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A new deorbit tether will be tested by Aurora Propulsion Technologies in December 2020. The 1.5U CubeSat test will ride to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, after which it will be propelled to a sun-synchronous orbit via Momentus Space Vigoride. In addition to the tether, Aurora will test and utilize their new water thrusters for cubesat control.
Planned to land on the Moon in 2025, the Roscosmos Luna 27 will carry an ESA designed robotic drill and laboratory dedicated to collecting and processing volatiles from regolith. While we know ice exists within permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) at the lunar poles, little is known about the exact composition and structure. In-situ sampling is therefore essential for understanding this ice, allowing engineers to build better ice processing systems.
Planetoid Mines is a privately-owned startup based out of New Mexico, USA whose primary focus is developing the core components of asteroid mining.
TransAstra was one of two groups awarded the first ever NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase III grant. TransAstra will use the Phase III funds to advanced its first flight demonstration mission of the Mini Bee asteroid mining concept. The Mini Bee spacecraft will be about 250 kg in size, and will test the optical mining concept in a space environment using a synthetic asteroid launched from Earth. The CI-type asteroid simulant will be made by the Florida-based company Exolith Labs using leftover materials from Deep Space Industries before they shut down. Expected to launch in the early 2020s, this will be the first time water is extracted from material similar to asteroids while in space.
In-space manufacturing promises to be a key driver for developing space resource technologies. Building and assembling large structures in space allows the use of efficient designs that don’t require robust structures for the one time g-force requirements of launch. Made In Space has recently proposed a long-baseline interferometer that uses in-space manufacturing techniques for assembling opposing booms up to 50 m (164 ft) in length from a 24U small-sat chassis.
Surveying 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.
Water is the first resource many in the space resources community are targeting for exploration and utilization missions. Not only is water abundant throughout the Solar System, but it is one of the most useful resources. Its uses include the creation of propellant and oxidizer, use in chemical processes, and as drinking water and breathing oxygen for astronauts. Water is the oil of space. Similar to how oil drives terrestrial economies, water in space will propel the space economy, literally and figuratively.
Swarm Technologies is making progress on launching its 150 CubeSat strong IoT constellation. As IEEE reported on January 3, 2019, Swarm submitted a request to the FCC for permission to launch its full constellation into low Earth orbit (LEO). Swarm has indicated that it will be ready to launch at least four more satellites as soon as March 1. Global competition in the IoT satellite field is fierce, with Swarm pushing hard to gain market share for itself.
With 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.
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.