The NASA Lunar Science Institute at Ames is gradually becoming a global center for the study of Earth’s closest celestial neighbor. NASA recently announced a new partnership with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) that involves more than 30 organizations across that nation (see press release after the break). The Institute also has established the following partnerships:

• Canadian Lunar Research Network (CLRN)
• Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
• Open University (United Kingdom)
• King Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) — Saudi Arabia
• Ben-Gurion University at the Negev (Israel)
• VU University Amsterdam.

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‘Smaller is better’ as Israel launches itself as space contender
Jewish Herald Voice

The Netanyahu administration reportedly is placing a major thrust on space research and development. The aim is to boost sales of Israel’s miniaturized space platforms to nearly $8 billion a year over the next several years, according to Israeli media reports, and to secure a small but significant percentage of the $250-billion-a-year international space market….
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NASA PROGRAM UPDATE

NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed a joint statement that recognizes the Israel Network for Lunar Science and Exploration, or INLSE, as an affiliate partner with the NASA Lunar Science Institute at the agency’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

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NASA needs a new generation of lunar research and exploration specialists to accomplish its plans to send humans back to the moon, Leonard David reports at Space.com. “That talent largely was dissipated after the Apollo lunar landing program ended in 1972. As a result, several steps need to be taken to recuperate both the scientific and technical expertise that will be needed to investigate and understand the Moon,” David writes. […]