Wednesday / 27 March 2013

Moon & Vesta Commonalities Reveal Solar System History

LED Moon & Vesta

Scientists From NLSI Discover That Same Projectiles That Hit Moon 4B Years Ago Also Hit Vesta & Other Large Asteroids; Data Linked From Apollo Moon Rocks, Howardite / Eucrite / Diogenite (HED) Meteorites On Earth, Dawn Spacecraft Vesta Images & Computer Models; Supports Theory / Provides Details About Start & Duration Of Lunar Cataclysm – Jupiter / Saturn Were Repositioned Causing Destabilized Asteroid Belt & Solar System Wide Bombardment

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/ASU/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Tuesday / 26 March 2013

L2 Space News Providing Unprecedented Resource

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With Over 5,000Gb Of Documentation, Graphics, Information, Photos & Video Found Nowhere Else On The Internet, L2 Is Revolutionizing Spaceflight News; With 9 Main Sections & Over 200 Specific Topic Areas Site Contains Information On Future Space Plans, Current News & History Of Spaceflight; Currently Featuring Article Detailing Golden Spike Company Plans / Moon Landing Site Considerations 

Image Credit: spaceflight.com, Golden Spike Co.

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 22-25 Mar 2013

How To Illuminate A Permanent Shadow

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New NASA Goddard Video Shows How LRO Instruments Have Mapped Moon Polar Craters, Which Have Not Seen Sun For Over 2B Years Due To 1.6-Degree Lunar Tilt; LOLA Uses Lasers To Compose Topographic Maps; LAMP Measures Faint Light Of Other Stars; Diviner Measures Extreme Cold Temperatures; LEND Measures Speed Of Neutrons To Detect Elements Such As Hydrogen

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 22 March 2013

Apollo F-1 Engines May Help Get Us Back To The Moon

LED F-1 Engines

Saturn V F-1 Rocket Engines That Took Humans To The Moon Recovered From 4.8 km Beneath Atlantic Ocean By Bezos Expeditions; 5.8-m Tall By 3.8-m Wide Engineering Feat Impacted Water At 8,047 km/hr; NASA MSFC Engineers Refurbishing / Testing Components From Museums To Develop SLS – Next Generation Heavy Launch Vehicle; F-1 Is Most Powerful Single-Chamber Liquid-Fueled Rocket Engine Ever Developed, Provides 6.6M Newtons Of Thrust, 32M Horsepower

Image Credit: Bezos Expeditions

Thursday / 21 March 2013

LRO Helps Enhance GRAIL Legacy

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GRAIL Impact Craters Imaged By LROC; Twin 200-kg Orbiters Crashed Near North Pole On 17 Dec 2012 At Speed Of 6,070 km/h; Coordination Between 2 Mission Teams Allowed LRO LAMP Instrument To Analyze Ejecta Plume From Crash; Instrument Detected Mercury, Surprising For Sunlit Area; Results Added To Growing Understanding Of Nature Of Volatiles At Lunar Poles & How They Are Transported Around Moon

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 20 March 2013

Characterizing The Lunar Poles: Ben Bussey Seminar

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Ben Bussey Of John Hopkins University APL Presenting Data – Acquired By Recent Fleet Of International Lunar Spacecraft – Characterizing Moon Poles, 27 Mar At NASA Lunar Science Institute In CA, USA; Results Useful For Planning Future Robotic & Human Missions; Geology Of Poles, Surface & Subsurface Properties, Possibilities For Surface Operations / Regolith Excavation / Drilling & Potential Instrumentation Needed For Science From / On Moon

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 19 March 2013

Golden Spike / LPI Human Moon Mission International Science Workshop

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International Science Workshop Hosted By Golden Spike Co & LPI, 3-4 Oct 2013 In Houston, TX; Overview Of Potential Landing Sites, Experiments & Geological Traverses GSC Astronauts Will Undertake On Moon Starting In 2020; Theme: Lunar Science After 20 GSC Human Moon Missions; Program Committee – Including Alan Stern (L), Steve Mackwell (R), Clive Neal – Hope Event Will Multiply Interest In GSC Missions From International Science & Space Agencies 

Image Credit: Golden Spike Co., Lunar And Planetary Institute

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 15-18 Mar 2013

Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration Ready For Launch

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Rigorous Testing & Integration Of LLCD System On LADEE Spacecraft Complete; Technology Demonstration Will See Data Sent From Lunar Orbit To Earth At Up To 622 Mbps – 6 Times The Rate Of Advanced Radio Communication Systems; Hundreds Of Millions Of Short Infrared Pulses Sent Precisely Every Second To Any One Of 3 Ground Telescopes In New Mexico, California & Spain; LADEE To Launch In Aug 2013

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 15 March 2013

Chang’e-3, Chang’e-5 Spacecraft Advancing

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China Chang’e-3 Lander Camera Reaches Completion, Being Tested With Lunar Satellite Payload Subsystem; Will Take 360° Color Images Of Moon Surface & Monitor Rover; Mission To Launch Late 2013; Chang’e-5 Prototype Will Consist Of Chang’e-2 Orbiter Base Structure & Chang’e-5 Return Capsule; Capsule To Begin Atmosphere Re-Entry Testing Before 2015; Spacecraft / Lunar Sample Of At Least 2 kg Estimated To Re-Enter At 11.2 km/s; Chang’e-5 Mission NET 2016

Image Credit: xinhuanet.com, dragoninspace.net

Thursday / 14 March 2013

LRO Data Continues To Flow In

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13th LROC Planetary Data System Release Now Available; Includes 150,548 Images Totaling 24.77 TB, 9 LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) Digital Terrain Models, 6 NAC Region Of Interest Products; Release Composed Of Data Collected Between Sep-Dec 2012; To Date LROC Team Delivered 970,789 Images & Over 8,743 Data Products (RDR); US$583 Million Mission Was Launched In June 2009

Image Credit: NASA