NASA’s Plans for Returning to the Moon

International Space Development Conference

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May 25, 2018

Dr. Chris Moore

NASA Headquarters

Space Policy Directive - 1

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EXPLORATION CAMPAIGN

Gateway Initial Configuration (Notional)

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Orion

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Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway

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NextSTEP-2: Deep Space Habitation Prototypes

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Builds on proven cargo spacecraft development

Modular Buildup

Leverages Existing Technologies

Five full-sized ground prototypes will be delivered for testing in 2019. In final negotiations with NanoRacks for sixth habitat prototype demonstrator.

Expandable

Refurbishes Heritage Hardware

Lockheed Martin

Denver, CO

Boeing

Pasadena, TX

Bigelow Aerospace

Las Vegas, NV

Orbital ATK

Dulles, VA

Sierra Nevada

Louisville, CO

Selected Aug 2016

NanoRacks

Louisville, CO

Converted Centaur upper stages

Power & Propulsion Element (PPE)

• First element of the Gateway ready for launch in 2022.

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• Spaceflight demonstration of 50 kW advanced solar electric propulsion spacecraft for joint industry and government objectives.

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• PPE will provide Gateway with power, station keeping, transfers to multiple lunar orbits, and communications.

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• Developing PPE through a public private partnership.

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• NASA is developing 12.5 kW Hall thrusters, power processing units, and Xenon flow controllers that will be demonstrated on the PPE.

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• Completed U.S. industry-led studies for an advanced solar electric propulsion (SEP) vehicle capability in March.

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12.5 kW magnetically-shielded Hall thruster

Notional PPE configuration

Gateway Utilization – Four Focus Areas

• Technology: Identifying high-priority technologies for Gateway demonstration
• Issued Gateway Technology Utilization RFI on May 10.

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• Commercial: Developing overall commercialization strategy for Gateway.

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• International: Enabling collaboration between interested parties.

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• Science & Research: Identifying potential science opportunities, and how Gateway infrastructure can support various investigations
• Held gateway science workshop in February.

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Leveraging the Gateway for Destinations Farther Into the Solar System

Operating for long durations in a deep space environment pushes the boundaries of science, opens opportunities for partnerships, and prepares us for robotic and human missions to other destinations, farther into the solar system. 

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• Advancing planetary lander capabilities
• Demonstrating sample return operations
• Deploying CubeSats, small sats, and other science platforms
• Providing opportunities for commercial ventures and international partnerships
• Informing Mars transportation

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Precursor Missions to Search for Lunar Volatiles

NASA is planning to fly five precursor missions in 2020 to search for lunar volatiles that could support human exploration.

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CubeSats on Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1)

• Lunar Flashlight (JPL): Searching for ice from lunar orbit using lasers to illuminate permanently shadowed lunar craters.

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• Lunar IceCube (Morehead State University): Detecting water and other volatiles from lunar orbit using a broadband infrared spectrometer.

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• LunIR (Lockheed Martin): Flyby of the Moon to test a new technology infrared camera and map solar illumination of the surface.

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• LunaH-Map (Arizona State University): Mapping the abundance and distribution of near-surface hydrogen in permanently shadowed regions using neutron spectrometers.

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Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO)

• ShadowCam (Arizona State University): Low-light camera to image ice in permanently shadowed lunar craters. NASA contributed instrument on KPLO.

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Lunar Flashlight

Lunar IceCube

LunaH-Map

ShadowCam

LunIR

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Masten Space Systems

Mojave, CA

HELPING U.S. INDUSTRY PARTNERS TO

LOWER RISKS | CONDUCT TESTS | ACCELERATE VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT

• Competitively selected partnerships with industry to accelerate development of U.S. private-sector robotic lunar landers and enable commercial payload transportation to the Moon.
• Space Act Agreements renewed in 2017 for two more years.
• In-kind NASA support: Technical Expertise / Test Facilities / Equipment Loans / Software

Moon Express

Cape Canaveral, FL

Astrobotic Technology

Pittsburgh, PA

Masten Space Systems

Mojave, CA

Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program

• New program in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate that will support activities such as the establishment of commercial contracts for transportation services, the development of small rovers to be delivered via commercial landers, and the building and launching of instruments that serve lunar science, long-term exploration, and utilization needs.

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• Commercial Lunar Payload Services
• Plan to issue RFP in July to acquire end-to-end commercial payload transportation services between the Earth and the lunar surface.
• NASA plans to award multiple fixed-price IDIQ contracts to U.S. industry for delivery of small instruments and technology demonstration payloads.
• Held Industry Day on May 8.

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Lander Development

• Develop commercial lunar landing capabilities to support future NASA mission needs, reduce risk, and stimulate commercial investments and activities in cislunar space.

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• Validate commercial capabilities and explore business cases for lunar payload delivery by purchasing instrument delivery services and technology demonstrations as soon commercially available.

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• Partner with industry to evolve capabilities for mid-size (500-1,000 kg of payload) landers, to be demonstrated in 2022 and 2024, and to deliver payloads such as lunar resource prospecting, ascent stages for sample return missions, and infrastructure to support future missions.

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• Advance capabilities to support development of a human class lander (5,000-6,000 kg of payload) to enable progress towards landing humans on the Moon.

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Summary

• NASA plans to establish a crew-tended gateway in lunar orbit that can be used as a staging point for human missions to the Moon or Mars, and as a platform for science instruments and technology demonstrations.

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• NASA is pursuing commercial and international partnerships to provide elements of the gateway.

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• NASA is supporting commercial development of lunar landing capabilities, and plans to procure commercial lunar payload delivery services as early as 2019.

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• Five precursor missions will be flown in 2020 to search for lunar volatiles from orbit.

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• First mid-class lander mission in 2022, followed by a second mission in 2024. Human missions will follow robotic missions.

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