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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Artist concept highlighting the novel approach proposed by the 2025 NIAC awarded selection of Beholding Black Hole Power with the Accretion Explorer Interferometer concept.NASA/Kimberly Weaver Kimberly Weaver
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Some of the most enigmatic objects in the Universe are giant supermassive black holes (SMBH). Yet after 30 years of study, we don’t know precisely how these objects produce their power. This requires observations at X-ray wavelengths. The state-of-the-art for X-ray images is Chandra (~0.5-1 arcsecond resolution) but this is insufficient to image regions near SMBH where the most energetic behavior occurs. The Accretion Explorer (AE) is a mission architecture that will shatter new ground by creating X-ray images at scientifically crucial energies of 0.7-1.2 keV, 1.5-2.5 keV, 6-7 keV, up to 6 orders of magnitude better than Chandra, and will offer imaging at 4-5 orders of magnitude better than JWST (IR) and HST(optical/UV). The specific X-ray energy bands we are proposing to cover contain vital X-ray line signatures that can distinguish between SMBH activity and stellar processes. The AE NIAC concept would be a game changer for NASA and astrophysics. X-ray interferometry will challenge and change the conversation around future mission possibilities for NASA’s flagships. It will also influence the Astrophysics 2030 Decadal Survey and will significantly contribute to our scientific knowledge base in astrophysics and other fields. AE has tremendous potential to generate enthusiasm for future missions and the potential to build advocacy to support it within NASA, society, and the aerospace community.
Alternative approaches to ultra high-resolution X-ray imaging technology are not currently being funded. Our study will focus on a large free-flying X-ray interferometer. We will design a multiple spacecraft system that provides the architecture to align individual mirror pair baseline groupings provided by individual collector spacecraft, with the pointing precision to achieve micro-arcsecond resolution. Our study will assess the required pointing stability and determine optimal ways to nest and mount the collecting mirror flats within mirror modules. We will assess the required size for the detector array(s) to accommodate the wavelength coverage for detecting fringes, study how images will be created from fringes, and produce a simulated image from a design with accompanying optical element tolerance tables. We will document alternative approaches, how new factors substantially differentiate AE from prior efforts for X-ray interferometry, and identify technical hurdles.
As a result of performing this study, there are notable engineering benefits that can contribute to space missions, even if the concept is shown to be infeasible. These include establishing how small baseline interferometers can be flown with less risk in terms of spacing and tethering mirror modules, studies of very high levels of pointing precision for space-based interferometers, and extreme stability on target. Producing a simulated image from this design with accompanying tolerance tables can inform other space-based interferometry designs.
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Last Updated Jan 10, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
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By NASA
5 Min Read NASA and Italian Space Agency Test Future Lunar Navigation Technology
The potentially record-breaking Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) payload will be the first known demonstration of GNSS signal reception on and around the lunar surface. Credits: NASA/Dave Ryan As NASA celebrates 55 years since the historic Apollo 11 crewed lunar landing, the agency also is preparing new navigation and positioning technology for the Artemis campaign, the agency’s modern lunar exploration program.
A technology demonstration helping pave the way for these developments is the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) payload, a joint effort between NASA and the Italian Space Agency to demonstrate the viability of using existing GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals for positioning, navigation, and timing on the Moon.
During its voyage on an upcoming delivery to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, LuGRE would demonstrate acquiring and tracking signals from both the U.S. GPS and European Union Galileo GNSS constellations during transit to the Moon, during lunar orbit, and finally for up to two weeks on the lunar surface itself.
The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) will investigate whether signals from two Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) constellations, the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and European Union’s Galileo, can be tracked at the Moon and used for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT). The LuGRE payload is one of the first demonstrations of GNSS signal reception and navigation on and around the lunar surface, an important milestone for how lunar missions will access navigation and positioning technology. If successful, LuGRE would demonstrate that spacecraft can use signals from existing GNSS satellites at lunar distances, reducing their reliance on ground-based stations on the Earth for lunar navigation.
Today, GNSS constellations support essential services like navigation, banking, power grid synchronization, cellular networks, and telecommunications. Near-Earth space missions use these signals in flight to determine critical operational information like location, velocity, and time.
NASA and the Italian Space Agency want to expand the boundaries of GNSS use cases. In 2019, the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission broke the world record for farthest GPS signal acquisition 116,300 miles from the Earth’s surface — nearly half of the 238,900 miles between Earth and the Moon. Now, LuGRE could double that distance.
“GPS makes our lives safer and more viable here on Earth,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA deputy associate administrator and SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “As we seek to extend humanity beyond our home planet, LuGRE should confirm that this extraordinary technology can do the same for us on the Moon.”
NASA, Firefly, Qascom, and Italian Space Agency team members examine LuGRE hardware in a clean room.Firefly Aerospace Reliable space communication and navigation systems play a vital role in all NASA missions, providing crucial connections from space to Earth for crewed and uncrewed missions alike. Using a blend of government and commercial assets, NASA’s Near Space and Deep Space Networks support science, technology demonstrations, and human spaceflight missions across the solar system.
