Showing posts with label Moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moon. Show all posts

2012-11-10

NASA Planning Deep-Space Outpost Near the Moon

NASA to announce new manned moon missions? | Crave - CNET

It has been almost 40 years since the Apollo 17 mission last landed a man on the moon. It may not take anywhere near that long before we send astronauts back to the moon's neighborhood.

Space.com reports that NASA is seriously looking at sending out a new manned moon mission with the purpose of creating a manned outpost beyond the far side of moon and eventually visiting an asteroid in 2025. This may not physically land a human on the moon, but it would establish a deep space outpost as a base for research and missions.

NASA May Unveil New Manned Moon Missions Soon | Space.com

Artist's concept of astronauts in an Orion capsule helping direct robotic teleoperations on the moon's farside. CREDIT: Lockheed Martin

"NASA has been evolving its thinking, and its latest charts have inserted a new element of cislunar/lunar gateway/Earth-moon L2 sort of stuff into the plan," Logsdon told SPACE.com. (The Earth-moon L2 is a so-called libration point where the two bodies' gravitational pulls roughly balance out, allowing spacecraft to essentially park there.) [Gallery: Visions of Deep-Space Station Missions]


NASA Eyes Plan for Deep-Space Outpost Near the Moon

The Lagrange points for the Earth-moon system. NASA is evaluating an early mission with the Orion capsule placed at Earth-moon L2. Astronauts parked there could teleoperate robots on the lunar farside.
CREDIT: David A. Kring, LPI-JSC Center for Lunar Science and Exploration

Could moon outpost propel space travel? Fmr. Astronaut Leroy Chiao weighs in – Early Start with John Berman & Zoraida Sambolin - CNN.com Blogs

What if astronauts were to return to the moon? Decades after man first landed on the moon, Space.com is reporting that it’s possible.
A space policy expert told the website that plans are in the works by NASA to travel back to the vicinity of the moon and create a manned outpost there in order to learn more about future deep-space travel. The manned outpost could eventually be used as a staging area for future missions to the moon. This morning on "Early Start," fmr. Astronaut and International Space Station Commander Leroy Chiao explains.

NASA to deploy water-seeking robot on Moon in 2017, manned lunar base could be next | The Verge

50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy told the United States that man would go to the moon. Soon, another American president may announce that the same celestial body will serve as a waypoint for manned space exploration. The Verge has learned that NASA intends to deploy a robotic lunar rover on the Moon in 2017 to search for water and other resources necessary for space travel, and that NASA may have secured support from the White House for an actual manned outpost — a space station — floating above the far side of the moon. Rumors of such a deep-space outpost surfaced as early as February of this year, when a leaked memo from a NASA administrator detailed an idea to build a "human-tended waypoint" at Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 (EML-2): a point in space where balanced gravitational forces allow an object to remain in stationary orbit relative to both the Earth and the Moon. From there, NASA could launch missions deeper into space — say, to Mars, or a near-Earth asteroid — using the base as a stepping stone.


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2012-10-16

Water on the Moon

Moon Water Made by the Sun?


Long thought to be bone dry, the moon has recently been confirmed as relatively water rich. But a big question remains: Where did the wet—or more accurately, icy—stuff come from?

A new study might have the answer: The moon's water may have, in a sense, sailed in on the solar wind. The discovery hints at a previously unknown method of delivering water to the inner solar system—and a new way to produce water and rocket fuel for future space missions.

Blowin' in the (solar) wind: how the moon got its water

Looking for the source

So where does the water come from? Two main theories have been suggested.
Water could be delivered to the moon by the impacts of meteorites and comets, which can contain large amounts of ice.

Another theory is based on the fact hydrogen atoms reach the moon as a result of the solar wind – the continuous stream of particles ejected from the sun. The theory goes that hydrogen atoms then react with oxygen in the surface minerals to form water and hydroxyl

The new study, published by Yang Liu from the University of Tennessee and colleagues, seeks to distinguish between these two theories by looking at the isotopic composition of the hydrogen.

