The Mars is still a bit blurry, but what is clear to NASA is that in just under five years the human being has to get back on our next satellite after the order from the White House. And for that purpose he has sought such good friends (and with a good background) as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing and up to eleven private companies to design the next vehicle to take human beings to the Moon.
Specifically, it is something within the framework of the manned mission named Artemis, with which not only vehicles would leave their mark on the Moon, but also human beings (and at least one of them women). For this, they will work on the creation of various prototypes of a lander capable of taking astronauts with these private companies.
Eleven friends who know what they are talking about to get the Moon well and in "little" time
Last week we knew precisely about Blue Moon, the initiative of Blue Origin (company of Jeff Bezos) also oriented to go to the Moon. And precisely Bezos offered to help NASA to fulfill its goal of reaching the Moon in 2024.
On the other hand, in addition, there is the company of Elon Musk, SpaceX, who is preparing a project also focused on the satellite called #DearMoon. And with today's announcement it is confirmed that NASA has partnered with eleven private space companies to conduct studies and build the prototypes of the vehicle that will travel and land on the Moon to put the human being back on the lunar surface.
The companies will work during the next six months on these prototypes so that this agenda can be fulfilled. The plan is to create a system that includes a transfer for the trip from the lunar Gateway (what would be the base) to the low lunar orbit, an element to take the astronauts to the surface and an element that descends to the Gateway, looking for all this to be reusable.
The starting budget is 45.5 million dollars, each of the companies having to contribute at least 20% of the total cost of the project. The companies in question are:
- Aerojet Rocketdyne: study of one of the transfer vehicles.
- Blue Origin: study for the downhill vehicle, the transfer and its prototype. Boeing study for the downhill vehicle, the transfer, the fuel refill element and the prototype of these.
- Dynetics: study for the descent vehicle and five prototypes of it.
- Lockheed Martin: study for the descent vehicle, the transfer, the refueling and four prototypes of the descent.
- Masten Space Systems: study for the descent vehicle.
- Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems: study for the descent vehicle, the refueling and prototypes of the latter and four of the descent.
- OrbitBeyond: two prototypes of the refueling.
- Sierra Nevada Corporation: study for the descent vehicle, the transfer and the refueling one.
- SpaceX: study for the descent vehicle.
- SSL: study and prototype of the fuel refill element.
Vehicles with gigabit internet, powered by liquid hydrogen and other possibilities
The agency also explains that this way of working does not imply that the vehicles and elements thought are the definitive ones. Above all, they want to find what they can safely carry and return to astronauts, and each company can contribute ideas in this regard. In fact, among them we have already seen some with whom NASA has worked in the past, such as Lockheed Martin, for example in the designs of silent supersonic aircraft.
It will be interesting to see what results from all this, taking into account what we have already seen with the SpaceX reuse rockets or the idea with which they have been working for Blue Origin for years, with a module that according to Bezos will be powered by liquid hydrogen and that I would have gigabit internet connection via laser to be in contact with the Earth.
There are many brains (and powerful, also at the level of resources) for this mission that has now become among the priorities of the North American country after learning that the administration intends to add 1,600 million dollars to the 10,700 million budget for the Artemis mission. So we'll see if in a few months they already show us some prototypes.