Author Archives: LED Editor

Friday / 27 July 2018

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 Observers, Spacecraft Prepare For Longest Total Lunar Eclipse Of 21st Century

Total Lunar Eclipse Lasting ~103 Minutes On 27 July 19:30:15 – 21:13:12 UTC, Longest Of Next 105 Years / Occurring Near Apogee, Presents Science Opportunities For Moon Craft LRO, Artemis, Chang’e-3, Chang’e-5-T1, Longjiang-2, And Earth & Space-Based Telescopes; Noah Petro Discusses LRO Thermal Instrument Collecting Data To Infer Properties Of Regolith During Partial Eclipse With Support From Earth-Based Measurements; Chang’e-3 Lander In Lunar Day 58 Expected To Take Hundreds Of Images With Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope; Live Streaming Of Eclipse Available

Credits: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, GSFC, CNSA, CAS / NAOC

Wednesday / 25 July 2018

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Moon May Have Had Habitability Windows For Previous Life

New Astrobiology Article Identifies Two Possible Windows For Habitability Of Life On Moon: Immediately Following Accretion Of Moon, And 100s Of Millions Of Years Later Following Outgassing From Volcanism; Authors (L) At Washington State University & Ian Crawford (R) At University Of London Call For Obtaining Lunar Samples Of Deposits From Time Of Peak Volcanism ~3.5 Billion Years Ago To Determine Evidence Of Hydrated Conditions & Biomarkers

Credits: WSU, BBK, NASA, SSERVI, GSFC, Arizona State University

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 July 2018

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Space Day 20 July 2018 Points To
Apollo 11 Mission 50th Observation,
Rise Of Lunar Enterprise

Apollo 11 Landing 49th Anniversary Honored This Year As Global Entities / Enterprises Plan Latest Moonrush With New Urgency: USA Allocates Resources To Return Humans To Moon 2020s With Long-Term Sustainability Goals, Leads Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway Development, Signs Collaboration Agreements With ESA, Israel, UAE; China Likely To Boost Space / Lunar Investment And Commerce In Response To New Trade Barriers, With Expected Innovation, Cooperation On New Frontiers; New Robust Lunar Programs / Partnerships Manifested By India, Japan, Russia, S Korea

Credits: NASA, White House, ESA, JAXA, CNSA (Pictured: Jim Bridenstine, Jan Woerner, Buzz Aldrin, President Trump)

Friday / 20 July 2018

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Apollo 11 49th Landing Observation And Buzz Aldrin’s Vision Of Moon / Mars Future

Space Exploration Day / First Footsteps Taken On Another World By Neil Armstrong And Buzz Aldrin Commemorated Today For Historic Impact & Perpetual Motivation To Surpass And Explore Beyond; Moonworker Buzz Aldrin Developing Human SpaceFlight Institute In Houston, Publishing To The Moon & Back Co-Authored By Marianne Dyson 16 Oct, And Advocating For ‘The Next Eagle Landing’ To Involve International Cooperation, Including China, To Develop A Path To Mars As Next Stepping Stone Into Solar System

Credits: NASA, GSFC

Wednesday / 18 July 2018

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‘Rocket City’ Huntsville Gearing Up For Year-Long Celebration Of Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Huntsville, Alabama Plans Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Celebrations Throughout Entire 2019; Saturn V Rocket Developed In Huntsville Launched 16 July 1969 To Take Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, & Michael Collins To Moon; Space & Rocket Center Aims To Have 1 Million Guests From All Over The World In 2019; Mayor Tommy Battle Says Huntsville Still “Working On A Pivotal Role In Producing The New Engines That Will Take Us Back”; Astrobotic Selects Dynetics Of Huntsville As Provider Of Propulsion System For Peregrine Lunar Lander

Credits: Space & Rocket Center, Lee Roop, Astrobotic

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 July 2018

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Space Week, Apollo 11 Anniversary To Be Celebrated Nationwide, Globally

