NASA’s return of humans to the Moon in 2024 will involve large numbers of Moon landings with equipment and supplies. New technology must be used to mitigate the lunar dust ejected at high velocities when landing large Moon landers on the lunar surface. SpaceX and Masten both have innovative solutions to combat this problem.
Read MoreSurveying the surface of asteroids is challenging. Asteroids of interest are often millions of kilometers away from Earth, have milli-gravity, and have variable lighting and surface conditions. Yet surface information is essential for planning resource exploration missions to them. A recently proposed semi-inflatable robot operating in a swarm may excel in this environment.
Read MoreWith the launch and success of two missions coming in the next few months, the world will see India and Israel each land spacecraft on the Moon. Once successful, these countries will be the fourth and fifth to have landed a spacecraft on the Moon. Possibly more exciting is that one of these spacecraft is actually the first non-governmental attempt to land on the Moon! The race is on to see which will land first.
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