Category Archives: Lunar Mapping

Wednesday / 5 November 2014

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USA Advancing Moon Resource Prospecting Missions

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2 Separate NASA Moon Missions Seek To Advance Human Capacity To Live Off-World; Lunar Flashlight PI Barbara Cohen Of NASA Marshall SFC Says Solar Sail Orbiter Mission, With The Goal Of Obtaining Data Of Purity & Accessibility Of Lunar Volatiles, May Launch On Debut SLS Flight In Late 2017; Resource Prospector Mission Project Scientist Tony Colaprete Of NASA Ames Says Rover Mission Will Map & Collect Samples Of Surface / Subsurface Hydrogen At 2 Yet-To-Be-Determined Polar Sites; Demonstration Of ISRU Could Facilitate Human Moon Settlement

Image Credit: NASA

 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 31 October – 3 November 2014

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LRO Advancing Observation Plan For 2nd
2-Year Extended Mission

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Search & Discovery Of LADEE Impact Crater (R) Allowed LROC Team To Test Recently Developed Computer Tool To Search Narrow Angle Camera Before & After Images For New Craters; Technique Will Facilitate One Of The Objectives For 2nd LRO Extended Mission: Determine How Many Small Meteorites Hitting Moon & Their Effects; LRO Has Collected Over 528.75 TB Of Data Since 2009 Arrival In Lunar Orbit; Orbiter Now Set To Take Oblique Image Of Euler Crater (L) After Preparatory -58 Degree Roll; Instrument PIs Planning Next Observations

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 31 July 2014

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SLS Maiden Voyage To Deliver Cubesats To Moon

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11 Cubesats Will Be Delivered To Cislunar Space On First Uncrewed Mission Of SLS Rocket / Orion Capsule In Late 2017; 3 Missions Have Already Been Selected Including Lunar Flashlight; Led By Barbara Cohen Of NASA Marshall SFC; Mission Will Utilize 80m² Solar Sail To Navigate Into A Highly Elliptical Lunar Polar Orbit That Passes Near Moon South Pole, Solar Sail Will Then Be Redirected To Shine 50kW Of Sunlight Into Shaded Craters While On-Board Spectrometer Measures Surface Reflection & Composition; Data Will Identify Sites With Ample Volatiles Near Surface Ideal For More Expansive Lander / Rover / Human Missions

Image Credit: NASA, Rob Staehle

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 June 2014

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LRO Has More Work To Do After 5 Productive Years

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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

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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

Tuesday / 22 April 2014

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Old Moon, New Moon Lecture At Carnegie Institute

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Maria Zuber Of MIT Will Give Lecture Today Entitled ‘Old Moon, New Moon‘ At The Carnegie Institute For Science In Washington DC; Dr Zuber Will Describe How Understanding Of The Moon Evolved With GRAIL Mission Data – Surprisingly Low Density (2550 Kg / M³) & Thickness (34-43 Km) Of Lunar Crust – & How Studying The Moon Provides Insight Into How Other Rocky Planets Formed / Developed

Image Credit: MIT, NASA, Carnegie Institute for Science

Friday / 18 April 2014

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Lunar Orbiters Survive Eclipse With Flying Colors

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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

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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

Thursday / 3 April 2014

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LADEE Media Teleconference Today

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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

Thursday / 27 March 2014

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Meteorite Impact Risk On Moon Greater Than Formerly Known

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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