Category Archives: Lunar Dust

Friday / 20 Apr 2018

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New Views From The Moon 2 – Asia 2018 In Japan Exchanging International Lunar Research, Mission Plans

University of Aizu, Japan, and Lunar and Planetary Institute Host NVM2 Conference 18-20 April 2018 With ~55 International Lunar Experts Covering Topics Including Landing Sites, Astronomy From The Moon, Lava Tubes, Geology, Volatiles, Lunar Space Elevator; 8 International South Pole Landers Identified For Missions By 2025, Collaborations Needed To Avoid Duplication, Maximize Science And Determine Where To Lead Investigations; LEAG Commercial Advisory Board Of ~30 Members Planning Next CAB Meeting 19 June

Pictured: Clive Neal, Ben Bussey, Makiko Ohtake, (Steve) Liu Yang, Carle Pieters, Junya Terazono; Image Credits: Univ. of Aizu, Univ. of Notre Dame, NASA, Brown Univ., JAXA, ISRO, KARI, ESA, Roscosmos, CNSA, LPI, ILOA

Friday / 6 Apr 2018

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Preserving Apollo Moon Landing Sites For Research Recommended By White House

White House Office Of Science & Technology Publishes Report “Protecting & Preserving Apollo Program Lunar Landing Sites & Artifacts”; Recommends Studying Long-Term Effects Of Lunar Environment Including Extreme Temperatures, Lunar Dust, Micro-Meteoroids, Solar Radiation On Over 187,000-kg Human-Made Materials Left Behind By 6 Apollo Missions; Opportunity For International, Commercial Cooperation With Future Moon Missions To Survey On A “Reciprocal, Transparent, Mutually Beneficial Basis”

Credits: NASA, White House, Lunar and Planetary Society

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 Dec 2017

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ISRO & Team Indus Preparing 2018 Q1 Launches Of India First Lunar Landers

ISRO Chandrayaan-2 Slated For March 2018 1st Deep-Space Launch Of GSLV Mk 2 Rocket; Its Lunar Orbiter To Carry 1st L-Band Radar Mapper To Orbit Moon; ~3.5-m Tall Lander To Cut Off Engine 2 Meters Above Surface For 1st Ever Landing Near Lunar South Pole; “Radio Anatomy Of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere & Atmosphere” Probe To Measure Near-Surface Plasma – Implications For Lunar Dust Levitation & Future Astronomy; Chandrayaan-2 Total Cost US$93M; Commercial Team Indus Looking To Find Another US$35M For Launch On PSLV Rocket By March GLXP Deadline

Pictured: ISRO Chief Kiran Kumar; Credits: All in One, Team Indus

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 23-26 June 2017

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Next Gen Spacesuits Needed For Women And Men IVAs, EVAs At LEO, Moon, Mars

2017 Audit Discusses Spacesuit Advances Required For Future Cislunar Gateway, SLS / Orion Flights, Moon & Mars Surface, Accommodations For Astronauts Of Various Sizes, Improvements In Glove, Hydration, Nutrition Systems; Lunar Dust Mitigation Technologies Integrated Into Spacesuits Proposed By Kavya Manyapu Includes Carbon Nanotube Flexible Electrodes To Eject Sharp, Magnetic Moon Dust; Lockheed Martin Proposes 8-Legged, Rocket-Powered Spacesuit For Mars Moons; NASA Has 11 Fully Functioning Extravehicular Mobility Units (145 kg) & Agency ‘Years Away From Deep Space Suits’; China Currently Utilizing Feitian EVA Suit (120 kg, Cost US$4.4M) Modeled After Russia Orlan Suits (104 kg); Final Frontier Design, SpaceX, Boeing Working On Light-Weight, Flexible, Low-Cost IVA Suits

Credits: NASA / Eugene Cernan, SpaceX, Lockheed Martin, CNSA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 13-16 January 2017

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Mysteries Of The Moon: Continued Studies On Lunar Age, Dust, Formation, Evolution

