Latest news with #SpaceFoundation
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can we actually build a thriving economy on and around the moon?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Cashing in on a cislunar economy is ballyhooed by space exploration advocates. Cislunar space — the region extending from our planet to the moon — is getting a lot of attention these days, as more and more spacecraft make their way to Earth's nearest neighbor. But what needs to happen to help spark a true cislunar economy? And, given actions of late here on Earth, are we headed for a tariff-free cislunar zone? There's a lot of hard work ahead to put in place the needed hardware to sustain and define such a dollar-generating idea, experts say, but we at least have some ideas about how to get started. It turns out that power allowing day-and-night operations on the moon — that is, "plug-in and play" lunar equipment — stands out as a must-have if humanity is to develop a real, rather than aspirational, cislunar economy. The thought of cislunar space becoming a cash cow of the cosmos was heavily discussed during the Space Foundation's 40th Space Symposium, which was held here from April 7 to April 10 by the Space Foundation. "I don't see an inner solar system in which we don't significantly develop the moon if you're going to go anywhere," said Rob Chambers, director of strategy for exploration at Lockheed Martin. "The basis of an economy has to be something that Earthlings will pay for." Lockheed Martin is taking a visionary look at the building blocks of lunar infrastructure. For example, the company thinks that, by 2044, the moon could be abuzz with international research and commercial infrastructure, transforming its barren surface into a livable ecosystem. You can take Lockheed's take on the infrastructure needed to maintain a permanent presence on the moon — near its south pole, which is thought to be rich in water ice — in this futuristic tour. "We're focused on water and therefore hydrogen and oxygen propellants as the key product that is the base of the economy," Timothy Cichan, space exploration architect at Lockheed Martin, told "The big thing is power…lots of power," he said, as well as the mobility needed to source the water ice lying on the chilly, permanently shadowed floors of polar craters. "Even in lunar nighttime, it's as close to cold as the permanently shadowed regions," Chambers explained. "You have to learn how to handle getting in and out of those thermal gradients. You have to be comfortable [with] operating in the nighttime in order to do productive things in the daytime." So, do you design for cold or hot on the moon? "You've got to design for both," Chambers said. "If you've got all the power you want, say hundreds of kilowatts, now you can optimize for something other than just survival." If there's less than 85% continuous sunlight, he added, "our numbers say switch over to nuclear fission at that point. There are not that many places on the moon that have 85% sun. That, to us, says buckle up and get comfortable with nuclear fission. Once you've done that, now the world's your oyster." Cichan pointed to the evolving nature of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent human presence on the moon in the coming years. Additionally, there's the space agency's footing of the bill for lander-carried experiments via its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. "NASA is making sure that we can evolve to an actual economy," said Cichan. "Nobody has closed a business case around that as yet, but we want to set up the infrastructure such that it is commercially operated, so that we can evolve to a place where there is a lunar economy. It's in a nascent form right now, very dependent on government dollars." Cichan said that his message is, try to do things today to get prepared for the cislunar economy: "You have got to be there; otherwise, you're not part of the conversation." Chambers labeled our current ability to make money in a cislunar economy as a "chasm of capitalism." "I think there will be either a demand signal that the government says they will keep pouring in billions of dollars and they will buy power — for instance, writing a contract that has a guaranteed procurement with exit clauses if they don't. That's one way of getting through that chasm … assured government spending," Chambers said. Another scenario, he said, is that the mining of helium-3 — a fuel for nuclear fusion reactors — on the moon turns out to be a viable business, and then people will pour in money. "History has shown that humans figure out how to make money anywhere." Michael Nayak is a program manager with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He's leading DARPA's 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study. At the symposium, Nayak spotlighted what's needed within the next decade to establish an era of interoperable lunar infrastructure, which could spur a fully functioning lunar economy. "Today, the lunar economy has mining as its center. But in order for that to scale, we need megawatts of power," he said. In fact, Nayak would bet on a power company to be in the top five of a "lunar Fortune 50" business listing. In second place is heat rejection and generation as a commercial service, Nayak predicted, "especially in the wildly fluctuating temperatures of the moon." Related stories: — Moon mining gains momentum as private companies plan for a lunar economy — Water mining on the moon may be easier than expected, India's Chandrayaan-3 lander finds — NASA's Artemis program: Everything you need to know Of like mind is Jamie Porter, director of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium managed by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. "If you don't have power, you just can't do anything. You need it to be able to move forward," Porter told the Space Symposium gathering. "At DARPA, we are simply interested in big risks," Nayak said. The hard question that quickly emerged early in the LunA-10 study, he added, was, "How does it scale?" That is, how can we move beyond prototype lunar hardware to industry infrastructure and an actual lunar economy? "Power and thermal are absolutely critical," said Nayak. "The third thing is, where should we go [on the moon] if commercial industry is the point? Where are the specific locations with 'reserves' that are sufficiently deep that I can build an end-to-end economic model around?"
