Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine Summer 2017 Issue | Page 34

Human Space Exploration Update
By: Jimmy Spence, BAHEP
· Astronauts join debate on how and if humans will get to
Mars- The discussion at the Armstrong Space Symposium
on May 11 turned to humanity’s next destination in space,
the moon or Mars, and whether it will have government
or commercial leadership. Commercial ventures “are not
substitutes for national will” or “a belief by our nation that
we should be preeminent in space,” asserted Mike Griffin,
a former NASA administrator, who was among the space
agency officials and astronauts who participated
· Astronauts Complete Shortened Spacewalk Outside
International Space Station- Airlock difficulties forced
International Space Station commander Peggy Whitson
and fellow NASA astronaut Jack Fischer to abbreviate
an otherwise successful spacewalk, the 200th excursion
focused on the assembly and maintenance of the orbiting
science lab
· Preparing for the Deep Space Gateway- NASA’s Flexible
Deep Space Gateway, a lunar orbiting NASA space
station, would be the link between the International
Space Station and future missions to the Martian environs
with human explorers. In addition to testing life support
systems developed to support two to three yearlong
missions to Mars, the gateway would expose astronauts to
the physical and mental challenges of the long missions.
NASA is focused on launching its first human mission to
Mars in 2033
· Cutting NASA’s education funding will hurt workforce,
senators argue in open letter- 32 Senators urge
appropriators not to close NASA’s $115 million a year
office of education, part of President Trump’s proposed
topline 2018 budget for the space agency. The space
agency’s educational initiatives contribute significantly to STEM education, according to those who signed
the letter.
· Meet Valkyrie, NASA’s space robot- Standing six foot two, Valkyrie is a humanoid robot developed at NASA’s
Johnson Space Center that could be part of missions launched to Mars ahead of the first humanexplorers
and commanded to help assemble sheltering. Valkyrie is among 20 competitors headed for the SpaceRobot
Challenge in June
· Draft bill would give commerce, not FAA, “mission authorization” function- Draft legislation would make the
U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce responsible for oversight of non-government
space activities rather than the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation in the Department of
Transportation. Three lawmakers are floating the idea, according to the report. They include Rep. Lamar Smith,
chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee; Rep. Brian Babin, who chairs the panel’s
SpaceSubcommittee; and Rep. Jim Bridenstine, of Oklahoma.
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MOMENTUM / Summer 2017