NASA delays Artemis Lunar Terrain Vehicle request for proposal

NASA is delaying the release of the final request for proposal (RFP) for the development of a Lunar Terrain Vehicle that will be used on future manned missions to the moon.

As astronauts explore the South Pole region of the Moon during future Artemis missions, they will be able to go farther and conduct more science than ever before thanks to a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV). Instead of owning the vehicle, NASA plans to contract it as a service from the industry.

The agency released a draft RFP for the LTV Services (LTVS) in November and invited companies to review the document and provide feedback until Dec. 1. The draft RFP outlines NASA’s expectation for use of the LTV on the lunar surface in the 2028 timeframe.

“The LTV is currently needed on the lunar surface no later than August 2028,” NASA said during an Industry Day meeting in August.

“The government is still reviewing and answering questions received in response to the LTVS Draft RFP,” NASA said in contract documents released Wednesday. The space agency now intends to issue an updated draft RFP by April 14 to capture changes because of industry feedback and questions.

“Amendments to the LTVS Draft RFP are anticipated after all currently received questions are answered and interested parties have had an opportunity to ask additional questions,” NASA said. “As a result, it is anticipated that the LTVS Final RFP release will be delayed until no later than May 26.”

The industry will have another opportunity to submit questions and comments after the release of the Final RFP, space agency officials said in contract documents.

“Thank you for your patience and your continued interest in this procurement,” officials added.

The LTVS contract will provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective LTV services to meet NASA’s need for a human-class rover that will extend the exploration range of EVA-suited crewmembers on the surface of the Moon. Mobility will enable the crew members to traverse greater distances to better explore the lunar surface.

“This draft [RFP] is one of the first important steps in this exciting project that will allow astronauts to explore farther on the Moon than ever before,” says Lara Kearney, manager of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Gaining industry feedback is crucial as we move forward in issuing a final request for proposal.”

Because Artemis missions will be targeting the lunar South Pole area, the new LTV must be able to withstand and operate in cold and unique lighting conditions.

The Artemis LTV is also expected to be able to cover a range of hundreds of miles per year, enabling access to diverse locations that will facilitate scientific discoveries, resource prospecting, and exploration. It will also be capable of remote operation and will be available for other commercial uses when not carrying out NASA research and operations.

Electron rocket scheduled for launch from Virginia’s Wallops Island

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will support the launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket on Thursday. A two-hour launch window is set to open at 6 p.m. EST.

The 59-foot-tall Electron rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.

The mission, named “Stronger Together,” will be the second Rocket Lab launch from Wallops. The first Electron launch from Wallops occurred in January.

Thursday’s launch will carry two observation satellites into low Earth orbit for the company Capella Space.

A pioneer in the Earth observation industry, Capella is the first U.S. company with a constellation of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites delivering high-quality SAR imagery of Earth. Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., the company has additional locations in Denver, Colo., and Washington, D.C.

In February, Rocket Lab and Capella Space secured a multi-launch deal of four Electron missions. Each Electron mission will deploy a single Earth-imaging Acadia satellite.

“We delivered mission success for Capella in our first mission for them in 2020 and now we’re thrilled they’ve entrusted us with a further five missions to help expand their growing SAR constellation,” Rocket Lab CEO and Founder Peter Beck said in a company press release.

“We are experiencing increased market demand for our highest-quality SAR data, and this announcement underscores Capella’s strong commitment to our global customers across the defense and intelligence and commercial markets,” said Capella Space CEO and Founder Payam Banazadeh.

Capella Space joins a growing list of commercial constellation operators who have entrusted Rocket Lab to deploy their spacecraft. Companies include BlackSky Global, Hawkeye 360, Synspective, Kineis, Planet, Spire, Fleet Space, and more.

For those interested in viewing the launch in person, viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park, Curtis Merritt Harbor, and the Beach Road causeway between Chincoteague and Assateague islands.

Weather permitting, the launch may be visible along much of the U.S. East Coast.

