Tag

Lunar Lander

All articles tagged with #lunar lander

space3 days ago•104 min saved

Ex-NASA Chief Warns Artemis Lander Plan Is Too Complex for 2028 Moon Return

Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine says Artemis' crewed lunar landers are far more complex than Apollo’s design, warning the architecture could bite the program as Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 rely on SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, both of which face delays and require multiple launches and refueling. He notes NASA’s plan to test both landers in orbit ahead of a 2028 lunar landing, the possibility of reopening lander contracts due to delays, and argues for pursuing a simpler, quicker path to the moon.

via Space|

#artemis #blue-moon #lunar-lander

space10 days ago•6 min saved

NASA funds quartet of robotic lunar landers to advance Moon Base ambitions

NASA awarded about $590 million to Astrobotic Technology, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines to fly four robotic lunar lander missions in 2028, each carrying the same three payloads (SCALPSS, LETS and the Laser Retroreflector Array); Astrobotic will fly two Peregrine landers to the Gruithuisen Domes region, Firefly one Blue Ghost, and Intuitive Machines one Nova-C, with a potential later addition of PROMISE, a Mars rover–derived, RTG-powered lunar rover; the agency is also weighing logistics for Moon Base launches and has not ruled out Blue Origin’s launch options as Plan A remains to use New Glenn.

via SpaceNews|

#astrobotic #firefly-aerospace #intuitive-machines

science10 days ago•4 min saved

NASA doubles down on moon plans with nearly $600M in private lander contracts

NASA awarded about $600 million to Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines to develop upgraded lunar landers that will deliver science payloads to the Moon in late 2028, part of a broader push to establish a sustained presence there with a roughly $20 billion budget over seven years. The awards follow nearly $1 billion in funding for first uncrewed moon-base missions, and NASA plans monthly updates while soliciting additional science payloads. The agency also discussed adapting a Mars rover prototype, named Promise, for lunar testing, and Blue Origin’s setback may shift its timeline to next year.

via NBC News|

#lunar-lander #moon #nasa

space10 days ago•4 min saved

NASA Expands Moon Base with Four More Lander Missions and New Rover Plans

NASA awards nearly $600 million to Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, and Firefly Aerospace to land four additional Moon Base missions by late 2028 under CLPS, delivering three NASA science payloads (SCALPSS, LRA, LETS) to study lunar dust, navigation, and radiation as part of building sustained lunar operations. The agency also previews new opportunities, including the PROMISE rover concept for surface characterization, plus potential demos and a lunar relay constellation to enable broader exploration and future crewed missions.

via NASA (.gov)|

#clps #lunar-lander #moon-base

technology25 days ago•6 min saved

Griffin-1 Lander Nears Final Lunar Tests Ahead of 2026 Launch

Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lunar lander, with a 650 kg payload, is nearing environmental testing at NASA’s JPL in California after final integration in Pittsburgh; its main payload, Astrolab’s FLIP rover, is undergoing tests and will rendezvous at Cape Canaveral for final integration ahead of a late-2026 Falcon Heavy launch, marking a key milestone in Moon Base 2 planning and Peregrine’s legacy as Astrobotic advances with Voyager Technologies’ acquisition.

via Spaceflight Now|

#astrobotic #flip #griffin-1

space1 month ago•13 min saved

Artemis III eyes dual lander rendezvous with Blue Origin and SpaceX, NASA says

NASA confirmed Artemis III for 2027 and outlined a dual‑lander plan: the crew would dock in low Earth orbit with both a Blue Origin lunar lander and SpaceX Starship; SLS readiness is being boosted with a short-stack wet dress rehearsal and a spacer upper stage, while Blue Origin’s lander tests proceed with Mk1 configurations and BE‑7 engines. The mission targets a -33°, roughly 230–250 nautical mile circular orbit to enable orbital rendezvous tests and reduce risk, with flexibility to launch the lander on alternative rockets if needed.

via Ars Technica|

#artemis-iii #blue-origin #lunar-lander

space2 months ago•2 min saved

NASA Trains with Blue Moon Cabin for Artemis Crew Missions

NASA has activated a full-scale mock-up of Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 crew cabin at Johnson Space Center for Artemis training and testing. The 15-foot-tall cabin sits inside a 52-foot lunar lander prototype and will be used for human-in-the-loop simulations, mission-control drills, spacesuit checkouts, and simulated moonwalks as NASA and Blue Origin prepare for rendezvous and docking tests in Earth orbit (Artemis III, 2027) and future lunar missions (Artemis IV/V in 2028).

