The UK in Artemis

The Artemis programme

NASA’s Artemis programme marks a return of humans to the Moon. The aim is to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon by 2025.

Commercial and international partners will collaborate to achieve a sustainable presence on the lunar surface as a steppingstone to the first human mission to Mars.

December 2022 will mark 50 years since Apollo 17 – the last human landing on the Moon. The Artemis programme marks the next chapter of human space exploration.

Artemis I

The Artemis I mission on the launchpad in Florida. NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Artemis I mission sees the first launch of the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will take the NASA-built Orion capsule, with the European-built service module that includes Orion’s engines, towards the Moon.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I is the first uncrewed flight before NASA sends the first crewed Artemis mission into space in 2024. The agency expects the first Artemis astronauts to land on the lunar surface in 2025.

Artemis I is set to launch from Florida on 29 August 2022, at around 1:30pm BST.

UK involvement in Artemis

Renewed interest in the Moon – from partners all around the world – presents a great opportunity for the UK.

The lunar economy is set to take off in the next decade. A recent PwC study estimated it to have a value of $170 billion (£144 billion) by 2040. The UK is playing its part in this, with forward-thinking, innovative companies to capitalise on this opportunity.

We will be able to track the Artemis I mission in the UK from Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall. This is a major step for our capacity to offer commercial lunar communications from the UK.

The UK is making important contributions to the Lunar Gateway – a space station currently in development that will orbit the Moon – as part of the Artemis programme. Thales Alenia Space UK will provide the refuelling module on the Gateway, which will support future lunar missions.

Artist’s impression of Lunar Gateway in orbit around Moon. Credit: NASA

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd’s Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will offer communications and navigation services on the lunar surface from 2025. UK companies are also involved in some of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) missions that will see lunar payloads delivered to the surface of the Moon by commercially operated companies.

In 2020, the UK signed the Artemis Accords with NASA and partner space agencies around the world. The US worked with the UK, along with other spacefaring nations including Japan, Australia, Canada, Italy and the UAE, to develop the Artemis Accords: a set of principles to ensure a shared understanding of safe operations, use of space resources, minimising space debris and sharing scientific data.

Other UK lunar activity:

New UK-Ukraine transport partnership to rebuild war-torn infrastructure

transport ministers from both nations sign a historic joint action plan to help rebuild Ukraine’s transport network
Department for Transport offers funds, engineering expertise and vehicles
UK support for Ukraine now nearly £4 billion

The UK has signed a historic pact with Ukraine that commits to sharing engineering expertise and pledges a new package of support to help rebuild its war damaged infrastructure.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, today (25 June 2022) hosted a virtual meeting with his counterpart at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov, in the same week Ukraine marked its Independence Day and 6 months since Putin’s barbaric and illegal invasion of their country.

After a presentation from Ukrainian officials on the true impact of the war to their train network, roads and bridges, the two transport leaders signed a joint action plan to help restore these vital links. It agrees to share expert advice from prestigious UK-based private-sector organisations. The UK will also send 5 buses from the Go Ahead Group to support reconnecting the Ukrainian public and buy equipment to repair routes which are crucial for the exportation of grain.

Experts will offer knowledge in airport, runway and port reconstruction, and will work with the Ministry of Infrastructure to identify training opportunities for airport staff, air traffic controllers and aviation security.

The Transport Secretary also outlined more detail about the £10 million Ukrainian Railways support package, previously announced by the Prime Minister at the G7 Summit. This will buy bridge repair and tunnel lining equipment, key hand tools and more than 120 shipping containers, which will help mobilise Ukrainian grain trains, currently hampered by Russian activity. With Ukraine being one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world, these vital interventions will help its economy recover and alleviate pressure on global food prices.

This will support the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allows the safe passage of grain, food and fertiliser exports out of Ukraine in protected shipping corridors. So far, the initiative has freed 721,449 metric tons of goods from 3 Ukrainian ports.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

It’s great to meet with the Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister today and offer the UK’s expertise and resource to help them rebuild and get its people get moving again in the face of this brutal conflict.

In the UK we have some of the best transport experts in the world and sharing this with Ukraine will not only help them rebuild – but will boost the profile of UK businesses on a global scale.

Earlier this year, the UK assumed presidency of the International Travel Forum (ITF) and committed to bring global partners together in solidarity against the invasion of Ukraine. Under the UK presidency the ITF will launch new dedicated research into the impact of the war on transport and will share constructive policy advice on the sustainable reconstruction of its infrastructure.

Ukrainian Minister for Infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov said:

The fate of war is decided not only on the battlefield. Ukraine needs a strong economy and steadily operating infrastructure.

Thanks to today’s agreements, we expect to receive high-quality expertise from leading British companies and institutes to restore Ukrainian infrastructure.

I am grateful to my colleague, the Transport Secretary, for Great Britain’s comprehensive support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression.

This government is working tirelessly to help the Ukrainian people in their fight against Russia, with the total value of UK support now standing at nearly £4 billion through multilateral loan guarantees and over £100 million bilateral support.

This government has introduced the largest and most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia, or indeed any major economy. We have sanctioned over 1000 individuals, 100 businesses, and cracked down on Russian-owned yachts and private jets, costing oligarchs £117 billion.

