Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

Tuesday / 30 Oct 2018

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Apollo 8 EarthRISE Dinners Look To Future Moon Orbits

 

EarthRISE50 Organization Will Remember Apollo 8 With Worldwide Earthrise Dinners Week Of December 24; Jersey City USA Kickoff Event Nov 8 Will Feature Entrepreneur Joy Mangano; 50th Remembrance Of Apollo 8 Carrying Mission Commander Frank Borman And Pilot Jim Lovell To Moon Orbit And Iconic Earthrise Photo By Astronaut Bill Anders; Replicating Apollo 8 Lunar Orbit Will Be Goal Of Uncrewed Orion EM-1 Mission In 2020 And Crewed EM-2 Mission Funded For 2023; Ongoing Discussion of Lunar Orbital Platform To Be Serviced By Orion In Moon Orbit

Credits: NASA, Virgin Galactic, Joymangano.com

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 / 27-30 July 2018

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Chang’e-4 Far Side Moon Lander On Track For Dec Launch; Beijing Big Moon Expo Continues

China Long March 3B Set To Launch Chang’e-4 Lander & Rover Dec 2018 To Lunar Far Side South Pole Aitken Basin; Lander To Carry High-Res Cameras, Low Frequency Spectrometer, “Lunar Lander Neutrons & Dosimetry”; Rover Equipped With Panoramic Camera, Lunar Penetrating Radar, Visible / Infrared Spectrometer, “Advanced Small Analyser For Neutrals”; Queqiao Relay Satellite At L2 Orbit; Longjiang-2 Operates In Elliptical Lunar Orbit Transmitting Images From Moon; Lunar Exploration Technology Exhibition Featuring 10-meter Moon Continues To 9 Oct At Beijing National Aquatic Center “Water Cube”

Credits: CNSA, CASC, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing National Aquatic Center, NASA

Wednesday / 4 July 2018

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NASA Soliciting Bids On Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway Space Station Aiming For 2022 Operation

Procurement Request From NASA Is Asking USA Industry For Proposals On “Spaceflight Demonstration Of A Power And Propulsion Element”, Which Could Be Used As The 1st Element Of The Gateway Space Station — Proposals Due November; NASA Expects The New Station To Cost US$2.7B; Matt Siegler (Bottom) Of Planetary Science Institute Says Gateway Is Too Far From Moon And Is Really A Symbol For USA Leadership In Space; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (Top) Stresses: “We Are Going To The Surface Of The Moon. The Gateway Does Not Compete With This”

Credits: NASA, PSI

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 June – 2 July 2018

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Chandrayaan-2 Lunar South Pole Mission To Target Water, Possibly He-3

GSLV Mk II Launch NET Oct / Nov Of 3,290-kg Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, Lander, 6-Wheel Rover, Will Research Topography, Mineralogy, Exosphere, Prospects For Ice-Water Utilization, Consider Future Helium-3 Extraction; Rover To Operate In Semi-Autonomous Mode For 2 Weeks; ISRO Chairman K. Sivan States India Plans To Be A Leader In Space Resource Utilization, Aims To Put India Crew On Moon

Credits: ISRO, NASA

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 / 15-18 June 2018

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Chang’e-4 Relay Satellite Enters Intended Orbit, Prepares For Upcoming Mission

China Relay Satellite Queqiao Successfully Reaches Halo Orbit Around Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2, Will Undergo Orbit Maintenance Every 7 Days, Equipped With NCLE Low-Frequency Pathfinder To Detect Cosmic Dark Ages Radio Signals, Will Act As Communication Relay For Chang’e-4 Lander & Rover Mission Planned Nov-Dec Launch To South Pole Aitken Basin / Von Kármán Crater; Microsatellite Longjiang-2 Operates In Lunar Orbit, Transmits Far Side Pictures Using Saudi Arabia Optical Camera; NAOC Prof Ping Jinsong Mentions Feasibility Of Flying Near-Future Low Cost Lunar Constellation

Credits: CNSA, CLEP, KASCST, NAOC, CAS, Planetary Society, NCLE, ASTRON

Friday / 15 June 2018

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AAS Advancing Galaxy Science, Human Equality, Astronomy From The Moon

21st Century Directions Apparent At American Astronomical Society 232nd Meeting In Denver CO With 5 Of 10 Plenaries On Galaxies, 5 Of 10 Presented By Women Astrophysicists, Supported By (L-R) Incoming AAS President Megan Donahue And Outgoing President Christine Jones; Pioneering Sessions On Low Radio Frequency Observations From Space And Moon Included Presentations By Heino Falcke, Robert MacDowell, Jack Burns, Joseph Lazio, Which Could Enable AAS Symposium In 12-24 Months On “Astronomy On, For and From The Moon”

Credits: ILOA, SPC, Steve Durst, AAS, NLSI, IAU, NASA, JPL, Radboud Univ., ISIS, ASTRON, Netherlands Space Office, et al

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 8-11 Jun 2018

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LUNAR, DARE Missions Advance Astronomy From The Moon

Jack Burns From University Of Colorado Boulder Continues To Lead Lunar University Network For Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) To Advance Space Science Studies, Lunar Laser Ranging, Heliophysics, Astrophysics; Burns Is Also Principal Investigator On Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE) Lunar Orbiter Planning For Launch 2023, 2-Year Mission Would Study Cosmic Dawn Through Heating, Ionization Of Intergalactic Medium, Low-Radio Frequencies Of 40-120 MHz From Moon Farside At 125-km Altitude

Credits: CU Boulder, NASA

Friday / 8 Jun 2018

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Astronomy From The Moon Advancing At American Astronomical Society 232nd Meeting

 AAS 232nd Meeting Highlights Multiple Applications / Benefits Of Astronomy From Moon & In Space: ‘A New Frontier For 21st Century Astrophysics‘ By ILOA Director Steve Durst (R) Discusses Galaxy Observations From Stable & Large Platform Of Lunar Surface, Radio Quiet Far Side, Permanent Darkness In Polar Craters, Thin Exosphere, Access For Future Human Service Missions; Jack Burns Of CU Presents Advantages Of Satellite In Low Lunar Orbit; Robert MacDowall Of GSFC Talks On Possibility Of Low-Frequency Observations From Moon Surface; Heino Falcke (L) Of Radboud University Examines China NCLE & Building Toward Lunar Radio Observatory

Credits: ILOA, NASA, Radboud Univ., ISIS, ASTRON, et al