18 minute read
NASA Moon
NASA Pursues Astronaut Lunar Landers for Future Artemis Moon Missions
Artist’s illustration of an Artemis astronaut stepping from a Moon lander onto the lunar surface / Credits: NASA
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NASA is seeking proposals for sustainable lunar lander development and demonstration as the agency works toward a regular cadence of Moon landings. Through Artemis missions, NASA is preparing to return humans to the Moon, including the first woman and first person of color, for long-term scientific discovery and exploration.
Under the solicitation, Human Landing System Sustaining Lunar Development, NASA has provided requirements for companies interested in developing and demonstrating astronaut Moon landers. These efforts will pave the way for multiple companies to provide recurring Moon landing services beyond the Artemis III mission, which is planned for no earlier than 2025.
Companies selected under this contract will be required to perform one uncrewed and one crewed lunar landing demonstration. NASA will certify any lander system to meet its requirements prior to the crewed demonstration mission(s).
“Work done under this solicitation, in addition to current lander development and studies taking place, will help build the foundation for long-term deep space exploration,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager for the Human Landing System Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
“Partnering with American companies to do that work now allows us to leverage NASA’s knowledge and expertise to encourage technological innovations for a sustained presence at the Moon.”
The final call for proposals comes after NASA incorporated industry feedback on the draft solicitation, released March 31, encouraging companies to send comments to help shape a key component of the agency’s human exploration Artemis architecture. NASA also hosted a virtual industry day in April to present an overview of the solicitation and to provide companies an opportunity to ask clarifying questions and provide comments.
NASA’s existing contract with SpaceX includes both an uncrewed and a crewed lunar landing demonstration that is part of the Artemis III mission, marking humanity’s first return to the Moon in more than 50 years.
The agency plans to exercise an option under this contract, known as Option B, asking the company to evolve its current Artemis III Starship Human Landing System design to meet an extended set of requirements for sustaining missions at the Moon and conduct another crewed demonstration landing.
These concurrent sustaining lander development efforts will meet NASA’s needs for recurring, long-term access to the lunar surface, such as the ability to dock with Gateway for crew transfer, accommodate an increased crew size, and deliver more mass to the surface.
NASA’s Artemis efforts include sending a suite of new science instruments and technology demonstrations to study the Moon, landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, and more. The agency will leverage its Artemis experiences and technologies to prepare for the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.
Proposals for the sustainable lunar lander development and demonstration are due Nov. 15.
For more information about this procurement, visit: Nasa.gov/nextstep/humanlander4.
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continued from page 42
And now about the “second world” countries made up of “communist nations regarded in the latter part of the 20th century as a political and economic bloc.” The infrequent use of this category is perhaps due to the perception that these places are shrouded in mystery and in the absence of free exchange of information, we build ideas that may be worse than actuality. Villains on the silver screen and novels are conveniently from these parts of the world, contributing to the negative associations. And until we receive a warm welcome to visit and explore these nations, it will be hard to experience the current reality.
From these labels, one would assume that the goal is to progress to the first world category and imitation of all its practices is desirable. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As most immigrants would attest, there are no absolutes, and no place is perfect. Before I arrived in the USA, I had imagined it to be a place of prosperity and openness. Poverty has been increasing visibly around us in the Charlotte area just as crime has. Homeless people holding signs that plead for help is being spotted at more and more traffic intersections. The disease of prejudice and closedminded attitudes is eating away at the justice system and ruining political conversations. And heavy industrialization has been a bane for our environment. A prime example being the dumping of coal ash in Lake Norman by power plants that has probably risked the health of the local population. Its adverse effects will unfortunately last for a long time. Additionally, not all wealthy nations are considered safe. Pickpocketing in popular tourist destinations like Barcelona and Paris and crass bottom pinching behavior by Italians is not to be emulated.
