A new London Economics market study commissioned by the X Prize Foundation indicates that commercial opportunities at the moon will be worth billions of dollars in the decades ahead.

“With an overall estimated market value in the 10 years directly following the competition of US$1.9 billion, and $6.4 billion over the 25 year longer term, it is clear that the Google Lunar XPRIZE presents a very significant incentive for teams to organize themselves to pursue and capture the various commercial opportunities that they can access,” the study states.

(more…)

Mars One Founder Bas Lansdorp says his organization is looking for experiments to fly on an unmanned lander that it will launch to the Red Planet in 2016.

Mars One will send “a small craft that will demonstrate the technologies we need for our human colony” and is inviting partners to join the mission…

The first step is to test whether conditions for sustaining humans can be created, by sending experimental systems on a lander.

(more…)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL., October 31, 2013 (CASIS PR) – The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the nonprofit organization promoting and managing research and technology development onboard the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, announced last night in Boston, MA that it has selected eight startup companies to conduct research onboard the ISS through the MassChallenge Startup Accelerator. In total, CASIS will award $450,000 to assist these companies in using the ISS to advance their business applications and products.

(more…)

SOLNA, Sweden (ECAPS PR) — The Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) and the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have signed a bilateral cooperative agreement for NASA to test and evaluate the 5-Newton and 22-Newton High Performance Green Propulsion (HPGP) thrusters developed by ECAPS, an SSC Group company. A unique satellite propulsion technology, HPGP is based on an environmentally-friendly propellant that is a much safer alternative to the highly toxic and carcinogenic substance hydrazine, which is presently the most common liquid monopropellant used on satellites.

(more…)

Inside a mockup of a proposed Russian deep space spacecraft. (Credit: Energia)

Despite all the energies focused on a shakeup at the top of the Russian space industry and the impending consolidation of many companies, Roscosmos has been quietly progress on a series of initiatives designed to upgrade the space agency’s capabilities and facilities.

Anatoly Zak at RussianSpaceWeb.com reports that Roscosmos released two tenders on Oct. 23, one involving a new human spacecraft and the other for a launch complex at the nation’s newest spaceport. Officials are also moving forward on the development of a new super heavy launch vehicle.

(more…)

Congressional and NASA officials are warning of deep cuts to the NASA budget mandated by sequestration could delay and imperil key programs and missions, USA Today reports.

“Sequestration will slit the throat of NASA,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., one of Congress’ biggest champions for NASA. “It’ll cut the heart out of the manned space program.”

(more…)

A quick roundup of spaceport news around the globe: Las Cruces, NM: With commercial Virgin Galactic flights from Spaceport America delayed until at least August 2014, New Mexico taxpayers will have to spend an extra $6.9 million to pay for the paving of a southern road to the remote site. That amount has been diverted from the road budget to cover operations. Albuquerque, NM: Viewing increased spaceport competition from other […]

The United Nations is developing a plan to keep hazardous asteroids from hitting Earth. Meanwhile, the Association of Space Explorers has urged that the UN and national governments take more actions to address this threat.

New York, New York (ASE PR) — At an Oct. 25 public event at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, the Association of Space Explorers (ASE), a professional society of astronauts and cosmonauts, issued a challenge to the global community to take the next vital steps to confront the threat from dangerous asteroids. The ASE Committee on Near-Earth Objects statement follows the United Nations General Assembly adoption of a suite of proposals to create an international decision-making mechanism for planetary asteroid defense.

(more…)

Commercial flights of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo from Spaceport America have slipped another six months to August 2014, resulting in $6.9 million in additional costs to taxpayers, New Mexico officials said on Tuesday. To pay for spaceport operations during the delay, the New Mexico Spaceport Authority will raid $6.9 million from a $15 million budget designated for the paving of a southern road to the remote site, the Las Cruces Sun-News […]

Congratulations are in order to X Prize Foundation Founder Peter Diamandis and the team behind the Mars Curiosity rover. Popular Mechanics selected them for their 2013 Breakthrough Awards. Diamandis won the Leadership Award for his work in creating prizes and technology breakthroughs with the X Prize Foundation. The magazine includes a Q&A with Diamandis. The Mars Curiosity team were among 9 other individuals and groups singled out in the innovators […]