Category Archives: NASA

Thursday / 23 January 2014

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Clementine Mission Pivotal In Illuminating Importance Of Lunar Destination

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Advocating For Strong USA Initiative To Realize Robotic & Human Missions To Lunar Poles ASAP, Paul Spudis Reviews Impact Of 1994 Clementine Moon Orbiter On America / World Space Policy; Over 71 Days Mission Collected >2M Images, 1st Global Topographic Map Of Moon, Revealed Aitken Basin / South Pole Features That Could Sustain Human Outpost: Peaks Of Near Permanent Sun Illumination, Evidence Of Water Ice / Hydrogen; Spudis On The Space Show Sunday 26 Jan

Image Size: NASA

Tuesday / 21 January 2014

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Morpheus Advancing USA Lunar Lander Capabilities

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Project Morpheus To Conduct Free Flight Test-6 Today At NASA KSC; Flight Test Last Week Performed Flawlessly Reaching 57m, Traversing 47m, Landing Within 28cm Of Target; New Autonomous Landing Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Could Facilitate Lander Missions To More Challenging / Rewarding Sites Such As Moon South Pole; Current Lander Design Has Payload Capacity Of 500kg, Team Hopes To Scale Up To Accommodate Crew / Cargo

Image Credit: NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon 17-20 January 2014

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Partnership Opportunities For Commercial Lunar Landers Offered By NASA

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Lunar Cargo Transportation And Landing By Soft Touchdown (Lunar CATALYST) Initiative Announced By NASA Calls For Proposals From USA Private Sector, Will Lead To 1 Or More No-Funds Exchanged Space Act Agreements; NASA Will Offer Technical Expertise, Access To Test Facilities / Equipment & Software For Lander Development / Testing; Pre-Proposal Teleconference 27 Jan, Proposals Due 17 Mar, Selections Made In Apr

Image Credit: NASA

New Year / Holiday Edition
Wed 25 Dec 2013 – Fri 3 Jan 2014

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2020 Vision: Humanity A Multi World Species

LED-12-12-13Multi Nation Science And Commerce Human Lunar Expeditions 2019-2020 Preceded By Moon South Pole International Traffic Jam 2015-2016 With Robotic Landings From USA, PRC, Japan, India, Russia, as well as Moon Express / ILOA, Golden Spike, Shackleton Energy, Astrobotic, Lunar Lions, Others; NEOs, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn Next

Ad Astra — Happy New Year / Holidays To All

 Image Credit: NASA, ILOA, ME, Penn State Lunar Lions, Astrobotic Technology

Tuesday / 24 December 2013

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USA Return-To-Moon Advocacy Picks Up Momentum

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Chris McKay (T) Of NASA Ames Affirms That USA Should ‘Boldly Stay’ On The Moon To Maintain Space Leadership, Pave Way For Competent Multi-Planet Species Status; USA Rep Frank Wolf (R-VA) (C) Calls On President Obama To Hold Early-2014 White House Conference To Develop International Plan To Return Humans To Moon Within Next Decade; GWU Space Policy Institute Director Scott Pace (B) Notes Moon Offers Advantage Of Varying Levels Of Mission Complexity / Cost

Image Credit: NASA, usa.gov, George Washington University

Thursday / 19 December 2013

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USA Moon Orbiters Gather Data
From Chang’e-3 Landing

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LADEE Measuring Changes In Lunar Atmosphere Caused By Chang’e-3-Released Dust & Exhaust, Comparing To Baseline Data Collected During Full 29.5-Day Lunar Cycle Prior To China Arrival; LRO Scans Landing Site With LAMP Instrument Looking For Exhaust Plume Signature, LROC Able To Image Lander / Rover At ~2m / Pixel, Will Attempt Image On 24 Dec; ARTEMIS Spacecraft Look For Plume Signatures In Plasma & Magnetic Field 

Image Credit: NASA, CCTV

Friday / 13 December 2013

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LADEE Gathers Data As Chang’e-3 Prepares For Landing

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LADEE In Science Operations Orbit Skimming Moon Surface Between 20-50km & 75-150km; NMS Instrument Detecting Argon-40, Helium & Neon, LDEX Observing Occasional Bursts Of Dust Particles (Ranging From Few Per Minute To Several Hundred In Under 30 Seconds) Suspected Cause Is Meteoroids Impacting Surface, UVS Measuring Potassium & Sodium Levels; Chang’e-3 Landing Expected 14 Dec Will Add Dust, Gases To Atmosphere – LADEE May Be Able To Measure Distribution / Evolution

Image Credit: NASA, CNSA

Thursday / 5 December 2013

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Human Exploration Rover Challenge: Name Change Reflects Evolving NASA Priorities

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10-12 Apr 2014 Student Competition Held In Huntsville AL, Now Dubbed ‘NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge’; Rules / Format Of 20-Year Old Moonbuggy Race Remain Relatively Unchanged; New Name & Updated Course Are Consistent With Growing Solar System-Wide Focus Of NASA: Moon As 1st Enabling Step For Human Deep Space Exploration, Then On To Asteroids, Mars, Jupiter System & Beyond

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 4 December 2013

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Preserving Historic Lunar Sites From Rising Tide Of Moon Exploration

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With China Moon Landing Fast Approaching & Commercial  Missions Soon To Follow, US Legislators Propose Bill To Qualify Apollo Sites As National Park; Space Law Experts Henry Hertzfeld (R) & Scott Pace Say This Action May Violate UN Outer Space Treaty, Suggest Government Officials Open Dialogue To Establish Ground Rules For Respecting Mission Sites / Equipment / Artifacts; May Also Help Ease Strained International Relations

Image Credit: NASA, CNSA

Tuesday / 3 December 2013

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Robotic Precursor Missions May Get USA Lunar Program Back On Track

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Aggressive Lunar Exploration Plan With USA Rovers / Landers On Moon To ID Resources, Advance ISRU Technologies, Construct Power Infrastructure Is Currently Feasible With Limited NASA Budget, & Needed To Reassert Leadership In Moon Exploration, Prepare For Human Moon Outposts – Says Nelson Bridwell In Aviation Week

Image Credit: NASA