Space Agency Readies for Lunar and Extraplanetary Explorations

NASA has selected 11 U.S. companies to develop technologies germane to long-term space and lunar exploration. The technologies under development—which range from lunar surface power systems to tools for extra-atmospheric 3D printing—stand to collectively expand the U.S. domestic industrial sector’s ability to facilitate a sustained human lunar presence through NASA’s Artemis program and similarly ambitious government and commercial missions.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated: "Partnering with the commercial space industry lets us at NASA harness the strength of American innovation and ingenuity. The technologies that NASA is investing in today have the potential to be the foundation of future exploration."

The projects, chosen under the space-agency’s sixth Tipping Point opportunity, will be funded jointly by NASA and its industry partners. The total expected NASA contribution to the partnerships is $150-million. Each company will contribute a minimum percentage—at least ten-to-25-percent, based on company size—of the total project cost. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) will issue milestone-based funded Space Act Agreements lasting for up to four years.

The awarded companies, their projects, and the approximate value of NASA’s contribution are as follows:

• Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, $34.6-million—LunaGrid-Lite: Demonstration of tethered, scalable lunar power transmission.
• Big Metal Additive of Denver, $5.4-million—Improving cost and availability of space habitat structures with additive manufacturing.
• Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, $34.7-million—In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)-based power on the moon.
• Freedom Photonics of Santa Barbara, California, $1.6-million—Highly-efficient Watt-class direct diode lidar for remote sensing.
• Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colorado, $9.1-million—Joining demonstrations in-space.
• Redwire of Jacksonville, Florida, $12.9-million—Infrastructure manufacturing with lunar regolith - mason.
• Protoinnovations of Pittsburgh, $6.2-million—The mobility coordinator: An Onboard COTS (Commercial-Off-the-Shelf) software architecture for sustainable, safe, efficient, and effective lunar surface mobility operations.
• Psionic of Hampton, Virginia, $3.2-million—Validating no-light lunar landing technology that reduces risk, SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power), and cost.
• United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, $25-million—ULA Vulcan engine reuse scale hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator technology demonstration.
• Varda Space Industries of El Segundo, California, $1.9-million – Conformal phenolic impregnated carbon ablator tech transfer and commercial production.
• Zeno Power Systems of Washington, $15-million – A universal Americium-241 radioisotope power supply for Artemis.]

Dr. Prasun Desai, acting associate administrator for STMD at NASA Headquarters in Washington, set forth: "Our partnerships with industry could be a cornerstone of humanity's return to the Moon under Artemis. By creating new opportunities for streamlined awards, we hope to push crucial technologies over the finish line so they can be used in future missions. These innovative partnerships will help advance capabilities that will enable sustainable exploration on the Moon."

Five of the antecedent technologies will help humanity explore the Moon. For astronauts to spend extended periods of time on the lunar surface, they will need habitats, power, transportation, and additional infrastructure. Two of the selected projects will utilize the Moon’s autochthonous surface material to create such infrastructure—a methodology known as In-Situ Resource Utilization, or ISRU. Redwire will develop technologies conducive to the construction of roads, structural foundations, and landing pads with materials comprising lunar regolith.

Blue Origin’s technology looks to produce solar-cells from raw materials extracted from lunar regolith.

Astrobotic’s proposal outlines means by which to distribute power on the Moon’s surface. The company’s CubeRover will be capable, ostensibly, of unreeling upwards of half-a-mile of high-voltage power cabling by which electrical power could be transferred from lunar generation facilities to end users.

The remaining seven projects are intended to create new capabilities in disparate but essential facets of space exploration and Earth observation.

Freedom Photonics has been contracted to develop a novel laser source requisite the creation of a more efficient LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) system for the detection of methane in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Finally, United Launch Alliance will continue development of inflatable heat shield technology, building on the success of LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator). ULA will advance the technology’s maturation with a near-term goal of using such to return large rocket components from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for reuse. Such technology could be similarly utilized to facilitate the landing of heavy payloads on nearby planets.

FMI: www.nasa.gov