2013 ISEC Space Elevator Conference To Be Held 23-25 Aug In Seattle WA Includes 3-Hour Lunar Elevator Workshop Led By Michael Laine Of LiftPort Group; Humans / Cargo Would Be Transported To Lagrange Point 1 Depot Via Rocket, Then Gently Lowered To Moon Surface Via Tether; Able To Transport 36 Humans To Moon Annually; Could Travel 1,000 Times Farther Than Space Shuttle For 1/10th Price
Image Credit: LiftPort Group, Newsweek
Project Morpheus VTVL Autonomous Vehicle Recently Passed 80-Second Tethered Test (#28) At Johnson Spaceflight Center Houston TX; Expected To Be Shipped To Kennedy Space Center Cape Canaveral FL Soon To Perform Untethered Flight Test; Aug 2012 Untethered Test Destroyed Prototype Lander Seconds After Takeoff; Team Hopes 70 Adjustments / Upgrades To Vehicle & Ground Systems Will Result In Success
Image Credit: NASA
Galaxy Forum Hawaii 2013 On Sat 17 Aug At University Hawaii Hilo, To Advance 21st Century Galaxy Education & Hawaii-Based Space / Moon Initiatives; Steve Durst (R) Of ILOA Will Update The Pacific Aloha Offshore Spaceport Initiative; ILOA Will Outline 4 Active Moon Missions & Global HQ Development Campaign; UHH Professor John Hamilton (L) Will Speak On PISCES Activities & Kim Binsted Of UH-NASA Will Report On The Mauna Loa HI-SEAS Mars Experiment; Distribution Of New ILOA Galaxy Map 2013 To All Participants
Image Credit: ILOA, PISCES, UHH, Sea Launch
Elementary School-Aged Children To Attend Free Afternoon At NASA Goddard SFC On 18 Aug To Learn How Space Agency Sends / Receives Data & How Deep Space Communication Is Advancing Through LLCD Experiment Launching Aboard LADEE On 6 Sep; Hands-on Activities Will Demonstrate Complications Of Accurate Laser Pointing Over Great Distances (Moon 384,400Km From Earth), Teach How To Tune-In To Correct Frequency Of Electromagnetic Spectrum
Image Credit: NASA
China Set To Make 1st Soft Landing Moon Mission In December 2013 Says China Rocket Expert & CLEP Adviser Lehao Long (TR); RTG Will Power Rover & Keep It Operational For Up To 30 Years; Chief Lunar Scientist Ziyuan Ouyang S ays High-End Technology Has Solved Problem Of Large Temperature Variance; Mission Will Study Surface / Geological Structure Of Moon & Plasmasphere Electromagnetic Fields Above Earth
Image Credit: China Daily, CNSA
Amit Sarbadhikari Member Of PLANEX Group At Physical Research Laboratory In Ahmedabad, India Conducts New Study On Moon Rocks; Lunar Rock-15555 & Others Indicate Moon Interior May Be Wetter Than Previously Believed Due To Varying Levels Of Water In Volcanic Glass Beads, Olivine-Hosted Melt Inclusions, Accessory Phase Apatite; Concentration Of Volatiles Over Entire Moon Still Uncertain
Image Credit: Worth1000.com, NASA, PRL
Barcelona Moon Team Revises Launch Date From June 2014 To June 2015; Spacecraft / Lunar Rover Competing For GLXP Will Launch Aboard Long March 2C Rocket With Upper Stage CTS2 For Lunar Transfer Orbit Insertion; Launch Contract Provided By China Great Wall Industries Corporation; Pictured: Team Leader Xavier Claramunt, President Of Galactic Suite
Image Credit: GLXP, Barcelona Moon Team
Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) System Ready For Launch On LADEE Mission After Series Of Successful Ground Tests; ESA Observatory In Spain & 2 US Ground Terminals Will Relay Data To The Moon Orbiter At Unprecedented Rates (622 Mbps); Laser Wavelengths 10,000 Times Shorter Than Radio, Allowing For Reduction In Antenna Size – Lowering Mass, Volume, Power Requirements Of Future Space Missions; LADEE Launching 6 Sep 2013
Image Credit: NASA
President & CEO Of Moon Express, Bob Richards (T), Says Company Has New Lander Concept For GLXP Mission Half The Size & Cost Of Original Projection; Utilizing Small Rocket Engines Fueled With H2O2, Developed By Chief Propulsion Engineer Tim Pickens (B), & Other Technological Advances, Team Believes It Can Deliver Craft To Moon For Under US$50M; Seeking Launch As Secondary Payload; Craft Will Use On-Board Propulsion To Travel From GTO To Moon
Image Credit: Moon Express
NASA Lunar Science Institute In Mountain View CA Changes Name To Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI); Name Change Reflects Natural 21st Century Advance Of Human Exploration Goals, Building Out From Vital Well-Developed Cislunar Foundation To Include Vast Resources & Promising Research / Exploration / Human Settlement Potential Of Asteroids, Mars, Jupiter / Saturn Moons & Beyond
Image Credit: NASA