The Space Resource Newsletter - April 2021
The SpaceX lunar Starship lander, which was selected to land the first astronauts on the Moon since the Apollo program. Credit: SpaceX.
Welcome to The Space Resource monthly newsletter for April 2021. SpaceX won the sole award from the NASA Human Landing System (HLS) competition, MOXIE produced oxygen from carbon-dioxide on Mars, a helicopter flew on Mars, and MEV-2 docked with an active satellite in GEO.
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Asteroids
Lucy spacecraft’s large solar panels thermal-vac tested. The two 24 foot (7.3 m) panels were successfully deployed within a massive thermal vacuum chamber at Lockheed Martin Space. This chamber provided a testing environment similar to space. Testing the panel deployment on Earth was challenging because the panels can’t support their own weight, requiring a special device to support them. This test is a milestone for the mission because it is the final test before Lucy can begin final assembly and eventual launch. The NASA Lucy mission will spend 12 years visiting the Trojan asteroids, a group of asteroids 530 million miles (853 million km) from the Sun, which share the orbit of Jupiter. The Trojan asteroids are not well studied due to their distance from Earth and dark appearance. Lucy will launch on October 16, 2021 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Link.
CISLUNAR
Satellite servicer docked to an active satellite in GEO for the first time. The Northrop Grumman Mission Extension Vehicle 2 (MEV-2) is a satellite whose mission is to perform station keeping maneuvers for operational satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) that run out of fuel. MEV-2 successfully docked with Intelsat’s IS-10-02 communications satellite, which was low on fuel after being in orbit since 2004. It will now have five additional years of service with MEV-2 keeping it in a proper orbit before being moved to a graveyard orbit. This is the second GEO satellite to have been serviced, with the Northrop MEV-1 satellite attaching to another Intelsat last year. Satellite servicing has the potential to become a massive industry by allowing billion dollar satellites life extensions. The current servicers are focusing on station keeping functions, but future systems could provide refueling services or satellite repair with robotic arms.
China launches module for its first permanent space station. Called Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, the 4.2 m wide and 16.6 m long module will orbit at 370 km above Earth. The completed space station will comprise three modules, with a mission life of 10 years. This station has been in the works for nearly 30 years. It allows China to establish a permanent presence in space; something they can’t do with the ISS because of US restrictions. Link.
SpaceX launches 3rd crew to the ISS. This flight is notable because it is the first time SpaceX reused a Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule for a crewed flight. Reusable hardware is critical for lowering the cost of launch, so this is a natural progression for crewed flights. This will be the first of many more crewed launches that reuse flight hardware.
Mars
MOXIE produces oxygen from captured carbon dioxide. The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) is one of the experiments housed on the NASA Perseverance rover. It’s sole purpose is to convert some of Mars’ carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen using solid oxide electrolysis. The first run produced about five grams of oxygen. MOXIE is designed to produce up to 10 grams of oxygen per hour. Interestingly, the oxygen produced is simply vented back into the Martian atmosphere since there are no systems on Perseverance that can use it. Demonstrating this electrolysis system will allow future missions to scale the concept to the size needed to refuel Starship sized demands within a reasonable amount of time. MOXIE will go down in history as another key stepping stone that will eventually allow humanity to sustainably settle Mars. Link.
First aircraft flown off Earth! The NASA Ingenuity helicopter has now performed four flights on Mars. Each flight has pushed the helicopter higher and further than ones that came before it; from a simple lift-off and landing to traversing hundreds of feet. The fourth flight had the helicopter climb to 16 ft (5 m), fly south about 276 ft (84 m), collect images, then fly and land back at the starting point. With Ingenuity’s three objectives complete, the mission will now focus on demonstrating flight operations that future aircraft could use, such as aerial scouting. Being able to traverse large areas of Mars will unlock mass-scale planetary surveying, especially using instruments or at details unavailable from orbit. View Ingenuity’s mission page here.
