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#26 2018-10-12 17:29:13

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Does not really matter what type of hole as it means less energy is expended to build our permanent place of residancy.

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#27 2022-01-06 12:17:16

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Asteroids, the moon and Mars: Space missions to look forward to in 2022
https://phys.org/news/2022-01-asteroids … sions.html

Void wrote:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Mars
These moons if they are captured asteroids, may have hydrated minerals.

Japan’s space agency plans to land probe on Martian moon
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13144292


Kathy Leuders on Artemis, restructuring NASA, and the lifecycle of the ISS
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kat … 14550.html

In the first place, Lueders explained the reasoning behind NASA's decision in September to split the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in two.

"Thirty years ago it was really, in the human exploration area, it was Shuttle, and then it was Shuttle and station... Now we've added Commercial Crew, [Lunar] Gateway, you know, HLS [Human Landing System], I mean, we're mushrooming!" she explained.

This was putting too much pressure on the existing structure and it was amicably decided to split off, essentially, the development and planning side from operations. Lueders said she was pleased to be put in charge of the latter.

"The best thing is I got to have, you know, the missions! I got to have the execution," she said. "I've spent probably about 15 years doing development. But my favorite part was when we started flying. So guess what — I'm firmly in the flying division. So I'm very, very happy to be there. I get to do all the launches and operations and I love it."

While the big launches and landings tend to hog all the glory, Artemis and its related lunar missions are more diverse and wide-ranging than that. I asked what pieces of the puzzle may not be getting enough attention.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-01-06 12:20:31)

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#28 2022-03-11 13:32:39

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Canada begins design phase of Canadarm3 for Lunar Gateway

https://www.canada.ca/en/space-agency/n … teway.html

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#29 2022-06-17 06:04:27

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

ESA and NASA take decisions and plan for the future

https://www.moondaily.com/reports/ESA_a … e_999.html

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#30 2023-02-12 08:41:18

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Tiny NASA moon probe can't reach lunar orbit as planned

https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-probe-l … impossible

NASA has a new plan for its troubled tiny lunar probe, which is struggling to reach the moon.
The spacecraft, called Lunar Flashlight, launched in December 2022 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, on a mission to search for water ice on the moon. The cubesat aimed to test a new "green" propellant during its four-month journey to lunar orbit, but, after battling thruster glitches, it will not make lunar orbit after all, NASA officials said (opens in new tab) in an update on Wednesday (Feb. 8).
The Lunar Flashlight team will instead redirect the cubesat to do monthly lunar flybys, if possible, starting with one in June. If that works out, Lunar Flashlight will still deliver valuable science, as it will swing by the south pole of the moon, where NASA's Artemis program aims to land astronauts as soon as 2025, agency officials emphasized.
"Technology demonstrations are high-risk, high-reward endeavors intended to push the frontiers of space technology," NASA officials wrote in the update. "The lessons learned from these challenges will help to inform future missions that further advance this technology."


Lunar Flashlight's Dec. 11 launch was flawless. The tiny probe soared to space alongside a private Japanese moon lander carrying the Rashid lunar rover, which was built by the United Arab Emirates. (That lunar landing mission, led by Tokyo company ispace, remains on track for a touchdown in April.)
The NASA cubesat, however, ran into trouble. Engineers noticed propulsion problems three days after launch, discovering that Lunar Flashlight was not delivering as much thrust as expected. They determined that three of the cubesat's four thrusters weren't functioning properly.


This is not officially NASA's Gateway but NASA as part of the larger Artemis program seems to have partners signed on from Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, UAE, Japan and Rwanda. NASA seems committed in working with emerging space agencies, as well as existing partners and well-established space agencies.