Contrary to popular belief, first world countries could seek solutions for their current problems in third world cultures. Studying conservation, ancient healing techniques and health practices, to name a few, are a good place to start. In this context, California’s current climate crisis comes to mind. Amidst record high temperatures and unrelenting heat waves, there is a risk of introducing rolling blackouts. Tied to old habits, majority of Californians could struggle with a sudden reduction in their household electricity usage. People from Kolkata are probably very familiar with “load shedding” since there were deliberate power outages in West Bengal to conserve energy for decades. Even in Mumbai, where blackouts were rare, we were disciplined about switching off lights and fans when we left a room, as electricity was expensive unlike the US where we tend to get careless about power usage. Our give and take with nature must be proportionate or we will be forced to face harsh consequences. In fact, living in harmony with nature is best learned from indigenous tribes that have not assimilated into what we consider a modern society.
It would be wise to remember that we are all inhabitants of the same planet, and one should not only learn from one another but also be appropriately wary in every land. Don’t judge a book by its cover or a nation by its “label” because that would be dunderheaded, aka stupid. Shyama Parui
is a long time North Carolina resident and an ardent writer. You can reach her at: shyamashree_parui@hotmail.com
continued from page 62 to increase their knowledge and speed of doing calculations; and of course, there are plenty of books available if that is the starting point in the minds of the parents. My idea would be to get parents to keep that topic as a central subject at some conversation point once in a while and just expose the children to everything that they need to know. And then don’t be surprised if your child shows, many years later, some form of financial acumen in his/her financial dealings. They are usually soaking up everything.
Mo Vidwans
is an independent, board certified financial planner. For details visit, VidwansFinancial.com, call 984-888-0355 or write to: mpvidwans@yahoo.com
Adult Dance Student
continued from page 54
to the dance for the language beyond words/gestures that are important in communication.
The language of the body and expressions are an important feature of Indian classical dance as well. For instance, expressions are taught for how to convey a mood or “Rasa” of a dance. Without words, how does the face/eyes convey Love? How to convey compassion? What would the eyebrows do if one is angry?
In Tamil literature, there was a five-year-old boy called Urutticanaman who cannot speak, but when he hears the correct commentary of the sutras or teachings, tears fall from his eyes, and from his body, his hairs will stand like goosebumps.
His expressions could bring parallels to “abhinaya” of the dance or the aspect of the dance where expressions are used to help with the story telling. Urutticanaman was expressing concepts within expressions known as “Saatvika Bhava” by displaying bodily goosebumps and having tears fall from his eyes.
With the combination of hand gestures, body language, and keeping rhythm with the musicians, the dancer can then convey the language of storytelling from the comprehensive usage of their body.
When learning Classical Indian dance, from a personal perspective, I am learning to be able to communicate in the language of the body which is a portal of communication for understanding the self, communicating to the audience, and to the divinities. It is a way to keep us interconnected to each other and to reach various audiences, who may need different modes of communication.
This series of articles is about the journey and unique insights of an adult dance student learning classical Indian dance. An introduction to the experiences and a perspective of taking classical Indian dance as both an American and an Indian, and how this shapes her personal journey.
Preethi Sriram
is a classical Indian dance enthusiast and lifelong learner of dance. Contact: SriramPreethi@hotmail.com.
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Introverts have the capability to change the world without words. They just don’t put their capabilities in the spotlight, which leads to people thinking that they don’t have any capabilities. Last year, I tried out improv. My first show was coming up, and I wanted to spread the word to my friends so that they would come to the show. When I told them that I was in improv, they looked at me as if I had just told them that I was part-mongoose. They said, “You’re in improv? But you’re so quiet!”. The next night during the show, I set aside all of their doubts about me being in improv and I made people laugh.
I wasn’t able to make people laugh by putting away my introverted side in a box, and transforming into an extrovert. Instead, I used being an introvert to my advantage. I was creative with my jokes and I crafted well thought out punchlines.
This experience proved to me and my friends that there aren’t certain activities that are only reserved for extroverts, or only for introverts. Introverts have the capability to do any activities that an extrovert can do, while still being themselves.
