#nasa_programs

A year after the launch of the Artemis1 mission, NASA continues to investigate damage to the fireproof shield on the Orion spacecraft, which may take several more months. On November 17, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Jim Free spoke about plans for the Artemis 2 project at a committee meeting. He stressed that the launch of the first manned mission still needs to be delayed until the problems are analyzed and appropriate changes are made. [caption id="attachment_83984" align="aligncenter" width="780"] NASA[/caption] After the Artemis 1 mission last December, NASA managers noted that the fire shield on Orion was more damaged than expected during reentry. However, this does not pose a threat to the ship, since the fireproof shield still contains a sufficient layer of ablative material. NASA continues to investigate the failure of the Orion spacecraft's fireproof shield. Lakeisha Hawkins, assistant deputy administrator in NASA's Luna-Mars program office, said the temporary authorization to determine the cause of the fire shield failure is expected in the spring. Engineers are studying factors that could have caused the damage, including Orion's reentry trajectory and the properties of the Avcoat material. NASA and its contractors are continuing to work on other elements of the Artemis 2 mission to stay on track for the 2024 launch schedule. As Free noted, work with the hardware continues at the moment and there is no reason to stop the process. However, if an issue is discovered that requires suspension, all processes and timelines will be immediately reviewed. It is unclear what impact this might have on the Artemis 2 schedule if the fire shield on the Orion vehicle requires modification or replacement. But other mission elements, such as the Space Launch System rocket and ground systems, are still on schedule, especially SLS. Determining the timing for SLS launch vehicle assembly and integration at Kennedy Space Center is a key issue. The launch will be carried out only after full readiness and understanding of all aspects related to Artemis 1.

Young engineer Christopher Walker has developed the Large Balloon Reflector inflatable antenna, which creates ample opportunities for collecting and transmitting signals. Thanks to the support of NASA, his idea became a reality About 30 years ago, young engineer Christopher Walker was at home making chocolate pudding when he got a call. In the middle of the conversation, he turned off the stove and covered the pan with cling film to keep the pudding fresh. When he returned, he noticed that the film, when exposed to air, created a convex shape in which he saw the reflection of a light bulb - it was this observation that inspired him to an idea that could lead to a breakthrough in space communications. Thus, the Large Balloon Reflector (LBR) project, is an inflatable device capable of creating wide apertures for collecting signals, weighing much less than modern deployable antennas. Thanks to NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, which funds potentially revolutionary projects, Walker's ideas are beginning to become reality. [caption id="attachment_75567" align="aligncenter" width="780"] NASA[/caption] The essence of the concept is to use the surface of an inflated spherical structure as a parabolic antenna. About a third of the ball is coated with lightweight aluminum, which gives it reflective properties. NASA has given birth to a potentially revolutionary antenna design Thanks to funding from NIAC and a grant from the US Naval Science Laboratory, Walker was able to develop and demonstrate the operation of an inflatable LBR antenna with a diameter of about 10 meters, which was launched into the stratosphere in a balloon. For comparison, the James Webb Space Telescope's aperture is about 6.5 meters in diameter. As Walker notes, there were few programs outside of NIAC where this project could be implemented, and at first, he was afraid to share his idea with colleagues, as it sounded quite bold. Dish antennas use their concave shape to collect and concentrate electromagnetic radiation. The larger the diameter or aperture of an antenna, the more efficiently it can collect and transmit signals over long distances. In astronomy, a great advantage is the ability to place telescopes in space outside the Earth's atmosphere, which often distorts or degrades signals coming from space. However, traditional large reflector antennas prove to be heavy and inconvenient to transport, which creates launch problems and impracticability of colossally large aperture telescope designs. The LBR inflatable device effectively solves both problems. Made from a thin film, it inflates into a stable parabolic shape and does not require massive or complex deployment equipment. Additionally, the LBR can be folded for easy storage and transport. In 2018, Walker-founded Freefall Aerospace demonstrated the potential of LBR aboard a NASA stratospheric balloon, where it launched a 1-meter-diameter antenna model to an altitude of nearly 50 kilometers. The next step is to demonstrate high-speed communications in low Earth orbit as part of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative. Once launched into low Earth orbit, the inflatable antenna deployment system will release it from the CubeSat, inflate it to a diameter of about half a meter, and transmit high-resolution photographs of the Earth. This mission is scheduled to launch on Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket as part of the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) 43 mission, but the exact launch date is not yet known. Inflatable antenna technology opens up new prospects for space and lunar missions: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will use an inflatable antenna to transmit data from a terahertz spectrometer designed to search for water on the Moon.

NASA has begun a review of its approach to returning samples from Mars after an independent commission's analysis pointed to the unrealistic budget and schedule of the current Mars Sample Return program. The program remains the agency's priority NASA has begun overhauling its approach to delivering samples from Mars after an independent review concluded that the current architecture of the Mars Sample Program (MSR) has an "unrealistic" budget and schedule. Sandra Connelly, NASA's associate administrator for science, said at the Oct. 20 Mars Exploration Program Review Board (MEPAG) meeting that the agency has created a team to implement recommendations made by an independent review board (IRB) back in September. An independent review found there is "almost zero" likelihood that the key elements of the MSR program - the sample recovery device and the Earth return orbiter - will be ready for launch as planned in 2027 and 2028. Also, MSR cost estimates have reached a range of $8 billion to $11 billion, significantly higher than previous NASA projections. [caption id="attachment_72951" align="aligncenter" width="780"] NASA[/caption] “We want to incorporate current findings and recommendations to successfully implement this program while maintaining a balanced budget,” Connelly said. Connelly noted that a revised MSR architecture will be offered by the end of March 2024. Work has already begun: Jeff Grumling, MSR program director, said one group has been exploring different variations of the program's architecture for several weeks. NASA overcomes difficulties and continues work on the Mars Sample Return program The plan he described calls for the selection of two or three alternative architectures in the fall of 2024 for further development and independent cost assessment. Once a new architecture is selected, the goal is to pass peer review by the end of 2024, when NASA will make formal commitments on the program's costs and schedule. NASA previously planned to conduct a peer review of the MSR program in the fall of 2023. Another issue is uncertainty about the funding that will be allocated to MSR in 2024 and 2025 as part of the broader debate over funding the agency. “We don't know how much money will be allocated for 2024, so we will have to cut costs a little to meet 2024. For now, we pause and look forward,” Gramling said. He did not detail which alternative approaches to the MSR architecture are currently being considered. The report listed several alternatives that delay the sample retrieval vehicle and orbiter launches until at least 2030 and include the use of flight-proven technologies, such as methods for landing a rover based on the Mars Exploration Rover, which will collect samples left behind by the Perseverance rover. According to agency representatives, a complete overhaul of the MSR program with the development of an entirely new plan is not yet envisaged. When considering alternative architectures, several metrics will be considered, including total and annual costs, technical issues, and the scientific value of the modified mission. As an example, Gramling cited the consideration of reducing the number of samples to reduce the size of the sample storage container. Smaller volumes can reduce program costs and complexity. NASA officials said they would work with the European Space Agency (ESA), which is responsible for the Earth-return orbiter and the robotic sample transfer device. Daniel Nienschwander, director of human and robotic research, said on October 19 that ESA is continuing to work on its contribution to the MSR program. NASA plans to remain committed to the Mars Sample Return program despite current challenges. MSR is an obvious and logical next step in our leadership in Mars exploration. This remains a NASA priority.

NASA lucked a sample from the Bennu satellite, collecting 70.3 grams of material. This exceeds their expectations despite problems during collection. Scientists will be able to conduct multi-year studies and share samples with other agencies NASA recently successfully returned the first sample from the asteroid Bennu as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission. On September 24, the capsule successfully landed on Earth after a seven-year journey. The mission's original goal was to collect at least 60 grams of material, but the agency has now announced that they have managed to collect 70.3 grams. [caption id="attachment_72772" align="alignnone" width="780"] NASA[/caption] Scientists did not know in advance the exact amount of material collected, since they could not perform the necessary maneuvers with the spacecraft to estimate the mass while transporting the sample to Earth. They were unable to perform acceleration maneuvers that would have allowed them to measure the mass due to a problem that occurred during collection when a rock blocked the door of the container containing the collected material. To prevent the loss of the sample, the container was quickly removed from the spacecraft. NASA delivered 70 grams of material from the asteroid Bennu in the OSIRIS-REx mission Initial estimates of quantities were in the hundreds of grams, but significant uncertainties arose in these estimates. Despite this, the collected material is sufficient for further research. There were also some unexpected complications when opening the container. Engineers had trouble removing 2 of the 25 fasteners that hold the sample inside the collection mechanism since only certain tools can be used inside the sealed box. The team was able to collect 70 grams by holding the lid and carefully picking up all the grains of sand using tweezers. Engineers are now working on a new procedure for opening the container, which they hope will allow even more material to be collected. The Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return mission only collected about 5 grams from the Ryugu asteroid, something scientists have been actively working on since 2020. Scientists have already conducted a brief analysis of the material located outside the OSIRIS-REx container. According to one of the researchers, Pierre Harcourt, his group can work on even a small particle for years. The sample will be divided among various laboratories in the US and abroad, returning part of the sample to the Japanese space agency JAXA in return.

The American division of the Japanese company Ispace has revised the design of the lunar lander it is preparing for a NASA mission, postponing the launch of this mission by a year. Ispace Technologies has unveiled a new design for its lunar lander, called APEX 1.0. The vehicle will be used as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission, which was awarded to Draper in July 2022 and which, at the time, planned to use a vehicle called Series-2. The design revision was driven by the needs of NASA's scientific workload. “The demands of extreme conditions were not met by the Series-2 design, especially in vibration resistance. We had to completely rethink the design of the device to take into account the requirements,” said Ispace CEO Ron Garan. The redesign, he said, makes it possible to adapt the device to the widest range of scientific instruments. APEX 1.0 will be able to accommodate up to 300 kilograms of scientific load, with the possibility of increasing to 500 kilograms. The device also supports the ability to launch satellites into lunar orbit, which will be used as part of the CLPS mission to transmit communications from the landing zone on the far side of the Moon. [caption id="attachment_63241" align="aligncenter" width="780"] NASA's[/caption] Japanese company ispace has revised the design of the lunar lander for NASA's CLPS mission Garan noted that there is a lot of interest from other customers in hosting payloads both on the CLPS mission and on subsequent missions. We're talking about rovers, as well as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) experiments. The APEX 1.0 design has passed preliminary design reviews, and Ispace plans to complete design reviews by March 2024. However, a revised lander design will delay the mission. When NASA selected the Draper-led team for the mission last year, the launch was scheduled for 2025. Now the mission's launch has been pushed back to 2026, which has financial implications for the company. In a Sept. 28 statement, Tokyo Stock Exchange-traded Ispace said it was cutting its sales forecast for the current fiscal year through March 2024 by more than 50% to $20.4 million, while the company expects demand for lunar landers to rise. what motivated the decision to move to a new 4,600-square-meter apartment in the United States? If we win a few more contracts, we will have rapid growth, and we need adequate premises for this This facility will be capable of supporting the production of future landers, although assembly, integration, and testing of the mission's lander will be carried out by other partners. Ispace had about 50 employees three and a half months ago, but now the number has reached 85. Ron Garan predicts that the company will have more than 100 employees by the end of the year.