The Space Resource Newsletter - July 2020
An artist illustration of the NASA Perseverance rover on Mars with Intensity Mars Helicopter providing aerial reconnaissance. If successful, this first helicopter deployed off Earth will revolutionize future Martian exploration. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Welcome to The Space Resource monthly newsletter for July 2020. Humanity’s robotic Mars fleet on its way, NASA awards dozens of small business contracts for space resources technology development, and updates to NASA’s planetary protection guidelines for the Moon and Mars.
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Want to learn more about space resources? Checkout The Space Resource Report! We highlighted the major developments surrounding space resources in 2019, covering the science, technology, business, and policy developments that will invigorate humanity’s expansion into space.
Asteroids
NASA’s Psyche passes design review and is now ready for manufacturing. The Psyche mission will visit and survey the metal-rock asteroid Psyche after launch in 2022. The asteroid Psyche is believed to be similar in composition to Earth’s core, possibly having been from a disintegrated planet. By studying the asteroid, the mission will provide insight into how planets form. With the recent Critical Design Review (CDR) complete, the Psyche team can now start work on manufacturing the hardware systems. After launch in 2022, the spacecraft will fly by Mars in mid 2023 before arriving at asteroid Psyche in early 2026. Link.
MarS
Humanity’s robotic fleet is heading to Mars after three successful launches. The UAE, China, and the United States have all launched Mars missions within the past month. The UAE’s Martian orbiter, Amal, launched on July 19th on a Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket, and represents the UAE’s first interplanetary mission. Amal will study the Martian upper atmosphere and climate changes over its two year mission. China launched an orbiter and rover, Tianwen-1, on July 23rd aboard a Long March 5 rocket. A lander will deliver the rover to the Martian surface, and is expected to traverse the surface for a 90 day mission. This will be China’s second attempt at landing a mission on Mars, after their first failure in 2011. The US launched it’s Martian lander, Perseverance, on July 30th aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Perseverance is NASA’s fifth Martian rover, and is an upgraded version of the previous Martian rover, Curiosity, with multiple system refinements. Some of the key experiments being carried include MOXIE (oxygen production system), the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (first helicopter to be deployed off Earth), and a sample collection system to prepare drill and package samples for eventual return to Earth. All three missions are currently on a six to seven month journey to Mars, with their toughest challenges still to come.
MOXIE to pave the way for future Martian oxygen production plants. As one of seven instruments on the NASA Perseverance rover, MOXIE will convert the abundant carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere into valuable oxygen. 300 watts of electricity will be used to split the carbon dioxide into oxygen and carbon monoxide, where the purity of oxygen output will be analyzed before being released back into the Martian atmosphere. While not utilized for this particular demonstration, oxygen production on Mars is required for human habitation, propellant production, and industrial processing. MOXIE is one of the first dedicated in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) experiments to be tested on Mars, and the technology developed is already being utilized for larger follow-on systems. MOXIE is expected to generate six to ten grams of oxygen per hour, whereas 30 to 40 grams are the budget NASA sets for each astronaut on the International Space Station. Fueling a rocket will require kilograms of oxygen per hour, so larger scale systems with appropriate power systems will be required for sustained presence on Mars.
Moon
NASA reclassifies planetary protection of the Moon to Category 1. Formally addressed in a NASA Interim Directive, NASA changed the Moon’s category from Category 2 to Category 1, meaning that most of the Moon will have no requirements regarding the need for spacecraft biological decontamination before leaving Earth. The main exceptions include locations near the Apollo landing sites and at the polar regions (north of 86 degrees north latitude and south of 79 degrees south latitude). These changes will reduce the work and costs required to prepare many future missions to the Moon’s surface. Link.
Robert Zubrin’s Pioneer Astronautics acquired by Voyager Space Holdings. Pioneer Astronautics was recently awarded three NASA SBIR contracts, along with a contract to demonstrate oxygen and steel production from lunar regolith. Voyager has indicated that the acquisition was for Pioneer Astronautics’ intellectual property and human capital. Link.
Terrestrial
NASA selects 2020 batch of STTR and SBIR Phase 1 contracts. Lunar Resources, Inc. was selected to develop a molten regolith electrolysis system that can produce oxygen from untreated lunar regolith. Blueshift, LLC was selected to develop a continuous feed reactor that can heat lunar regolith using concentrated solar power, aiding further industrial processes while minimizing power requirements. Altius Space Machines (recently acquired by Voyager Space Holdings) was selected to develop the concept of swarm robots autonomously performing construction tasks, with multiple applications across space. While all of these selections are early in development, the work being done will lead to the next generation of flight-ready systems.
The White House published a report outlining national space development strategy. While not a binding policy, this report outlines how existing policies of NASA and other agencies can be implemented to promote a secure and predictable space environment. Key aspects of this report include space traffic management, regulatory reforms, funding space science and technology R&D, commercial activities in space, and investing in private space infrastructure by being a reliable customer. Link.
LeoLabs is planning a fourth radar facility in Costa Rica for global space debris coverage. The startup company already operates radar facilities in Texas, Alaska, and New Zealand, with the Costa Rica facility providing coverage of equatorial orbits. Once operational in early 2021, the LeoLabs network will provide tracking of objects as small as two centimeters anywhere in Earth orbit. Currently no objects under ten centimeters are tracked. Providing collision avoidance services is a critical role for safe-guarding astronauts and all space assets, especially as new mega-constellations are being deployed. Link.
OneWeb was purchased by British government and Bharti Global after bankruptcy. With $1 billion in new funding (half from each party), OneWeb will be able to start restructuring itself. OneWeb originally planned a 650 satellite constellation for global broadband coverage, yet only 74 satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit. The cash infusion has enabled satellite manufacturing operations at its Florida factory to resume. There are still many questions related to profitability in the face of SpaceX’s Starlink, whether OneWeb will continue manufacturing satellites in Florida, and potential creditor repayments.
