Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

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

LROCgreen

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

Thursday / 19 March 2015

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LRO Revealing Changing Surface Features On Moon

lroCrater0315

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Continues To Provide Valuable Data From Lunar Orbit; Probe Has Acquired 10,000 Before & After Image Pairs Of Lunar Surface Since It Began Mapping Moon In Summer 2009; 225 New Impact Craters Ranging From 1.5m – 43m Identified; Recent Discovery Of 18.8m Crater From March 17, 2013 Impact Provided Valuable Opportunity To Test Impact Models & Study Top Meter Of Regolith

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 18 March 2015

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China Initiating Commercial Space Industry Through Chang’e-4 Opportunities

 ChinaCommercial

Private Enterprises Encouraged To Participate In China Chang’e-4 Lunar Probe / Lander Mission; China Officials Hope This Initial Step To Stimulate Commercial Space Industry Will Accelerate Technological Innovation, Improve Efficiency, Reduce Government Monopoly / Investment In Space Field, & Garner More Popular Support / Involvement; Private Companies Encouraged To Begin With Optical Instruments Before Moving To More Complex Remote-Control & Power Supply Equipment

Image Credit:CCTV, CLEP

Thursday / 12 March 2015

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Lunar Crust Is Focus Of Microsymposium 56 In Texas

Microsym56

Experts In Moon Exploration Such As (R-L) James Head, Carle Pieters, Maria Zuber & David Scott Will Gather In The Woodlands, Texas On 14-15 March For Brown University / Vernadsky Institute Microsymposium 56 The Crust Of The Moon: Insights Into Early Planetary Processes; Data & Discoveries From Recent Missions Chang’e-1 & 2, Chandrayaan-1, Kaguya, LRO & GRAIL Will Be Evaluated Identifying How They Improved Understanding Of Composition, Diversity, Layering, Thickness Of Lunar Crust; Key Outstanding Scientific Questions And Proposals To Address Those Questions Will Also Be Explored

Image Credit: brown.edu, mit.edu, ju.edu, NASA

Wednesday / 11 March 2015

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India Space Budget Indicates GSLV & Chandrayaan-2 Remain Top Priorities

ISRO$$0315

ISRO Allocated US$1.2B For Space Activities In 2015-2016 Fiscal Year (Begins 1 Apr); Budget Includes $50M For Continued Development / Operation Of GSLV Mk-3 Which Is Capable Of Lifting 4 Metric Tons To GTO, Critical For Next Steps Of Moon Program & Carrying Out India Human Space Missions According To Former ISRO Director Suresh Naik; $47M For Space Science, Including $6.3M For Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Rover / Orbiter Should Land At Moon South Pole 2017 / 2018; India Is Garnering A Reputation For Accomplishing Challenging Space Missions With Efficient / Frugal Budget

Image Credit: ISRO, NASA

Wednesday / 25 February 2015

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Lunar Science Talk Demonstrates
Value Of Moon Exploration

UAscience

Principal Investigator Of GRAIL Mission, Maria Zuber, Will Give Presentation On Recent Discoveries Concerning The Interior Of The Moon, Thurs 26 Feb At University Of Arizona; Host Of International Lunar Orbiters / Landers Continuing To Advance Understanding Of The History & Potential Future Significance Of Earth’s Closest Neighbor; Currently NASA Has 3 Spacecraft Orbiting Moon (LRO, ARTEMIS), China Currently Has An Orbiter (Chang’e-5 T1), Lander & Rover (Chang’e-3 / Yutu) At Moon

Image Credit: NASA, CNSA

Thursday / 19 February 2015

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South Korea Unveils Moon Rover

SKoreaRover0215

Korea Institute Of Science & Technology Displays Moon Rover Destined For Lunar Landing In 2020; Rover Is 50cm Wide, 70cm Long, 25cm High, Weighs 20kg (China Yutu Moon Rover Is 120kg); Project Elevated As National Objective By President Park Geun-Hye; Mission – Which Also Includes A Moon Orbiter – Expected To Cost ~US$630M; 2 Separate Launches Of Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 Will Boost The Orbiter & Lander

Image Credit: Korea Institute Of Science & Technology, Korea.net