HOUSTON (NASA PR) — NASA has finalized the first 16 science experiments and technology demonstrations, ranging from chemistry to communications, to be delivered to the surface of the Moon under the Artemis program. Scheduled to fly next year, the payloads will launch aboard the first two lander deliveries of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. These deliveries will help pave the way for sending the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface by 2024.
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By Jim Cawey
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
A partnership involving NASA and a Pittsburgh-based space robotics company and university will let us explore the lunar surface in new ways. The project to develop a shoebox-sized rover is part of a multifaceted approach to mature commercial space capabilities that benefit future NASA missions under the Artemis program.
(more…)by Douglas MessierManaging Editor Deep Space Systems has filed an appeal with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA’s decision to award Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts to three rival companies. On May 31, NASA awarded contracts worth $253.5 million to Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and OrbitBeyond to carry up to 23 payloads to the moon on three commercial missions scheduled for launch between September 2020 and July 2021. Deep […]
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Dynetics PR) — For forty-five years, Dynetics has distinguished itself as a premier aerospace and defense contractor in Rocket City, USA. In 2009, we first expanded our capabilities to the space sector, shocking the industry with the success of our Fast, Affordable, Scientific, SATellite (FASTSAT) small satellite. In just ten short years, Dynetics has built a reputation as a company that provides reliable, rapid, and efficient space solutions.
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Griffin lunar lander (Credit: Astrobotic)
PITTSBURGH (Astrobotic PR) – Astrobotic announces today it was one of two companies selected by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to study the first payload delivery mission to the South Pole of the Moon. The mission would deliver NASA payloads to investigate lunar volatile elements such as hydrogen and oxygen, which could one day be used by NASA and the private sector for astronaut life support and in-space rocket fuel.
Astrobotic of Pittsburgh has proposed to fly as many as 14 payloads to a large crater on the near side of the Moon. (Credit: Astrobotic)
PITTSBURGH and WASHINGTON, DC (Astrobotic PR) – Astrobotic was selected today by NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to deliver 14 payloads to the Moon on its Peregrine lunar lander in July 2021. With this $79.5 million CLPS award, Astrobotic has now secured 28 payloads for lunar delivery as part of its first mission. Fifty years after Apollo 11, Pittsburgh’s Astrobotic is returning America back to the Moon in partnership with NASA.
PITTSBURGH (Astrobotic PR) — Astrobotic proudly announces today that it has been selected by Toronto-based Canadensys Aerospace to fly a lunar science and technology payload that promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) on Astrobotic’s first mission to the Moon in 2021. The payload will be the first in a series of payloads, which Canadensys intends to fly on multiple Peregrine lunar lander missions in the future. Details on the payload will be announced later this year.
The payload will be flown aboard Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander where it will be delivered to and operated on the lunar surface. Canadensys’ selection of Astrobotic follows a review of commercial lunar delivery providers, as the company decided which provider offered the most reliable and mature commercial lunar lander services for their payload.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (Astrobotic/SETI Institute PR) – The SETI Institute and Astrobotic Technology, Inc. are announcing the successful mapping in 3D of the interior of an ice-rich lava tube in Iceland using a LiDAR-equipped drone. The team was investigating the Lofthellir Lava Tube Ice Cave in the remote Myvatn region of Iceland, and used the drone to document the lava tube’s shape and extent, history of rock falls, and spectacular ice formations.
Peregrine lander on the moon. (Credit: Astrobotic)
A team including Astrobotic and Airbus competitively selected in partnership to study the delivery of a European Space Agency mission to the Moon onboard the Peregrine lunar lander
Astrobotic now the only lunar delivery service to be selected by NASA and ESA
Pittsburgh, PA (Astrobotic PR) – Astrobotic announced today that a team led by Airbus has been competitively selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to study the delivery of a payload package onboard the Peregrine lunar lander around 2025. The study will analyze Europe’s first mission to demonstrate in-situ resource utilization on the Moon.
Jeffrey Apeldoorn
PITTSBURGH (Astrobotic PR) – Astrobotic, a lunar logistics company that is making space accessible to the world, announces the selection of Jeffrey Apeldoorn as its Vice President of Future Missions and Technology. In this role, Apeldoorn will lead the Future Missions and Technology department and join the Leadership Team of the company. This selection comes after Astrobotic was competitively chosen by NASA as one of the providers for its $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Through CLPS, Astrobotic will be a 10-year provider of lunar delivery services for NASA payloads.
Previously, Apeldoorn served as the Vice President of Corporate Affairs at OHB SE in Bremen, Germany. His work included support of the OHB Group’s 2019+ strategy, strengthening of the Group’s capabilities and competitiveness, and investigating expansion possibilities of the Group.
