Author Archives: LED Editor

Tuesday / 22 September 2015

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China Preparing Long March-5 Carrier Rocket To Aid Future Lunar Missions

9222015First Trial Of New Booster Designed By China Academy Of Launch Vehicle Technology & China Aerospace Science And Technology Corp (CASC) Set For 2016; Long March-5 Rocket (CZ-5) Scheduled To Carry Chang’e-5 Sample Return Mission In 2017; CASC Official Gao Xinhui States CZ-5 Will Utilize YF-100 Engine “That Uses Fuel Free Of Toxicity And Pollution”; CZ-5 Innovation Could Reduce Cost While Increasing China Space Access Capabilities Including Human Moon Missions In The Next Decade

Credit: NASA, China News, CASC, CCTV

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 18-21 September 2015

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International Observe The Moon Night Draws Worldwide Attention

9192015Annual Event InOMN 2015 Will Bringing Awareness / Education / Deeper Understandings Of The Moon At More Than 500 Registered Locations Across The Globe On 19 September; Activities At Many Sites Include Telescope Use, Public Talks, Planetarium Shows And Lunar Related Activities Showcasing Moon & Connections To NASA Planetary Science & Exploration; Moon Will Be At First Quarter With Shallow-Angle Sunlight Reflecting & Illuminating Lunar Surface In Extraordinary Detail Enhancing Ability To View Moon Valleys / Mountains / Craters

Credit: NASA, InOMN, SSERVI, LPI

Friday / 18 September 2015

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Total Lunar Eclipse 27 Sep To Provide Valuable Observation Opportunities

Luar Eclipse Sep 27

Chang’e-3 Lander On Moon Surface To Take Advantage Of LUT / Astronomy From The Moon During Upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse (27 Sep HST) Lasting 1 Hour 14 Mins; Will Be Full Harvest “Blood” Super Moon At Perigee (Distance 356,457km); All LRO Instruments Will Be Turned Off Except Diviner Infrared Radiometer Which Will Map Surface Temperature Changes From Elliptical Polar Orbit (20km S Pole x 165km N Pole); Two ARTEMIS Craft In 100km x 19,000km Orbits, Solar Spacecraft & Earth-Based Observatories Will Also Collect Data

Credit: NASA, LRO, GSFC, CNSA, China News, Ken Kremer, Marco Di Lorenzo

Thursday / 17 September 2015

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LRO Observes Forming Moon Surface Faults

9172015Gravitational Tidal Forces From Earth Influencing Orientation Of Young Fault Scarps Caused By Cooling & Contracting Of Moon’s Interior; LRO Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) Identifying ~3,200 Thrust Fault Scarps Sampled In Areas 40° Longitude By 20° Latitude; Arizona State University & LROC Principal Investigator, Mark Robinson States “Now That We Have NAC Images …Structural Patterns Are Starting To Come Into Focus”

Credit: NASA, Arizona State University, Smithsonian Institution

Wednesday / 16 September 2015

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Florida Coast Attracts More NewSpace Enterprises

9162015Moon Express (ME) Positioning At Florida Kennedy Space Center Promotes Opportunity & More Launch Possibilities To Advance Moon / Deep Space Accessibility; Blue Origin Jeff Bezos (TR) Reveals Use Of Launch Complex 36 For Building & Operations, States “We’ll Be Launching From Here Later This Decade”; ME Continuing Developments With NASA Lunar CATALYST On MX-1 For GLXP; ME Bob Richards (TL) Comments That “Entrepreneurial Innovations…Will Expand Our Sphere Of Influence, To The Moon, The Asteroids – And Beyond”

Credit: Moon Express, NASA, Blue Origin, U.S. Air Force

Tuesday / 15 September 2015

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India Considers RTG For Upcoming Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission

9152015ISRO Work Pace Increases With Goal Of ~2017-18 Launch Of Chandrayaan-2, India Inaugural Soft Landing On Lunar Surface; Second Lunar Mission May Get Boost With Non-Fission Nuclear Energy Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG); Chandrayaan Project Director, Mylswamy Annadurai Affirms ISRO Success With Chandrayaan-1 Confirming Water Traces On Moon & Second Mission To Include Configuration Changes To Orbiter To Accommodate Lander

Credit:  ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 11-14 September 2015

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Chang’e-4 Radio Astronomy From Moon Far Side Creating Opportunity With ILOA

9112015Observation Of Low Frequency Cosmic Rays Among Primary Astronomy Objectives Of CE-4 Mission To Moon Far Side NET 2020, According To Chinese Academy Of Sciences Zou Yongliao During LDSE Beijing Conference; Prof Wei, National Astronomical Observatory China & Steve Durst, International Lunar Observatory Association Speaking At Galaxy Forum China 2015 Affirm CE-3 Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Continues Gathering Images & Data As Only Active Lunar Surface Mission; Further Cooperation Expected With ILOA ILO-X (NET 2016),  ILO-1 (NET 2017) & CE-4

Credit: Copyright ILOA, Michael Carroll, NAOC/CAS, CNSA, NASA

Friday / 11 September 2015

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SLS Moon / Deep Space Rocket Developers Hoping For Upper Stage Funding

NASA SLS 2021

Exploration Mission-2, First U.S. Gov Declared Human Moon Mission Since Apollo 17 In 1972, Planned For 2021 Dependent On Proposed Budget Request Of Additional ~US$500M With $50-100M Devoted To Enhanced Upper Stage For Fiscal Year 2016 (Begins 1 Oct); Bill Hill Of NASA Exploration Systems Development Says With Current $1.356B Budget EM-2 Would Be Pushed Back; Boeing Company To Develop Core / Upper Stages; EM-1 Set For Nov 2018 To Use 1 RL10 Engine Modeled On ULA Delta 4; EM-2 To Use 4 RL10 Engines

Credit: NASA, Spaceflightnow

Thursday / 10 September 2015

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India GSLV Mk2 Success Boosts Chandrayaan-2 Timeline

9102015Chandrayaan-2 Lander / Rover Moon Mission Set To Launch 2017-18; India Space Research Organization (ISRO) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Demonstrates Reliability & Versatile Orbit Capacity To Enable Chandrayaan-2 Launch Into Lunar Orbit Insertion Via Earth Parking Orbit (EPO) Of 170 x 18,500 Km; Scientific Objective To Understand Origin / Evolution Of Moon & Perform In-Situ Analysis Of Lunar Samples

Credit: ISRO, NASA

Wednesday / 9 September 2015

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Galaxy Forum China 2015 “Astronomy From The Moon” At NAOC

9092015ILOA Event On 9 Sep Features (L-R) NAOC Prof. Jianyan Wei And Dr. Jing Wang Discussing LUT Findings & Performance, Univ. Of Hawaii Dr. R. Pierre Martin On Galaxy Exploration From The Moon, ILOA Founding Director Steve Durst On 21st Century Education, Exploration & Enterprise; Moon-Based Observatory Missions To Complement Earth / Space-Based Astronomy; ILOA Collaborating With National Astronomical Observatories – Chinese Academy Of Science (NAOC) Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT) On Chang’e-3 As Only Mission Operating On Lunar Surface

Credit: ILOA, NAOC