Rigorous Testing & Integration Of LLCD System On LADEE Spacecraft Complete; Technology Demonstration Will See Data Sent From Lunar Orbit To Earth At Up To 622 Mbps – 6 Times The Rate Of Advanced Radio Communication Systems; Hundreds Of Millions Of Short Infrared Pulses Sent Precisely Every Second To Any One Of 3 Ground Telescopes In New Mexico, California & Spain; LADEE To Launch In Aug 2013
Image Credit: NASA
13th LROC Planetary Data System Release Now Available; Includes 150,548 Images Totaling 24.77 TB, 9 LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) Digital Terrain Models, 6 NAC Region Of Interest Products; Release Composed Of Data Collected Between Sep-Dec 2012; To Date LROC Team Delivered 970,789 Images & Over 8,743 Data Products (RDR); US$583 Million Mission Was Launched In June 2009
Image Credit: NASA
Microsymposium 54, 16-17 Mar, To Feature Summary Of New Lunar Exploration Discoveries, Implications For Future Robotic & Human Missions To Lunar Poles & Far Side; 1,945 Oral / Poster Presentations On Latest Research In Planetary Science Expected At 18-22 Mar LPI / USRA Lunar & Planetary Science Conference, Features Special Session On GRAIL Mission Results; Both Events At The Woodlands, TX
Image Credit: LPI, NASA, Brown University
Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project Crowd Funding To Continue Work Restoring Imagery From 1960s Moon Missions; Team Led By Dennis Wingo Has Created Over 600 Images & Processed Over 20 Terabytes Of Data, Still Have Over 700 Remaining Tape Drives / 850 Images To Process; Donations Received Will Be Used To Purchase 5 New Tape Drive Heads, Pay Engineering Team
Image Credit: LOIRP, Rockethub.com
China Progressing Steadily On Clearly Defined / Consistently Executed Space Plan; Chang’e-2 Arrival In Outer Space 20M km From Earth Is Breakthrough For China Deep Space Exploration; 5th China Human Spaceflight Set For Jun~Aug 2013; China Upgrades Long March-3B Rocket For Late 2013 Chang’e-3 Lunar Lander Mission, Increasing Carrying Capacity By 30 kg & Allowing For Additional Launch Windows
Image Credit: CNSA, 33rdsquare.com, news.xinhuanet.com
INSPIRE Mission Among 24 Small Satellites Selected By NASA To Fly As Auxiliary Payloads In 2014-2016; Dual 3U INSPIRE CubeSats Will Be 1st To Travel Beyond Earth Orbit, Demonstrating Functionality In Interplanetary Space; Relatively Affordable (~US$3M) Moon Missions By Universities & Private Organizations Likely To Follow; LunarCubes Missions Briefing 11 April 2013 At NASA KSC
Image Credit: NASA
Athena Emerging As Potential Launch Vehicle For Lunar Missions; More Launch Providers = More Competition / Lower Costs, Thus Goes Argument Inspiring US Air Force To Select Launch Vehicles Like Athena & Falcon 9; With Prior Success Launching A Lunar Mission (Lunar Prospector, 1998) The Lockheed Martin Rocket Could Also Be Viable Option For Emerging Commercial Space Moon Missions
Image Credit: NASA, GLXP
Recent LRO Narrow Angle Camera Images Of 2.2-km Wide 0.6-km Deep Linné Crater, Less Than 10M Years Old & Very Well Preserved, Provide Detailed Topography Of Cratering In Mare Basalt; Laser Mapping Shows Truncated Inverted Cone Shape, Flattened Interior Floor, Sloping Walls; 3D Model ‘Barnstorming’ Flyover Video Created
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
3.5 Years Into Its Mission, LRO Continues To Provide Valuable Data And Spectacular Images Of Our Celestial Neighbor; To Date The Mission Has Provided 893,493 Images & Over 8,653 Derived Data Products To The NASA Planetary Data System; LRO Team Planning To Image GRAIL Impact Sites In March / April When LRO & Sun Are Directly Overhead
Image Credit: NASA
After Years Of Grandiose Announcements / Contradictions & Mission Failures / Delays, Russia Seeking To Improve Space Industry Organizations, Reestablish Leading Space Power Status; Recently Announced Lunar Exploration Strategy Appears Realistic / Rational: 2015 Luna-Glob Orbiter, 2016 Scaled-Down Luna-Glob South Pole Lunar Lander, Luna-Resurs Research Rover With India ~2017, Human Moon Missions With New Russia Spacecraft By 2030
Image Credit: ROSCOSMOS, NASA