementary insights into the galactic cosmic ray activity and space weather resulting from solar activity.

This data helps characterize the interplanetary radiation environment for humans and electronics.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Update #13 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/boDu78hmoh

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 12, 2024

Peregrine Has Successfully Launched But Sadly Won't Land on the Moon...

United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance Successfully Launches First Next-Generation Vulcan Rocket (Press Release)

The inaugural launch marks the beginning of an exciting new era for ULA

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. – United Launch Alliance (ULA) marked the beginning of a new era of space capabilities with the successful launch of its next-generation Vulcan rocket on January 8 at 2:18 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Vulcan provides industry-leading capabilities to deliver any payload, at any time, to any orbit.

“Vulcan’s inaugural launch ushers in a new, innovative capability to meet the ever-growing requirements of space launch,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. “Vulcan will provide high performance and affordability while continuing to deliver our superior reliability and orbital precision for all our customers across the national security, civil and commercial markets. Vulcan continues the legacy of Atlas as the world’s only high-energy architecture rocket.”

Vulcan will leverage the world’s highest-performing upper stage to deliver on ULA’s industry-leading legacy of reliability and precision. Centaur V’s matchless flexibility and extreme endurance enables the most complex orbital insertions within the most challenging and clandestine orbits.

“The successful development and flight of this evolutionary rocket is a true testament to the unrivaled dedication and ingenuity of our workforce,” said Mark Peller, vice president of Vulcan Development. “Vulcan’s purpose-built design leverages the best of what we’ve learned from more than 120 combined years of launch experience with Atlas and Delta, ultimately advancing our nation’s space capability and providing unprecedented mission flexibility.”

The first certification flight (Cert-1) mission included two payloads: Astrobotic's first Peregrine lunar lander, Peregrine Mission One (PM1), as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface, and the Celestis Memorial Spaceflights deep space Voyager mission, the Enterprise Flight.

The Cert-1 mission served as the first of two certification flights required for the U.S. Space Force’s certification process. The second certification mission (Cert-2) is planned to launch in the coming months, followed by a summer launch of the first Vulcan mission to support national security space.

“As we build on today’s successful launch, the team will continue to work towards our future bi-weekly launch rate to meet our customers’ manifest requirements, while continuing to develop future Vulcan upgrades including SMART reuse plans for downrange, non-propulsive recovery of Vulcan engines,” said Bruno.

ULA has sold more than 70 Vulcan launches to date, including 38 missions for Amazon’s Project Kuiper and multiple national security space launch missions as part of the country’s Phase 2 launch procurement.

Source: United Launch Alliance

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Astrobotic

Update #6 for Peregrine Mission One: pic.twitter.com/lXh9kcubXs

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 9, 2024

After a successful launch this morning, Astrobotic is assessing a propulsion issue with its lunar lander. Check @Astrobotic for updates.

Each mission is an opportunity to learn. We're proud to work with our partners to advance exploration of the Moon. https://t.co/NARUSW6RiA

— NASA (@NASA) January 8, 2024

LEGO® Percy and Ginny Are Now Encased in Acrylic...

Richard T. Par

As promised in this Blog entry last month, here are photos of my LEGO® Perseverance Mars rover and Ingenuity Mars helicopter now protected by a large acrylic case that I bought online!

The glass box is slightly wider than the bookshelf that Percy and Ginny are displayed on, so I covered those bottom gaps with Scotch™ tape to help prevent dust from getting in.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!


Richard T. Par

Peregrine's Ride to the Moon Is Now at the Launch Pad!

United Launch Alliance

Earlier today, United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket exited the Vertical Integration Facility and rolled out to the pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 in Florida...beginning the final step of sending Astrobotic's Peregrine lander to the Moon over two days from now.

Vulcan Centaur is scheduled to lift off from SLC-41 on January 8 at 2:18 AM, EST (January 7 at 11:18 PM, PST)—beginning Peregrine's long-awaited journey through space that will hopefully conclude with a safe and successful landing near the Moon's Gruithuisen Domes later next month, on February 23.

Here are a couple of photos of Vulcan Centaur rolling out to the pad several hours ago. Needless to say, this is one gorgeous-looking rocket!


United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance


United Launch Alliance


Tory Bruno


United Launch Alliance

The Launch Readiness Review is GO for Monday's launch of #VulcanRocket #Cert1 flight test carrying a commercial lunar lander. Launch time is 2:18amEST (0718 UTC) and weather is 85% GO. Updates and webcast: https://t.co/xFQoT0042V pic.twitter.com/9aYApOhMMj

— ULA (@ulalaunch) January 4, 2024

That’s how we roll. #ToryTimelapse #VulcanRocket pic.twitter.com/3bz9LgMZ0r

— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) January 5, 2024

We've covered a lot of important aspects of the Peregrine lander over the past few weeks, but there's one big question we haven't addressed yet: Why are we sending it to the Moon in the first place?
Short Answer: BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT.
Long Answer: 🧵1/ pic.twitter.com/QmDUSi3zlm

— Astrobotic (@astrobotic) January 5, 2024

Fly Your Name Aboard VIPER to the Lunar Surface!

