Author Archives: LED Editor

Wednesday / 17 December 2014

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Lunar Lander Technology Development Advancing At KSC In Florida

KSCtests1214

Morpheus Lander Completes Final Test Flight At KSC, Climbing 240m, Making 30-Degree Glide Slope, Traversing 400m & Descending Into Simulated Moonscape; 1st Time Morpheus Was Completely Controlled By Autonomous Landing & Hazardous Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Laser-Guided Navigation System; Craft Is Used To Demonstrate Lander / Hopper Technologies That Could Be Used In Future Moon Missions; Moon Express Also Conducting Flight Tests At KSC As Part Of Lunar CATALYST Program, 1st Static Hot Fire Tests On On MX-1 Vehicle Successful (Inset), Tethered Flight Tests Upcoming

Image Credit: NASA, Moon Express

Tuesday / 16 December 2014

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Astrobotic ‘MoonMail’ Brings Moon Mission Participation To Individuals

MoonMail1214

New Service Provides Opportunity For People Around World To Send Special Small Items To Lunar Surface Aboard Griffin Lander On (NET Late 2015) Moon Mission; Packages Range From US$460 For 1.27 X 0.3-cm Hexagonal Package To $25,800 For 2.5 X 5-cm Package; Mission Will Include Lander, Nicknamed Andy, Which Will Attempt To Complete Requirements To Claim GLXP & Potentially Explore Interesting Cave Formations In Lacus Mortis Landing Site (45.0° N, 27.2° E)

Image Credit: astrobotic.com

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 12-15 December 2014

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Successful Launch Of GSLV Mk-3 Will Advance India Moon Landing Plan

GSLVmk3Chandrayaan2

1st Flight Of 3-Stage GSLV Mk-3 Scheduled For 3rd Week Of December; Most Powerful To Date India Launch Vehicle Will Carry 3.65-Metric Ton Crew Module Atmospheric Re-Entry Experiment; Designed To Lift 4-Metric Ton Class Payload, The Rocket – With Lift Off Weight Of 630-Metric Tons – Is Needed To Complete 2016-2017 Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter / Lander / Rover Mission; Scientific Payloads Of Moon Mission Expected To Perform Mineralogical & Elemental Studies Of Lunar Surface; Moon South Pole Is Likely Destination Of Moon Lander

Image Credit: ISRO

Friday / 12 December 2014

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China Chang’e-4 Mission To
Moon South Pole?

Chang'e-4 MSP

Building Upon Success Of Chang’e-3 Mission, Backup Craft Chang’e-4 Could Be Launched 2015-2016 To Potentially Ignite The Race To New Frontier Of Exploration – Moon South Pole; With Other Nations / Private & Public Ventures Considering South Pole For Scientific Research, Resources Mapping & Mining, And Human Base Build Out, Chang’e-4 Could Provide Valuable Data As 1st Mission To Lunar Pole For Landing, Communications & Solar Power Technologies

Image Credit: CNSA, CCTV, NASA

Thursday / 11 December 2014

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China Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Continues To Prove Value Of Astronomy From Moon

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Now In Lunar Day 13, Approaching 1    Year Of Operations On Moon, Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT) On Chang’e-3 Lander Still Providing Unprecedented Opportunities For Astronomical Observations; 150-mm Telescope Is First Long-Term Observatory To Take Advantage Of Thin Atmosphere, Slow Rotation Of Moon Which Allows Long-Duration Uninterrupted Observations Of Variable Stars, Galaxies, etc.; Attempting To Image Galaxy M101 As Part Of Collaboration / MOU With ILOA, ILOA Will Subsequently Provide Observation Time To NAOC / CNSA On Its Upcoming ILO-X Precursor & ILO-1 Polar Missions

Image Credit: NAOC, CNSA, ILOA

Wednesday / 10 December 2014

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Astronaut Hadfield: We Are Going To The Moon Next, “Because It Just Makes Sense”

