Speaking At Lunar Science Forum, NASA Planetary Sciences Division Director Jim Green Says Science & Human Exploration Sectors Will Get Closer As Exploration Moves Out From Earth Orbit; Rechartered Lunar Science Institute Will Have ‘Flexible Path’ Focus On Moon, Mars, NEOs; Human Spaceflight Architecture Team Outlines Importance Of Cis-Lunar Space In Future Global Space Exploration
Image Credit: NASA
Final Day Of NASA Ames Lunar Science Forum To Include Presentations On Prospective USA Human Moon Missions; Jack Burns (TR) Previews 1st Human-Robotic Mission To Lunar Farside Using MPCV At Earth-Moon L2 & Tele-Operated Rover (L), Bill Gerstenmaier & John Grunsfeld Discuss Science & Human Exploration Collaboration; Noah Petro (BR) Sheds Light On Next Generation Of Lunar Scientists / Engineers
Image Credit: NASA, astronomynow.com
5th Annual Lunar Science Forum Begins Today At NASA Ames Research Center, California (17-19 July); Plenary Session 1 Opens With Overview Of 3 USA Missions / 5 Spacecraft Currently In Moon Orbit; Maria Zuber: 1st Science Results From GRAIL; Jasper Halekas: 1st Results From ARTEMIS; Mark Robinson: Exploring The Moon With LROC; Greg Delory To Provide Status Update Of NET 2013 LADEE Mission
Image Credit: NASA
2nd Conference On Lunar Highlands Crust 13-15 July 2012 In Bozeman, MT; Review Of Data Gained Since 1st Meeting In 1979 Through Studies Of Optical Remote Sensing, Lunar Meteorites, Remote Sensing & Individual Rocks; Presentations By (R-L) Carle Pieters, Paul Lucey, Maria Zuber, Bradley Jolliff, Lars Borg; Field Trips To Stillwater Mine, Picket Pin Mountain
Image Credit: LPI, LLNL, brown.edu, hawaii.edu, wustl.edu, mit.edu
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
4 July ILOA Galaxy Forum USA In Silicon Valley CA Sets Transcendent Tone For Space Month 2012; Lunar Initiatives / Research Advancing Through LunaGradCon 2012 / NASA Lunar Science Forum In CA, SFF NewSpace Conference 2012, Lunar / Mars Exploration & Base Construction Event In CO, Lunar Highlands Crust Conference In MT
Image Credit: NASA, SFF, ILOA
Planned To Launch In Mid 2010s, SELENE-2 Includes Lander, Rover, Communication Relay Orbiter; Top Science Priority To Clarify Process Of Magma Ocean During Early Stage Of Planetary Evolution, & Seismic Observation To Understand Internal Structure Of Moon; JAXA Considering Possibility Of Launching 2 Landers, Polar & Equatorial; SELENE-X Sample Return / Logistics Demonstrator To Follow; Pictured: SELENE-2 Director Prof Sho Sasaki
Image Credit: JAXA
Queensland University Of Technology Professor Marek Zbik Utilizes Synchrotron-Based Nano Tomography To Isolate Nano Particles Inside Lunar Glass Bubbles; Formed By Meteorite Impacts; Pulverizing Of Rocks Mixes Particles Into Regolith; Nano Particles Behave According To Laws Of Quantum Physics, Give Lunar Dust Unusual Properties: Electro-Static Charge, Extreme Chemical Activity, Low Thermal Conductivity, Etc
Image Credit: canindia.com, NASA
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
Lunar Extreme Workshop 2012 At Ames, Moffett Field CA, 18-22 June; High School Teachers & Students Participating In The DREAM Program Will Interact With Lunar Scientists As They Research The Extreme Environmental Dynamics Of The Moon; NASA Lunar Science Institute To Host 5th Annual Lunar Science Forum 17-19 July 2012, To Include Dedicated Side Conference For Graduate Students & Young Lunar Professionals
Image Credit: NASA