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By Space Force
The U.S. Space Force announced the winners of the third annual Polaris Awards, recognizing individuals and teams who embody the four Guardian Values: Character, Connection, Commitment, and Courage.
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By European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) and AAC Clyde Space, a New Space company specialising in small satellite technologies, have jointly signed a contract for the first phase of satellite constellation project INFLECION. The initiative will transform Maritime Domain Awareness – the understanding of activities at sea – by enhancing safety, efficiency, compliance, and environmental sustainability in maritime operations.
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:42:11 Watch the latest updates on ESA’s Fly! Feasibility Study with Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, John McFall, Member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve & Fly! Subject Matter Expert, Jerome Reineix, Fly! Study Manager, and Alessandro Alcibiade, Fly! Flight Surgeon.
Announced in November 2022 during the Ministerial Council held in Paris, France, this unique and groundbreaking study is aimed at understanding and challenging the limitations posed by physical disabilities to human spaceflight. Concluded in late 2024, the Fly! Feasibility Study successfully demonstrated it is technically feasible to fly someone with a physical disability, like John’s, on a six-month mission to the International Space Station as a fully integrated crew member. It underpinned the desire to ensure that space exploration is not limited by physical constraints and that every individual can contribute to our collective understanding of the cosmos and of the benefits of spaceflight for life on Earth.
The end of the feasibility study marks the start of the next phase: Fly! Mission Ready . This is an essential step to carry out the first long-term mission for an astronaut with a physical disability.
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By European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) has jointly signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space to develop Element #2 of its High-throughput Digital and Optical Network (HydRON), an advanced laser-based satellite system that will transform the way we communicate in space. This phase will establish a satellite collector in low Earth orbit (LEO), capable of connecting different orbital layers using cutting-edge optical technology.
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By NASA
Artistic rendering of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander on the surface of the Moon.Credit: Intuitive Machines NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) is preparing to explore the Moon’s subsurface and analyze where lunar resources may reside. The experiment’s two key instruments will demonstrate our ability to extract and analyze lunar soil to better understand the lunar environment and subsurface resources, paving the way for sustainable human exploration under the agency’s Artemis campaign for the benefit of all.
Its two instruments will work in tandem: The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT) will drill into the Moon’s surface to collect samples, while the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) will analyze these samples to determine the gas composition released across the sampling depth. The PRIME-1 technology will provide valuable data to help us better understand the Moon’s surface and how to work with and on it.
“The ability to drill and analyze samples at the same time allows us to gather insights that will shape the future of lunar resource utilization,” said Jackie Quinn, PRIME-1 project manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “Human exploration of the Moon and deep space will depend on making good use of local resources to produce life-sustaining supplies necessary to live and work on another planetary body.”
The PRIME-1 experiment is one of the NASA payloads aboard the next lunar delivery through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, set to launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26, on Intuitive Machines’ Athena lunar lander and explore the lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole.
Developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin Company, TRIDENT is a rotary percussive drill designed to excavate lunar regolith and subsurface material up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) deep. The drill will extract samples, each about 4 inches (10 cm) in length, allowing scientists to analyze how trapped and frozen gases are distributed at different depths below the surface.
The TRIDENT drill is equipped with carbide cutting teeth to penetrate even the toughest lunar materials. Unlike previous lunar drills used by astronauts during the Apollo missions, TRIDENT will be controlled from Earth. The drill may provide key information about subsurface soil temperatures as well as gain key insight into the mechanical properties of the lunar South Pole soil. Learning more about regolith temperatures and properties will greatly improve our understanding of the environments where lunar resources may be stable, revealing what resources may be available for future Moon missions.
A commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer, MSOLO, developed by INFICON and made suitable for spaceflight at Kennedy, will analyze any gas released from the TRIDENT drilled samples, looking for the potential presence of water ice and other gases trapped beneath the surface. These measurements will help scientists understand the Moon’s potential for resource utilization.
Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA is one of many customers on future flights. PRIME-1 was funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Game Changing Development program.
Learn more about CLPS and Artemis at:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
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