Reappointment of a Lay Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission

News story

Her Majesty the Queen, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, has approved the reappointment of Susan Hoyle as a Lay Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Susan Hoyle has been reappointed as a Lay Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for 3 years commencing 1 August 2022.

The JAC is an independent body that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and for some tribunals with UK-wide jurisdiction. Candidates are selected on merit, through fair and open competition.

JAC Commissioners are appointed, under Schedule 12(1) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Commissioner appointments comply with the provisions of the Judicial Appointment Commission Regulations 2013.

Appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments and recruitment processes comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Biography

Susan was appointed a Lay Commissioner of the JAC on 1 August 2019. Susan has held a number of senior executive and non-executive roles mainly in the arts, including Deputy Secretary-General of Arts Council England and Director of Clore Leadership. She is a Trustee of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation and Chair of its Learning and Participation Committee.

Published 25 August 2022

‘Swimfo’ helps people choose where and when to swim

Press release

Devon and Cornwall’s coastline is being enjoyed by millions of holidaymakers and local residents alike this summer.

Female with lifejacket on up to waist in seawater taking a sample of the bathing water — From May to September each year, water quality at designated bathing water sites in England is assessed by the Environment Agency

And many of those people have used Swimfo – the Environment Agency’s online tool. The tool gives up to date information on the water quality of many of our bathing beaches – to choose where and when to swim.

Using Swimfo you can look up details of the most popular bathing beaches by name or location. You can then view the latest results of water tests taken by the Environment Agency.

From May to September each year, water quality at designated bathing water sites in England is assessed by the Environment Agency. There are 150 designated bathing waters in Devon and Cornwall, more than a third of the total for England.

Throughout the bathing season, daily pollution risk forecasts are made for a number of bathing waters. This is where water quality may be temporarily reduced due to factors. These factors include; heavy rainfall which has been the case during the recent heavy rain/thunderstorms, wind, sunlight or the tide.

When the potential for a temporary reduction in water quality is forecast, the Environment Agency offers advice against bathing, which is posted on Swimfo.

This enables bathers to make informed decisions regarding avoiding times or locations where the risk of pollution is higher than normal. Also the health risks from bathing may be higher than the annual classification suggests.

Bruce Newport, Area Environment Manager for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly said:

We are absolutely delighted that the bathing water sample results we are seeing this year are meeting the standard of previous good years.

With the south west super busy – and with the Bank Holiday days away – we encourage people to use Swimfo. The information on there will help them make an informed decision on where or where not to bathe.

A Pollution Risk Forecast for a particular bathing water does not mean there is an actual pollution alert. The system uses historical data to forecast whether there could be a pollution issue.

Published 25 August 2022

Report 08/2022: Collision between a tram and a cyclist, near Audenshaw tram stop

Press release

RAIB has today released its report into a collision between a tram and a cyclist, near Audenshaw tram stop, Manchester, 1 September 2021.

R082022_220825_Audenshaw

PDF, 9.38 MB, 55 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email enquiries@raib.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Summary

At 19:25 hrs on Wednesday 1 September 2021, a child riding a bicycle was involved in a collision with a tram on the Metrolink system in Manchester. The collision occurred at a signal-controlled pedestrian crossing located at the junction of Droylsden Road and Kershaw Lane. The tram was travelling westbound, on a journey from Ashton-under-Lyne towards Manchester city centre. The cyclist suffered serious injuries in the collision.

The cyclist had been waiting at a pedestrian refuge positioned in Droylsden Road. The positioning of this refuge is unusual; despite being located mid-carriageway, users still need to be aware that traffic may approach from either direction when making a decision to cross. RAIB’s investigation concluded that the cyclist, who did not await the Puffin crossing indication that the road was safe to cross, was probably focused on eastbound road traffic and he may have been unaware of the westbound tram’s approach at the moment when he stepped from the pedestrian refuge.

An underlying factor was that the risk assessment processes applied during the design, construction and opening of the East Manchester Line did not identify the hazard to pedestrians created by the crossing layout until the tramway construction was advanced to a point where the design could not be easily changed.

Recommendations

RAIB has made five recommendations. The first is that Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (TMBC) should review the layout of the crossing in light of this accident. The second recommendation is that TfGM should review its safety management system to ensure that adequate processes are in place, both within TfGM and within contractors employed by TfGM, to identify hazards and control risks at the design stage of tramway projects. The third recommendation is that the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (LRSSB) review the application of road safety audits as a means to identify and mitigate hazards during tramway development and construction projects. The fourth recommendation is that Keolis Amey Metrolink (KAM) should review the operational risk assessments covering the operation of trams across the Metrolink network for completeness and adequacy. The fifth recommendation is that TfGM and KAM review the reliability, operation and maintenance of the sanding systems and CCTV systems on M5000 trams.

RAIB also identified a learning point, which reminds duty holders of the importance of ensuring the transfer of corporate memory, including documentation and records, during organisational change.

Notes to editors

The sole purpose of RAIB investigations is to prevent future accidents and incidents and improve railway safety. RAIB does not establish blame, liability or carry out prosecutions.
RAIB operates, as far as possible, in an open and transparent manner. While our investigations are completely independent of the railway industry, we do maintain close liaison with railway companies and if we discover matters that may affect the safety of the railway, we make sure that information about them is circulated to the right people as soon as possible, and certainly long before publication of our final report.
For media enquiries, please call 01932 440015.

Newsdate: 25 August 2022

Published 25 August 2022