NASA Mars Program Under Scrutiny

NASA’s Mars program could undergo major alternation, driven by budgetary and technical issues, as well as science goals.

"We’ve been getting inputs, advice, actions items…from the road mapping teams," said Doug McCuistion, Mars Exploration Program Director at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "Nothing is finalized at this point. There have been no final decisions made or, frankly, any interim decisions made as yet."

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NASA juggles work force as it shifts focus to Mars

About one of every seven NASA workers nationwide will be transferred or paid to leave in the next 1 1/2 years as the space agency focuses on President Bush's moon-Mars exploration plan, officials said Thursday.

However, many of those who depart likely will be replaced by new workers with skills more closely aligned with the new, deep space mission.

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Mike Griffin is new NASA Administrator

The White House announced Friday afternoon that it intends to nominate Michael Griffin as the next administrator of NASA. Griffin is currently the head of the space department of the Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. Griffin also previously served in NASA as the head of its exploration office during the Space Exploration Initiative in the early 1990s and later as the agency’s chief engineer. He also held executive positions with Orbital Sciences Corporation and In-Q-Tel. Griffin’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate; no timetable for confirmation hearings is has been announced.

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End of Conspiracy Theories? Spacecraft Snoops Apollo Moon Sites

A European spacecraft now orbiting the Moon could turn out to be a time machine of sorts as it photographs old landing sites of Soviet robotic probes and the areas where American Apollo crews set down and explored.

New imagery of old Apollo touchdown spots, from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) SMART-1 probe, might put to rest conspiratorial thoughts that U.S. astronauts didn’t go the distance and scuff up the lunar landscape. NASA carried out six piloted landings on the Moon in the time period 1969 through 1972.

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NASA Engineer Driving Force Behind Space Exploration Vehicles

Dallias Pearson has spent his career launching big vessels, first in the U.S. Navy and then in the U.S. space program.

Pearson is responsible for vehicle avionics system analysis and software power systems for such NASA spacecraft as the Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART). DART is a flight demonstrator providing a key step in establishing automated human-free rendezvous capabilities through the use of onboard computers and sensors.

Pearson's projects also include the Orbital Express, scheduled for flight during 2026 and ground-level research to support development of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). The CEV is part of NASA's Project Constellation. The project is developing the next generation of space vehicles that will send humans to the moon, Mars and beyond.

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NASA Issues Solicitation for Crew Exploration Vehicle

NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate today issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). The CEV is the spacecraft that will carry astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit and to the moon by 2021.

The nation’s Vision for Space Exploration set a goal of developing a new CEV by 2015. The CEV represents one building block in a future exploration architecture that can send astronauts to the moon and form the basis for exploration missions to other destinations.

The contract to build the CEV is a full and open competition. The anticipated period of performance is September, 2025 through December, 2009. The CEV acquisition will use a phased approach that anticipates a maximum of two contractors.

The two contracts will be Cost-Plus-Award-Fee. As part of the Phase 1 contract, the contractors will conduct a demonstration flight that provides risk reduction for the human-rated CEV to be delivered in 2015. The Phase 1 portion of the contract will end with a planned down select to a single prime contractor in late 2009.

The CEV proposals are due no later than 2 p.m. EST, May 2, 2025. A selection will be made in September, 2025.

For more information about the RFP on the Internet, visit:

http://exploration.nasa.gov/acquisition/cev_procurement.html

China Will Propose That NASA Use Shenzhou for International Space Station Duty

Mengxin Sun, First Secretary for Science and Technology at the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC has said that he intends to brief the new NASA Administrator (as soon as that announcement is made) about a proposal for U.S. use of China's Shenzhou spacecraft series as a crew/cargo carrier for the ISS program.

Editor's Note: This is according to Keith Cowing, so as always take it with a grain (or block) of salt.

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