Category Archives: LRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 June 2014

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LRO Has More Work To Do After 5 Productive Years

LROsymphony

With A Generous Reserve Of Fuel And 7 Instruments Performing “Like A Finely Tuned Symphony” LRO Still A Valuable Tool For Planetary Science / Exploration; Preliminary Goals For Proposed 2nd Extended Mission Include: Evaluate Nature Of Thermophysical Differences Between Permanently Shaded Regions & Rest Of Moon, Complete Mapping (0.5-2m / Pixel) Of Non-Polar Regions, Continue Longitudinal Studies Of Changes On Moon (Impact Cratering Rate, etc), Increase Scientific Productivity Of Future Lunar Surface Missions; Pictured R-L: LRO Project Scientist Richard Vondrak & Project Manager Craig Tooley

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 28 May 2014

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LRO Celebrates Moon As Art For 5th Anniversary

LROmoonArt

Public Invited By NASA To Select Cover Image For ‘The Moon As Art’ LRO Image Collection, Voting Open Until 6 June; Finalists: Starry Night, Clerke Crater, Diviner North Pole, Linne Crater & Tycho Central Peak; Full Collection Of 24 Images Will Be Released On 18 June, 5th Anniversary Of LRO Launch; The Future Of LRO Remains Uncertain, Mission Could End Sep 2014 Or Be Extended 2 More Years; Fate Will Likely Be Determined By Results Of Biennial NASA Senior Review Expected In June 

Image Credit: NASA

Friday / 18 April 2014

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Lunar Orbiters Survive Eclipse With Flying Colors

EclipseOrbiters0414

LRO Survives 2 Consecutive Orbits Going Straight From Moon Shadow To Earth Shadow; LRO Twitter Account Reports Probe Instruments Dropped To 15° C; Engineers Were Less Confident That LADEE Would Survive Cold, In Normal Orbit Probe Is Deprived Of Sunlight For 1 Hour, During Eclipse It Survived 4 Hours Of Shadow; Mission Team Received Yellow Then Red Alarms As Power / Temperatures Dropped, Once Sunlight Returned All Returned To Normal, Allowing Spacecraft To Continue Collecting Valuable Data While Gradually Reducing Altitude

Image Credit: NASA, Astro Bob

Tuesday / 15 April 2014

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Lunar Eclipse Provides Challenges / Opportunities For Moon Craft

LROEclipse0414

Total Lunar Eclipse Visible In Western Hemisphere 15 Apr Between 07:06-08:24 UT, First Of Series Of 4 (Tetrad) In Next 18 Months; Celestial Geometry Will Challenge LRO Systems As Craft Will Pass Through Earth Shadow In 2 Consecutive Orbits; Eclipse Could Cause LADEE Propulsion Systems To Freeze, Yet Should Not Affect Scheduled ~21 Apr Impact; Chang’e-3 Lander Will Have Unique View Of Earth (TL) During Eclipse, Potential Opportunity To Study How Moon Cools While In Earth Shadow

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 1 April 2014

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Astrobotic Technology Inc Successfully Tests Autolanding System

AstroboticAutolanding0414

GLXP Team Tests New Landing Sensor At Mojave Air & Space Port In CA; Astrobotic Autolanding System (AAS) Utilizes 2 Cameras, Scanning Laser, Inertial Measurement Unit; Low-Power Lightweight System Relies On Hi-Res LRO Lunar Surface Imagery, Makes Decisions Without Human Input; Flawless Flight Test Utilized Masten Aerospace Xombie Rocket, Descended From 250m, Used AAS To Detect Hazards & Select Landing Site; Pictured Astrobotic CEO John Thornton

Image Credit: Astrobotic Technology Inc

Thursday / 27 March 2014

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Meteorite Impact Risk On Moon Greater Than Formerly Known

MoonMeteorites0314

Future Moon Settlements / Human Operations Should Be Underground, Rely On Robots For Majority Of Surface Activity To Protect From Meteorite Impacts Says Russia Astronomer Vladimir Surdin (R); Over 300 Impacts Recorded On Moon Since 2005; At LPSC, LROC PI Mark Robinson Details Data Of Secondary Impacts From Recent Lunar Impact, 248 Small Debris Impacts Found Up To 30km From Fresh 18m-Wide Crater, These Secondaries Could Pose More Threat To Surface Assets Than Primary Craters

Image Credit: NASA, Moscow State University

Wednesday / 26 March 2014

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LRO 2-Year Extension Hinges On Senior Review, US Congress

LROshowmethe$

US$504M Moon-Mapping Orbiter Is 1 Of 7 Planetary Science Missions NASA Is Reviewing For Potential Mission Extension; LRO Extended Mission Not Included In US$17.5B Budget Proposal NASA Sent To Congress; Mission Will Require Approval Of Both Independent Biannual Senior Review Of Operating Missions – To Conclude In June – & Congress; LRO Mission Extension Would Cost ~US$8M Annually, Would Be Only NASA Spacecraft Exploring Moon Over Next 2 Years; Funding Currently Set To Expire Sep 2014

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 20 March 2014

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LRO Data Produces Interactive Mosaic Of Lunar North Pole

LRONpoleMoonMap

Largest High-Resolution Map Of Moon Ever Made Released By NASA; 10,581 Pictures From LRO Narrow-Angle Cameras Were Stitched Together To Create North Pole Map; Entire Image Measures 931,070 Pixels Square, Nearly 867B Pixels Total; Complete Printout Would Be ~100 Square Meters; Creation Of Mosaic Took 4 Years, Huge Team Effort Across LRO Project; Map Will Be Useful Identifying Landing Sites / Planning Robotic & Human Moon Missions

Image Credit: NASA

Tuesday / 18 March 2014

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Citizen Science Contributing To Moon Mapping

CosmoQuest

CosmoQuest Crowdsourced Moon Crater Counting Project Demonstrates Value Of Citizen Science; Study By Stuart Robbins Of CU Boulder Shows Aggregated Volunteer Results Equally Reliable As That Of Expert Crater Counters; CosmoQuest Citizen Scientists Using LRO Data To Map Craters 11m In Diameter And Larger; Relative Ages Of Planetary Surfaces Can Be Determined By Crater Count; Over 500M Craters Estimated Visible On Lunar Surface

Image Credit: CosmoQuest, NASA, CU Boulder

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