Category Archives: Lunar Orbiters

Wednesday / 22 April 2015

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India Advancing Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2Dathan2

Vikram Sarabhai Space Center Director M Chandra Dathan Says Chandrayaan-2 Preparations Are In Full Swing At Various ISRO Centers, Still Planning On 2017-2018 Launch; 2nd India Moon Mission Will Place Lander & Rover Near South Pole To Test New Technologies & New Experiments; Ranked 6th In Global Space Positioning – India Becoming A Role Model For Other Countries Due To Self-Reliance & Cost Effectiveness; India Spends US$3 / Per Capita On Space Technology, Compared To $7.5 For China & $123 For USA

Image Credit: ISRO, K. Murali Kumar

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 April 2015

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LRO Providing Opportunities For Researchers & Educators

LROEducation0415

US$504-Million LRO Mission, Costing US$12.4M To Operate Annually, Will Achieve 6 Years In Lunar Orbit This Jun; Extension Of Operations Into 2016 Still In Question; Data Set 22 – With Data Collected From Dec 2014 To Mar 2015 – Expected In Jun 2015; Slides From Recent LRO Data Users Workshop Now Available; Registration For Jul 2015 Lunar Workshops For Educators Still Open

Image Credit: NASA

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

Wednesday / 1 April 2015

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Russia USA Moon Mission Collaboration
In The Works?

RusUSMoonStation

Space Agency Leaders Of NASA & Roscosmos Confirm Intention To Work Together On Exploration Of Moon & Mars; Roscosmos Chief Igor Komarov Acknowledges More Tasks Can Be Solved & Expenses Saved By Acting Together, Says Deep Space Exploration & Protection Of Earth From Space Threats Must Be Solved By ‘Entire Humanity’; The 2 Countries Will Collaborate On ISS Until 2024, Will Not Build Another Station In NEO, Discussing Potential Cooperation On New Space Station In Lunar Orbit

Image Credit: gaetanomarano.it, Roscosmos, NASA

Tuesday / 24 March 2015

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Water On Moon May Have Ancient Origins

LopsidedIce

Moon Ice Concentrations Symmetrically Centered 5.5° From Lunar Poles; Research Team Including Matthew Siegler Of Planetary Science Institute Suggests This Indicates Moon Experienced Ancient Polar Shift Caused By 3.5B-Year Old Lunar Hot Spot At Oceanus Procellarum; If Theory Is Accurate Lunar Ice May Be Nearly As Ancient As Moon Itself, Potentially Locked Up As Hydrated Minerals In Rocks And / Or Protected By Insulated Layer Of Regolith; Team Relied On Data From NASA Lunar Prospector Mission

Image Credit: NASA, UCLA

 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon 20-23 March 2015

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LRO Likely To Be Funded Through 2016

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US$1.36B Allotted For NASA Planetary Sciences In 2016, Division Director James Green Says Budget May Be Stretched To Keep LRO Active For Another Year; LRO Costs US$12.4M To Operate Annually; After Recent 21st LROC Planetary Data Systems Release, Team Has Now Delivered 1,520,409 LROC Images Totaling 176.9 TB Of Raw Data & Over 11,704 Derived Data Products; LRO Scientists Preparing For 4 Apr Lunar Eclipse; Call For Papers Relying On LRO Data For Special Issue Of Icarus Due 30 Jun

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 19 March 2015

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LRO Revealing Changing Surface Features On Moon

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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Continues To Provide Valuable Data From Lunar Orbit; Probe Has Acquired 10,000 Before & After Image Pairs Of Lunar Surface Since It Began Mapping Moon In Summer 2009; 225 New Impact Craters Ranging From 1.5m – 43m Identified; Recent Discovery Of 18.8m Crater From March 17, 2013 Impact Provided Valuable Opportunity To Test Impact Models & Study Top Meter Of Regolith

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 18 March 2015

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China Initiating Commercial Space Industry Through Chang’e-4 Opportunities

 ChinaCommercial

Private Enterprises Encouraged To Participate In China Chang’e-4 Lunar Probe / Lander Mission; China Officials Hope This Initial Step To Stimulate Commercial Space Industry Will Accelerate Technological Innovation, Improve Efficiency, Reduce Government Monopoly / Investment In Space Field, & Garner More Popular Support / Involvement; Private Companies Encouraged To Begin With Optical Instruments Before Moving To More Complex Remote-Control & Power Supply Equipment

Image Credit:CCTV, CLEP

Thursday / 12 March 2015

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Lunar Crust Is Focus Of Microsymposium 56 In Texas

Microsym56

Experts In Moon Exploration Such As (R-L) James Head, Carle Pieters, Maria Zuber & David Scott Will Gather In The Woodlands, Texas On 14-15 March For Brown University / Vernadsky Institute Microsymposium 56 The Crust Of The Moon: Insights Into Early Planetary Processes; Data & Discoveries From Recent Missions Chang’e-1 & 2, Chandrayaan-1, Kaguya, LRO & GRAIL Will Be Evaluated Identifying How They Improved Understanding Of Composition, Diversity, Layering, Thickness Of Lunar Crust; Key Outstanding Scientific Questions And Proposals To Address Those Questions Will Also Be Explored

Image Credit: brown.edu, mit.edu, ju.edu, NASA

Wednesday / 11 March 2015

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India Space Budget Indicates GSLV & Chandrayaan-2 Remain Top Priorities

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ISRO Allocated US$1.2B For Space Activities In 2015-2016 Fiscal Year (Begins 1 Apr); Budget Includes $50M For Continued Development / Operation Of GSLV Mk-3 Which Is Capable Of Lifting 4 Metric Tons To GTO, Critical For Next Steps Of Moon Program & Carrying Out India Human Space Missions According To Former ISRO Director Suresh Naik; $47M For Space Science, Including $6.3M For Chandrayaan-2 Lunar Rover / Orbiter Should Land At Moon South Pole 2017 / 2018; India Is Garnering A Reputation For Accomplishing Challenging Space Missions With Efficient / Frugal Budget

Image Credit: ISRO, NASA