Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

Weekend Edition / 24-26 March 2012

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USA Lunar Orbiters Imaging Future / Past Landing Sites

Image Credit: NASA

2 4-Camera Color Video Systems Of GRAIL MoonKAM Begin Generating Video Views Of Moon Surface From Low Lunar Orbit; Thousands Of Students Have Opportunity To Capture Video / Images, Study Lunar Features & Learn About Past / Future Landing Sites; LRO Recently Provided Clearest View Yet Of Famous Apollo 11 Landing Site; Image (R) Snapped From 24-Km Altitude Displays Footprints, Lunar Module, Seismic Experiment, Lunar Ranging Reflector

Thursday / 22 March 2012

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GRAIL Mission Extended To December

Image Credit: NASA

US$496M Mission Extended 6 Months Allowing Scientists To Complete More Definitive Map Of Lunar Gravity Field From Lower Orbit; Twin Crafts Will Orbit Average Of 22.5km Above Moon During 2nd 3-Month Mapping Cycle, Sep-Dec; Mission Was Intended To End In June Before Lunar Eclipse, Mission Planners Now Hope To Crash Probes Into Lunar Surface In December, Ideally In LRO Field Of View 

Tuesday / 20 March 2012

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LRO 1000 Days In Lunar Orbit

Image Credit: NASA, bu.edu

LRO Reaches 1000 Days In Orbit & NASA Releases 2 New LRO Videos Providing Tour Of Interesting Locations On Moon, Evolutionary History; Lead Scientist Harlan Spence (L), UNH Researchers Use LRO CRaTER Instrument To Quantify Levels Of Radiation On Lunar Surface From GCR Bombardment That Can Create Complex Carbon Chains From Water Ice, Process Also Causes Regolith To Darken Over Time

Thursday / 8 March 2012

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USA Lunar Orbiters GRAIL & LRO

Image Credit: NASA

Twin GRAIL Probes ‘Ebb & Flow’ Begin Science Mission, Will Spend Next 3 Months Orbiting 56km Above Lunar Surface While Scientists Monitor Slight Variations In Distance To Map Gravitational Field; US$496M Mission May Support Or Debunk Various Theories Of Moon Origin; New Goddard Visualization Studio Applet Uses LRO Images To Show Phase & Libration Of Moon For Every Hour Of 2012

Thursday / 1 March 2012

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Lunar Mapping Postdoc Position At UCLA

Image Credit: UCLA.edu

Department Of Earth & Space Sciences At UCLA Inviting Applicants For Postdoctoral Position To Produce Improved Mapped Data Products Of Moon Surface Using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment Observations; 1-Year Appointment Beginning April 2012; Qualified Applicants Send CV To Professor David Paige

Wednesday / 22 February 2012

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Image Credit: NASA, ASU

LRO Data Reveals Evidence Of Recent Seismic Activity On Moon; Graben (Small Ravines) Up To 500m Wide, 1.8km Long, Free Of Cratering – Formed Within Last 50M Years, Postdating Last Major Tectonic Activity (1.2B Years Ago); Recent Graben Formation Also Incompatible With Theory That Early Moon Had Fully Molten Interior; Further Data From LRO, GRAIL Will Shed More Light On These Mysteries

Wednesday / 15 February 2012

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Image Credit: ISRO, NASA

ISRO Working Vigorously On Chandrayaan-2; Proposed For Launch In 2013, Pending Successful Test Of GSLV Rocket; Mission To Include 1400-Kg Orbiter, 1250-Kg Lander; Rover To Conduct Chemical Analysis Of Regolith Samples; More Indigenous Payloads Than 1st Mission; Former ISRO Head Nair Had Childhood Dream Of Going To Moon

Tuesday / 14 February 2012

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Image Credit: NASA, moonviews.com

Dennis Wingo / Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project Seeking Private Donations Or NASA Funding To Finish ‘Techno-Archaeology’ Remastering Of 1960s Lunar Orbiter Data; Team Has Spent US$700K To Recover 1/3 Of The Data; Quality Is Comparable To Most Recent LROC Images, Useful In Demonstrating How Moon Changes Over Time

Monday / 6 February 2012 — Weekend Edition

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Image Credit: NASA

Recent Coronal Mass Ejections (TL) Were Most Significant Radiation Events During LRO 2.5-Year Mission, CRaTER Instrument On LRO (C) Characterizing Global Lunar Radiation Environment By Measuring Galactic / Solar Radiation From Behind ‘Human Tissue-Equivalent’ Plastic; GRAIL Sends Its 1st Video From Lunar Orbit, Ebb Captures 30-Second Video Of Lunar Far Side While Traveling North-South