Category Archives: Lunar Mapping

Friday / 28 January 2022

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Russia Declares 23 July Preferred Landing Date for First Lunar Mission Of Modern National Era

Luna-25 is focal point of Russia space activity as Roscosmos subsidiary NPO Lavochkin announces with great specificity 23 July 02:21:45 MSK ideal launch date / time for Luna-25 robotic lander, 24 July 02:55:49 backup; Lunar daybreak occurring 1 August at landing site north of Boguslavsky Crater (69.55°S, 43.54°E) will provide power augmentation for RTG / battery system; 30kg science payload includes laser mass spectrometer; Luna-26 orbital mapping mission to follow in 2024; Luna-27 lander to utilize ESA regolith drill / PROSPECT sensor array within South Pole-Aitken basin NET 2025

 

Credits: Roscosmos, NPO Lavochkin

Friday / 7 January 2022

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MIT Researchers Investigating Electrostatic / Ion Propulsion Concept for Moon and Asteroid Exploration

With current propulsion technologies capable of operation in atmosphere-free environments limited to chemical rockets and ground-based locomotion, MIT supported by NASA is pioneering novel technique harnessing electrical charge found on such bodies via repulsive effect of Mylar; Initial experiments published in AIAA Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets suggest with micro ion booster augmentation sufficient lift to raise a 0.9kg craft 1cm can be achieved; Levitation technique would allow traversing otherwise impassable “very rough, unexplored terrain” per study co-author Paulo Lozano (B)

Also pictured: Oliver Jia-Richards (T); Credits: MIT

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 Dec 2021

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Awareness of Cislunar Space Logistic Importance Growing within Government and Think Tanks

As prospects of sustained operations on the Moon nears, unique orbital mechanics of Earth-Moon system draw attention of mission planners and commentators; Chang’e-5T1 service module DFH-3A currently occupies Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 serving as communication relay, while stable L4 and L5 will be strategic locations for necessary infrastructure such as fuel / supply depots, habitats, factories; Air Force Research Laboratory Primer on Cislunar Space suggests research on theoretical Shamrock and Aldrin cycler orbits

Credits: Paul Spudis, Aerospace Corporation, NASA

Wednesday / 16 June 2021

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Malapert Mountain Likely To Be Among Key Loci Of International Lunar Community

Lunar Landing Sites Under Consideration At Global Space Exploration Conference 2021 In St Petersburg, Russia Include 5-km Peak Malapert Mountain (86°S, 0°); Possessing Numerous Attributes Conducive To Scientific Observation, Communication, IRSU, Habitation; Containing Areas Of Near (90%+) Continuous Illumination And Shadowed Cold-Traps Possibly Harboring Water Ice; Earth Line-Of-Sight From Peak Rarely Interrupted; Shielded Far Side Flank Appropriate For Radio Astronomy; As USA President Biden And Russia President Putin Meet Today In Geneva, And China-Russia International Research Station Is Presented, Malapert Could Be Focus Of Cooperation Between Space Powers

Credits: NASA, GSFC, Arizona State University

Friday / 12 Mar 2021

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For All Moonkind Launches Detailed Moon Registry Of Important Lunar Areas, Items

Incoming National Space Society President And For All Moonkind Founder Michelle Hanlon Says Curated Gallery Of 50+ Years Of Moon Landing Sites, Spacecraft, Experiments, Flags And Related Mementos Will Aid “International Recognition And Protection” Of Sites With “Universal Historic Value”; Visual Database Content Will Be Open / Crowd Sourced With Accuracy To Be Verified By Blockchain Technology Provided By TODAQ Of Toronto; “A Worthy Cause” Says 12th Moonworker Harrison Schmitt, While Charlie Duke, 10th Person To Walk On Moon, Says “I Can’t Wait For Someone To Go Back And Find The Picture Of My Family That I Left Behind”

Credits: NASA, For All Moonkind, NSS

Friday / 24 April 2020

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New USGS Unified Lunar Strata Map Fuses Data From Historical And Contemporary International Missions

USGS In Conjunction With LPI And South Dakota School Of Mines And Technology Aggregate 1:5,000,000 Scale 3-Dimensional Model Of Moon; “Definitive” Geological Map Is Result Of Decades-Long Effort Per Lead Study Author Corey Fortezzo; Presented Virtually At 51st Lunar And Planetary Science Conference; Datasets Include 6 Apollo Mission Observations Overlaid With Equatorial Imaging (60°N-60°S) Taken With Terrain Camera On JAXA SELENE Orbiter With Resolution Of 60 m/pixel And Polar Data From LRO Camera Wide Angle Camera And Laser Altimeter At 20 m/pixel; Geological Topography Of Vital Importance To Resource Prospecting

Credits: NASA, GSFC, USGS, LRO, JAXA

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

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

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 Jun 2018

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AOGS Meeting To Focus On Lunar Science, Humans In Space

Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) 15th Annual Meeting 3-8 June In Honolulu HI With 209 Sessions Will Include 4 June “Science Of Exploration As Enabled By The Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, And The Moons of Mars”; Speakers (L-R) Gregory Schmidt For International Cooperation In Exploration, Ben Bussey On Lunar Activities, Allison Zuniga On Lunar Infrastructure & Economy, With Clive Neal For Human Return To Moon, Bernard Foing On Lunar Technology

Credits: AOGS, NASA, NSS, ISDC, U. Notre Dame, IAF, SSERVI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 11-14 May 2018

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LRO Mapping And Monitoring Lunar Surface Supports NASA Return To Moon Plans

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Surpasses 40,000 Orbits Around Moon, Gathering Information On Lunar Temperatures, Geologic Activity, Newly Formed Craters, Topographical Changes; On 23 June Spacecraft With 7 Operating Instruments Will Celebrate 9 Full Years In Orbit; Inertial Measurement Unit Indicates Low Functionality, Will Be Powered Down Except For Lunar Eclipses, Safe Mode Entries; 34th Data Set Release Upcoming, Invaluable Mission Supports International, National, Commercial, Academic Ventures & Research

Credits: NASA