INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
world convene to discuss the state of space technology and business, I asked NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine about what role he sees for
question during a press Q+A about Artemis, said the program is incredibly welcoming of contributions from startups large and small, and that
capsule approaching to dockThe Lunar Gateway is a station NASA intends to put in orbit around the Moon to act as a staging ground for its
vehicles, a key step to ensure the process of landing things on the Moon once they reach lunar orbit is more easily accomplished
Bridenstine pointed out that in the Broad Agency Agreement (BAA) that NASA originally put out for the Artemis program, it went further still
and said that it welcomed proposals from private space companies that involve going directly to the Moon, bypassing the Gateway
entirely.Actually getting to the Moon has been taken on by some of the deeper-pocketed and more well-established entrepreneurs among the
But Artemis participation goes well beyond the high-priced task of building vehicles capable of getting from Earth to lunar orbit, according
capsule Artemis will use to take humans to the Moon in 2024 will lean on advance payloads to better ensure mission success
including science hardware, like the Viper neutron spectrometer, an IR spectrometer helping us understand the regolith and the water ice,
Both these landers, and the payloads they carry, could include startup-designed equipment and systems to pave the way for sustainable human
occupation of our large natural satellite
entrepreneurial businesses, and intends to continue exploring partnerships with more
In fact, right now we have the Commercial Lunar Payload Services [CLPS] program underway
only those nine companies, but we want to on-ramp additional companies, and maybe even bigger companies for larger landing opportunities
