US$500M Spacecraft Continues To Send Back Important Data After 3 Years Of Service; LRO Camera Taken About 1M Images; Wealth Of High-Resolution Data Allowing Researchers To Map Lunar Surface At Resolution Of 50cm / Pixel; Discovered Vast Titanium & Lunar Ilmenite Fields On Moon Which Could Be Critical For Moonbase Construction; Confirmation Of Over 6B Tonnes Of Water On Lunar Surface
Image Credit: NASA
Up To 22% Ice In Shackleton Crater Surface Material According To LRO Laser Altimeter Data; LOLA Measured Albedo Of 3.2km-Deep, 19.3km-Wide Crater; New Map Shows 3B-Year-Old South Pole Crater Relatively Unscathed Since Formation, Brighter / Wetter Than Other Nearby Craters; Researchers Took Over 5M Measurements Of Permanently Shadowed Crater From Over 5K Orbital Tracks
Image Credit: NASA
UNH Scientists Harlan Spence (R) & Nathan Schwadron (L), PI & Deputy PI Of LRO CRaTER Instrument Are Available To Discuss Implications Of Powerful Solar Flare That Erupted 16 May; Enormous Sunspot 160,000km Across Could Create Damaging Radiation Storms Over Earth In Next Several Days; Primary Goal Of LRO CRaTER Instrument Is To Characterize Global Lunar Radiation Environment And Its Biological Impacts
Image Credit: NASA, UNH, dailymail.co.uk
Scarps & Graben Imaged By LRO Show Moon Was Actively Shrinking & Growing More Recently Than Previously Believed; Lobate Scarps On Lunar Surface Less Than 10m High / Several Km Long Indicate Distance Between Moon Surface & Center Shrank About 100m; Graben (L) Show Evidence Of Lunar Expansion; Scientists Believe Features To Be Around 50M Years Old, Compared To 4.5B Year Old Moon
Image Credit: NASA
Largest Full Moon Of 2012, Saturday 5 May, 17:35 HST, Just 35 Minutes After Perigee; At 356,955km, Moon Will Be 24,622km Closer Than Average, Causing It To Appear 16% Larger & Exert 42% More Tidal Force; 5 May Also Midpoint Of Northern Hemisphere Spring; NASA Goddard Chief Scientist James Garvin Says SuperMoon “Attests To Wonderful New Wealth Of Data NASA’s LRO Mission Has Returned For The Moon”
Image Credit: NASA
Image Credit: NASA, Planetary Resources Inc, Astrobotic Technology Inc
New Wave Of Interest In Lunar / Asteroid Mining Peaking With Announcement Of Billionaire-Backed Planetary Resources Inc., Developing Plans Of Moon Express & Astrobotic Technology; Craig Covault Notes Importance Of LRO High Resolution Mapping Capabilities To Prepare For Future Human-Tended Robotic Surface Mining Operations; LRO Orbiting At Altitude Of 24-29km
Image Credit: NASA, JHU APL, m.pinterest.com
Dana Hurley, Planetary Scientist & Co-I On LRO LAMP, Will Present Research On Distribution & Composition Of Volatiles In Lunar Polar Regions At JHU APL On 24 Apr; Combining Data From Neutron Spectroscopy, Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopy, Radar & Impact Ejecta Analysis, Provides A Multi-Dimensional View Of Permanently-Shadowed Regions Of Moon; Surface Frost Becomes Homogenized Within 20 Myr
Image Credit: NASA, PRL
India PRL Researchers Find Evidence Of Relatively Recent Volcanic Activity On Moon Using LRO, Chandrayaan-1 Data; Images Of Tycho Crater Central Peak Show Vents, Lava Channels, Solidified Flows Of Inner Crustal Material, & Large Boulders (120-Meter) Atop Highest Summit; Features Were Made After Creation Of Crater 110M Years Ago; Team Awaits Further Research From Chandrayaan-2, NET 2014
Image Credit: curtin.edu, NASA
International Team Of Planetary Scientists Led By Christian Hirt Of Curtin University Create Gravity Map Of Moon Using Topographical Data From LOLA; Map Shows How Pull Of Gravity Changes From Location To Location Over Rugged Surface, Pockmark Signatures Show Gravity Accelerations Higher At Bottom Of Craters Than At Rims; GRAIL Mission To Provide More Detailed Data For Lunar Gravity Mapping
Image Credit: NASA, Russianspaceweb.com, CLEP
Highest Resolution Image (R) Of Russia Luna 24 Lander Descent Stage Acquired By LROC From Altitude Of 29km Above Surface On Orbit #10904; Spacecraft (L) Landed On Mare Crisium On 18 August 1976, Returned 170g Of Regolith To Earth After Less Than 24 Hours On Moon; Long Hiatus From Moon Surface Will End In 2013 If China Successful With Chang’e-3 Landing