NASA seeks volunteers to passively track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft as the crewed mission travels to the Moon and back to Earth. The Artemis II test flight, a launch of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA … Read more
NASA has released a new proposal opportunity for industry to tap into agency know-how, resources, and expertise. The Announcement of Collaboration Opportunity (ACO), managed by the Space Technology Mission Directorate, enables valuable collaboration without financial exchanges between NASA and industry partners. Instead, companies leverage NASA subject matter experts, facilities, software, and hardware to accelerate their … Read more
NASA is seeking proposals from U.S. companies about innovative Moon and Mars proximity relay communication and navigation capabilities as the agency aims to use private industry satellite communications services for emerging missions. On July 7, NASA issued a Request for Proposals, soliciting advanced industry concepts to establish high-bandwidth, high-reliability communications infrastructure between the lunar surface … Read more
NASA is partnering with commercial industry to expand our knowledge of Earth, our solar system, and beyond. Recently, NASA collaborated with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) to support data transfer for the agency’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission to explore the origins of the universe. “Not … Read more
As associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate Ken Bowersox puts it, “nothing happens without communications.” And effective communications require the use of radio waves. None of NASA’s exciting science and engineering endeavors would be possible without the use of radio waves to send data, communications, and commands between researchers or flight controllers and … Read more
NASA and the Italian Space Agency made history on March 3, when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to acquire and track Earth-based navigation signals on the Moon’s surface. The LuGRE payload’s success in lunar orbit and on the surface indicates that signals from the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) … Read more
Did you know that the same search and rescue technologies developed by NASA for astronaut missions to space help locate and rescue people across the United States and around the world? NASA’s collaboration with the international satellite-aided search and rescue effort known as Cospas-Sarsat has enabled the development of multiple emergency location beacons for explorers … Read more
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 … Read more
NASA has selected multiple companies to expand the agency’s Near Space Network’s commercial direct-to-Earth capabilities services, which is a mission-critical communication capability that allows spacecraft to transmit data directly to ground stations on Earth. The work will be awarded under new Near Space Network services contracts that are firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts. Project timelines span from … Read more
Students from Colorado will have the opportunity to hear NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, Nov. 14. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 1 p.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content on various platforms, including social media. The JEKL Institute … Read more