Category Archives: LADEE

Tuesday / 8 April 2014

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LADEE Preparing For Final Descent

LADEEimpact0414

Ground Controllers From NASA Ames Will Command LADEE To Perform Final Orbital Maintenance Maneuver On Friday 11 Apr, To Put Probe On Course For Far Side Impact On Or Before 21 Apr, Travelling At 1.6 km/sec; Total Lunar Eclipse On 15 Apr Will Expose Craft To 4 Hours Of Extreme Conditions; Exact Date / Time Of Impact Depends On Variables Such As Mascons / Lumpy Gravity, Topographic Features; Public Can Guess Impact Time In NASA ‘Take The Plunge’ Contest

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 3 April 2014

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LADEE Media Teleconference Today

LADEEteleconference0414

Media Teleconference Hosted By NASA Today At 11:00 PDT To Discuss LADEE Extended Mission Operations, Additional Science Gathering, Planned 21 Apr Impact Into Lunar Surface; US$263M-Probe Successfully Completed 100-Day Primary Mission In March; Spacecraft Will Continue To Gather Data At Progressively Lower Altitudes Until Impact; Teleconference Participants: LADEE Project Executive Joan Salute (T), Project Manager Butler Hine (B), Project Scientist Richard Elphic

Image Credit:  NASA

Friday / 28 February 2014

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GRAIL, LADEE Enhancing Lunar Science

GRAIL & LADEE

LPI Seminar 28 Feb By Jeff Andrews-Hanna From Colorado School Of Mines ‘The Early Magmatic & Tectonic History Of The Moon As Revealed By GRAIL’ Highlights Linear Gravity Anomalies Caused By Ancient Igneous Intrusions, Later Formations Of Circular & Arcuate Dikes; Largest Magmatic-Tectonic Structure Revealed Is ~2500 km In Diameter, Encompasses Procellarum Region On Nearside; LADEE With ~100 Science Days Complete, Providing Data On Dust & Atmosphere Variations, Images Of Moon & Stars

Image Credit: NASA, Colorado School of Mines, Science/AAAS

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 21-24 February 2014

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LRO Going Strong, Potential To Observe
LADEE Impact In April LRO Update

LRO In 30 x 200km Orbit With Periapsis Over Moon South Pole, Traveling At 1.6km/s; Captures Precise Images Of Icarus & Hayn Craters (TL & BL), Chang’e-3 Landing Site (TR), LADEE (BR); Operating Nominally 4 Years 8 Months Into Mission With 16 Data Sets Released; Mission Data Intended To Enable A Human Return To Moon; May Observe LADEE Lunar Impact Scheduled 21 April; LRO 2014 Lunar Workshop For Educators Will Be Held 14-18 July In Greenbelt MD

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 February 2014

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LADEE Sends Back First Lunar Images, Continues Analysis Of Dust Environment

LADEE0214

LADEE Star Tracker Instrument Captures Images Of Northwestern Hemisphere Of Moon (L) While Traveling At 96kpm; US$280-Million Mission Attempting To Answer Long-Standing Mystery Of Pre-Sunrise Glow Above Lunar Horizon Observed By Apollo Moonworkers; LADEE Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration Deemed Great Success By NASA & MIT Engineers; Probe Scheduled To Crash Into Lunar Surface On 21 Apr, Will Analyze Dust Samples Right Until Impact

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 11 February 2014

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4th International Workshop On Lunar Science Applications In Florida This April

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8-11 April Event In Cocoa Beach, FL, USA Will Provide Overview Of Current Lunar Mission Data, Planned USA, Russia, GLXP Missions & Opportunities They May Provide For Secondary Payloads To Lunar Surface / Cislunar Space; LSA 4 Designed To Foster Collaboration Among Scientists, Engineers & Entrepreneurs To Solve Challenges Involved With Going To Moon & Beyond; Abstracts Due 28 Feb

Image Credit: lunarinitiatives.com, NASA, Moon Express

Tuesday / 4 February 2014

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LADEE Mission Extended, SSERVI Exploration Science Forum Set For July

LADEEloweredSSERVI

Moon Orbiter, Already With Over 1000 Lunar Orbits Completed, Surprises Mission Team By Having Enough Fuel Remaining For 1-Month Extended Mission; 383-kg Craft Will Be Lowered To 5-Km Orbit Where It Should Find Denser Atmosphere / Dust Environment; Richard Elphic (BR) & LADEE Team Still Investigating Data From Chang’e-3 Landing; NASA / SSERVI Announce 1st Annual Exploration Science Forum At Ames RC, CA, On 21-23 July 2014

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 19 December 2013

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

USAOrbiterStudyChinaLanding

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

LADEE & Chang'e-3

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

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 8-11 Nov 2013

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LADEE / Chang’e-3 Conjunction: Opportunity For International Cooperation

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Dec Moon Landing Of China Chang’e-3 Could Provide NASA LADEE Orbital Mission Unique Opportunity To Collect Data On Ejected Dust From Descent Engines; Valuable For Planning Future Missions, Heritage Site Preservation, Lunar Base Development; Current USA Policy Impeding NASA From Arranging Such Collaboration With China; Apollo Moonwalkers Advocate For NASA To Begin Cooperation With China On Human Moon Return

Image Credit: NASA, CLEP, CNSA