Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

Wednesday / 13 May 2015

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India Advancing Historic Mission To Lunar Pole

AnilChandrayaan

ISRO Officials Inform India Parliament That Chandrayaan-2 Mission Is On Schedule For 2017 Launch; Space Physics Laboratory Director Anil Bhardwaj Notes Mission Will Be 1st-Ever India Soft Landing On Planetary Body & 1st Attempt By Any Nation To Land At Lunar Pole; Mission Will Be Entirely Indigenous & Include Orbiter, Lander & Rover; Will Be Launched By GSLV Rocket; Orbiter Expected To Include 5 Scientific Payloads, & 2 More On Rover, Still Possible Lander Could Host Astronomical Observatory Payload Similar To Successful LUT Of China Chang’e-3 Lander

Image Credit: K. Ragesh, Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, ISRO

Thursday / 7 May 2015

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Radiation Environment May Alter Lunar Regolith

UNHcrater0515

Researchers From UNH & NASA Goddard Publish Study Detailing How ‘Sparking’ May Affect Lunar Regolith In Permanently Shadowed Craters; High-Energy Particles From Large Solar Storms Or Cosmic Rays Buildup Electric Charges Faster Than Regolith Can Dissipate Them, Particularly In -240°C Permanently Shadowed Polar Craters, Regolith Then Disintegrates Into Smaller Particles Of Distinct Materials; Researchers Used LRO CRaTER Instrument & Custom Computer Model; Team Will Now Utilize LRO Instruments At New Lower Orbit To Find Evidence For Sparking

Image Credit: NASA, UNH

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 May 2015

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International Space Powers Advancing Plans For Lunar Exploration

RussiaChinaESAMoon0515

Russia Invites China To Collaborate On Scientific Space Station In Lunar Orbit, Both Countries Have Stated Plans To Continue Robotic Exploration Of Moon Over Next Decade, Conduct Human Surface Missions By 2030; New ESA Leader Johann-Dietrich Wörner (L) Sees International Permanent Moon Station – Likely At Far Side – As Next Step After ISS; Japan Plan For ~2018 Lunar Lander Garnering Significant Attention From International Space Community

Pictured (R): Roscosmos Leader Igor Komarov, China Vice Premier Wang Yang

Image Credit: Russianspaceweb.com, RIA Novosti

Thursday / 23 April 2015

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Japan Moon Plans Stimulated By Ambitions & Successes Of Asian Neighbors

JapanMoon0415

JAXA Moon Program Proposal – Which Includes Announcement Of Plan To Send Robotic Lander Mission To Moon In 2018 – Cites Increased Competition For Resources On Moon, Risk Of Power Imbalance As Russia, China, India Advance Lunar Surface Development Plans; Proposal Includes Initial Phase Of Robotic Missions, Possibility Of Human Lunar Visits – Facilitated By International Cooperation – In Post-2025 2nd Phase

Image Credit: JAXA, CNSA, ISRO

Wednesday / 22 April 2015

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India Advancing Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2Dathan2

Vikram Sarabhai Space Center Director M Chandra Dathan Says Chandrayaan-2 Preparations Are In Full Swing At Various ISRO Centers, Still Planning On 2017-2018 Launch; 2nd India Moon Mission Will Place Lander & Rover Near South Pole To Test New Technologies & New Experiments; Ranked 6th In Global Space Positioning – India Becoming A Role Model For Other Countries Due To Self-Reliance & Cost Effectiveness; India Spends US$3 / Per Capita On Space Technology, Compared To $7.5 For China & $123 For USA

Image Credit: ISRO, K. Murali Kumar

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 April 2015

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LRO Providing Opportunities For Researchers & Educators

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US$504-Million LRO Mission, Costing US$12.4M To Operate Annually, Will Achieve 6 Years In Lunar Orbit This Jun; Extension Of Operations Into 2016 Still In Question; Data Set 22 – With Data Collected From Dec 2014 To Mar 2015 – Expected In Jun 2015; Slides From Recent LRO Data Users Workshop Now Available; Registration For Jul 2015 Lunar Workshops For Educators Still Open

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 2 April 2015

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Lunar Dust Experiments Opening Future Exploration Possibilities

DustyMoon0415

LADEE Results Indicate Tail Of Nanoscale Particles Trailing Moon, Likely Expelled By Asteroid Impact, <0.001g / Square Meter; LADEE Spectrometer PI Says Phenomenon Could Offer New Way To Study Surface Of Airless Planetary Bodies, “Collect Their Tails Rather Than Landing On Them”; Moon RIDERS Educational Project Testing System To Remove Lunar Dust From Moon Lander Equipment Using High Voltage Square Waves Being Tested At NASA Ames; Project Is Collaboration Of Hawai`i High Schools, NASA, GLXP Teams, PISCES

Image Credit: NASA, kealakeherobotics.org

Wednesday / 1 April 2015

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Russia USA Moon Mission Collaboration
In The Works?

RusUSMoonStation

Space Agency Leaders Of NASA & Roscosmos Confirm Intention To Work Together On Exploration Of Moon & Mars; Roscosmos Chief Igor Komarov Acknowledges More Tasks Can Be Solved & Expenses Saved By Acting Together, Says Deep Space Exploration & Protection Of Earth From Space Threats Must Be Solved By ‘Entire Humanity’; The 2 Countries Will Collaborate On ISS Until 2024, Will Not Build Another Station In NEO, Discussing Potential Cooperation On New Space Station In Lunar Orbit

Image Credit: gaetanomarano.it, Roscosmos, NASA

Tuesday / 24 March 2015

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Water On Moon May Have Ancient Origins

LopsidedIce

Moon Ice Concentrations Symmetrically Centered 5.5° From Lunar Poles; Research Team Including Matthew Siegler Of Planetary Science Institute Suggests This Indicates Moon Experienced Ancient Polar Shift Caused By 3.5B-Year Old Lunar Hot Spot At Oceanus Procellarum; If Theory Is Accurate Lunar Ice May Be Nearly As Ancient As Moon Itself, Potentially Locked Up As Hydrated Minerals In Rocks And / Or Protected By Insulated Layer Of Regolith; Team Relied On Data From NASA Lunar Prospector Mission

Image Credit: NASA, UCLA

 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon 20-23 March 2015

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LRO Likely To Be Funded Through 2016

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US$1.36B Allotted For NASA Planetary Sciences In 2016, Division Director James Green Says Budget May Be Stretched To Keep LRO Active For Another Year; LRO Costs US$12.4M To Operate Annually; After Recent 21st LROC Planetary Data Systems Release, Team Has Now Delivered 1,520,409 LROC Images Totaling 176.9 TB Of Raw Data & Over 11,704 Derived Data Products; LRO Scientists Preparing For 4 Apr Lunar Eclipse; Call For Papers Relying On LRO Data For Special Issue Of Icarus Due 30 Jun

Image Credit: NASA