Moon Made Water From Solar Wind : Discovery News

Analysis of the Apollo moon samples, which began in the 1970s, previously had uncovered the presence of hydrogen inside volcanically produced glass beads in the soil. In 2008, scientists found hydrogen in a phosphate mineral in lunar rocks, and last year found it again inside another mineral, olivine.

Three robotic probes, including NASA's LCROSS experiment, also have found evidence for water ice on the moon. But where the water came from has been a mystery.

Using two new techniques to dig down into chemistry of hydrogen inside lunar soil grains, Liu and colleagues determined that most of it came from the solar wind, a steady stream of charged particles from the sun that permeates and defines the boundaries of the solar system.


The Solar Wind


The solar wind streams off of the Sun in all directions at speeds of about 400 km/s (about 1 million miles per hour). The source of the solar wind is the Sun's hot corona. The temperature of the corona is so high that the Sun's gravity cannot hold on to it. Although we understand why this happens we do not understand the details about how and where the coronal gases are accelerated to these high velocities. This question is related to the question of coronal heating.


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2012-07-03

Excalibur Almaz: Fly Me to the Moon

Company promises flights to the moon aboard recycled Soviet space station - CSMonitor.com

The moon may soon be a tourist destination for millionaires with Excalibur Almaz, a British spaceflight firm, preparing to sell $150,000 tickets aboard a 1970s Soviet space station retrofitted with new thrusters



Excalibur Almaz



Excalibur Almaz plans to use its Salyut-Class Spacecraft and RRVs as an orbital and cislunar transportation system. These components unlock the potential to accomplish the most ambitious private space missions to date. Cislunar missions will explore the limitless, cyclical orbital pathways that lead to a vast array of destinations including the moon, near-Earth asteroids and gravity-stable destinations called Libration (or Lagrange) Points. These orbits will take travelers farther from Earth than any human has ever traveled before. EA can also take travelers close to the lunar surface. Asteroids could eventually be visited, explored and mined. These exciting mission profiles will inspire humanity to live, work and thrive in space!



Space Tourism's Next Destination May Be the Moon | News & Opinion | PCMag.com


Moon trips would begin as early as 2015. Dula said last month that his company could sell in the neighborhood of 30 tickets over the following decade for a a $4.5 billion haul, making half of its investment back in the first three years alone.

Excalibur Almaz plans to insert the space station cores into low Earth orbit atop a Proton rocket, while using the Soyuz-FG rockets that ferry crews up to the ISS to take passengers in Almaz RRVs up into space. The company is also open to using alternative rockets for its manned flights, such as the SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

Once in low Earth orbit, the Almaz spacecraft would dock with the space station cores, which would serve as the long-haul vehicles for the trip to the Moon and back. The reusable Almaz capsules would come along for the trip and then be used to travel back down to Earth.


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2012-02-21

Recent Geological Activity on the Moon

NASA - NASA Spacecraft Reveals Recent Geological Activity on the Moon

New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon's crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to the moon's age of more than 4.5 billion years.

Smithsonian Institution Senior Scientist Tom Watters explains more about the Moon's recent geological activity in this short video.


New Images Show Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon | Newsdesk

In new LROC images, the team discovered small, narrow graben typically only hundreds to a few thousand meters (yards) long and tens to hundreds of meters wide, indicating the lunar crust is pulling apart at these locations. Graben are formed when the crust is stretched, breaks and drops down along two bounding faults, creating a trough or valley. The team proposes that the geologic activity that created the graben occurred less than 50 million years ago (very recent compared to the moon’s current age of more than 4.5 billion years).
Newly detected series of narrow linear troughs are known as graben, and they formed in highland materials on the lunar farside. Forces acting to pull the lunar crust apart formed the Virtanen graben, informally named for a nearby impact crater. These graben are located on a topographic rise with several hundred meters of relief revealed in topography derived from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) stereo images (blues are lower elevations and reds are higher elevations). The rise is flanked by the rim of a ~2.5 km diameter degraded crater.
Graben are troughs formed when the lunar crust was stretched and pulled apart. This stretching causes the near-surface materials to break along two parallel normal faults, the terrain in between the twin faults drops down forming a valley.


