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By NASA
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and U.S. Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn, right, look on as Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United States of America Petra Schneebauer, signs the Artemis Accords, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Austria is the 50th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí.
Panama and Austria signed the Artemis Accords Wednesday during separate signing ceremonies at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 49th and 50th nations to commit to the responsible exploration of space for all humanity.
“NASA welcomes Panama and Austria to the Artemis Accords community and celebrates 50 countries united by shared principles for the safe and responsible exploration of space,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “More than ever before, NASA is opening space to more nations and more people for the benefit of all. Together we are building long-term and peaceful deep space exploration for the Artemis Generation.”
In just a few years, the original group of eight country signatories including the United States has multiplied, with 17 countries signings in 2024. More than a number, the Artemis Accords represent a robust community, from every region of the world, unified by the same goal: to ensure safe and responsible civil space exploration.
Through the Artemis Accords, the United States and other signatories are progressing toward continued safe and sustainable exploration of space with concrete outcomes. They committed to a method of operation and set of recommendations on non-interference, interoperability, release of scientific data, long-term sustainability guidelines, and registration to advance the implementation of the Artemis Accords.
Potential focus areas for the next year include further advancing sustainability, including debris management for both lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon.
Austria Joins Artemis Accords
Petra Schneebauer, ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United States, signed the accords on behalf of Austria, becoming the 50th country signatory.
“Austria is proud to sign the Artemis Accords, an important step in fostering international cooperation for the civil exploration of the Moon and expanding humanity’s presence in the cosmos,” said Schneebauer. “By signing the Accords, we reaffirm our commitment to the peaceful, responsible, and cooperative use of space while emphasizing our support for strong multilateral partnerships and scientific progress. This cooperation will open new prospects for Austrian businesses, scientists, and research institutions to engage in pioneering space initiatives.”
Jennifer Littlejohn, acting assistant secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, also participated in Austria’s signing event.
Panama Joins Artemis Accords
Earlier Wednesday, Nelson hosted Panama for a signing ceremony. José Miguel Alemán Healy, ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the United States, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Panama. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Tony Fernandes for U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs also participated in the event.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama to the United States of America José Miguel Alemán Healy, center, and U.S. Department of State Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Tony Fernandes, pose for a picture after the Republic of Panama signed the Artemis Accords, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Panama is the 49th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky “Today, Panama takes its place among many other nations looking not just to our own horizons, but to the horizons beyond our planet – exploring, learning, and contributing to humanity’s collective knowledge,” said Alemán.”This moment represents far more than a diplomatic signature. It is a bold commitment to peaceful exploration, scientific discovery, and international collaboration.”
In 2020, the United States, led by NASA with the U.S. Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords, identifying a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity.
The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
The accords are a voluntary commitment to engage in safe, transparent, responsible behavior in space, and any nation that wants to commit to those values is welcome to sign.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
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Meira Bernstein / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 11, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Bill Nelson Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) View the full article
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Starfish Space has been awarded SBIR Phase III funding for a mission to inspect defunct satellites to increase opportunities to mitigate space debris. An artist’s concept image shows the company’s Otter spacecraft, which is capable of inspecting and deorbiting defunct spacecraft, in orbit.Starfish Space NASA is advancing an innovative approach to enabling commercial inspection of defunct, or inoperable, satellites in low Earth orbit, a precursor to capturing and repairing or removing the satellites.
The agency has awarded Starfish Space of Seattle, Washington, a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to complete the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission. The award follows a Phase III study, which funded four U.S. small businesses including Starfish to develop mission concepts. Starfish Space will receive $15 million over three years to execute the mission.
The ability to inspect defunct spacecraft and identify opportunities for repair or deorbiting is critical to maintaining a safe orbital environment for spacecraft and humans. Orbital debris mitigation is a key component of NASA’s Space Sustainability Strategy.
“The SSPICY mission is designed to mature technologies needed for U.S. commercial capabilities for satellite servicing and logistics or disposal,” said Bo Naasz, senior technical lead for in-space servicing, manufacturing, and assembly in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “In-space inspection helps us characterize the physical state of a satellite, gather data on what may leave spacecraft stranded, and improve our understanding of fragmentations and collisions, a difficult but critical factor in a sustainable space operating environment.”
The Starfish-led mission uses the company’s Otter spacecraft, a small satellite about the size of an oven, which is designed to inspect, dock with, and service or deorbit other satellites. Otter’s electric propulsion system will not only help it efficiently travel to multiple satellites, but the SSPICY demonstration also will mature the spacecraft’s ability to perform inspections using electric propulsion, an important enabling technology not typically used for rendezvous and proximity operations.
