Category Archives: Water on Moon

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 7-10 November 2014

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Hawai`i Island Hosting ‘The Next Giant Leap’ Moon Conference

NGLC Hawaii

Hawaii Conference On Leveraging Lunar Assets For Sustainable Pathways To Space 9-13 November At Waikoloa Marriott Will Highlight Benefits / Opportunities / Technologies For Making Use Of Cislunar Space & Moon Resources, Multinational Private-Public Missions & Goals, Extending Human Presence Throughout Solar System; Featured Guests Include (L-R, T-B) Buzz Aldrin, Louis Friedman, Bob Richards, Bruce Pittman, Jim Keravala, Jim Crisafulli, Senator Will Espero

Image Credit: PISCES, UH Hilo, SFF, Telegraph, ME, NSS, et al

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

 

Tuesday / 26 August 2014

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Chandrayaan-2 On Schedule For 2017 Launch

Chandrayaan2Annadurai

M Annadurai Of ISRO, Project Manager For Chandrayaan-1 and 2, Confirms India Still Planning To Launch Its 2nd Moon Mission In 2017; GSLV Rocket Expected To Boost Probe Into Earth-Parking Orbit Of 170km X 18,500km; Mission Includes Orbiter With Scientific Payloads To Confirm Presence Of Water / Resources & Lander That Will Soft Land Then Deploy Rover To Conduct Mineralogical & Elemental Analysis Of Surrounding Area With 2 Spectroscope Payloads; Next GSLV Launch Expected Later This Year After Successful Launch In Jan 2014

Image Credit: ISRO

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

Friday / 11 July 2014

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Benefits Of Moon First Strategy

Moon Resources

Space / Moon Experts Urge NASA To Refocus On Moon First Exploration Path: Astronaut Clayton Anderson (TL) Says Humans Should Learn To Live On Moon Before Greater Challenge Of Mars; Larry Kellogg (TR), With Input From Dr. David Schrunk (B), Writes About Apollo Inspiring Next Generation, ‘Infinite’ Resources (Lunar Regolith, Harvestable NEAs), Energy (Sunlight, H2O, Helium-3), Access To Asteroid Belt / Solar System, Potential To Create Earth-Like Environments In Moon Lava Tubes

Image Credit: NASA, Larry Kellogg, ISRO, JAXA /NHK, lifeboat.com

Thursday / 15 May 2014

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Moon Poles Offer Lab To Study Origin Of Life

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Lunar Poles Differ Dramatically From Any Part Of Moon Already Visited Says UH Professor Paul Lucey Of HIGP; Missions To Moon Poles Could Allow Field Testing Of Models Of Inorganic Synthesis, Along With ISRU Of Extensive Water Deposits – Over 600M Metric Tons Of Water / Hydroxyl At North Pole Alone; University Of Hawaii Team Led By Sara Crites Demonstrates How Small Amounts Of Volatiles Irradiated With Galactic Cosmic Rays Over 1B Years Could Have Produced Organic Compounds Detected By LCROSS

Image Credit: UH, NASA, Facebook

Wednesday / 12 March 2014

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5th Joint Meeting Of SRR / PTMSS In June

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Space Resources Roundtable And The Planetary & Terrestrial Mining Sciences Symposium Release 2nd Announcement Of Their 5th Joint Meeting At Colorado School Of Mines (CSM) On 9-12 June; Held In Collaboration With The Lunar & Planetary Institute The Event Will Provide A Forum To Discuss Near & Long-Term Strategies For Taking Advantage Of Emerging Opportunities For Space / Lunar Resource Utilization Activities On Planned National & Private Missions; Pictured: Angel Abbud-Madrid Of CSM

Image Credit: CSM, NASA

Wednesday / 12 February 2014

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Scientists Investigate Origin Of Organic Compounds On Moon

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Cosmic Rays From Outside Galaxy May Turn Simple Molecules In Lunar Ice Into More Complex Organics; Sarah Crites Of University Of Hawaii At Manoa Models Ice Chemistry; Simulation Suggests Up To 6% Of Simpler Molecules In Moon Polar Ice Could Be Converted Into Organic Compounds Such As Methane After 1 Billion Years Of Cosmic Ray Bombardment; David Lawrence Of Johns Hopkins APL Says Data Provides Incentive For Moon Pole Prospecting Missions

Image Credit: NASA, jhuapl.edu, Facebook

Thursday / 23 January 2014

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Clementine Mission Pivotal In Illuminating Importance Of Lunar Destination

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Advocating For Strong USA Initiative To Realize Robotic & Human Missions To Lunar Poles ASAP, Paul Spudis Reviews Impact Of 1994 Clementine Moon Orbiter On America / World Space Policy; Over 71 Days Mission Collected >2M Images, 1st Global Topographic Map Of Moon, Revealed Aitken Basin / South Pole Features That Could Sustain Human Outpost: Peaks Of Near Permanent Sun Illumination, Evidence Of Water Ice / Hydrogen; Spudis On The Space Show Sunday 26 Jan

Image Size: NASA

Wednesday / 22 January 2014

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ESA Looking To Collaborate With Russia On Lunar Exploration

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European Space Agency Leaders Advancing Collaboration With Russia On Luna-27 / Luna- Resurs 1 Mission ~2019 To Research Frozen Volatiles Near Moon South Pole & ROSCOSMOS Lunar Polar Sample Return Mission Envisaged In Early 2020s; Meetings On 17-19 Feb 2014 At ESA ESTEC Will Explore Collaboration Possibilities, Evaluate Sample Return Science Proposals

Image Credit: ROSCOSMOS, ESA