Mission Horizon: Headed to the Moon Research Links
Mankind has always looked to the Moon with wonder. The United States has partnered with many countries and companies to explore the moon and other bodies throughout the universe. Review the links below to learn some of what they are doing today.
On October 1, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Aeronautics and Space Act, creating NASA officially propelling the US on a journey into space in direct competition with the USSR. Research and development by many brave men lead us to the Apollo Program which landed us on the Moon.
Find out how Neil Armstrong was able to land on the Moon and say: "One small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind." The 17 Apollo missions and a lot more which lead to the development of the Saturn rockets, spaceship modules and other lunar vehicles and experiments conducted on these missions in the 1960s and 1970s.
President Obama's Administration helped reignite the desire to go to the Moon. Legislation enabled private individuals and companies to invest and develop technology to get mankind back on the Moon.
Today, hundreds of companies are working with NASA to develop rockets and other vehicles to get us back to the Moon and even Mars. The following companies are just a few, working directly with NASA on aspects of The Artemis Program. Boeing, United Launch Alliance, & Northrop Grumman are the legacy companies on the Artemis Program. Blue Origin, SpaceX, and ICON are the "New guys in town". These companies are working together and independently on ways to get to the Moon and establish a colony so humans can live on the Moon, and even Mars.
The Boeing Starliner Space Capsule is designed to carry crew and cargo to the International Space Station. Additional adaptations will allow this capsule to possibly be used to aid crews to land on the Moon.
ULA has 2 rockets to propel astronauts into space, the Vulcan and the Atlas V. Both are designed to launch crew and cargo into space and to the moon. The Atlas V rocket sent the Boeing Starliner Capsule into space on June 5, 2024 on its maiden voyage.
One way Northrop Grumman has helped with the Artemis Program is by providing the solid rocket busters for NASA's Space Launch System(SLS) rocket. Review the link to see how they are working with NASA today and into the future.
How are we going to live on the Moon or Mars. Icon has the answer with Project Olympus. They have design a Habitat, or home for humans to live in on a planet. They have built a 3D printer large enough to build a house. They will use materials from the Moon surface to create a concrete like substance which will be used to construct the entire Habitat for humans to live in.
One of Sierra Space's projects is the Life Habitat. This is an inflatable capsule delivered to space by a rocket. The capsule will expand to allow for a living environment for astronauts to live and work. Sierra Space has other space projects in the works like Dream Chaser. Check out what they are working on.
Blue Origin is lead by Jeff Bezos. This company is working with NASA on the Artemis Program and perusing private space flight to low Earth orbit and beyond. Developing multiple rockets to include the New Shepard and New Glenn rockets. Additional satellites and vehicles are being developed to land on the Moon. All these are designed to be reused on multiple space mission.
Of all the companies listed on this page, SpaceX by far is in the news the most. Founded by Elon Musk, this company is working on many projects to help mankind. SpaceX's Falcon rockets are being launched on a weekly basis to develop communications and space systems to advance to ability to communicate, experiment and travel in Space. SpaceX's Super Heavy rocket, coupled with the and Starship spacecraft are being developed to get mankind back on the Moon and even to Mars. SpaceX has been able to reuse almost 90% of its rockets for multiple missions.
Take the time and research the links above. These companies in partnership with NASA form the core of where we are headed in the next few years. There are many more companies and countries you can search on your own to find more information for traveling to the Moon.
