Author Archives: LED Editor

Thursday / 2 April 2015

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Lunar Dust Experiments Opening Future Exploration Possibilities

DustyMoon0415

LADEE Results Indicate Tail Of Nanoscale Particles Trailing Moon, Likely Expelled By Asteroid Impact, <0.001g / Square Meter; LADEE Spectrometer PI Says Phenomenon Could Offer New Way To Study Surface Of Airless Planetary Bodies, “Collect Their Tails Rather Than Landing On Them”; Moon RIDERS Educational Project Testing System To Remove Lunar Dust From Moon Lander Equipment Using High Voltage Square Waves Being Tested At NASA Ames; Project Is Collaboration Of Hawai`i High Schools, NASA, GLXP Teams, PISCES

Image Credit: NASA, kealakeherobotics.org

Wednesday / 1 April 2015

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Russia USA Moon Mission Collaboration
In The Works?

RusUSMoonStation

Space Agency Leaders Of NASA & Roscosmos Confirm Intention To Work Together On Exploration Of Moon & Mars; Roscosmos Chief Igor Komarov Acknowledges More Tasks Can Be Solved & Expenses Saved By Acting Together, Says Deep Space Exploration & Protection Of Earth From Space Threats Must Be Solved By ‘Entire Humanity’; The 2 Countries Will Collaborate On ISS Until 2024, Will Not Build Another Station In NEO, Discussing Potential Cooperation On New Space Station In Lunar Orbit

Image Credit: gaetanomarano.it, Roscosmos, NASA

Tuesday / 31 March 2015

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Japan & India GLXP Teams Advancing

StabMoon0315

Japan-Based Team Hakuto Working With Anime Show Evangelion In Crowdfunding Campaign To Recreate Scene From The Show During Lunar Mission; Campaign Quickly Became Fastest Growing Japanese Crowdfunding Initiative  Ever, Has Raised US$338K Of $832K-Goal, Deadline For Campaign Is 5 April; India-Based Team Indus Set To Close US$1.5-M Pre-Series A Funding Round After Significant Investments From Infosys Co-Founder Nandan Nilekani (Inset) & Others; Indus Goal To Raise $30M For Mission, Including $20-25M For ISRO Launch

Pictured: (R) Japan Astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, (L) Celebrity Natsuki Katou

Image Credit: Team Hakuto, Pradeep Guar

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 27-30 March 2015

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Golden Spike Company Progressing Towards Commercial Human Lunar Missions

GSC0315

GSC Optimisitic 2015 Will See Advancement Of Business Plan / Lunar Mission Development; Board Of Directors Newly Reconfigured – With New Members (L-R) NASA Astronaut Terence Henricks & Dylan Taylor Of Space Angels Network – To Reflect Increased Focus On Fundraising For Human Moon Missions; Gerald Griffin, Doug Griffith, Alan Stern, Taber MacCallum Continue In Director Positions; Additional Meetings With Potential Asian Customers Likely In 2015; Company Working To Implement Human Space Transportation Systems To The Moon At Commercially Successful Price Points

Image Credit: GSC, LinkedIn, NASA, Paragon

Friday / 27 March 2015

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ARM Project To Revive NASA Human Missions To Cislunar SpaceARM

Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) Under Development By NASA To Launch Humans To Moon Orbit, While Private Companies Such As Golden Spike Aim For Moon Surface 2018-2020s; US$1.25B Robotic Mission To Launch Dec 2020, Travel 2 Years To Asteroid (Potentially 2008 EV5), Spend 400 Days Searching For 4-Meter Diameter Boulder, Bring Selected Boulder To Moon Orbit; Astronauts Will Then Launch 2025 To Moon Orbit, Dock With & Study Rock Via SLS / Orion; Additional Cislunar / Moon Surface Missions Under Consideration

Image Credit: NASA, Boeing Co., New Scientist

Thursday / 26 March 2015

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New Russia Cosmodrome Key For Lunar Plans

Vostochny0315

With Over US$5B Investment, Russia Leaders Making Every Effort To Complete New Vostochny Spaceport & Begin Initial Steps Of New Moon Program; 885-Square Km Facility Will Have 7 Launch Pads & 25,000-Person ‘Satellite City’ For Rocket Scientists; Delays & Corruption Threatening Timeline For 1st Soyuz Launch, Projected Dec 2015; Site Will Be Critical For Russia Goal Of Creating Permanent Base On Moon By 2035, Likely At North Pole; Russia Leaders Foresee International Competition For The Limited Amount Of Locations Ideal For Moon Base Development

Pictured: (R) Russia President Vladimir Putin, (L) Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin

Image Credit: Siberian Times

Wednesday / 25 March 2015

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Mojave Volatiles Prospector Preparing For
Lunar Polar Mission

MVP0315

MVP Project Using 3 Instruments – Near Infrared & Visible Spectrometer, Neutron Spectrometer Subsystem, And Downward Facing GroundCam – On KREX-2 Rover To Advance Robotic Volatile Prospecting Methods For Use At Lunar Poles; Tests Conducted In Mojave Desert Lunar Analog Site; Small Field Team In Mojave & Operational Team At NASA Ames Simulating Real-Time Analysis & Decision Making Needed For Moon Mission; Project Driven By Likelihood Of Water Ice Deposits In Permanently Shadowed Craters At Lunar Poles Colder Than 40K

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 24 March 2015

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Water On Moon May Have Ancient Origins

LopsidedIce

Moon Ice Concentrations Symmetrically Centered 5.5° From Lunar Poles; Research Team Including Matthew Siegler Of Planetary Science Institute Suggests This Indicates Moon Experienced Ancient Polar Shift Caused By 3.5B-Year Old Lunar Hot Spot At Oceanus Procellarum; If Theory Is Accurate Lunar Ice May Be Nearly As Ancient As Moon Itself, Potentially Locked Up As Hydrated Minerals In Rocks And / Or Protected By Insulated Layer Of Regolith; Team Relied On Data From NASA Lunar Prospector Mission

Image Credit: NASA, UCLA

 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon 20-23 March 2015

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LRO Likely To Be Funded Through 2016

LROCgreen

US$1.36B Allotted For NASA Planetary Sciences In 2016, Division Director James Green Says Budget May Be Stretched To Keep LRO Active For Another Year; LRO Costs US$12.4M To Operate Annually; After Recent 21st LROC Planetary Data Systems Release, Team Has Now Delivered 1,520,409 LROC Images Totaling 176.9 TB Of Raw Data & Over 11,704 Derived Data Products; LRO Scientists Preparing For 4 Apr Lunar Eclipse; Call For Papers Relying On LRO Data For Special Issue Of Icarus Due 30 Jun

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 20 March 2015

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46th LPSC Revealing Further Data On Moon Evolution, Structure, Habitability

46th LPSC

Final Day Of 46th LPSC At The Woodlands TX Focuses On “Early Lunar Evolution: Accretion To Crustal Formation & More”, “Later Lunar Evolution: How Old Is Old?”, “Impact Craters On Mars & The Moon”;  New Map Of Moon, Produced By Jack Wilson & Team At Durham University, Charts Thorium Spread 70,000km2 From Volcanic Eruption 3.5B Years Ago; Study By David Blair & Colleagues At Purdue University Concludes Moon Lava Tubes Of 1km+ Would Be Structurally Sound For Permanent Bases, Tunnels Are Expected To Be Larger On Moon Than On Earth Due To Lower Gravity

Image Credit: LPSC, LPI, NASA, Durham University, GSFC, ASU, LRO