Shy, aloof, anxious, unsociable. That is often how introverts are thought of in society. Introverts are labeled with a negative connotation. Extroverts, on the other hand, are friendly, action-oriented, and enthusiastic; all words with positive connotations. What we don’t see in society is that we need both of these people in the world to progress as humans. In my group projects during school, the natural leader is always the one who talks the most; it’s an unspoken understanding. Whenever the teacher observes the group discussions during class, all they see is the group leader pouring out ideas. It’s natural for them to assume that that person is doing all the work in the group.
What the teacher doesn’t see, is the person behind the curtain who takes everyone’s opinion into account. They spend hours grammar-checking their group members’ work. They pour their whole heart into creating a poster with wondrous illustrations. They are thoughtful, detailoriented, and creative. These people are introverts, and that shouldn’t be considered a weakness. They have an inner strength within them, and without it present in the group, the whole group will teeter off balance.
I would like to say to all of the introverts reading this: you are important in this world. You don’t have to change yourself in order to be heard, rather, people should change themselves to listen.
Your traits are not your weaknesses. Your traits make up the wonderful person that you are and give you the qualities that other people admire about you. Just because you may not be in the spotlight like some of your peers, does not mean that you are not making a difference in this world. You bring so much joy, creativity, and positivity to this world and you are making the biggest difference than you will ever give yourself credit for.
Sereena Kumar
is a freshman at Enloe High School and has a passion for writing. Contact: slkumar@mycomedical.com
Raajeev’s Corner continued from page 66 My father would proudly take the individual items out and pile them in three different categories: business items, his personal clothes, and gifts. The gift pile would be the biggest because there were so many stakeholders.
The gifts rotated every year. One year, there was a red Chevrolet convertible car with a wired remote that my brother and I spent hours navigating on the checkered floors of our rooms. Another year was a steam engine which would emit actual smoke and change directions after bumping into a wall. Then there was Ford car that had a special mechanism preventing it from falling from a table.
One year there was a wine glass that gave the impression that it was half full, but the red wine was inside the two glass coats of the gobbler. We would marvel at the fact that the wine would not spill out and scare relatives by pretending to throw a cup of wine at them. On that same visit, after a couple of days, my brother and I filled up the wine cup with water. When we brought it to the living room, my uncle grabbed it and threw at one of our other relatives, drenching their face and clothes with water!
Another year, my father brought a couple of plastic birds which would fly from one corner of the room to another after you would wind them. Then there was view master with a deck of colored slides with pictures ranging from sites of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, redwood trees. Another deck of slides had views of NASA Apollo Mission.
Besides toys, he would bring brightly colored polyester shirts, bell bottom pants and winter jackets. There were saris made of American Georgette, generic brand lipsticks and large bottles of Intimate perfume by Revlon. My mom would take the perfume out and put them in small generic glass bottles and give them out to relatives.
During my younger years, I used to feel very fortunate that our father lived in the US, and he cared for our family bringing all these wonderful toys and gifts. We considered our childhood as normal as any of our friends from a lower middle-class upbringing. We were too young to even realize that we were deprived in any way. I think the yearly visits of our father with all the toys helped. As I reflect and visualize the image of a large brown polyester suitcase sitting in our living room, I cannot stop comparing it with a Trojan horse where soldiers disguised as toy cars, flying birds and Levi’s jeans would crawl out into our house and blow out any isolation or despair before they actually became sizable.
I can still see the whiskey-colored Revlon Intimate bottle and smell its blended aroma of Rose, Gardenia, Bergamot, and Sandalwood. It took me many years after coming of age to realize that the blended smell of Intimate perfume must have acted like opium to help bring some semblance of normalcy to my mother’s life. I can now understand her pain, frustration, and loneliness being a single mom 11 months out of a year and only be able to share those feelings with her husband through handwritten words expressed on thin light parchment papers from Nai Sarak, the Old Delhi book market. Those thin pink or green translucent sheets of paper were for the sole purpose of saving money on overseas air mail postage. There were no WhatsApp, no text messages
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