Category Archives: Water on Moon

Thursday / 20 June 2013

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Lunar Orbiter Data Shedding Light On Lunar Science

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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

Friday / 24 May 2013

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4th Lunabotics Mining Competition Advances Innovative Technologies

4th Lunabotics

700+ Students From 50 Universities & 8 Countries Showcase Student-Built Lunar Excavator Robots (Lunabots) In LunArena At KSC Visitor Complex On May 20-24; Teams Must Mine 10kg Of Moon Regolith Simulant In 10 Mins, Consider Lunabot Weight, Dust Resistance, Use Of Bandwidth; Robert Mueller (B) Lead Senior Tech Of RASSOR Says Competition Is Significant Since It Can Help Get Humans Closer To Living Off Resources Which Already Exist In Space

Image Credit: NASA

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

Tuesday / 16 April 2013

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RESOLVE: Ambitious Mission On Tight Budget / Timeline

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With US$250M Budget Cap 2017 RESOLVE Mission Needs To Achieve Ambitious Goals Within Challenging Timeline; Unable To Afford Nuclear Power, Solar-Powered RESOLVE Will Be Limited To 5 Active Days On Lunar Pole To Accomplish Mission Goals: Search For Hydrogen, Drill 1 Meter, Analyze Sample, Heat To Extract Liquid Water, Demonstrate How Oxygen Can Be Pulled From Regolith & Mixed With Hydrogen To Produce Water, Help Determine Origin Of Lunar Water

Image Credit: NASA

Weekend Edition / Fri-Mon 22-25 Mar 2013

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How To Illuminate A Permanent Shadow

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New NASA Goddard Video Shows How LRO Instruments Have Mapped Moon Polar Craters, Which Have Not Seen Sun For Over 2B Years Due To 1.6-Degree Lunar Tilt; LOLA Uses Lasers To Compose Topographic Maps; LAMP Measures Faint Light Of Other Stars; Diviner Measures Extreme Cold Temperatures; LEND Measures Speed Of Neutrons To Detect Elements Such As Hydrogen

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 21 March 2013

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LRO Helps Enhance GRAIL Legacy

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GRAIL Impact Craters Imaged By LROC; Twin 200-kg Orbiters Crashed Near North Pole On 17 Dec 2012 At Speed Of 6,070 km/h; Coordination Between 2 Mission Teams Allowed LRO LAMP Instrument To Analyze Ejecta Plume From Crash; Instrument Detected Mercury, Surprising For Sunlit Area; Results Added To Growing Understanding Of Nature Of Volatiles At Lunar Poles & How They Are Transported Around Moon

Image Credit: NASA

Wednesday / 20 March 2013

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Characterizing The Lunar Poles: Ben Bussey Seminar

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Ben Bussey Of John Hopkins University APL Presenting Data – Acquired By Recent Fleet Of International Lunar Spacecraft – Characterizing Moon Poles, 27 Mar At NASA Lunar Science Institute In CA, USA; Results Useful For Planning Future Robotic & Human Missions; Geology Of Poles, Surface & Subsurface Properties, Possibilities For Surface Operations / Regolith Excavation / Drilling & Potential Instrumentation Needed For Science From / On Moon

Image Credit: NASA

Thursday / 7 March 2013

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Moon Crater Rover System Development In Germany

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German Research Centers ZARM & DFKI Robotics Innovation Center Developing Robotic System For Lunar Crater Exploration; RIMRES (Reconfigurable Integrated Multi-Robot Exploration System) Project Consists Of 2.4-m / 200-kg SHERPA Rover (R) Which Uses Hybrid Wheel-Leg System To Transport 1-m / 27-kg CREX Hexapod Robot (L) Capable Of Descending 80⁰ Crater Slopes, Conduct Science Investigations; All Modules Connected Via Electromechanical Interface

Image Credit: DFKI, ZARM

Friday / 1 March 2013

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Shackleton Fueling Human Exploration To Moon & Beyond

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Shackleton Energy COO Jim Keravala, To Be Featured At 2013 CSCA National Conference, Says Water Estimated At Moon North Pole Could Fuel A Shuttle Launch Every Day For 2,200 Years; Company Plans To Create Fuel Depot Stations On Moon & In LEO By 2020; Will Launch 2 Robotic Prospectors To Lunar Poles By 2016; If Resource Extraction For Propellant Appears Profitable Will Send 6-12 Humans To Surface To Establish Base

Image Credit: J. Keravala/Shackleton Energy