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
GLXP Team Has 20 Days Left To Raise US$100,000 So They Can Build 200-Square Meter Area To Test Their Asimov Rover Against Harsh Lunar Conditions; Donors Of $12-15 Will Have Opportunity To Remotely Test Drive Rover On Test Site, $500 Donors Receive Build-Yourself Prototype Rover Kit, $7500 Donors Get Pre-Assembled Rover Which Can Be Piloted By Smart Phone App
Image Credit: Part-Time Scientists
Chang’e-3 Moon Rover Will Utilize Nuclear Battery Which Could Last Up To 30 Years, Survive Cold Lunar Nights; Radar Payload Will Scan About 100 Meters Below Lunar Surface; Vehicle Will Hover 4m Above Moon Before Dropping To Surface; China Conducting Tests Of Next-Generation Engine For Long March 5 Rocket Critical For 3rd Stage Of Lunar Exploration Program, Including Chang’e-5 Sample Return
Image Credit: CNSA
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
James Fincannon & NASA Glenn Research Center Engineers Provide Evidence That USA Flags Persevering In Harsh Lunar Environment; By Combining LROC Images Of Each Apollo Site Taken At Same Orientation But With Different Sun Angles, Team Produced Video To Show Movement Of Shadow Caused By Flags; All Flags Except Apollo 11 Still Standing
Image Credit: NASA
Scientific Objectives / Payload Design For ESA Lunar Lander Mission (~2018) In Paper By James Carpenter, et al, Accepted For Publication In Planetary & Space Sciences; Mission To Emphasize Human Exploration Preparatory Science; Payloads To Study Effects Of Plasma / Dust / Radiation Environment On Systems & Humans, Distribution / Application Of In Situ Resources For Future Exploration; Moon South Pole Likely Landing Site
Image Credit: ESA
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
Sally Ride: 26 May 1951 – 23 July 2012
Respectful / Honorable Achievements Extend Beyond Her Being The First American Woman In Space (On 18 June 1983) & Her Efforts To Inspire Women To Consider Careers In Science; Ride Was Also Current PI For GRAIL MoonKAM Initiative, ‘Outpost On Moon’ (With Crew Of 30 By 2010) Was 1 Of 4 Main Initiatives In The 1987 ‘Ride Report’
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