First weather reports coming in from Jezero Crater. Within minutes of landing, the NASA Perseverance rover’s Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) system started recording the wind (direction and speed), pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, ground temperature, and radiation. Once every hour the system records the current conditions, regardless of what the rover is doing. When combined with the weather data from the Curiosity rover and Insight lander, scientists are able to build climate models of Mars, especially models covering dust dynamics. In preparation for human missions, MEDA also records radiation at the surface, which is critical for ensuring future habitats have enough protection. Link.
InSight lander detects two strong quakes, adding to its 500 recordings to date. These latest quakes, registering a magnitude of 3.6 and 3.5, are interesting because they have a distinct origin (Cerberus Fossae) and are very Earth-like, meaning the waves traveled through the planet. This differs from most other quakes InSight has detected, whose waves travel in a very scattered fashion, much like Moonquakes. Detecting quakes on Mars is still a huge challenge, as the seismometer is sensitive enough that wind and temperature swings reduce its observation windows. Even under its protective dome, the wind was too strong over the Martian winter for the seismometer to make good observations. The NASA InSight lander has been collecting scientific data in Elysium Planitia since 2018, and is expected to continue for a few more years. Link.
Moon
SpaceX Falcon Heavy chosen by Astrobotic to launch VIPER lunar rover. The NASA Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will be delivered to the Moon’s south pole in late 2023 by the Astrobotic Griffin lander. VIPER is interesting because it will travel and prospect areas within a permanently shadowed region (PSR), which are likely to contain water ice. This may potentially be the first mission to directly sample water ice on the Moon.
Lunar radio telescope concept receives NASA NIAC Phase II Funding. The radio telescope proposes the use of a crater on the far-side of the Moon (facing away from Earth with minimal radio noise) as the structure of a large radio antenna. Certain components of the system would be suspended above the crater floor on wires strung from the crater rim. A critical component of this system is developing small climbing robots that could deploy a wire mesh used for the parabolic dish. This system would push lunar construction systems to their limit.
Starship
SpaceX awarded sole contract from the initial HLS competition. What does this mean for space resources?
HLS contract required a quarter ton payload delivery to the Moon for competing landers. The lunar Starship architecture is capable of at least 400 times that amount at 100 tons. In a recent discussion related to the carbon removal X-Prize, it was announced that Starship may even be capable of delivering as much as 200 tons to the surface of the Moon. Beyond payload mass the payload capacity of lunar Starship means a single landing can deposit a volume more than equal to the interior of the International Space Station (ISS) or something similar to the volume of a five bedroom home.
The implications of the SpaceX Starship HLS award are huge; an uncrewed demo mission and an eventual crewed landing on the lunar surface, with possible cargo missions prior, and crew and cargo missions after. This impacts the future of space resources significantly as it allows for enormous potential reductions in cost for delivering payload to the surface. Starship offers the capacity to deliver vastly larger and heavier objects than previously possible. Additionally, the vehicle has the capability to deliver oxygen to astronauts from the LOX tank reserves, which means that it will also be available to payloads for cargo missions.
The huge change to payload and mass capability will provide a significantly reduced cost, allowing a new paradigm for space system development, as new systems don’t need to be as mass or volume restricted. This will save large amounts of time and money during system development. Ultimately, Starship is good for space resources and space development because it offers capabilities unfeasible without. Other heavy launch systems may one day compete with Starship, but for the moment, Starship is our ticket to the stars.
Terrestrial
SEC changes guidance for SPAC accounting, putting a damper on them. The new guidance makes SPACs (special-purpose acquisition companies) classify warrants (options to buy shares at specific prices in the future) as liabilities instead of equity. While this hasn’t become law yet, it has already put the brakes on many SPACs in the pipeline and is affecting the current batch of space companies pushing for a SPAC, such as Momentus, Redwire, Astra, and Spire. From an investor standpoint, this change is positive because it forces companies to be more transparent with their books.
Bill Nelson confirmed as the 14th NASA Administrator. Nelson is a former Florida Senator and Representative, a former Florida governor, and former astronaut. He was a staunch supporter of SLS and against Commercial Crew until his recent hearing, so time will tell whether he is actually supportive of next generation space or not.
NASA to purchase spacesuit services from commercial partners. This new procurement strategy follows in the footsteps of other commercial programs, like Commercial Crew and Commercial Launch. Link.
