Category Archives: Lunar Geology

Tuesday / 2 July 2013

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LADEE Mission Seeks Help From Amateur Astronomers

LadeeAmateurNight

LADEE Teaming Up With ALPO Lunar Meteoritic Impact Search Program In Call To Watch For Impacts On Moon; Dedicated Amateurs Require Telescope With Minimum 20cm Aperture, Video Recording Equipment, LunarScan Program, Ability To Continually Monitor Moon During Lunar Night; Micro-Meteoroid Issues Of Crucial Importance For Long-Duration Human Habitation Of Moon; LADEE To Launch 5 Sep, 1st Mission From Wallops Island VA To Venture Beyond LEO

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 26 June 2013

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Lunar Science Conference Goes Virtual

VirtualNLSF13

15-19 July 2013 NASA Lunar Science Forum To Be Broadcast Via Adobe Connect & Telecom Line; Updates On Current & Future NASA Moon Missions, Lunar Geology, Volatiles, Dust, Astrophysics From The Moon; Ben Bussey To Speak On Potential Benefits Of Human Exploration Of Poles; NLSI Will Transition To Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute Later In 2013 

Image Credit: NASA, JAXA

Thursday / 20 June 2013

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Lunar Orbiter Data Shedding Light On Lunar Science

CratersAndH2

Australia Scientists Led By Will Featherstone (R) Use GRAIL Data To Identify 280 Lunar Craters Never Before Mapped, Create Ultra-High Resolution Gravity Map Of Moon; Andrew Jordan (L) & University Of New Hampshire Team Utilize LRO Data To Explain How Galactic Cosmic Rays Penetrate Lunar Regolith & Transform Water Ice Into Molecular Hydrogen; Explanation Could Account For 10-100% Of Molecular Hydrogen Discovered By LAMP Instrument 

Image Credit: NASA, University Of New Hampshire, Curtin University of Technology

Tuesday / 4 June 2013

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Moon Orbiters Guiding Future Exploration / Solving Long-Standing Mysteries

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LRO LEND Instrument Provides Definitive Map Of Water Ice Deposits Across Moon Surface, Including South Pole (L) – Likely Destination Of Future Missions / Human Lunar Build-Out; Data From GRAIL Probes Explain Cause Of Lunar Mascons: Ancient Asteroid Impacts Melted Mantle, Caused It To Collapse Inward Creating Denser More Concentrated Areas, Subsequently Causing Gravitational Anomalies

Image Credit: NASA, FIAAA

Thursday / 30 May 2013

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India To Study Moonquakes In Chandrayaan-2 Mission

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Chandrayaan-2, Slated For 2014-15 Launch Aboard GSLV Rocket, Will Include Seismometer To Study Causes Of Shallow Moonquakes & Regions Of Their Occurrence; Seismometer Sensors Currently Undergoing Calibration At The National Geophysical Research Institute In Hyderabad, India By Research Team Headed By H V S Satyanarayana; Chandrayaan-2 To Include Orbiter, Lander & Solar-Powered Rover

Image Credit: ISRO, NASA

Wednesday / 29 May 2013

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New Insights Into Moon Crater Composition

Purdue0513

Up To 25% Of Moon Impact Craters May Be Made Up Of Asteroid Remnants; Study Co-Authored By Jay Melosh Of Purdue University In Cooperation With Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Used Computer Models To Simulate Lunar Crater Formation; Quarter Of Moon Impacts Occur At Less Than 43,130km / hr, Not Fast Enough To Obliterate Asteroids; Findings Also Indicate Protobiological Earth Materials May Be Present On Lunar Surface

Image Credit: NASA, Purdue University

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 17-20 May 2013

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Harrison Schmitt Headlines Lunar Events At Washington University In St. Louis

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Apollo 17 Moonworker Will Give Seminar On 20 May At WUSTL Entitled ‘Field Geology On Another World’; Schmitt (R) Will Then Participate In ‘Exploratory Forum’ With Students To Discuss Ideas For Future Human Moon Missions; Forum Will Allow WUSTL RASC-AL Team To Refine Presentation Of Their Proposed Investigation Of Potential Landing Sites For Outpost At Lunar South Pole; Tue-Thu Schmitt Will Participate In LROC Science Team Meeting Hosted By Brad Joliff (L)

Image Credit: NASA, WUSTL

Friday / 10 May 2013

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Moon Science Providing More Answers & Questions

Moon Rocks

Substantial Amount Of Water In Moon Interior Shown By Studies Of Hydrogen & Deuterium In Moon Rocks; Common Earth / Moon Water Source Indicates Earth Had Water When Impact Occurred & Formed Moon Or Water-Rich Meteorites Showered Both Soon After; Some Say Impact Heat Would Completely Boil Water Off, Others Say Moon Had Impenetrable Shell So Meteorite Water To Interior Not Possible; Separate Study Shows Moon Magnetic Field Present Until 3.56B Years Ago, 160M Years Longer Than Previously Believed

Image Credit: SRO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Brown Univ./USGS

Thursday / 2 May 2013

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LEAG Annual Meeting Set For October

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2013 Meeting Of The Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Will Be Held 14-16 Oct 2013 At The Johns Hopkins University / APL In Laurel, MD; The Scientific Questions, Measurement Techniques & Options For Exploring The Moon With Discovery-Class Missions Or With Payloads Flown On International Or Commercial Missions Will Be Discussed And Evaluated At The Meeting; Abstract Deadline 31 July

Image Credit: LEAG, LPI, usra.edu

Thursday / 4 April 2013

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Lunar Geology: New Data, New Questions

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3 Years Of Ground-Based Monitoring Show Potential Volcanic Activity On Moon; Arlin Crotts (Inset) Of Columbia University Says Lunar Monitors In New York City & Chile Observed Instances Of Brightening On Lunar Surface In Aristarchus Plateau (R) & Other Areas Where Previous Lunar Orbiters Recorded Radon Outgassing; Research Led By Brown University Grad Student Deepak Dhingra Shows Lunar Impact Melt Not Always As Homogeneous As Previously Assumed

Image Credit: NASA, Columbia University, Brown University