Space Week Apollo 11 Mission Anniversary 16 July Launch, 20 July Moon Landing, 24 July Splash Down Includes 2018 Apollo Contest At GSFC 15 July; Many Honor Unofficial Space Day 20 July With Reflection Of 1st Moon Landing; ‘Moon Day’ In Dallas 21 July To Include Lunar Classes, Moon Sample Viewings; Apollo Celebration Gala 21 July At Kennedy Space Center Will Observe 49th Apollo 11 Touchdown & Start 50th Year Observations; It Will Host Apollo Era Astronauts (LL-LR) Walt Cunningham, Harrison Schmitt, Rusty Schweickart, Tom Stafford, Plus 14 Additional Astronauts; NASA Plans Human Return To Moon & Beyond, Hopeful To Land 1st Women On Moon

Credits: NASA (Pictured: (TL-TR) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin)

Friday / 13 July 2018

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China, Russia Boost Moon / Space Partnerships, Plan Potential Operation Center On Hainan Island

Building Upon Roscosmos And CNSA MoU, 2018-2022 Bilateral Cooperation Program Outlining Projects, Contracts, Schedule For Moon / Space Exploration Taking Shape Through International Joint Working Group Sessions; Governor Shen Xiaoming (L), Of China Southernmost Province Hainan Island ‘China’s Hawaii’, Discusses Open Invitation To Russia, And Regional Readiness To Devote Land & Resources To Create Russia-China Center Focusing On Cosmonautics And Space, Potentially Utilizing CNSA Wenchang Satellite Launch Center At 19° N 

Also Pictured: Russia President Vladimir Putin and China General Secretary Xi Jinping

Credits: CCTV, CNTV, CNSA, PRC, Hainan.gov, Russia Presidential Executive Office, Kremlin.ru

Wednesday / 11 July 2018

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SpaceIL Announces December Launch Of Israel Spacecraft To Land On Moon In February 2019

Israel Nonprofit SpaceIL & Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI Ltd.) Announce Launch Of Jointly-Developed Lunar Lander On SpaceX Falcon 9 In Dec 2018, For Landing On 13 Feb 2019 — To Be The 1st Israel Mission To Land On Moon, After Government Missions By USSR, USA, China, & Possibly India; SpaceIL CEO Ido Anteby (M) Says The 2-m Diameter Spacecraft Will Weigh 180 Kg At Time Of Landing And Will Plant Israel Flag On Moon; Total Project Cost ~US$95M Since Its Beganning In 2011, Of Which SpaceIL President Morris Kahn (L) Donated $27M; IAI CEO Yossi Weiss (R) Stresses Benefit Of Civilian Space Activity For The World

Credits: SpaceIL, IAI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 July 2018

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“First Women On The Moon” To Be Announced By NASA?
Apollo 11 Observances Upcoming

July 20 This Year Will Mark 49 Years Since The Apollo 11 Touchdown And The Start Of 50th-Year Observances Of The Signature Event Of The 20th Century; What Could Be A Grander Expression Of Equality, Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness Than NASA’s Public Announcement And Commitment To See Women On The Moon As Soon As Reasonably Possible? As One Female Astronaut Recently Remarked, “50% Of Us Haven’t Been There”; Will It Be The USA Which Commits And Enables Humanity To Become A Multi World Civilization? 

Credits: NASA (Pictured: Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride)

Friday / 6 July 2018

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Blue Origin Working ‘Step By Step’ Toward Human Moon / Solar System Expansion

Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin CEO, Vision Of ‘Trillions Of People Living & Working In Space’ Reinforced By Comments From Business Director A.C. Charania At SFF NewSpace 2018 Conference Outlining Company’s Blue Moon Lander Plans To Support People On Moon Surface NLT 2023; Committed To Long-Term Commercial Partnership With NASA And International Collaboration, Blue Origin Currently Developing Descent Stage To Land ‘Multi-Metric Tons’ Of Cargo On Moon Surface (Preferably Poles) To Enable Sustainable Settlement, And Scientific & ISRU Investigations

Credits: A.C. Charania (B) and Jeff Bezos (T) via Twitter, Blue Origin