NASA Ames / Daniel Rutter

NASA Invites Public to Send Names Aboard Artemis Robotic Moon Rover (Press Release)

NASA is inviting people to send their names to the surface of the Moon aboard the agency’s first robotic lunar rover, VIPER – short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. The rover will embark on a mission to the lunar South Pole to unravel the mysteries of the Moon’s water and better understand the environment where NASA plans to land the first woman and first person of color under its Artemis program.

As part of the Send Your Name with VIPER campaign, NASA will accept names received before 11:59 p.m. EST on March 15. Once collected, the agency will take the names and attach them to the rover.

To add your name, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-viper

The site also enables participants to create and download a virtual souvenir – a boarding pass to the VIPER mission featuring their name – to commemorate the experience. Participants are encouraged to share their requests on social media using the hashtag #SendYourName.

“With VIPER, we are going to study and explore parts of the Moon’s surface no one has ever been to before – and with this campaign, we are inviting the world to be part of that risky yet rewarding journey,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Just think: Our names will ride along as VIPER navigates across the rugged terrain of the lunar South Pole and gathers valuable data that will help us better understand the history of the Moon and the environment where we plan to send Artemis astronauts.”

This campaign is like other NASA projects that have enabled tens of millions of people to send their names to ride along with Artemis I, several Mars spacecraft, and the agency’s upcoming Europa Clipper mission. It draws from the agency’s long tradition of shipping inspirational messages on spacecraft that have explored our solar system and beyond.

“Our VIPER is a game-changer,” said Daniel Andrews, VIPER’s project manager at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “It’s the first mission of its kind, expanding our understanding of where lunar resources could be harvested to support a long-term human presence on the Moon.”

In late 2024, Astrobotic Technologies’ Griffin Mission One is scheduled to deliver VIPER to the lunar surface after launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Once there, VIPER will rely on its solar panels and batteries for its roughly 100-day mission to survive extreme temperatures and challenging lighting conditions, while powering a suite of science instruments designed to gather data about the characteristics and concentrations of lunar ice and other possible resources.

NASA’s VIPER delivery is part of its CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative under the Artemis program. With CLPS, as well as with human exploration near the lunar South Pole, NASA will establish a long-term cadence of Moon missions in preparation for sending the first astronauts to Mars.

The rover is part of the LDEP (Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program), managed by the Science Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters and is executed through the Exploration Science Strategy and Integration Office. In addition to managing the mission, NASA Ames leads the mission’s science, systems engineering, real-time rover surface operations and flight software.

The rover hardware is designed and built by NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while the instruments are provided by NASA Ames, the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and commercial partner Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California.

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NASA Looks Ahead to Future Robotic Flights Into Deep Space...

Office of Nuclear Energy

NASA One Step Closer to Fueling Space Missions with Plutonium-238 (News Release)

The recent shipment of heat source plutonium-238 from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory to its Los Alamos National Laboratory is a critical step toward fueling planned NASA missions with radioisotope power systems.

This shipment of 0.5 kilograms (a little over 1 pound) of new heat source plutonium oxide is the largest since the domestic restart of plutonium-238 production over a decade ago. It marks a significant milestone toward achieving the constant rate production average target of 1.5 kilograms per year by 2026.

Radioisotope power systems, or RPS, enable exploration of some of the deepest, darkest and most distant destinations in the solar system and beyond. RPS use the natural decay of the radioisotope plutonium-238 to provide heat to a spacecraft in the form of a Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Unit (LWRHU), or heat and electricity in the form of a system such as the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG, shown above).

The DOE has produced the heat source plutonium oxide required to fuel the RPS for missions such as NASA’s Mars 2020. The first spacecraft to benefit from this restart, the Perseverance rover, carries some of the new plutonium produced by DOE.

An MMRTG continuously provides the car-sized rover with heat and about 110 watts of electricity, enabling the exploration of the Martian surface and gathering of soil samples for possible retrieval.

“NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program works in partnership with the Department of Energy to enable missions to operate in some of the most extreme environments in our solar system and interstellar space,” said Carl Sandifer, RPS program manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

For over sixty years, the United States has employed radioisotope-based electrical power systems and heater units in space. Three dozen missions have explored space for decades using the reliable electricity and heat provided by RPS.

NASA and DOE are continuing their long-standing partnership to ensure that the nation can enable future missions requiring radioisotopes for decades to come.

Source: NASA.Gov

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The fact that @NASA is on track to receive 1.5 kg of Plutonium-238 annually from @ENERGY (starting as early as 2026) is promising news for @JHUAPL's Interstellar Probe...which will hopefully be recommended for development in this year's Heliophysics Decadal Survey by @theNASEM. pic.twitter.com/JmmMmclbFN

— Rich Par (@AstroPnoy) January 1, 2024

Another Presidential Election Is Upon Us...

Happy New Year, everyone! In case you're wondering if I'm gonna get as overly political on this Blog and my social media accounts during this election year like I did in 2020, this meme should be your first clue...

Enjoy 2024!