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2012-02-17

NASA's Deep Space Outpost Near the Moon

NASA plans manned Deep Space Moon outpost • The Register

NASA is looking at the possibility of parking a manned outpost beside the Moon as a way station for astronauts on their way to deep space missions.

According to a memo from William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, cited by Space.com, the agency is putting together a team to assess the possibilities of a potential location on the far side of the Moon known as Earth-Moon libration point 2 (EML-2).

Libration, or Lagrangian, points are parking spots in space where a small object is equally affected by the gravitational pull of two large masses, which cancel each other out, holding the craft in place.

DailyTech - NASA Preparing to Explore Earth-Moon Libration Point 2

The Lagrange points for the Earth-moon system

There are five libration points, or Lagrangian points, which mark positions where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses provides the centripetal force needed to rotate with them. This combined gravitational pull of the two large masses balance each other out, and spacecraft is able to basically park in this stationary spot.

Exploration and potential use of EML-2, which is located near the lunar far side, could open up the use of telerobotic science on the far side of the moon and provide a platform for radio astronomy as well as solar and Earth observation. It could also enable assembly and servicing of satellites and telescopes. NASA sees the effort eventually creating international partnerships as well as new opportunities with commercial companies and academic institutions.





EML-2 could serve as a gateway for capability-driven exploration of multiple destinations, such as near-lunar space, asteroids, the moon, the moons of Mars and, ultimately, Mars itself, according to NASA officials.

A capabilities-driven NASA architecture is one that should use the agency's  planned heavy-lift rocket, known as the Space Launch System, and the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle "as the foundational elements."



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2012-02-03

NASA's GRAIL First Video of Far Side of the Moon

Far side of the Moon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Far side of the Moon, photographed by Apollo 16

The far side of the Moon, also called the dark side of the Moon, is the lunar hemisphere that is permanently turned away, and not visible from the surface of the Earth.
[...]
Tidal forces from Earth have slowed down the moon's rotation so that the same side is always facing the Earth, a phenomenon called tidal locking. The other face, most of which is never visible from the Earth (18% of it can be observed over time due to libration), is therefore called the "far side of the Moon". The far side should not be confused with the "dark side" (the hemisphere that is not illuminated by the Sun at a given point in time), as the two are the same only during a full moon and, during a new moon, the near side is the dark side. Both the near and far sides receive (on average) almost equal amounts of light from the Sun. However, the term "dark side of the moon" is commonly used poetically to refer to the far side.[1]

NASA orbiter gives glimpse of moon's far side - CNN.com

The GRAIL mission's Ebb spacecraft took this picture of the south pole of the far side of the moon.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • A 30-second NASA video scans the far side of the moon
  • It came from one of two probes that entered lunar orbit around New Year's
  • Ebb and Flow are to chart lunar gravitational field for 82 days


GRAIL consists of two identical spacecraft, recently named Ebb and Flow, each of which is equipped with a MoonKAM. The images were taken as part of a test of Ebb's MoonKAM on Jan. 19. The GRAIL project plans to test the MoonKAM aboard Flow at a later date.

[...]

Launched in September 2011, Ebb and Flow periodically perform trajectory correction maneuvers that, over time, will lower their orbits to near-circular ones with an altitude of about 34 miles (55 kilometers). During their science mission, the duo will answer longstanding questions about the moon and give scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.



NASA - GRAIL Artist's Rendition


Using a precision formation-flying technique, the twin GRAIL spacecraft will map the moon's gravity field, as depicted in this artist's rendering. Radio signals traveling between the two spacecraft provide scientists the exact measurements required as well as flow of information not interrupted when the spacecraft are at the lunar farside, not seen from Earth. The result should be the most accurate gravity map of the moon ever made.



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2011-10-14

Titanium on the Moon

Subtly shaded map of Moon reveals Titanium treasure troves | School of Earth and Space Exploration

A map of the Moon combining observations in visible and ultraviolet wavelengths shows a treasure trove of areas rich in Titanium ores. Not only is titanium a valuable element, it is key to helping scientists unravel the mysteries of the Moon’s interior. Arizona State University’s Mark Robinson and Brett Denevi of Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory will be presenting the results from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission today at the joint meeting of the European Planetary Science Congress and the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences.

