NASA and the U.S. Space Force have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining areas where the two agencies will collaborate. Created 9 months ago, the Space Force is in the process of standing up its organization and cementing relationships with U.S. and allied partners. The MOU replaces one signed in 2006 between the Air Force and NASA and has a strong focus on synergies between NASA’s planetary defense and Space Force’s Space Domain Awareness responsibilities.

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NASA released a report today updating its plans for the early phase of the Artemis program to return astronauts to the Moon by 2024. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will testify to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday about the agency’s FY2021 request for a 12 percent increase to start paying for Artemis, hoping it will get more support than in the House. Bridenstine also clarified that the landing site for the first mission remains the South Pole, and whether or not the Gateway will be used for Artemis III is undecided.

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NASA’s reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) shows it is primed for its near-term tasks of operating in low Earth orbit (LEO) and getting astronauts to the Moon. Mars planning is assigned to a newly created organization that will integrate spaceflight activity across all of HEOMD.  The reorganization also reveals that Gateway may still be part of the Artemis III landing after all.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 20-26, 2020 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session this week.

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Here are SpacePolicyOnline.com’s tidbits for September 17, 2020:  People on the move (Stallmer, LaPlante, Sirangelo); Rocket Lab getting closer to Wallops launch; reality TV finding its way to space. Be sure to check our website for feature stories and follow us on Twitter (@SpcPlcyOnline) for more news and live tweeting of events.

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Five years and many modifications later, Congress has finally passed bipartisan legislation to address how the U.S. government deals with threats posed by emissions from the Sun to critical elements of our infrastructure like the electric grid and satellites.  PROSWIFT, S. 881, now awaits signature by the President.

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The head of NASA’s human spaceflight program has added more mystery to the question of whether the first Artemis lunar landing mission will go to the South Pole. The issue arose earlier this week when NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine hinted that returning to an Apollo landing site in the equatorial region was under consideration. It was unclear if he meant for the first mission or later on, however.

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Today’s breaking news is the discovery of phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus. The evidence was detected using ground-based telescopes. The question now is whether spacecraft will be sent to further investigate.  NASA’s last dedicated Venus mission was launched decades ago, but two are competing for a chance in the ongoing round of Discovery missions.

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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine put in a good word today for returning to Apollo landing sites. NASA’s objective is to land the next U.S. astronaut crew at the Moon’s South Pole, but if that was determined to be “out of reach,” visiting an Apollo site near the Moon’s equator might yield scientific and inspirational benefits. He stressed that no such decision has been made.

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Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 13-19, 2020 and any insight we can offer about them.  The House and Senate are in session most of this week.

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