Category Archives: Lunar Science

Friday / 26 October 2012

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Penn State Lunar Lion Team Revolutionizes GLXP

Penn State Combines Total Interdisciplinary Expertise In Bid To Win GLXP; Team Includes Students, Faculty, Applied Research Laboratory Engineers; Leader Michael Paul Has Significant NASA Experience Including MESSENGER Systems Engineer / Points Out “…We’ll Be The First University In History That Explores Another Body In Space.”; Lunar Lion Spacecraft Combines Lander / Rover Requirements; January 2014 Launch To 5.5 Day Cruise To Moon With Powered Descent / Lift-Off From Lunar Surface For 500m Flight / Powered Descent

 Image Credit: Penn State Lunar Lions, GLXP

Thursday / 25 October 2012

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Fobos-Grunt Based Luna-Globe Planning 2015 Launch

Russia Federal Space Agency Announces Two Missions To The Moon: Luna-Globe Slated For 2015 Launch To Orbit Moon And Lunar-Resource Slated For 2017-8 Launch To Land On Lunar Surface; Luna-Globe Design Based On 2011 Lost Mars Craft Fobos-Grunt; Lunar-Resource Lander Will Study Soil Of Moon’s Southern Hemisphere Says Developer NPO Lavochkin; Next Mars Probe Attempt Not Till 2025 States Space Agency Chief Vladimir Popovkin

Image Credit: Roscosmos, NPO Lavochkin

Wednesday / 24 October 2012

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ESA Eyes 2019 Lunar South Pole Robotic Mission As Astrium Develops Lander / Assesses Cost

ESA Preliminary System Requirement Review Puts €500M Price On 6 Month Mission To Place Rover / Other Experiments At Moon’s South Pole; Astrium Lunar Lander Study Phase B1 Major Results Include Precision Autonomous Soft Landing Test Results From TRON (Testbed For Robotic Optical Navigation) & LAMA (Landing And Mobility Test Facility); Nov ESA Ministerial Conference Decides Whether To Proceed With Study Phase B2 Leading To Preliminary Design Review

Image Credit: Astrium, ESA

Tuesday / 23 October 2012

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Canada Unveils Lunar Exploration Robotic Rovers

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Announces New Fleet Of Rovers Developed Under Exploration Science Mobility Project; Lunar Exploration Light Rover Mobile Lunar Lab With Sample Scoop Is Largest & Fastest / Upgradeable For Human Transport; Kapvik Micro-Rover Aids Humans By Doing Light Labor; 40 Academic / Industry Organizations Collaborating; Industry Minister Christian Paradis Notes Continuation of Canadarm / Dextre Legacy

Image Credit: CSA, Industry Canada, Carleton University

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 21-24 Sep 2012

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International Observe The Moon Night

Annual Event Inspired By NASA LRO Mission Set For Saturday 22 Sep; Over 250 Events Scheduled In Over 40 Countries; Telescopes & Educational Lectures / Materials Provided To Moon-Gazers At Local Events; This Year InOMN Event Dedicated To Memory Of Neil Armstrong; Organizers Hope To Instill Public Sense Of Wonder & Curiosity About Moon While Imparting Recent Lunar Discoveries

Image Credit: Huntsville Times, NASA

Tuesday / 18 September 2012

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GRAIL: Moon Crust Thinner Than Expected

Maria Zuber, GRAIL PI, Reveals High-Resolution Gravity Map / Initial Results Of Mission At Recent Seminar; Average Thickness Of Lunar Crust Appears To Be 30km, About Half Of Previous Estimate; High Correlations Between Topography & Gravitational Field; GRAIL Unable To Confirm Existence Of Hypothetical Ancient Impact Basins; Map Is 3-4 Times More Detailed Than Those Of Kaguya Or Lunar Prospector

Image Credit: NASA, Wikipedia

Friday / 14 September 2012

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USA Going Back To The Moon

Lori Garver, NASA Deputy Administrator, Confirms Ambitious USA Plans To Return To Moon During Speech At AIAA Conference In Pasadena, CA; Uncrewed Mission Scheduled For 2017, Human Orbital Mission By 2021; NASA Report To US Congress Outlines Plan For “Nearly Self-Sustaining Surface Habitat” On Moon For Long-Duration Astronaut Missions, Capable Of Extracting Oxygen, Water, Silicon, Etc In Situ  

Image Credit: NASA, Stephan Wlodarczyk

Wednesday / 12 September 2012

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Russia Officials Talking MoonBase Plans

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin Says Russia Should Set ‘Super Goal’ Of Building Large Base On Moon To Refocus Space Industry; Base Could Facilitate Leaps Of Science & Future Deep Space Projects; Possible Collaboration With USA / ESA; Moon Is Seen As Logical Next Step For Russia Exploration As Mars Is “Too Far And Too Expensive”

Image Credit: Roscosmos, wn.com

Weekend Edition / Fri-Tues 7-11 Sep 2012

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Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Annual Meeting

Program & Abstracts Now Available For 22-24 Oct 2012 LEAG Annual Meeting In Greenbelt Maryland; Presentations / Discussions On Science Objectives, Robotic Human Exploration Strategies & Technologies, Moon As Necessary Stepping Stone To Rest Of Solar System; Organizers Plan To Celebrate Apollo Legacy 40 Years After Apollo 17, Look Forward To Next Generation Of Lunar Missions; Pictured (BC): LEAG Chair Charles Shearer

Image Credit: LPI, NASA, University of New Mexico

Friday / 7 September 2012

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GRAIL Now In Extended Science Mission

Extended Science Phase Of GRAIL Mission From 30 Aug – 3 Dec; Spacecraft Will Take Even Closer Look At Lunar Gravity Field By Dropping To Average Orbit Of 23km (Compared To 55-km Orbit On Primary Mission); Objective Of NASA Mission Is To Generate The Most Accurate Gravity Map Of Moon & From That Derive Its Internal Structure / Evolution

Image Credit: NASA