HadfieldMoon

Canada Astronaut Chris Hadfield Says Moon Is Logical Next Stop For Human Space Explorers; Just 3 Days Away Moon Provides Ideal Environment To Develop & Test Technologies That Will Be Needed To Explore Mars & Beyond; Hadfield Praises NASA Work On Orion, Says Next Big Step Should Be To Construct Permanent Lunar Base; Criticizes Mars One Mission, Comparing It To 1845 Northwest Passage Expedition: “If We Started Going To Mars Any Time Soon Everybody Would Die”; Comments Made To Royal Geographical Society In London

Image Credit: NASA, futuretimeline.net

Tuesday / 9 December 2014

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China Super-Heavy Launch Vehicle Will Enhance Human Moon Mission Capability

LongMarch9-Moon

China Academy Of Launch Vehicle Technology Head Li Tongyu Confirms Work Is Underway To Define Technological Feasibility & Requirements Of Long March-9 (LM-9) Super-Heavy Rocket; New Rocket Will Facilitate Human Moon Missions & Deep Space Exploration; Projected To Have 8-10-m Diameter, Launch Weight Of 3,000 Metric Tons, Max Payload Capacity Of 130 Metric Tons (Equal To NASA SLS); 1st Launch Of Long March-9 Expected In 2028; Currrent Rocket – LM-5 Can Facilitate Human Moon Mission Now, Yet Would Require 4 Launches As Opposed To 1 LM-9 Launch

Image Credit: CALT, CNSA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 5-8 December 2014

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International Space University LM1 Participation Inspires Students

ISUlm1

ISU Participation In Lunar Mission One (LM1) Exemplifies Potential Of Inspirational Education; 47 ISU MSc Students From Around World Carrying Out Preliminary Mission Design For Near-Term Lunar Orbiting Cubesat To Photograph Moon Surface – Specifically Including LM1 South Pole Landing Site; Satellite Will Send Pictures Back To Earth For Space Education / Outreach, & To Raise Global Awareness Of LM1 – Which Is Planned To Land & Drill To At Least 20m, Analyze 4.5B Year Old Rocks, & Analyze Viability Of Permanent Human Base At Moon South Pole

Image Credit: ISU, Lunar Mission One

Friday / 5 December 2014

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Earth-Moon Images As Taken By
Interplanetary Craft

Earth Moon Images

Images Of Earth-Moon / Cislunar System Dating Back To (L-R, T-B) Lunar Orbiter 1 Aug 1966 First View Of Earth From Moon, Apollo 8 Dec 1968 ‘Earthrise’, And Voyager 1 Sep 1977 First Picture Of Whole Earth & Moon In Single Frame Change Human Mindset / Relationship With Earth, Moon, Solar System, Galaxy; 2 Most Recent Pictures Of E-M System Taken By Chang’e-5 T1 Craft Oct 2014; E-M As Seen By Galileo 1992, Venus Express 2005, MESSENGER 2010, Juno 2011, Cassini 2013; Additional Images / Video Of E-M Expected From GLXP Competitors In 2015

Image Credit: CNSA, NASA, ESA, JHU, APL, Caltech, Malin Space Science Systems, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Thursday / 4 December 2014

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ESA Affirms Moon Is A Key Exploration Destination

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In 1-Day Council Meeting At Ministerial Level In Luxembourg, Ministers Of 20 ESA Member States Adopted 3 Resolutions: Development Of Ariane 6 & Vega C Rockets, Confirmation Of Vision For ESA Through 2030, & Resolution On 3 Destinations For Exploration – LEO, Moon & Mars; All 3 Destinations Viewed As Part Of Single Process by Maximizing Technology / System Synergies & Maximizing Benefits Of Robotic & Human Exploration; ESA Also Looking To Participate In International Human-Tended Space Infrastructure Development Beyond 2020

Image Credit: ESA