Thursday / 7 February 2013

Lunar Exploration Summer Intern Program

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Application Deadline 1 March For LPI Summer Intern Program At NASA JSC; Interns Will Evaluate The Study Generated By Previous Student Teams – ‘Global Landing Site Study To Provide Context For Exploration Of The Moon’ – Then Conduct Detailed Assessment Of 1 Or 2 High-Priority Landing Sites Identified In That Report; Will Utilize Latest Lunar Data, Explore Potential Traverse Routes / Stations, ID Challenges; Program: 28 May- 2 Aug 2013

Image Credit: NASA, LPI

Wednesday / 6 February 2013

Engineering The Future Of Lunar Exploration

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Stanford University Civil & Environmental Engineering PhD Candidate Henning Roedel Featured As ‘Future Star’ In Feb 2013 Issue Of NewSpace Global Publication Thruster; Roedel Interested In Construction In Extreme Environments, Conducting Research At NASA Ames On Lunar Biocomposite To Create Infrastructure On Moon 

Image Credit: NewSpace Global,   NASA, Stanford, facebook.com

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 1-4 Feb 2013

LRO Continues To Serve As A Beacon For Lunar Exploration

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3.5 Years Into Its Mission, LRO Continues To Provide Valuable Data And Spectacular Images Of Our Celestial Neighbor; To Date The Mission Has Provided 893,493 Images & Over 8,653 Derived Data Products To The NASA Planetary Data System; LRO Team Planning To Image GRAIL Impact Sites In March / April When LRO & Sun Are Directly Overhead

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 1 February 2013

To USA President Obama: Utilize Lunar Resources

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Apollo Lunar Industrial Park On Moon By 2025 Proposed As Nation Commemorates 10th Anniversary Of Columbia 7 Loss; Would Give Taxpayers Return On Considerable Investment In Apollo Moon Missions; NASA Administrator Bolden & Secy Of State Kerry Should Forge International Agreements With China, India, ISS Partners As Suggested By Space Author / Human Resource Development Consultant Philip R Harris

Image Credit: P. Harris, NASA

Thursday / 31 January 2013

Moon Mining Robot Development Advancing

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Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) Designed By NASA To Extract Water, Ice, For Fuel & Life Support From Regolith On Moon Or Other Dusty Bodies; 45kg, 0.75m-Tall Device Designed As Feeder For Lunar Resource Processing Plant; Current Design Likely To Evolve With Roll Out Of RASSOR-2 In Early 2014 For Testing

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 30 January 2013

Destination Moon

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International Lunar Activity Gaining Momentum In 2010s As China Prepares For Chang’e-3,4,5 Lunar Lander Missions In 2013, 2015, 2017; Russia Luna-Glob Orbiter In 2015, Luna-Glob / Luna-Resurs Polar Landers in 2016, 2017; USA LADEE Orbiter In 2013; India Chandrayaan-2 Lander ~2015; Japan SELENE-2 Lander ~2018; Private Enterprise GLXP Landers 2014-2015, ILO-1 Lander 2015-2016, Golden Spike Company Human Mission ~2019

Credit: Dwayne Day – The Space Review

Image Credit: Corby Waste, fourth-millennium.net

Thursday / 24 January 2013

NASA Lunar Science Institute Seminar: Space Science From The Moon

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Brown University Professor Carle Pieters Will Join ‘The Moon As A Cornerstone To The Terrestrial Planets’ Team Of NLSI On 29 Jan To Overview Implications Of New Lunar Data & Discuss How It Is Leading To New Strategies For Human & Robotic Exploration; David Kring Of LPI Will Recap Successes Of NLSI In Achieving Research Goals, Assisting In NASA Robotic & Human Mission Scenario Development

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 22 January 2013

Strong Lunar Exploration Advocacy From Canada

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Ottawa Citizen Editorial Commends Recent ESA – NASA Partnership Agreement For Orion / MPCV Lunar Exploration Missions, Elaborates On Importance & Benefits Of Human Solar System Exploration: Technology Advances, Potential For Poverty Eradication, Innate Human Need To Explore; Canada, With Expertise In Mining & Robotics, Is Set To Be Important Contributor To USA / Europe Exploration Goals 

Image Credit: CSA, NASA, NORCAT, Ottawa Citizen

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 18-21 Jan 2013

Mona Lisa Used For LRO Laser Communication Test

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Leonardo da Vinci Masterpiece Used For First-Ever One-Way Laser Communication At Planetary Distance; Black & White 152 X 200 Pixel Image, Beamed From NASA Goddard SFC To LRO LOLA Instrument 386,000km Away At Slow Rate Of 300 Bits / Second; Experiment Allowed For Calibration Of Atmospheric Distortion In Preparation For LLCD Experiment On LADEE; Laser Communication Holds Promise Of Bringing Live, HD Video Feeds From Jupiter & Beyond

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 18 January 2013

ESA / NASA To Cooperate On Human Moon, Deep Space Exploration

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Europe ATV Propulsion Hardware And Solar Arrays Will Make Up Large Part Of NASA Orion Service Module For EM-1 (NET 2017) 7-Day, Uncrewed Circumlunar Cruise & EM-2 (~2021); Agreement May Also Entail Participation Of ESA Astronaut In EM-2; Current Plan For EM-2 Is To Send 4 Crew Members To Orbit Moon For 3-4 Days; Academics, Engineers, Industry Arguing For More Ambitious Mission, Possibly To L2, 65,000km Beyond Lunar Far Side 

Image Credit: NASA, ESA