During the SSPICY mission, Otter will visit and inspect multiple U.S. owned defunct satellites that have agreed to be visited and inspected – a delicate and challenging task, as satellites move quickly and are kept far apart from each other for safety. Otter will approach within hundreds of meters of each satellite to conduct inspections during mission operations. During the inspection, Otter will gather key information about each of the debris objects including their spin rate, spin axes, and current conditions of the objects’ surface materials.
The SSPICY mission is the first commercial space debris inspection funded by NASA and supports the agency’s efforts to extend the life of satellites while reducing space debris. Satellites that are no longer in use can break apart or collide with one another, creating debris clouds that pose risk to human spaceflight, science and robotic missions in Earth’s orbit, and missions to other planets in the solar system. Data from inspections like those planned during the SSPICY demonstration will play a critical role in understanding the nature of defunct satellites and advancing solutions for reuse or disposal.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with NASA, building on our shared commitment to advancing in-space manufacturing and assembly capabilities,” said Trevor Bennett, co-founder of Starfish Space. “It’s an honor for Starfish to lead the first commercial debris inspection mission funded by NASA. We look forward to collaborating on this and future satellite servicing missions to enable a new paradigm for humanity in space.”
The Otter spacecraft is expected to launch in late 2026 and will begin performing inspections in 2027.
The SSPICY demonstration is funded and managed by NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The award is enabled by NASA’s SBIR program, which is open to U.S. small businesses to develop an innovation or technology. These programs are part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Learn more at:
https://www.nasa.gov/space-technology-mission-directorate
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Last Updated Sep 25, 2024 Related Terms
Ames Research Center Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Small Satellite Missions Small Spacecraft Technology Program Space Sustainability Space Technology Mission Directorate Explore More
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By European Space Agency
In 2022 NASA’s DART spacecraft made history, and changed the Solar System forever, by impacting the Dimorphos asteroid and measurably shifting its orbit around the larger Didymos asteroid. In the process a plume of debris was thrown out into space.
The latest modelling, available on the preprint server arXiv and accepted for publication in the September volume of The Planetary Science Journal, shows how small meteoroids from that debris could eventually reach both Mars and Earth – potentially in an observable (although quite safe) manner.
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By NASA
Kim Johnson supports NASA’s mission as a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA employee Kim Johnson’s desire for growth has taken her many places and continues unabated at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
The D’Iberville, Mississippi, resident is a contracting officer in the NASA Stennis Office of Procurement, where she supports NASA’s mission at the largest rocket propulsion test site.
Johnson oversees natural gas company contracts providing fuel to parts of the NASA Stennis federal city infrastructure, including the test stands benefitting NASA and commercial aerospace companies, and a security contract with local law enforcement to ensure all needs are met.
“What is cool about procurement is interacting with a lot of different people when putting contracts together,” Johnson said. “NASA Stennis has people from different ages and skillsets, from engineers, to scientists, to procurement and finance, I get to work with many people putting contracts together. I love the diversity of it and different levels of knowledge. Everyone brings something to the table.”
Johnson’s travels have exposed her to various people and work environments. She earned an undergraduate degree in London, England and a master’s degree in business administration at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and started her procurement career with a U.S. Air Force internship at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
Johnson also worked at the NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis, for two years. In the process, she earned a master’s degree in acquisition and contract management through the Florida Institute of Technology.
The travel bug then set in once more and the Biloxi, Mississippi, native set off to Afghanistan to work as a defense contractor. The 10-year stint helped pay off student loans, although Johnson stayed in the country a bit longer than anticipated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following a final 13 months of working 84 hours a week in Afghanistan, Johnson took a break for a year before a return to NASA in south Mississippi presented itself.
“I have been fortunate that my experiences have helped me understand contracts from both the commercial perspective and government perspective,” she said. “What I love about NASA Stennis is everybody is so helpful, and you know they will help you get the job done.”
The NASA Stennis contracting officer continues her career development after being selected into a NASA leadership program. The year-long program focuses on NASA employees developing leadership capabilities and understanding how their work contributes to NASA missions. As part of the program, Johnson has visited NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
“It is encouraging because NASA promotes growth,” she said. “The agency really pushes you to grow in your career.”
For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:
Stennis Space Center – NASA
Learn more about the people who work at NASA Stennis View the full article
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