South Korea recently became the tenth country to sign the Artemis Accords although South Korea has its own successful globally selling motor industry, they Operate Satellites, they are politically Western and have a good relation with the USA they now have Launch Capability, but currently only NASA, Space-X, Russia and China are the agencies with human spaceflight capability, Russia has been sanctioned since its invasion of Ukraine. The European and Japanese agencies probably could develop a rocket and ship with human launch capability but do not have the backbone to do it or lack political will, the Indian Space Research Organization has also been growing.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-02-12 08:49:42)

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#31 2023-02-18 08:05:32

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

NASA’s CAPSTONE Spacecraft To Test Technologies After Recovery From Communications Issue
https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-capstone … ons-issue/
Following a communications issue that began in late January, NASA’s CAPSTONE – short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment

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#32 2023-02-18 16:22:18

SpaceNut
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From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 28,747

Re: Gateway Spaceport

If I recall correctly that its also has engine issues that is requiring, it to make use of thrusters to acquire orbit.
It was built on the low-cost cube satellite technology and was a ride share package.

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#33 2023-03-08 06:24:40

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

No major issues found with Artemis 1 mission

https://spacenews.com/no-major-issues-f … 1-mission/

JAXA selects 2 new astronaut candidates for future flights to the moon

https://www.msn.com/

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-08 06:56:26)

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#34 2023-03-29 10:02:04

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

"Veteran NASA engineer to lead lunar space station project"

https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2023/0 … 680044960/

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#35 2023-03-30 05:11:19

Calliban
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From: Northern England, UK
Registered: 2019-08-18
Posts: 3,352

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Isaac Arthur discusses orbital rings.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LMbI6sk-62E

These rings provide us with our only practical way of building a space elevator without unobtainium.  Unfortunately, Earth orbit is probably too crowded with space junk for this to work.  But it could be practical on the moon or Mars.  Such a ring could be made from steel.  It does not require flawless carbon nanotubes.

One problem with having a rotating wire ring within a non-rotating sleeve, is that the sleeve is not at orbital velocity.  So travelling to a higher orbit or escaping from Earth altogether from the ring, requires almost as much velocity change as launching from Earth surface.  But as the ring is at orbital altitude, a vehicle can launch from it using maglev.

Another option is to have an eliptical ring, with one end of the ring touching the planetary surface and other being potentially thousands of km up in space.  This woukd work well on the moon.  We climb onto the sleeve on the surface, use an electric train of some kind to travel up the sleeve all the way to the L1 or L2 point. This allows travel to and from the lunar surface without using propellant.  Eventually, such a ring could allow mining of the moon and export of ores to High Earth Orbit without expenditure of propellant.  The Moon represents an almost limitless source of basic metals and oxides if used in this way.  The L4 and L5 points are stable gravitational loci.  Space colonies constructed there could remain there permanently.  There is enough volume at these points for space colonies with greater population than the Earth.

Last edited by Calliban (2023-03-30 05:16:05)


"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

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#36 2023-08-09 12:12:23

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

NASA may delay crewed lunar landing beyond Artemis 3 mission
https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA … n_999.html

NASA's Artemis 3 mission, set to return humans to the Moon in 2025, might not involve a crewed landing after all, an official said Tuesday.

Jim Free, the space agency's associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, told reporters in a briefing that certain key elements would have to be in place -- notably the landing system that is being developed by SpaceX.

Should that not be ready on time, "We may end up flying a different mission," he said.

Under the Artemis program, NASA is planning a series of missions of escalating complexity to return to the Moon and build a sustained presence in order to develop and test technologies for an eventual journey to Mars.

The first, Artemis 1, flew an uncrewed spacecraft around the Moon in 2022. Artemis 2, planned for November 2024, will do the same with crew on board.

But it is during the Artemis 3 mission planned for December 2025 that NASA has planned its grand return to the Moon with humans for the first time since 1972, this time on the lunar south pole, where the ice can be harvested and turned into rocket fuel.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has won the contract for a landing system based on a version of its prototype Starship rocket, which remains far from ready. An orbital test flight of Starship ended in a dramatic explosion in April.

Free said NASA officials had visited SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas a few weeks ago to "learn where they are with the hardware, trying to understand their schedule some more."

Though he found the visit insightful, he said he remained concerned "because they haven't launched," and will need to do so multiple times before the rocket will be ready.

What's more, delays to Starship have knock-on effects because the spacesuit contractor needs to know how the suits will interface with the spacecraft, and simulators need to be built for astronauts to learn its systems.

He added that NASA will update the public in the near future once it has had time to "digest" the information gathered during the Starbase visit.