“This mission is more than a technological milestone,” said Joel Parker, policy lead for positioning, navigation, and timing at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We want to enable more and better missions to the Moon for the benefit of everyone, and we want to do it together with our international partners.”
This mission is more than a technological milestone. We want to enable more and better missions to the Moon for the benefit of everyone…
JOEL PARKER
PNT Policy Lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
The data-gathering LuGRE payload combines NASA-led systems engineering and mission management with receiver software and hardware developed by the Italian Space Agency and their industry partner Qascom — the first Italian-built hardware to operate on the lunar surface.
Any data LuGRE collects is intended to open the door for use of GNSS to all lunar missions, not just those by NASA or the Italian Space Agency. Approximately six months after LuGRE completes its operations, the agencies will release its mission data to broaden public and commercial access to lunar GNSS research.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander is carrying 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.Firefly Aerospace “A project like LuGRE isn’t about NASA alone,” said NASA Goddard navigation and mission design engineer Lauren Konitzer. “It’s something we’re doing for the benefit of humanity. We’re working to prove that lunar GNSS can work, and we’re sharing our discoveries with the world.”
The LuGRE payload is one of 10 NASA-funded science experiments launching to the lunar surface on this delivery through NASA’s CLPS initiative. Through CLPS, NASA works with American companies to provide delivery and quantity contracts for commercial deliveries to further lunar exploration and the development of a sustainable lunar economy. As of 2024, the agency has 14 private partners on contract for current and future CLPS missions.
Demonstrations like LuGRE could lay the groundwork for GNSS-based navigation systems on the lunar surface. Bridging these existing systems with emerging lunar-specific navigation solutions has the potential to define how all spacecraft navigate lunar terrain in the Artemis era.
Artist’s concept rendering of LuGRE aboard the Blue Ghost lunar lander receiving signals from Earth’s GNSS constellations.NASA/Dave Ryan The payload is a collaborative effort between NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the Italian Space Agency. Funding and oversight for the LuGRE payload comes from the agency’s SCaN Program office. It was chosen by NASA as one of 10 funded research and technology demonstrations for delivery to the lunar surface by Firefly Aerospace Inc, a flight under the agency’s CLPS initiative.
About the Author
Korine Powers
Senior Writer and Education LeadKorine Powers, Ph.D. is a writer for NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office and covers emerging technologies, commercialization efforts, education and outreach, exploration activities, and more.
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Last Updated Jan 09, 2025 EditorGoddard Digital TeamContactKorine Powerskorine.powers@nasa.govLocationNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Artemis Blue Ghost (lander) Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Communicating and Navigating with Missions Earth's Moon Near Space Network Space Communications & Navigation Program View the full article
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
LMS instrument aboard the Blue Ghost Lander heading to Mare Crisium in mid-January
As part of its Artemis campaign, NASA is developing a series of increasingly complex lunar deliveries and missions to ultimately build a sustained human presence at the Moon for decades to come. Through the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, commercial provider Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander will head to the Moon’s Mare Crisium for a 14-day lunar lander mission, carrying NASA science and technology that will help understand the lunar subsurface in a previously unexplored location.
From within the Mare Crisium impact basin, the SwRI-led Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) may provide the first geophysical measurements representative of the bulk of the Moon. Most of the Apollo missions landed in the region of linked maria to the west (left image), whose crust was later shown to be compositionally distinct (right image) as exemplified by the concentration of the element thorium. Mare Crisium provides a smooth landing site on the near side of the Moon outside of this anomalous region. NASA Developed by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), NASA’s Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) will probe the interior of the Moon to depths of up to 700 miles, two-thirds of the way to the lunar center. The measurements will shed light on the differentiation and thermal history of our Moon, a cornerstone to understanding the evolution of solid worlds.
Magnetotellurics uses natural variations in surface electric and magnetic fields to calculate how easily electricity flows in subsurface materials, which can reveal their composition and structure.
“For more than 50 years, scientists have used magnetotellurics on Earth for a wide variety of purposes, including to find oil, water, and geothermal and mineral resources, as well as to understand geologic processes such as the growth of continents,” said SwRI’s Dr. Robert Grimm, principal investigator of LMS. “The LMS instrument will be the first extraterrestrial application of magnetotellurics.”
Mare Crisium is an ancient, 350-mile-diameter impact basin that subsequently filled with lava, creating a dark spot visible on the Moon from Earth. Early astronomers who dubbed dark spots on the moon “maria,” Latin for seas, mistook them for actual seas.
Mare Crisium stands apart from the large, connected areas of dark lava to the west where most of the Apollo missions landed. These vast, linked lava plains are now thought to be compositionally and structurally different from the rest of the Moon. From this separate vantage point, LMS may provide the first geophysical measurements representative of most of the Moon.
The Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS) will probe the interior of the Moon to depths of up to 700 miles or two-thirds of the lunar radius. The measurements will shed light on the differentiation and thermal history of our Moon, a cornerstone to understanding the evolution of solid worlds.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center The LMS instrument ejects cables with electrodes at 90-degree angles to each other and distances up to 60 feet. The instrument measures voltages across opposite pairs of electrodes, much like the probes of a conventional voltmeter. The magnetometer is deployed via an extendable mast to reduce interference from the lander. The magnetotelluric method reveals a vertical profile of the electrical conductivity, providing insight into the temperature and composition of the penetrated materials in the lunar interior.
“The five individual subsystems of LMS, together with connecting cables, weigh about 14 pounds and consume about 11 Watts of power,” Grimm said. “While stowed, each electrode is surrounded by a ‘yarn ball’ of cable, so the assembly is roughly spherical and the size of a softball.”
The LMS payload was funded and will be delivered to the lunar surface through NASA’s CLPS initiative. Southwest Research Institute based in San Antonio built the central electronics and leads the science investigation. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provided the LMS magnetometer to measure the magnetic fields, and Heliospace Corp. provided the electrodes used to measure the electrical fields.
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 aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Media Contact: Rani Gran
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
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Last Updated Jan 10, 2025 EditorRob GarnerContactRani GranLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By NASA
Official portrait of Adam Schlesinger.NASA/Bill Stafford NASA has selected Adam Schlesinger as manager for CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services). Schlesinger previously served as the Gateway Program habitation and logistics outpost project lead engineer at Johnson Space Center.
“I am honored and tremendously excited to take on this new role as NASA continues to enable a growing lunar economy while leveraging the entrepreneurial innovation of the commercial space industry,” Schlesinger said.
Schlesinger brings more than 20 years’ experience to NASA human space flight programs. Prior to supporting Gateway, Mr. Schlesinger managed the Advanced Exploration Systems Avionics and Software Project, leading a multi-center team to develop and advance several innovative technologies that were targeted for future NASA exploration missions. Mr. Schlesinger also established and led a variety of key public/private partnerships with commercial providers as part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 activities.
Mr. Schlesinger began his NASA career as a co-op in the Avionic Systems Division and has served in multiple positions within the Engineering and Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorates, each with increasing technical leadership responsibilities. Mr. Schlesinger earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
“Adam is an outstanding leader and engineer, and I am extremely pleased to announce his selection for this position,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “His wealth of experience in human spaceflight, commercial partnerships, and the development and operations of deep-space spacecraft will be a huge asset to CLPS.”
Throughout his career, Schlesinger has been recognized for outstanding technical achievements and leadership, including multiple NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Early Career Stellar Award and Middle Career Stellar Award nominee, JSC Director’s Commendation Award, Advanced Exploration Systems Innovation Award, and NASA Early Career Achievement Medal.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector, or NGLR-1, is one of 10 payloads set to fly aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative in 2025. NGLR-1, outfitted with a retroreflector, will be delivered to the lunar surface to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories. Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace Apollo astronauts set up mirror arrays, or “retroreflectors,” on the Moon to accurately reflect laser light beamed at them from Earth with minimal scattering or diffusion. Retroreflectors are mirrors that reflect the incoming light back in the same incoming direction. Calculating the time required for the beams to bounce back allowed scientists to precisely measure the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, both of which are directly affected by Earth’s gravitational pull. More than 50 years later, on the cusp of NASA’s crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, lunar research still leverages data from those Apollo-era retroreflectors.
As NASA prepares for the science and discoveries of the agency’s Artemis campaign, state-of-the-art retroreflector technology is expected to significantly expand our knowledge about Earth’s sole natural satellite, its geological processes, the properties of the lunar crust and the structure of lunar interior, and how the Earth-Moon system is changing over time. This technology will also allow high-precision tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity, or general relativity.
That’s the anticipated objective of an innovative science instrument called NGLR (Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector), one of 10 NASA payloads set to fly aboard the next lunar delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. NGLR-1 will be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed by researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, NGLR-1 will be delivered to the lunar surface, located on the Blue Ghost lander, to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories, which could greatly improve on Apollo-era results with sub-millimeter-precision range measurements. If successful, its findings will expand humanity’s understanding of the Moon’s inner structure and support new investigations of astrophysics, cosmology, and lunar physics – including shifts in the Moon’s liquid core as it orbits Earth, which may cause seismic activity on the lunar surface.
“NASA has more than half a century of experience with retroreflectors, but NGLR-1 promises to deliver findings an order of magnitude more accurate than Apollo-era reflectors,” said Dennis Harris, who manages the NGLR payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Deployment of the NGLR payload is just the first step, Harris noted. A second NGLR retroreflector, called the Artemis Lunar Laser Retroreflector (ALLR), is currently a candidate payload for flight on NASA’s Artemis III mission to the Moon and could be set up near the lunar south pole. A third is expected to be manifested on a future CLPS delivery to a non-polar location.
“Once all three retroreflectors are operating, they are expected to deliver unprecedented opportunities to learn more about the Moon and its relationship with Earth,” Harris said.
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 aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Learn more about. CLPS and Artemis at:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jan 02, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayContactCorinne M. Beckingercorinne.m.beckinger@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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