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
That's no space station, it's a student-led drone show: Space photo of the day
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The International Space Station and a space shuttle, as seen here, joined other historic spacecraft and scenes from space history as part of a student-led drone show for the opening of the Space Foundation's 40th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on April 7, 2025. A group of 10 high school students, working with their teacher and the St. Vrain Innovation Center in Longmont, Colorado, built, coded and coordinated this show using 300 drones, according to KRDO news radio. In addition to recreating the ISS and shuttle, the students also programmed the drones to form an astronaut walking on the moon, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter and the symposium's logo. "To see high school students be able to take hundreds of drones and actually make it look professional, this was kind of like an Olympic opening ceremony," said Damian DiPippa, CEO of Auria Space, in an interview with KRDO. This drone show was staged over Broadmoor Lake as a crowd of more than 10,000 Space Symposium attendees from 60 countries looked on from the shore. Now in its 40th year, the Space Foundation's Space Symposium brings together global space professionals from all sectors, providing a platform to explore critical space issues, foster dialogue and drive innovation across the space industry. This year's event runs through April 10, 2025 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. You can read and watch KRDO's coverage of the drone show. You can also read more about some of the announcements at the 40th Space Symposium, including the reveal of a new moon rover and the comments made by NASA's acting administrator about the "weird period" for the space agency right now.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA's in a 'weird period' right now, acting chief Janet Petro says
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — These are strange times for NASA, according to the agency's acting chief. During the brief tenure of acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro, the agency has laid off employees, slashed budgets, ended key programs, and removed all mentions of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility from its websites. If this stretch has seemed odd to you, you're not alone; Petro herself characterized it as a "weird period" during a fireside address today (April 8) at the Space Foundation's 40th annual Space Symposium here in Colorado Springs. So weird, in fact, that Petro added that she thinks she is the person at NASA who is most eager to see billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman confirmed as NASA administrator. Isaacman is slated to have his first confirmation hearing tomorrow (April 9). Related: Who is Janet Petro, Trump's pick for acting NASA administrator? "I think I am the one most looking forward to that I know across the agency," Petro said today. The acting administrator opened her fireside chat with Space Foundation CEO Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle (Ret.) by recounting how she came to find out she was given the position of acting administrator after former NASA chief Bill Nelson stepped down in January 2025. Petro was so surprised by the news after hearing it first from her chief of staff that she thought it was a prank. "I thought he was punking me. I thought it was a joke," Petro told Space Symposium attendees today. Related stories: — NASA cutting programs, workforce to comply with Trump order — Trump orders interim NASA chief to end DEI initiatives — Who is Jared Isaacman, Trump's pick for NASA chief? The acting NASA chief elaborated on how she views her role in this "weird" time at the agency, stating that she has been primarily attempting to keep the agency moving forward on its flagship programs of record like the Artemis moon missions or recent partnerships on private moon landings. But the confirmation of a new agency administrator will "allow us to move forward even faster with some more specificity, if you will," Petro said. "So along with that, I would say, I like to say I'm sort of preparing to wait for Jared, just making sure that everything is on track," she added.
Associated Press
04-04-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
NASA Leaders to Participate in 2025 Space Symposium in Colorado
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro and acting Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche will lead the agency's delegation at the 40th Space Symposium, Monday, April 7 through Thursday, April 10, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Petro will join Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Heather Pringle for a fireside chat to discuss NASA's current priorities and partnerships at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 8. Additional NASA participation in the conference includes a one-on-one discussion with Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, and a lunar science and exploration panel featuring Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. A full agenda for this year's Space Symposium is available online. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about NASA's missions and projects on a variety of topics during brief talks with subject matter experts in the agency's exhibit space. @NASAExhibit account on X.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Senator Hickenlooper visits Space Foundation
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Senator John Hickenlooper made a stop in Colorado Springs on Saturday, Feb. 22. He spent the afternoon visiting the Space Foundation Discovery Center to celebrate Colorado's role as a leader in aerospace and innovation. The U.S. Senator emphasized the importance of inspiring the next generation about the future of space and exploration, while families spent the day having a blast exploring the world of science and technology. 'Nothing makes my heart sing like when I see little kids turned on by science,' said Senator Hickenlooper. The senator described the Space Foundation as 'amazing,' saying he is a fan of space and is hoping to share his passion with Southern Colorado's youngest community members. 'Colorado Springs is 'space city' and this is kind of ground zero of how we get young people excited about science so we can have the next generation of scientists to help us make sure that we continue to lead the world in space,' he said. The center, located at 4425 Arrowswest Drive, near Garden of the Gods Road and Centennial Boulevard, just reopened after a remodel and expansion that added more than three thousand feet of floor space, eight exhibits, and four interactive labs. The senator wasn't the only person having fun over the weekend, as many families also explored the upgraded exhibits. 'He really enjoys the Legos, and so he can see and he can touch a lot of that,' said Kristin Bailey, whose son was interacting with the exhibits. She said she loves taking her kids to the Space Foundation because of all of the visual learning opportunities it offers. The community can now test their flying skills in the new Drone Zone, by flying the drone through a series of obstacles, threading needles, and carefully descending onto the landing pad. Another new attraction at the Discovery Center is a robotics lab where kids of all ages can build, design, and create. The Space Foundation is a non-profit organization that fosters collaboration in the space industry and promotes STEM education. It is the region's only dedicated space, science, and technology center. 'We look at the challenges we face around the globe right now and everything comes back to space,' said Senator Hickenlooper. As young minds dream of the next space discovery, discussions persist about the possibiliy of the U.S. Space Command relocating out of Colorado. 'I think we're safe for now, just because to spend $2 billion… and there's no way to move it without weakening it right now,' said Senator Hickenlooper. 'It's in what they call full operating capability, which means we are doing everything we can to keep our adversaries at bay.' In other space news, the Broadmoor is preparing to host the annual Space Symposium. This event draws visitors from around the world and will take place this year from April 3rd through April 10th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