NASA awards $400,000 contract to Russian agency for launch support services

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, released contract documents on Wednesday showing the agency intends to award a contract to Roscosmos for launch support services at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Roscosmos is a state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for the country’s space program.

The contract award notice released Wednesday states NASA intends “to award a new work modification to contract number NAS15-10110 with State Space Corporation Roscosmos,” The new work will provide support services for NASA personnel with regard to their participation in the launch and their support of NASA cargo loading for the Soyuz 68s vehicle.

The total estimated value of this action is estimated to be around $400,000, NASA said in contract documents. “Roscosmos will provide transportation from Moscow, Russia, to Baikonur, Kazakhstan, as well as providing security services, document clearances, lodging, and meals for NASA personnel.”

These services address logistic requirements for NASA personnel to be present in an administratively closed city in Kazakhstan whereby “Roscosmos is the only authority that can allow access,” NASA said.

The documents continued, “In order for NASA personnel to travel to Baikonur and perform the necessary launch and cargo loading support services detailed herein, they require these logistic support services. Given that Baikonur is an administratively closed city, the only possible source for these services is Roscosmos.”

NASA stated in the documents “the agency will continue to examine the market in the future for alternative solutions or new sources before executing any subsequent acquisitions for the same requirements.”

After the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, the U.S. has relied heavily on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft for sending American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon capsule has also been added to transport astronauts to ISS.

First space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants hourly

A new space-based instrument developed by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory scientists will soon begin delivering detailed data and analysis of air pollution over greater North America.

Known as TEMPO, short for Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, the instrument will be the first space-based device to observe major air pollutants hourly in high-spatial-resolution—down to four square miles—in a region that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Canadian oil sands to below Mexico City.

Launching aboard the Intelsat 40E communications satellite as early as April, TEMPO will observe major air pollutants in near real-time. This will allow scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and NASA to analyze and report emissions information faster and with more detail than ever before to the American public and those in Canada and Mexico as well.

The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and integrated into the Intelsat 40E satellite by Maxar.

JUICE, the first European spacecraft to visit Jupiter

European-based company Airbus is ready to take on a key role in another important new space venture: a flight to Jupiter that is set to start this spring.

Known as the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, the mission will be the first European spacecraft to visit the gas giant planet. Its primary goal is to understand whether the oceans of Jupiter’s icy moons could sustain life.

JUICE will spend over eight years traveling 600 million kilometers to reach our solar system’s largest planet. Its instruments will focus on three of Jupiter’s biggest moons: Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto.

To reveal more about this fascinating planet and its natural satellites, JUICE’s “eyes” and “ears” are composed of 10 state-of-the-art scientific instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, an ice-penetrating radar, a radio-science experiment, and sensors.

Once in the vicinity of Jupiter, JUICE will spend four years gathering data – including nine months orbiting Ganymede. This will mark the first time a spacecraft orbits a moon other than our own. JUICE will investigate this icy Jovian moon’s nature and evolution, characterizing its subsurface ocean, and investigating potential habitability.

JUICE will also focus on Jupiter itself, gathering data on the gas giant planet’s atmosphere, from its cloudy layers to the ionosphere and auroras. The spacecraft’s instruments will look at different wavelengths of light to provide new insights into how temperatures, wind patterns, and chemistry are changing in this never-before-seen part of Jupiter’s atmosphere.

The JUICE team

Bringing together 80 partners across 23 countries and harnessing the brainpower of 2,000+ people, Airbus has designed and built JUICE under contract with the European Space Agency. There are close to 500 team members in Airbus alone.

One of the key spacecraft features is its solar arrays, made by Airbus’ site in Leiden, the Netherlands. Covering a total surface area of 85 square meters, these are one of the largest solar arrays of its type ever built. This phenomenal size - a bit larger than a badminton court - is essential because Jupiter is so far from the sun that large arrays are needed to deliver the power necessary for the spacecraft and its instruments.

Ready for launch

JUICE was shipped from the Airbus production site in Toulouse, France, to South America, where it is now undergoing final preparations by our engineers before launch on April 13 by an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.