via NASA (.gov)|

#artemis #blue-origin #lunar-lander

space-policy2 months ago•16 min saved

NASA Raises CLPS Ceiling to Accelerate Moon Base Lander Cadence

NASA plans to raise the maximum value of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion to support a projected surge in robotic lunar landings for Moon Base, with 13 eligible contractors and a goal of ramping up to a monthly landing cadence; the agency expects to award more missions and/or higher-value missions through 2028 and beyond as companies scale production and move toward standardized, build-to-print landers.

via SpaceNews|

#clps #intuitive-machines #lunar-lander

space4 months ago•5 min saved

NASA OIG flags gaps in Artemis lunar lander risk management

The NASA Office of Inspector General warns gaps in the agency’s plan to test and validate SpaceX- and Blue Origin–built lunar landers for Artemis missions, including crew-survival analyses and non-fatal-emergency scenarios, noting there would be no in-space rescue capability; as Artemis II nears launch and Artemis III is planned with orbital refueling and lander in-flight checks, NASA aims to mitigate hazards but the report says significant gaps remain.

via Spaceflight Now|

#artemis #blue-origin #lunar-lander

technology4 months ago•4 min saved

NASA-Spacex tussle over Moon lander manual controls ahead of design review

NASA’s inspector general report on the Human Landing System contracts with SpaceX and Blue Origin notes the fixed-price approach is cost-effective but highlights a dispute over whether SpaceX’s Starship should allow astronauts manual control during lunar landings, with NASA warning the manual-control risk could worsen as a Critical Design Review approaches. The report references Apollo’s backup manual method, recalls the Dragon control-history debate, notes Blue Origin has not yet defined its manual controls, and states uncrewed demonstrations will precede crewed Moon missions.

via Ars Technica|

#human-landing-system #lunar-lander #nasa

space4 months ago•5 min saved

Artemis Plan Reorients: In-Orbit Tests Ahead of 2028 Moon Landing

NASA is reshaping the Artemis program: Artemis III will test key technologies in low Earth orbit instead of landing, and Artemis IV is now scheduled for a 2028 crewed lunar landing; the plan emphasizes in-space life-support, propulsion, and communications tests, potential docking with commercial lunar landers, and new AxEMU suits, while Lunar Gateway is not mentioned in the latest rollout and workforce/schedule challenges persist.

via ScienceAlert|

#artemis-program #lunar-lander #moon

science4 months ago•9 min saved

NASA overhauls Artemis to speed lunar return with a standardized SLS

NASA announced a sweeping Artemis overhaul: cancel the costly Exploration Upper Stage, standardize the SLS for a higher cadence (about every 10 months), and push more work to commercial lunar landers with SpaceX and Blue Origin so Artemis III won't land on the Moon but will dock Orion with landers in Earth orbit; Artemis IV would be the first lunar landing, with annual missions beginning in mid-2027 and into 2028, while Gateway tower and Moon-base questions stay under review.

via Ars Technica|

#artemis #centaur-v #exploration-upper-stage

policy-and-politics5 months ago•14 min saved

House bill tightens NASA oversight of Artemis lander and spacesuits

The House Science Committee’s NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026 would require NASA to provide detailed progress, funding, milestones, and challenges reports on Blue Origin and SpaceX’s lunar lander work and on spacesuit development, with reports due within 60–90 days of enactment. It also mandates maintaining in-house spacesuit expertise at Johnson Space Center, outlines ISS transition plans to commercial stations, and requests a Mars Sample Return strategy, all while keeping Artemis architecture largely intact and aiming for a 2028 Artemis 3 landing.

via SpaceNews|

#artemis #hls #lunar-lander

space5 months ago•316 min saved

Artemis II: A crewed lunar flyby to test systems—with no landing

Artemis II will carry four astronauts on a lunar flyby, not a lander mission. The goal is to test life-support, thermal control, navigation, propulsion and other onboard systems aboard the Orion capsule and SLS rocket on a translunar, free-return trajectory, with lunar landing deferred to Artemis III (using SpaceX’s Starship HLS). The mission emphasizes crew safety and vehicle health first, may push the crew farther from Earth than any humans have gone, and mirrors Apollo-era testing before attempting a surface landing.

via CNN|

#artemis-ii #lunar-lander #moon

space-exploration8 months ago•4 min saved

SpaceX and NASA Develop Backup Plans for Lunar Landings

SpaceX is developing a simplified version of its Starship-based lunar lander in response to NASA's concerns, aiming for a faster lunar return by 2026, amidst competition and delays in the Artemis program, with Blue Origin also proposing alternatives.

via PCMag|

#artemis #lunar-lander #nasa