USGS Lunar Maps Using LRO Reveal Data ‘Contrary To Conventional Wisdom’
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Providing Mosiac Map With Data From Wide Angle Camera & Topographic Data With Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA); Dr. Mark Robinson, ASU Professor & LRO Camera PI States “Images From The LRO Camera Have Greatly Advanced Our Knowledge Of The Moon” & Images Reveal Volcanic Activity Younger Than Previously Thought; LOLA Gathering Topographic Data; Co-Investigator Dr. Erwan Mazarico Comments “The LOLA Data Are A Foundational Dataset To Be Used In Multiple Types Of Studies For Years To Come”; Maps Indicate Elevation Areas – Highest Point Near Engel’gradt Crater (200° E Longitude, +6° Latitude) & Lowest Area Within Moon South Pole-Aitken Basin Near 188° E Longitude, -70° Latitude
Credit: USGS/NASA/ASU
ILOA Event On 9 Sep Features (L-R) NAOC Prof. Jianyan Wei And Dr. Jing Wang Discussing LUT Findings & Performance, Univ. Of Hawaii Dr. R. Pierre Martin On Galaxy Exploration From The Moon, ILOA Founding Director Steve Durst On 21st Century Education, Exploration & Enterprise; Moon-Based Observatory Missions To Complement Earth / Space-Based Astronomy; ILOA Collaborating With National Astronomical Observatories – Chinese Academy Of Science (NAOC) Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT) On Chang’e-3 As Only Mission Operating On Lunar Surface
ILOA Collaborating With National Astronomical Observatories – Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT) Aboard Chang’e-3 Moon Lander At 44°N 20°W – Only Spacecraft Operating On Lunar Surface, 1st To Land On Moon In Almost 40 Years; ILOA Pursuing Moon-Based Observatory Missions, Seeks To Advance 21st Century Galaxy Imaging With ILO-1 2-Meter Radio Antenna To Malapert Mt. 86°S 2.7°E Near Moon South Pole, With ILO-X Precursor Mission Aboard GLXP Lander, With Human Service Mission To ILO-1 / Robotic Village New World Frontier
Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH-Map) CubeSat Is A Candidate To Launch On NASA SLS Exploration Mission-1, Would Be ASU First Interplanetary Mission; Lunar Water Exploration Objective Vital To NASA Strategy For Future Human Space Missions; ASU NewSpace Initiative Led By Scott Smas, Jim Bell & Craig Hardgrove (L-R) With Bell As Deputy Principal Investigator; Principal Investigator Hardgrove Reaffirms ASU Achievements / Commitments To NASA & “Abundance Of Hydrogen At Lunar Poles”
Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Annual Meeting 20-22 Oct In Columbia MD; Chaired By (L-R) Clive Neil, Supported By Sam Lawrence (ASU), Jeff Plescia (JHU/APL), Steve Mackwell (LPI) & Representatives For LRO, ESA, ARTEMIS, Commercial Space, Next-Gen Lunar Scientists & Engineers; Recent Findings / Recommendations Include Resource Prospecting At Lunar Poles & Interior, Advancing Lunar CubeSats, Maintaining Moon Missions / Pace Of Discovery To Support International Partnerships, Technologies, Future Crewed Missions To Moon & Mars