In Today’s Deep Space Extra… Lockheed Martin and General Motors team up to develop a lunar rover for Artemis astronauts. President Biden’s FY2022 full budget request set to be released tomorrow.

 

Human Space Exploration

U.S firms GM, Lockheed aim for the Moon with lunar rover venture
Coalition Member in the News – Lockheed Martin
Reuters (5/26): Lockheed Martin and General Motors announced this week they will partner to develop an electric lunar rover for use by astronauts trained to explore the Moon under NASA’s Artemis initiative. The planned vehicle is expected to be part of the companies’ efforts to bid on a contract under the human exploration program. The companies said the vehicle will be able to operate autonomously on the lunar surface.

GAO skeptical of “ambitious” Artemis schedule
Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman
Spacepolicyonline.com (5/26): In a report issued Wednesday, the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) raised doubts that NASA can achieve a return to the surface of the Moon with humans by 2024 through the Artemis initiative. GAO did give NASA credit for the progress made since it last reviewed the program in 2019, but concluded that the agency is taking technical and programmatic risks that reduce the likelihood of meeting the 2024 goal. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) chairwoman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, said it is particularly sobering that the problems highlighted by GAO are not mainly budgetary but rather reflect organizational problems, an unrealistic acquisition approach, lack of commitment to a rigorous systems engineering capability, among other issues. Don Beyer (D-VA), chairman of the House Space Subcommittee added that Artemis has solid bipartisan support, which comes with the responsibility to ensure that this national effort is carried out based on well-established management and technical processes.

Korea signs U.S.-led Moon exploration accord
The Korea Herald (5/27): South Korea has become the 10th country to sign the Artemis Accords, a set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s lunar exploration plans. “It is important to explore space in a transparent and responsible way through international cooperation” said South Korea’s Science Minister Lim Hye-sook, who signed the Accords.

Russia, China send invitations to partners to joint lunar research station project
TASS of Russia (5/27): The Russian and Chinese space agencies have sent invitations to potential global partners to join with them in establishing a research station at the Moon, the deputy lead for Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, told the TASS news agency on Thursday. The European Space Agency (ESA) is among the invitees. Responses from potential partners are expected during the Global Space Exploration Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, over June 14-18. (Editor’s note: TASS is a Russian government-owned news source).

 

Space Science

Canada to launch Moon rover by 2026
Space.com (5/27): The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) plans to invest $2.5 million to develop and launch a rover to the Moon within the next five years in cooperation with NASA. “The rover will be carrying at least two science instruments, Canadian and American. The mission will aim to gather imagery and measurements and data of the surface of the Moon, as well as to have the rover survive an entire night on the Moon,” Canadian Space Agency (CSA) officials said in a statement Wednesday.

Rare “super flower blood Moon” lunar eclipse captured in photos
MSN News (5/26): From around the world, images of the “super flower blood Moon” that graced the darkened skies during a lunar eclipse this week.

 

Other News

NASA briefing on FY2022 budget request, May 28, 2021, virtual, 3:00pm ET
Spacepolicyonline.com (5/26): President Biden’s FY2022 complete budget request will be submitted to Congress on May 28, 2021. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Acting CFO Steve Shinn will hold a virtual briefing on May 28 at 3:00 p.m. EDT to discuss NASA’s portion of the request: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive