Features

NASA Releases Request for Information for Moon, Mars and Beyond. White Papers addressing design principles and guidelines; crosscutting design drivers and architecture elements; and program management are now being solicited for Project Constellation and Project Prometheus through NASA’s newly-formed Exploration Systems Enterprise (ESE) office, according to a recent press release from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville AL. The program is designed for developing and demonstrating new and innovative technologies and vehicles that further human and robotic solar system exploration. Included in the request is the search for habitable environments and life on the Moon, Mars and the moons of Jupiter and other outer planets. Also, the ESE seeks to research and employ the Moon for the purpose of advancing science and as a testing ground for future human missions to Mars and beyond through the use of lunar and space resources. Another key focus will be on the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), designed for transporting humans from the surface of Earth to orbit, to the Moon and Mars. One step beyond the CEV is Project Prometheus, an initiative to develop nuclear-powered space propulsion systems. Its first mission is the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, but technology would eventually be refined to support closer lunar and Red Planet journeys. In a separate release, NASA HQ is seeking a non-reimbursable partnership for the digitization and consolidation of agency analog, still, film, video and graphic imagery for easier public retrieval and research. The chosen organization will develop a database of NASA’s 115,000+ film and video titles as well as its millions of still images that are a historical record of America’s space agency. The hopeful benefits of these request for information / proposals is the opportunity for integration of the private sector into the emerging USA space vision. Although it is not clear what reciprocity is involved for those whose submissions are approved, one can only hope that NASA will make a point to publicize these partnerships in order to generate more national public interest in space, the Moon and beyond. More info on the ESE is available at spaceref.com; Digital Imagery Partnership at nasa.gov.

Congress Leaning Toward Denying Full Bush-Recommended NASA Funding Increase for USA Moon Return. "As part of the exploration initiative, the President has proposed increasing the NASA budget by 5.6 percent in the next fiscal year, to about $16.2 billion. I just can't imagine that that's going to happen, and I don't think it should," House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert said Wednesday to American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics members on their annual Congressional Visits Day. Boehlert says members of Congress need more time to determine the plan's details but he expressed more understanding than in previous statements. "Our intermediate goal ought to be returning to the Moon," he included in his reiteration of the plan. He said the points of the plan may seem unarguable, but "they are open to debate among the public and in the Congress." Boehlert, because of the Apollo missions, acknowledged that the US has the technology capability to return to the Moon, but said the issue is resources. "The pace at which we move ahead probably will have to be slower than what the President proposed because funds are likely to be more limited than he assumed. How much slower? Slow enough to delay a return to the Moon beyond 2020? It's too soon to know that." NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, in testimony he provided to a House Appropriations subcommittee the same day, summarized the President's budget request and called it fair because of extra funds needed for Space Shuttle repair. Saying that lunar exploration will enable humans to explore Mars and the rest of the solar system, O'Keefe reiterated the plan's objectives for a series of lunar robotic missions "no later than 2008" and "the first human expedition to the lunar surface as early as 2015, but no later than 2020." Info house.gov, nasa.gov.

Mexico LunarHab Simulator Project Gaining Support; Rover Contest In Planning. Jesus Raygoza has begun talks with Lockheed Martin requesting a donation of a spare part of a rocket to help construct a Mex-LunarHab (MLH) Simulator. If that's not possible, Raygoza says there may be several local companies that will build it. Representatives from Monterrey Institute of Technology and other organizations want the MLH to be installed in the State of Chihuahua. Raygoza is appearing on news shows and will meet with someone from the State Government to promote his idea. His last interview was done by the most read newspaper in Chihuahua, 'El Diario,' and may be published this Sunday. Raygoza's next interview will be for 'Imagenes de Chihuahua.' Also, Raygoza is forming a non-profit organization to accelerate the development of the MLH. There is a possibility that a robotics contest will be held in Ciudad Juarez. David Schrunk, co-author of 'The Moon,' says such an event supports the theme of lunar exploration. Communications have started with Stewart Johnson, who helped organize Space & Robotics 2002, and with universities involved in robotics. The MLH Simulator will be a spherical-shaped habitat module, incorporating the following aspects: activity zoning and optimization of spaces in each compartment, size reduction, astronaut safety and risk reduction protocol. Contact Raygoza for more info at jrb_star@hotmail.com.