Artemis program

Not your grandparents’ Apollo: Planetarium film captures NASA’s new moon missions

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 20:00:14 +0000

Not your grandparents’ Apollo: Planetarium film captures NASA’s new moon missions Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/16/2022 - 13:00

Daniel Strain

From �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Today: The Fiske Planetarium at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder is headed Forward! To the Moon.

This Friday, the planetarium will host the public premier of a new science film—a 30-minute adventure into the Artemis Program, NASA’s campaign to send human and robotic astronauts to the surface of the moon this decade. It’s an out-there experience: Viewers will jump into the cockpit of NASA’s new Orion Spacecraft, take a tour of a futuristic colony on the lunar surface and learn about upcoming �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder research on the moon. They’ll also enjoy sitting in the immersive experience of Fiske’s full-dome theater.

“This isn’t your grandfather’s Apollo Program, and it’s not your grandfather’s planetarium,” said Jack Burns, a professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences who secured funding and helped to create the film.

Forward! To the Moon is a collaboration among Fiske, the NASA-funded Network for Exploration and Space Science headquartered at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder and Tend Studio in Fort Collins. It was funded by NASA and Lockheed Martin. And if you can’t make it to Boulder, don’t worry—Fiske will begin distributing the production for free to hundreds of planetariums across the country in April.

Burns and John Keller, director of Fiske, introduced Forward! To the Moon during a screening for members of the space community earlier this month. The scientists kicked off the event by giving the audience one small caution: Just don’t say that NASA is going back to the moon. Read more...

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New VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice on the Moon

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:45:08 +0000

New VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice on the Moon Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 10/25/2019 - 10:45

Grey Hautaluoma and Alana Johnson

From NASA.gov: NASA is sending a mobile robot to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice in the region and for the first time ever, actually sample the water ice at the same pole where the first woman and next man will land in 2024 under the Artemis program.

About the size of a golf cart, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, will roam several miles, using its four science instruments — including a 1-meter drill — to sample various soil environments. Planned for delivery to the lunar surface in December 2022, VIPER will collect about 100 days of data that will be used to inform the first global water resource maps of the Moon.

“The key to living on the Moon is water – the same as here on Earth,” said Daniel Andrews, the project manager of the VIPER mission and director of engineering at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. “Since the confirmation of lunar water-ice ten years ago, the question now is if the Moon could really contain the amount of resources we need to live off-world. This rover will help us answer the many questions we have about where the water is, and how much there is for us to use.”

NASA's Artemis program begins a new era where robots and humans working together will push the boundaries of what’s possible in space exploration. In collaboration with commercial and international partners, NASA’s ambition is to achieve a long-term sustainable presence on the Moon – enabling humans to go on to Mars and beyond. Read more...

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Students design robotic lunar rover that could give us deeper look into the universe

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 23:07:05 +0000

Students design robotic lunar rover that could give us deeper look into the universe Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/17/2019 - 17:07

Chris Welch

From ABC Action News: There’s a group of students at the �鶹��Ѱ�� working on a project of astronomical proportions. They’re building a prototype lunar rover that could help us understand the origins of the universe.

“This is the antenna module,” student Arun Kumar says, as he demonstrates the robotic rover, controlling it with a modified Xbox controller. It’s part of NASA’s new Artemis program , which will once again send astronauts to the Moon. The plan includes building a mini space station named The Gateway, which would orbit the Moon.

“That’s very different than what we did during Apollo, says astrophysicist and professor Jack Burns, who heads up the NASA-funded Network for Exploration and Space Science. “I like to say this is bringing Silicon Valley to the Moon.”

Burns is working with students to develop the robot for the far side of the Moon. Read more and watch the video.

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