Latest briefing · August 15, 2026
Northrop Grumman's Cold-Test Pivot: What Repurposed Gateway Hardware Tells Us About Lunar South Pole Power
Northrop Grumman is stress-testing shelved Gateway hardware at −200°C to prove lunar south pole survival before 2028 astronaut landings.
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August 15, 2026
What Pablo Sobrón Just Got Right About Finding Resources Across the Solar System
NASA's NIAC funding for Pablo Sobrón's Interworld Slingshot concept reframes how we scout energy and mineral resources across the solar system.
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August 14, 2026
Moonquakes as Ice Scouts: What Seismic Mapping Means for Lunar Surface Power Siting
A seismic approach to mapping subsurface lunar ice could finally give surface power planners the resource data they need to commit to a site.
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August 13, 2026
Perovskite Cells Meet Starship Economics: A Credible Path to Space Solar's Specific-Power Problem
Two converging data points — printable perovskite cells and Starship's projected cost collapse — finally put SBSP's W/kg math in a defensible range.
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August 12, 2026
Tritium Nuclear Batteries Head to Orbit — and Could Keep Lunar Bases Alive Through the Night
Betavoltaic cells using tritium are being tested in space for the first time, offering a path to continuous lunar surface power through the 14-day night.
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August 11, 2026
Gateway Is Dead, Long Live the Lunar Base: What Northrop and CSA's Pivot Means for Surface Power
Northrop Grumman and the Canadian Space Agency are repurposing Gateway hardware for a lunar base, forcing a hard rethink of surface power architectures.
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August 8, 2026
What Tom Percy Just Got Right About Integrating the Lunar Landing System
NASA's Tom Percy is quietly solving the hardest coordination problem in human spaceflight — making SpaceX and other lander providers work as one system.
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August 8, 2026
Lunar Dust Is the Hidden Enemy of Surface Power — Here's How NASA Is Fighting It
NASA's Johnson Space Center facility is stress-testing Artemis hardware against lunar regolith before any power system touches the Moon.
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August 7, 2026
Silicon PV for Satellites: Fraunhofer ISE and Source Energy Challenge III-V Dominance
Fraunhofer ISE and Source Energy are developing silicon-based PV modules for satellites, targeting a lower-cost alternative to III-V cells that dominate spacecraft power today.
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August 6, 2026
NASA's Moon Base Cargo Push: Four Landers, One Power Problem That Still Needs Solving
With four commercial landers targeting 2028 lunar delivery and a navigation payload already integrated, the Moon Base program is real — but surface power remains the open variable.
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