“Looking up at the Moon, its surface appears painted with shades of gray – at least to the human eye. But with the right instruments, the Moon can appear colorful,” said Robinson, a professor in ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “The maria appear reddish in some places and blue in others. Although subtle, these color variations tell us important things about the chemistry and evolution of the lunar surface. They indicate the titanium and iron abundance, as well as the maturity of a lunar soil.”

LROC WAC mosaic showing the boundary between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis. The relative blue colour of the Tranquillitatis mare is due to higher abundances of the titanium bearing mineral ilmenite. Enhanced colour formed as 689 nm filter image in red, 415 nm in green, and 321 nm in blue [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Full resolution WAC three colour composite (566 nm filter image in red, 360 nm in green, and 321 nm in blue) highlighting region with varying mare compositions and enigmatic small volcanic structures known as “domes” [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) is imaging the surface in seven different wavelengths at a resolution of between 100 and 400 meters per pixel (328 and 1312 feet per pixel). Specific minerals reflect or absorb strongly certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, so the wavelengths detected by LROC WAC help scientists better understand the chemical composition of the lunar surface.


Malin Space Science Systems - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC)

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) instruments. [...] one of the two narrow angle cameras with a 88.9 mm (3.5 inch) Swiss Army Knife (and a hammer) for scale.


[...] the wide angle camera system, with the same pocket knife for scale.


The Moon Is Bursting With Precious Titanium : Discovery News

THE GIST
  • New maps show rich abundances of titanium in the solidified lava flows on the moon.
  • The element is mostly found in a mineral that also contains iron and oxygen.
  • Titanium deposits, which could be mined for future use, also reveal history of moon’s volcanic eruptions.



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2011-06-05

LUNA RING: Solar Power via the Moon


Shimizu Corporation construction firm’s research branch, CSP, unveiled a long-term planning project to install a belt of photovoltaic panels across the surface of the Moon. Power gathered from the 13,000 terrawatts of continuous solar energy the Moon’s surface receives daily would be beamed back to an Earth-based receiving station via microwave or laser transmission, where it would then be used to power public offices, hospitals and schools across the globe. A staff of remotely controlled robots would be in constant rotation to make repairs and provide maintenance for the LUNA RING installation, though the structure would require some human personnel on-site. To make the process more efficient, the proposed plan includes building the LUNA RING’s solar panels on the lunar surface using local materials, rather than launching pre-built panels to the site.


LUNA RING/Shimizu's Dream - Shimizu Corporation




Robots will play a vital role in construction on the lunar surface. They will be tele-operated 24 hours a day from the Earth.

Construction and resource extraction

Assembling units in space

Work on the lunar surface


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2010-01-04

Hole in the Moon

clipped from www.itwire.com
Hole as big as city block found on Moon
A Japanese led team of researchers has found a large, dark pit on the near side of the Moon that is "as big as a city block and deep as a modest skyscraper." Probably created billions of years ago, it is considered by the scientists to be a collapsed lava tube.
clipped from www.space.com
This apparent hole in the moon is like a skylight, a vertical cave 213 feet (65 meters) across and some 262 to 289 feet deep (80-88 meters). It is thought to be a collapsed lava tube. The inset shows close-up of the boxed area. Credit: ISAS/JAXA/SELENE/Junichi Haruyama et al.
clipped from www.kaguya.jaxa.jp
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
clipped from europa.agu.org:8005

AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

Possible lunar lava tube skylight observed by SELENE cameras
Junichi Haruyama et al.

clipped from topics.cnn.com
CNN

Moon hole might be suitable for colony

Scientists report finding a lunar hole that might make a good candidate for a moon colony.
Scientists report finding a lunar hole that might make a good candidate for a moon colony.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Scientists find deep hole on moon that could be suitable for colony
  • Discovery of "lava tube" is published in journal of American Geophysical Union
  • Lava tubes have been found before, but this one is protected by "lava sheet"
  • Report says that shield protects hole from meteorites and harsh temperatures


