Category Archives: LRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 12-15 Oct 2018

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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Patrols Ahead Of Future Missions

NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Returns Data And Images 9 Years After Entering Moon Orbit; Diviner Instrument Aboard LRO Along With NASA Moon Mineralogy Mapper On Chandrayaan-2 Find Widespread Water On Moon; CRaTER Cosmic Ray Telescope Characterizes Lunar Radiation Environment For Future Missions; LRO Finds And Photographs Crash Site Of Europe SMART-1 Probe Deliberately Impacted Into Moon; Produces 5-Minute Virtual Tour Of Moon In 4K; LRO Engaged To Photograph Israel SpaceIL Landing In 2019

Credits: NASA, ESA, NASA/GSFC

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

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 22-25 June 2018

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LRO Mission Enters 10th Year Orbiting Moon

On 23 June Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Embarks On 10th Year, Mission Goals Include Temporarily Going Off Nadir (Straight-On Imaging) Fall 2018 To Utilize Camera Stereo, Oblique Imaging; Inertial Measurement Unit Currently Powered Down To Reserve Power For Critical Events, Lunar Eclipses; In Lunar Eccentric Polar Mapping Orbit (20-km Altitude South Pole, 165-km North Pole) With 7 Instruments Providing High Resolution 3D Moon Mapping, Regolith & Radiation Observations, Data May Assist In Future South Pole And Far Side Lunar Landings

Credits: NASA

Thursday / 18 Jan 2018

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Lava Tube Entrances May Exist In Moon Polar Regions

Planetary Scientist Pascal Lee Of SETI Institute & Mars Institute Discovers 3 Pits In Philolaus Crater Near Lunar North Pole – Candidate “Skylight” Entrances To Underground Lava Tubes; Permanently Shadowed Inside, These Pits May Give Access To Subsurface Water Ice; Polar Location Provides Solar Power & Direct Earth Communications For Easier Ice Extraction & Human Exploration; New Findings Made At NASA Ames Using Data From Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Credits: NASA, LRO, SETI Institute, Mars Institute, Pascal Lee

New Year 2018 Edition
Fri-Thur / 22 Dec 2017 – 4 Jan 2018

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2018 Could See Historic 1st Moon South Pole Landings, 1st Commercial Landings, While NASA LRO Continues FlagShip Mission

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter With 7 Instruments Providing Highest Resolution Data Ever At A Rate Of ~440 Gigabits Image Data Per Day – Is Now 8.5 Years Into Mission In Eccentric Polar Mapping Orbit (20-km Altitude South Pole, 165-km North Pole), Planned To Operate Through 2018 – Which May Be Most Favorable Year For Lunar Landings Since 1972; Chandrayaan 2 Moon South Pole Lander / Rover By India Set To Launch During Q1 2018; China Planning Chang’e-4 Far-Side Orbiter Launch May 2018, Followed By Far-Side South Pole Lander / Rover Oct 2018; Five Independent International Enterprises Look To Win Google Lunar XPrize, Aiming To Launch / Land On Moon Before 31 Mar 2018

Credits: NASA, LRO, ISRO, CNSA, SPC

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 19-22 May 2017

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LRO Approaches 8 Full Years At Moon,
Data / Instrument Validation Aiding Future International Missions

LRO Traveling In Eccentric Polar Mapping Orbit (20-km Altitude South Pole, 165-km North Pole) Focusing On Permanently Shadowed Craters, Is 1-Month From Reaching 8 Full Years In Moon Orbit (23 Jun); Release 30 Of LRO Data Expected Mid Jun 2017, Mission Planned To Continue Until At Least Dec 2018; Science Team Designing Aug 21 Total Solar Eclipse Observations; Narrow Angle Camera Inspires Next-Gen ShadowCam To Be Used On Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Launching Dec 2018; HD Full Model Of Whole Moon Produced

Credits: LROC, NASA, Arizona State University / Malin Space Science Systems

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 December 2016

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LRO Providing High-Res, Multispectral Moon Mapping, Prepares For 2017 And Revisits Apollo Landing Sites

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 7.5 Years Into Mission, Continuing Eccentric Polar Mapping Orbit (20-km Altitude South Pole, 165-km North Pole) Since May 2015; Adding To 3D Map Of Lunar Surface At 100-meter Resolution (98.2% Coverage So Far, Excluding Polar Areas In Deep Shadow); Recent Data From Apollo Sites Provides Modern Views, New Interpretations Of Sample Materials; Release 28 Of LRO Data Expected 15 December; Science Team Schedules August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Observations Of Moon Shadow Moving Across USA; NASA Planning US$20M / Year To Operate Flagship Lunar Mission Through FY2018

Credits: NASA, GSFC, Arizona State University

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 21-24 Oct 2016

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 Schrödinger Basin @ Moon South Pole Gives Clues To Earth Chicxulub Crater & Solar System Evolution

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Study Using NASA LRO & ISRO Chandrayaan-1 Remote Sensing Data Shows Similarities, Including Peak Rings, Between Moon 312-km Diameter Schrödinger Basin & Earth 180-km Chicxulub Crater (Impact Thought To Have Killed Dinosaurs ~66 Million Years Ago); Head Researcher David Kring Explains Impact On Moon Created In An Hour Able To Be Studied Because Of Clearly Visible, Preserved State, Whereas Impact On Earth Created In Just Minutes (Due To Higher Gravity) Is Hard To Study Lying Underneath Yucatán Peninsula & Half Submerged In Ocean; Moon South Pole Remains High Priority For Research, Exploration

Credits: NASA, Detlev Van, Ravenswaay / Science Source

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 July 2016

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LRO Mission Receives NASA Extension Through March 2018

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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Shedding Light On Origin And Evolution Of The Solar System Through A Multitude Of Science Investigations At The Moon; NASA Planning US$20M / Year To Operate Flagship Lunar Mission Through FY2018 (Subject To Appropriation & Annual Budget Process); Latest Results Include SwRI Team Led By Kathleen Mandt Identifying 2 Geologically Young Craters Near South Pole Using Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) Detector Which Observes With Help Of Ultraviolet Light Coming From Distant Stars & From The Lyman-Alpha Skyglow Scattering Of Hydrogen Atoms In Solar System

Credit: LRO, NASA, SwRI

Thursday / 7 July 2016

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LPI Seminar 8 July: Micro Cold Traps On The Moon Presented By Paul Hayne

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Lunar And Planetary Institute Seminar Series Hosts Paul Hayne, Geophysics & Planetary Geosciences, JPL On Fri 8 July; Recent Observations Of Moon, Mercury Confirm Predictions Of Water Ice In High-Latitude Permanent-Shadow Craters; Some Discrepancies Exist As To Concentrations / Locations Of Volatiles, Presence Of Super-Volatiles (CH4, CO2, Methanol), Heterogeneous Thermal Environments; Hayne Presents New Theory To Explain These Based On Evidence Of Micro Cold Traps, Discusses Importance For Future Robotic / Human Exploration

Credit: LPI, JPL, UCLA/NASA/JPL/Goddard