NASA astronaut controls Earth robots while flying 17,150 mph aboard ISS
https://interestingengineering.com/inno … aboard-iss

Regenerative fuel cell technology to power Toyota lunar rover
https://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/fuel-c … r/8559903/

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-08-09 12:13:52)

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#37 2023-08-11 13:24:02

RGClark
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From: Philadelphia, PA
Registered: 2006-07-05
Posts: 695
Website

Re: Gateway Spaceport

An alternative approach to an Artemis landing would not need the Starship HLS so would save NASA $3 billion. In fact, NASA would not have to pay for the lander at all:

Possibilities for a single launch architecture of the Artemis missions, Page 2: using the Boeing Exploration Upper Stage. 
https://exoscientist.blogspot.com/2023/ … aunch.html

Possibilities for a single launch architecture of the Artemis missions, Page 3: Saving the lander mission for Artemis III.
http://exoscientist.blogspot.com/2023/0 … ch_11.html

  Bob Clark

Last edited by RGClark (2023-08-14 13:04:57)


Old Space rule of acquisition (with a nod to Star Trek - the Next Generation):

      “Anything worth doing is worth doing for a billion dollars.”

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#38 2023-09-13 10:33:38

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Germany will sign the Artemis Accords on Thursday in Washington.

https://twitter.com/SpcPlcyOnline/statu … 4824164580

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#39 2023-11-28 06:54:59

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Farther and Faster: NASA's Journey to the Moon with Artemis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YNZiasRG0Q

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#40 2023-11-30 16:47:56

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

After 50 years, US to return to moon on January 25

https://phys.org/news/2023-11-years-moon-january.html

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#41 2023-11-30 17:35:30

GW Johnson
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From: McGregor, Texas USA
Registered: 2011-12-04
Posts: 5,423
Website

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Last I heard,  the NASA Gateway space station is to orbit the moon in a "halo" orbit with a max radius from the moon's center of 70,000 km,  and a min radius of 3000 km. 

The Hill sphere of orbit stability around the moon has a radius of 60,000 km.  Outside that distance,  any orbit about the moon is unstable,  requiring constant corrections,  lest the orbiting object eventually end up in orbit about the Earth instead.  NASA violates that.

The high periapsis altitude of the NASA orbit leads to two downsides:  (1) it radically increases the delta-vee required to land from it upon the surface of the moon,  and (2),  it increases the plane change correction required of the lunar transfer orbit to enter that halo at its periapsis.  Plane changes are notoriously expensive in terms of delta vee. 

A similar but less risky orbit would lower the apoapsis radius to the Hill sphere radius,  and lower the periapsis radius to obtain an altitude equivalent to the low circular orbit altitude of 100 km,  as used during Apollo. 

The dynamical advantage of the halo orbit is the very low apoapsis speed,  at which plane changes up to 90 degrees have low cost in terms of delta vee.  That means you can land literally anywhere on the moon's surface from that halo orbit and do this without a big delta vee penalty,  when you cannot land anywhere from low lunar circular orbit without an enormous plane change penalty.

GW

Last edited by GW Johnson (2023-11-30 17:38:26)


GW Johnson
McGregor,  Texas

"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew,  especially one dead from a bad management decision"

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#42 2023-12-03 20:45:34

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

Some of the Artemis ideas, cryogenic fueling while in orbit

On-Orbit Cryogenic Refueling: Potential Mission Benefits, Associated Orbital Mechanics, and Fuel Transfer Thermodynamic Modeling Efforts
https://web.archive.org/web/20220727051 … matted.pdf

Space Infrastructure Servicing (SIS) a spacecraft by a Canadian aerospace firm to operate as a small-scale in-space refueling depot for communication satellites in geosynchronous orbit
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2108/1

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#43 2024-01-18 13:34:31

Mars_B4_Moon
Member
Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

In order to safely carry out our upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon with astronauts, we are now targeting September 2025 for Artemis II and September 2026 for Artemis III.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1744795716013175212
Safety is our top priority.

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#44 2024-02-11 03:58:08

Mars_B4_Moon
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Registered: 2006-03-23
Posts: 8,892

Re: Gateway Spaceport

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