Author Archives: LED Editor

Wednesday / 24 October 2012

Posted on by

ESA Eyes 2019 Lunar South Pole Robotic Mission As Astrium Develops Lander / Assesses Cost

ESA Preliminary System Requirement Review Puts €500M Price On 6 Month Mission To Place Rover / Other Experiments At Moon’s South Pole; Astrium Lunar Lander Study Phase B1 Major Results Include Precision Autonomous Soft Landing Test Results From TRON (Testbed For Robotic Optical Navigation) & LAMA (Landing And Mobility Test Facility); Nov ESA Ministerial Conference Decides Whether To Proceed With Study Phase B2 Leading To Preliminary Design Review

Image Credit: Astrium, ESA

Tuesday / 23 October 2012

Posted on by

Canada Unveils Lunar Exploration Robotic Rovers

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Announces New Fleet Of Rovers Developed Under Exploration Science Mobility Project; Lunar Exploration Light Rover Mobile Lunar Lab With Sample Scoop Is Largest & Fastest / Upgradeable For Human Transport; Kapvik Micro-Rover Aids Humans By Doing Light Labor; 40 Academic / Industry Organizations Collaborating; Industry Minister Christian Paradis Notes Continuation of Canadarm / Dextre Legacy

Image Credit: CSA, Industry Canada, Carleton University

Wednesday / 26 September 2012

Posted on by

USA Campaign 2012: Implications For Space Program

Romney / Ryan Space Plan Calls For Setting Clear Goals For NASA, International Cooperation, Support Of Commercial Space, Strengthening Security; Industry Leaders Fear Another Change Of Direction / Cancellation Of Programs, Critics Point To Similarities To Obama Administration Space Policy, Lack Of Bold Plan: Strong Focus On Human Moon Missions / Base Should Be Central Priority For NASA / USA Global Leadership In Space

Image Credit: NASA, floridatoday.com

Lunar Enterprise Daily Will Return NLT 6 November 2012

Tuesday / 25 September 2012

Posted on by

Next Major NASA Mission: Outpost Beyond Moon

‘Gateway Spacecraft’ Would Hover 445,000km From Earth At Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange Point, Support Small Crew, Serve As Staging Area For Future Moon & Mars Missions; NASA To Use Orion MPCV / SLS Rocket For Transportation, Leftover Parts Of ISS For Construction; Funding & Radiation Risks Remain Issues; Some See More Value In Human-Tended Lunar Base

Image Credit: NASA

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 21-24 Sep 2012

Posted on by

International Observe The Moon Night

Annual Event Inspired By NASA LRO Mission Set For Saturday 22 Sep; Over 250 Events Scheduled In Over 40 Countries; Telescopes & Educational Lectures / Materials Provided To Moon-Gazers At Local Events; This Year InOMN Event Dedicated To Memory Of Neil Armstrong; Organizers Hope To Instill Public Sense Of Wonder & Curiosity About Moon While Imparting Recent Lunar Discoveries

Image Credit: Huntsville Times, NASA

Friday / 21 September 2012

Posted on by

Buzz Aldrin To Speak At Seattle Museum Of Flight

As The Surviving Apollo 11 Moonworker, Doc Rendezvous Now Carries Torch As First (Living) Human To Have Walked On Moon; Aldrin Will Make Public Appearance With Other Astronauts / Cosmonauts & Notable NASA Mission Controllers At Seattle Museum Of Flight’s Charles Simonyi Space Gallery On Sunday 23 Sep

Image Credit: Sean Gallop, nasa.gov

Thursday / 20 September 2012

Posted on by

China Space Program Going Nuclear

Chang’e-3, First China Lunar Surface Vehicle Will Employ Nuclear Power Supply Fueled By Plutonium 238, Making China 3rd Country After USA & Russia To Use Nuclear Energy In Space Exploration; Fuel Cells Developed By China Institute Of Atomic Energy; Chief Lunar Scientist Ziyuan Ouyang Says Fuel Cells Will Play Increasingly Important Role In Future China Deep Space Exploration

Image Credit: CIAE, CNSA, cas.cn

Wednesday / 19 September 2012

Posted on by

Lunar Supercomputer

Ouliang Chang Of USC Viterbi School Of Engineering Outlines Plan For Deployment Of Supercomputer & Accompanying Radio Dishes On Moon To Ease Load On Terrestrial Mission Control, Provide Computational Power For 1st Phase Of Lunar Industrial / Settlement Development; Polar Location To Avoid Drastic Temperature Swings, Access To Water Ice For Cooling; Dishes Could Also Be Used For Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry   

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 18 September 2012

Posted on by

GRAIL: Moon Crust Thinner Than Expected

Maria Zuber, GRAIL PI, Reveals High-Resolution Gravity Map / Initial Results Of Mission At Recent Seminar; Average Thickness Of Lunar Crust Appears To Be 30km, About Half Of Previous Estimate; High Correlations Between Topography & Gravitational Field; GRAIL Unable To Confirm Existence Of Hypothetical Ancient Impact Basins; Map Is 3-4 Times More Detailed Than Those Of Kaguya Or Lunar Prospector

Image Credit: NASA, Wikipedia

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 14-17 Sep 2012

Posted on by

Lunar COTS Program Proposed

Lunar COTS Petition Founded By Doug Plata Gaining Momentum As NASA Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Manager Alan Lindenmoyer (L) Suggests Using Successful COTS Model Elsewhere In NASA; Lunar COTS Would Establish Programs To Support Commercial Cis-lunar Transportation Service, Lunar Surface Operations, Harvesting Lunar Polar Ice, Orbital Propellant & Servicing Depots, Initial Crewed Lunar Base 

Image Credit: NASA