Image Credit: ESA, IAC
ESA Lunar Lander Mission ‘MoonNext’ Will Be Prominent Focus When Europe (Naples, Italy) Hosts IAC On 1-5 Oct 2012; Scheduled To Launch Aboard Ariane 5 Rocket From Kourou, French Guiana In 2018; Destined For Moon South Pole, Mission To Demonstrate Hazard Avoidance Technology, Characterize Location For Potential Human Outpost; Landing Mass Of Craft Between 650-800kg
Image Credit: ESA, NASA
ESA Working To Advance 3D Lidar Technology For Deep Space Exploration; Potential Applications Include Guidance / Navigation / Control Of Planetary Landers & Selection Of Safe Landing Site, Steering Rovers On Planetary Surface, Docking In Planetary Orbit; New Class Of Imaging Lidar Much Smaller, Needing Less Power; Landing Lidar Instrument Being Designed For ESA Lunar Lander, NET 2019
Image Credit: NASA, ASU
LRO Data Reveals Evidence Of Recent Seismic Activity On Moon; Graben (Small Ravines) Up To 500m Wide, 1.8km Long, Free Of Cratering – Formed Within Last 50M Years, Postdating Last Major Tectonic Activity (1.2B Years Ago); Recent Graben Formation Also Incompatible With Theory That Early Moon Had Fully Molten Interior; Further Data From LRO, GRAIL Will Shed More Light On These Mysteries
Image Credit: PRL, NASA, docstoc.com
India Physical Research Laboratory Scientists In Ahmedabad Propose Wireless Sensor Network For In Situ Probing Of Water Ice On Lunar Surface; Large Number Of Tiny Battery-Operated Devices Scattered On Surface With Self-Organizing Capability; Concept May Have Advantage Over Rovers For Exploration Of Permanently Shadowed Regions; Chandrayaan-2 Launch Could Be Delayed To 2016
Image Credit: CLEP, NASA
China Lunar Exploration Program Engineers Using Chang’e-2 Lunar Orbiter Images To Select Landing Sites For Chang’e-3; Special Pictures Of Sinus Iridum 41°N With Resolutions Of 1-1.5m To Aid In Selection Of Several Potential Sites; Final Selection Will Depend On Launch Time; Chang’e-2 Images Also Provided Foundation For Recently-Released 7-m Resolution Whole-Moon Map
Image Credit: SRR, PTMSS, NORCAT, CSM
Lunar-Related Issues Prominent At 3rd Joint Meeting Of Space Resources Roundtable And The Planetary & Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium, 4-7 June 2012 At Colorado School Of Mines; Abstract Submission Deadline 30 April; Promotes Interaction Between Space & Mining Sectors In USA & Canada; Pictured: Steering Committee Chairs: Angel Abbud-Madrid (C) & Dale Boucher (R)
Image Credit: jranger.com, astrobotich.com
Entrepreneur Julian Ranger Says Space Is Next Frontier For Investment In CNBC Interview; CEO Of iBundle & DADapp.com Has Invested In GLXP Favorite Astrobotic, Projects US$70M Profit From Company’s 1st Lunar Mission; Sees 2 Broad Markets On Moon: Resources / Science & Entertainment / Commercial Communications
Image Credit: ISRO, NASA
ISRO Working Vigorously On Chandrayaan-2; Proposed For Launch In 2013, Pending Successful Test Of GSLV Rocket; Mission To Include 1400-Kg Orbiter, 1250-Kg Lander; Rover To Conduct Chemical Analysis Of Regolith Samples; More Indigenous Payloads Than 1st Mission; Former ISRO Head Nair Had Childhood Dream Of Going To Moon
Image Credit: NASA, moonviews.com
Dennis Wingo / Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project Seeking Private Donations Or NASA Funding To Finish ‘Techno-Archaeology’ Remastering Of 1960s Lunar Orbiter Data; Team Has Spent US$700K To Recover 1/3 Of The Data; Quality Is Comparable To Most Recent LROC Images, Useful In Demonstrating How Moon Changes Over Time
Image Credit: Air & Space, CNET
Lunar Exploration A Top Priority As Japan Confirms Plan For Space Program; 2015 SELENE-2 Short-Term Lunar Lander Mission, 2020 SELENE-X Robotics Long-Term Exploration / Sample Return Mission To Begin Assemblage Of Base At Moon South Pole Region; Development Of Human Transport Systems By 2020