In Today’s Deep Space Extra… The White House backs NASA’s Artemis Moon-to-Mars initiative. United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno cautions against overheating the nation’s space launch services sector.
Human Space Exploration
White House endorses Artemis program
SpaceNews.com (2/4): White House press secretary Jen Psaki offered assurances Thursday that the Biden administration supports NASA’s Artemis initiative, a plan to return to the Moon with astronauts to establish a sustainable presence and prepare for future expeditions to Mars. She did not offer specifics nor how the Biden administration plans to respond to the 2024 lunar return designated by the previous administration. Earlier this week, 11 Democratic U.S. Senators called on the administration to back Artemis.
Space Science
Orbiters could find ice on Mars for future human missions
CNN (2/4): NASA and the space agencies of Italy, Canada, and Japan signed a statement to jointly pursue a Mars Ice Mapper Mission that could be ready to launch as soon as 2026. The mission would detect the location, depth, and abundance of near-surface ice deposits on the Red Planet, factors that could be used to select landing sites for future human expeditions as well as for science.
Japan scientists to study source of high heat on asteroid
Washington Post via Associated Press (2/4): In December, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa 2 mission dropped off samples from asteroid Ryugu into Australia. Japanese scientists are hopeful that studies of the materials can help to identify a source for the heat reflected in the samples’ composition collected over 2019. The mysterious heat source may have been internal to Ryugu or linked to collisions with other planetary bodies.
Firefly will light up the Moon with $93M lunar lander contract from NASA
Coalition Member in the News – Astrobotic
Techcrunch.com (2/4): NASA announced the award Thursday of a $93.3 million contract to Firefly Aerospace to provide a Blue Ghost lander for a 2023 mission to the Moon under the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. A 10-experiment payload will head for Mare Crisium, a nearside lunar basin. The mission will be the first for the Firefly lander.
Other News
ULA’s Tory Bruno warns of ‘overheated’ space launch market
Coalition Member in the News – United Launch Alliance
SpaceNews.com (2/4): Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance (ULA), cautioned Thursday that too many venture-funded launch services companies may be competing in a business sector with a limited customer base. Speaking before a NewSpace New Mexico webinar, Bruno suggested investors look instead to specialty manufacturing, natural resource development, and in-space transportation opportunities.
Space Cargo Unlimited looks to space to make wine grape vines more resistant to climate change
Techcrunch.com (2/4): The start-up company Space Cargo Unlimited has formed a subsidiary dedicated to in-space biotech specifically, which is going to be working on figuring out how microgravity can help grow new grape vine varietals that are more resistant to changes in the climates in which they are grown.
Remastered images reveal how far Alan Shepard hit a golf ball on the Moon
Arstechnica.com (2/4): It was 50 years ago this week that Apollo 14 commander Alan Shepard, also the first American in space, swung at two golf balls before he and Edgar Mitchell wrapped up a stay of over 33 hours on the surface of the Moon at Fra Mauro. Shepard, an avid golfer on Earth, hoped video of the swats would help his audience on Earth understand the difference in gravity on the Moon.