Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) Spectrometer Aboard LRO Makes 1st Spectroscopic Observations Of Helium In Tenuous Lunar Atmosphere; LAMP Examined Ultraviolet Emissions In An Observation Campaign Spanning Over 50 Orbits; Measurements Confirmed Data From 1972 LACE Experiment Deployed By Apollo 17 (L); Next Question: Does Helium Originate From Inside Moon, Or External Sources?
Image Credit: NASA
Now In Extended Mission, LROC has Mapped Entire Moon 33 Times, Each Map With Different Photometric Geometry; About Every Month Spacecraft Makes New Mosaics Of North & South Poles; Found Over 160 Lunar Caves With ‘Skylights’; Project Scientist Richard Vondrak Says LRO Is “Just Getting Started”; Pictured: Recent LROC Oblique View Of Giordano Bruno Crater (35.9°N 102.8°E), Download Video Of Crater Here
Image Credit: NASA
LROC PI Mark Robinson Speculates Vast Lava Tubes May Be Present Under Lunar Surface Based On Kaguya, LRO Data; Such Caves Could Be Suitable Interim Shelters For Explorers; Scientists At Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Studying ‘Mini-Magnetospheres’, Magnetic Anomalies That Protect Areas Of Moon From Solar Wind; Data May Lead To Artificially Manipulated ‘Deflector Shields’
Image Credit: NASA, RAL
China Chief Lunar Scientist Ziyuan Ouyang Provides Update On Chang’e Program; Chang’e-2 Has Left L2 After 235 Days Of Solar Observation, Now Heading For Rendezvous With Asteroid 4179, Will Arrive To Monitor / Explore Asteroid Around 1 March 2013; Chang’e-3 Lunar Rover Will Feature Atomic Fuel Cells, Radar To Explore 100m Below Surface; Chang’e-5 Sample Return Mission To Be Launched By Long March 5 Rocket Currently Under Development
Image Credit: CLEP, CNSA, CCTV
Team Phoenicia Agrees With Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems LLC & Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo To Collaborate On Lunar & Interplanetary Small Satellite Launch Opportunities; Cal Poly / Tyvak Will Utilize Team Phoenicia Excess Launch Capacity On GLXP & Future Lunar Missions; With Projected Costs Between US$5-10M, First Interplanetary NanoSat Missions Could Spark Revolution With Hundreds Of Missions To Moon, Asteroids, Mars & Beyond
Image Credit: Team Phoenicia, Tyvak, CalPoly, NASA
Shielding From Earth Ionosphere & Radio Interference Required To Explore ‘Dark Ages’ Of Universe / Receive Radio Waves Below 100 Megahertz; Far Side Of Moon Seen As Ideal Location; Jack Burns / CU Boulder Team Proposing Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE) Lunar Orbiter To Collect Neutral-Hydrogen Signals From 80-420M Years After Big Bang; Ultimately Seeking To Deploy Large Antennas In 180-Km-Wide Tsiolkovskiy Crater
Image Credit: NASA, University Of Colorado At Boulder
Twin ARTEMIS Crafts Reveal Unexpected Influence Of Complex Lunar Electric & Magnetic Fields On Solar Wind; NASA / GSFC Issues Sole-Source RFP To UCLA For Continuation Of Instrument / Science Management Of LRO Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment From March 2013 – March 2015; GRAIL Crafts Ebb & Flow Preparing For Extended Science Operations 30 Aug – 3 Dec 2012
Image Credit: NASA
Now In Hibernation, Ebb & Flow Survived Recent Lunar Eclipse; Extended Mission To Run From 30 Aug – 3 Dec; Spacecraft Performed Flawlessly During Primary Mission; GRAIL Will Halve Operating Altitude To 23km During Next Phase To Obtain Even Closer Look At Moon Gravity Field; MoonKAM Program Also Extended, Over 70,000 Student Images Have Thus Far Been Obtained
Image Credit: NASA
Continued Success / Progress Of India Moon Program Critical For Humanity’s Vital Expansion Into Solar System / Galaxy; Program Might Benefit From Reconsideration; GSLV Failures Have Put Ambitious Chandrayaan-2 Mission On Hold; Reconfigured Missions With A 2nd Orbiter And / Or Small Scale Lander / Rover Launched By Reliable PSLV Rocket Would Put Country Back On Track As ISRO Qualifies GSLV & Prepares For More Advanced Missions
Image Credit: ISRO, NASA
Image Credit: southtek.com, K. Pichumani, ISRO
ISRO Chairman Radhakrishnan Says Chandrayaan-2 Launch Will Follow 2 Successful Launches Of GSLV Rocket With Indigenous Cryogenic Engine; GSLV Systems To Undergo Series Of Tests & Modifications To Rectify Problems From 2 Failed Launches; Next Launches Scheduled For Fall 2012, Early 2013, Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter / Lander / Rover Launch NET 2014