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Sources:
  1. iTWire - Hole as big as city block found on Moon
  2. Image Display
  3. SPACE.com -- Hole in the Moon Could Shelter Colonists
  4. KAGUYA (SELENE) - TOP
  5. AGU: Possible lunar lava tube skylight observed by SELENE cameras
  6. Moon hole might be suitable for colony - CNN.com
Related:
  1. Hole in the moon could shelter colonists - Space.com- msnbc.com
  2. FOXNews.com - Hole in the Moon Could Shelter Colonists
  3. Moon Colonists? A Hole on the Moon May allow us... | Gather
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2009-08-21

Return to Apollo 14 Landing Site

clipped from www.moonviews.com
MoonViews
clipped from www.moonviews.com

LOIRP and LRO Confirm That Humans Walked on the Moon

Yesterday the LRO team released a new image of the Apollo 14 landing site. You can clearly make out the paths that the crew walked as well as the location of the Apollo 14 Antares Lunar Module Descent Stage.

clipped from lroc.sese.asu.edu
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
clipped from lroc.sese.asu.edu

Uncalibrated LROC NAC image of the Apollo 14 landing site and nearby Cone crater. The trail followed by the astronauts can clearly be discerned. Image width is 1.6 km [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Annotated figure showing the positions of various landmarks surrounding the Apollo 14 landing site. The small white arrows highlight locations where the astronauts' path can be clearly seen [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

The figure above highlights the locations of some of the landmarks explored by the astronauts. As correctly deduced during postflight analysis by the Apollo science teams, it is evident from the astronaut tracks and features seen in surface pictures matched to the LROC image, that the astronauts just barely missed (30 meters) the rim of Cone crater. Saddle Rock, a large boulder visited by the astronauts at Station C1 (below), can be discerned in the LROC image.


Apollo Hasselblad photograph showing Saddle Rock at Apollo 14 geology station C1 near the rim of Cone crater [NASA].

Uncalibrated NAC data; North is up, image width is approximately 1.6 km. View the Youtube video, download the high-resolution video, or browse the whole NAC image!

clipped from www.youtube.com

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Sources:
  1. LOIRP and LRO Confirm That Humans Walked on the Moon (MoonViews - Providing Imagery and Data For Lunar Exploration)
  2. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
  3. Trail of Discovery at Fra Mauro - LROC News System
  4. YouTube - Return to Apollo 14 Landing Site - LROC NAC image
Related:
  1. Apollo 14 Mission
  2. Apollo 14 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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2009-07-21

MoonPublicity -- Advertise on the Moon

clipped from www.fastcompany.com

Space, the Final Frontier...For Advertising

Attempts at advertising in space or on the moon will never die--and here's the newest, on the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing.
clipped from news.prnewswire.com
Robots to Advertise on the Moon

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- It's one giant leap for robot-kind. New Shadow Shaping technology creates images on the Moon that can be seen from Earth. Robots are used to create several small ridges in the lunar dust over large areas that capture shadows and shape them to form logos, domains names, memorials or even portraits. Talk about the Man in the Moon! You can even carve your initials in a heart to impress your sweetheart.

Moon Publicity

Shadow Shaping Robot

New Shadow Shaping technology creates images on the moon that can be seen from Earth. Robots are used to create several small ridges in the lunar dust over large areas that capture shadows and shape them to form logos, domains names or memorials. For more information on licensing this technology click here.

clipped from www.youtube.com

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Sources:
  1. Space, the Final Frontier...For Advertising | Design & Innovation | Fast Company
  2. Robots to Advertise on the Moon
  3. Moon Publicity | Advertise on the Moon
  4. Moon Publicity | Advertise on the Moon
  5. YouTube - Robot to Advertise on the Moon
Related:
  1. Idiots Want Robots to Draw Ads On the Moon's Surface - Moon advertising - Gizmodo
  2. Another giant leap, advertising in the moon! | 20 July 2009 | www.commodityonline.com
  3. Branded Shadows on Moon's Surface - Advertising Lab: future of advertising and advertising technology
  4. NASA to Burn Sponsor Logos into the Surface of Mars | Universe Today
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