Newest Theory On Earth’s Closest Celestial Neighbor Suggests Luna May Have Been Created 4.51B Years Ago, According To Apollo 14 Sample Study By Melanie Barboni & UCLA Team; Pinpointing Moon Age Helps Narrow Down When Earth Became Habitable; Recent Lunar Formation Simulation By Hagai Perets Of Technion-Israel Institute Shows Moon May Have Been Formed By Many Impacts Creating Moonlets That Merged; NASA Reports Lunar Horizon Glow Observed By Apollo Astronauts & Surveyor 5, 6, 7 Is Likely Caused By Micron-Sized Dust Particles Jumping Several Centimeters Under UV Radiation Or Exposure To Plasmas; Returning To Moon For Hands-On Lunar Surface Studies Needed To Fill In Knowledge Gaps

Credits: NASA, UCLA, Hagai Perets

Tuesday / 28 July 2015

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Hawai`i MoonRIDERS Receive US$35K Grant

 7282015. PISCES Receiving Grant For MoonRIDERS (Research Investigating Dust Expulsion Removal Systems) Project To Advance Space Exploration & Cultivate 21st Century Workforce STEM Skills For Hawaii Students; Kealakehe High, ‘Iolani High, NASA & PISCES Developing Lunar Experimental Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) To Repel Particles Via Low Electric Current; Preparations In Process For Early 2017 Launch On GLXP Lander

Credit: PISCES, Kealakehe High School, ‘Iolani

Friday / 19 June 2015

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LADEE Data Indicate Permanent Asymmetrical Dust Cloud Around Moon LADEE

Moon May Have Permanent Cloud Layer Formed By High-Speed Comet Dust Particles On Eccentric Orbits According To University Of Colorado Study Of NASA LADEE Mission Which Recorded 140,000 Impacts Over 80 Days; Lead Author Mihaly Horányi States Moon May Have 120kg Of Dust In Atmosphere At Any Given Time, Other Bodies With Thin Atmosphere Expected To Have Same Phenomenon; Evidence Also Recorded From Apollo Astronaut Observations From Surface & Of Lunar Terminator

Credit: NASA, University of Colorado – Boulder

Thursday / 2 April 2015

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Lunar Dust Experiments Opening Future Exploration Possibilities

DustyMoon0415

LADEE Results Indicate Tail Of Nanoscale Particles Trailing Moon, Likely Expelled By Asteroid Impact, <0.001g / Square Meter; LADEE Spectrometer PI Says Phenomenon Could Offer New Way To Study Surface Of Airless Planetary Bodies, “Collect Their Tails Rather Than Landing On Them”; Moon RIDERS Educational Project Testing System To Remove Lunar Dust From Moon Lander Equipment Using High Voltage Square Waves Being Tested At NASA Ames; Project Is Collaboration Of Hawai`i High Schools, NASA, GLXP Teams, PISCES

Image Credit: NASA, kealakeherobotics.org

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 27 Feb – 2 Mar 2015

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Hawai`i High Schools To Develop, Test & Fly New Technology To Moon Surface

MoonRIDERS0215

Hawaii High Schools Kealakehe & `Iolani Selected For Moon RIDERS (Research Investigating Dust Expulsion Removal Systems) Student Lunar Flight Experiment; Schools Will Build & Test A Technology Called Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS), System That Generates Electric Current To Remove Corrosive Dust Particles From Spacesuits And Spacecraft; Students Will Test Mock-up Spacecraft Equipped With EDS At PISCES Analog Test Site On Mauna Kea, Hawaii Island Beginning 16 Mar

Image Credit: PISCES, NASA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 18-21 April 2014

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LADEE Spacecraft Meets End,
Science Data Analysis Continues

LADEE Spacecraft End

LADEE Orbiting At ~5,793kph Collected Valuable Science Data & Mimicked Surveyor / Apollo ‘Twilight Ray’ Observations With Star Tracker At ~91-Meter Altitude Prior To Far-Side Impact 17 Apr Between 21:30-22:22 PDT, Possibly Smashing Into Lunar Crater Or Mountain Ridge; Will Take More Than 1 Year To Analyze Successful US$280M Mission Data Including LDEX Characterization Of Ejecta Cloud & Perturbations From Chang’e-3 Landing; Completion Of 5th USA Moon Orbiter Mission Since Apollo Era, No Controlled Landings Achieved After 1972

Pictured: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden & part of the LADEE Team

Image Credit: NASA