Pittsburghโs ambassadors to space are ready to return America to the moon
Several private companies launching moon landers later this year from Florida will kick off a grand campaign to better understand our nearest neighbor, with big implications for when NASA returns humans to the moon in a few short years.
Shoe box-size moon rover arrives at Kennedy Space Center for testing
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. โ The most recent NASA Mars rover is about the weight of a compact car and jam-packed with science instruments and cameras. Astrobotic Technology, a Pittsburgh-based company, recently sent one of its CubeRovers to NASAโs Kennedy Space Center to test out how the little wheeled-robot does on simulated lunar soil. A CubeRover, similar to a CubeSat or tiny satellite, is an affordable option for researchers to send mobile science payloads to the moon. When CubeRover is operational companies, governments and researchers can buy the space they need at $4.5 million per kilogram. Additionally, Astrobotic was awarded a $79.5 million CLPS contract from NASA to deliver 14 payloads to the moon on its Peregrine lunar lander in July 2021.
NASA selects Pittsburghโs Astrobotic to deliver water-hunting moon rover
NASA announced Thursday that private space company Astrobotic will deliver the agencyโs moon rover, VIPER, to the moonโs south pole by end of 2023. Under this initiative, NASA will pay private companies to deliver payloads to the moon to establish a lasting presence on the lunar surface. Prior to landing VIPER on the moon, Astrobotic will land its own lunar lander, Peregrine, as early as next year, under a NASA CLPS contract. The Griffin lunar lander is capable of delivering up to 500 kilograms of mass to the lunar surface, according to a news release. After landing, VIPER will come down from Griffinโs ramp onto the lunar surface and will begin mapping lunar water ice.