Tag Archive for 'moon'

Happy 50th NASA! Now What?

Published
by
Doug
on July 26, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

The Economist has a think-piece about the future of NASA, which turns 50 years old this year. “America’s space agency has reached middle age,” the magazine observes. “Will it now recapture the glory of its youth, or dwindle into decrepitude?”

The article really doesn’t have any clear answers, although the writer does deconstruct several rationales put forth by NASA Administrator Mike Griffin and speculates on whether virtual reality will allow almost anyone to visit the Moon and Mars without having to actually go there. Or even give NASA billions of dollars to send anyone. “That, perhaps, is a more subtle threat than NASA realises,” the author observes.

Back to the Moon - with Company

Published
by
Doug
on July 26, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

The moon beckons again - for U.S., 8 other nations
Mike Swift
San Jose Mercury News

In hopes of discovering clues to the origin of life on Earth, the United States and eight other nations signed a landmark agreement at NASA’s Ames Research Center this week that scientists hope will lay the groundwork for a new generation of lunar exploration and science.

Unlike the all-American Apollo program, the new agreement sees a multinational fleet of robot spacecraft returning to the moon in coming years, with the maturing space programs of countries like India, Germany and South Korea playing key roles in an effort that ultimately would lead to the return of astronauts.

“It’s sort of like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, like at the end of ‘Casablanca,’ ” James Green, director of NASA’s planetary science division, said at Moffett Field this week.

Fly Me to the Moon….

Published
by
Doug
on July 26, 2008
in Uncategorized and bigelow aerospace
. 0 Comments

ISRO to launch Chandrayaan-I in September
DailyIndia.com

India will launch its first lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-I, in September. The spacecraft will map the moon with a high-resolution high-resolution stereo camera with a resolution of 16 feet. The orbiter’s other instruments include near-infrared and X-ray spectrometers and a laser altimeter.

LRO Launch Delayed to 2009
Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

NASA will delay the launch of its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from November to late February or early March 2009 because of a launch conflict with the Department of Defense.

The orbiter will map the moon and collect mineralogy data. The mission has a piggyback payload, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which is designed to send the rocket’s spent upper stage crashing into the moon to search for evidence of water ice.

Odyssey Moon Names Clementine Veteran Paul Spudis as Chief Scientist

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in News and Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

ODYSSEY MOON PRESS RELEASE

Dr. Paul D. Spudis has been named Chief Scientist of Odyssey Moon Limited, the first official contender for the $30M Google Lunar X PRIZE. Dr. Spudis is a prominent scientist in the international lunar community and served as deputy science team leader for the highly successful Clementine lunar mission and is the Principal Investigator of the Mini-SAR imaging radar experiment on the forthcoming Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon.

Dr. Spudis is an outspoken advocate of the Moon as a focus of scientific exploration and human settlement and has served on numerous advisory committees, including the US Presidential Commission on the Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. The announcement was made during a NASA Lunar Science Institute conference at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

A geologist and Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, Dr. Spudis has an extensive background in geology and planetary science, including interpretation of remote-sensing and image data. Dr. Spudis will be applying his combined passions for science and lunar development to help Odyssey Moon deliver a valuable scientific mission while pursuing the $30 Million Google Lunar X PRIZE and an ongoing commercial lunar enterprise.

“Evidence indicates that abundant energy and material resources exist on the Moon, including deposits of ice within craters at the poles,” he said. “Returning to the Moon will teach us the skills we need to live and work productively on other worlds.”

Continue reading ‘Odyssey Moon Names Clementine Veteran Paul Spudis as Chief Scientist’

Scientists Meet at Ames to Plan Out Lunar Trips

Published
by
Doug
on July 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Scientists and engineers are meeting this week at NASA Ames Research Center in California to plan out humanity’s return to the moon.

NASA plans GPS-like system for return to the moon
Scientific American

NASA has coughed up $1.2 million for a navigation system that will help astronauts find their way around the lunar surface when they return in 2020. The Lunar Astronaut Spatial Orientation and Information System (LASOIS) is designed to function  much the same way as a global positioning system (GPS).

Scientists swap moon, Mars exploration plans
San Francisco Chronicle

“Christopher P. McKay, a NASA scientist at the Ames Research Center in Mountain View, has one overriding question for the future of human exploration on the moon and Mars.

“Could astronauts stay on the moon for any length of time where lunar gravity is six times weaker than it is on Earth or on Mars, where the gravity is an insupportably three times weaker than Earth’s?

“If those questions can’t be answered, McKay said, we may visit those distant places, but we won’t be able to stay.”

NASA: The Moon is not enough
The Register (UK)

“NASA and its international aeronautical cohorts have some serious explaining to do before they start rocketing folks to the Moon again.

“They better convince the public why it’s so important for our species to invest hand-over-fist just to root around some boring gray orbital dust ball - a dust ball we already stuck a flag in a full score and 19 years ago.

“Perhaps they’re preaching to the choir, but this week a gathering of scientists are giving this sort of time-tested anti-space exploration diatribe a workout at the NASA/AMES Research Center in Mountain View, California.”

Wanna Bet There Will Be Lunar Casinos in 30 Years? Now You Can

Published
by
Doug
on July 11, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

ONLINE CASINO REPORTS PRESS RELEASE
10 July 2008

Online Casino Reports lays a bet on the future of casino gambling, and donates to charity on the way. The online gambling portal has taken odds betting to a new realm entirely by placing a predictive wager on futuristic odds betting site, Long Bets, stating that there will be a casino on the moon by 2040.

The prediction states that space tourism will be with us sooner than we think. And as gambling is gradually becoming more widespread and socially acceptable, it is not out of the question to expect a casino to arrive on the moon within the next thirty years.

Online Casino Reports Chief Editor Daniel O comments: “It’s our job to keep our users up to speed with the latest developments in online gambling. This includes tracking the best promotions on the web, as well as reporting the news in real-time. So we were keen to test out this new futuristic betting site. If the way gambling has conquered the web is anything to go by, we can assume that nowhere is out of reach, even space!”

This new phenomenon in odds betting has a charitable twist as visitors to the Long Bets site can comment on the space casino prediction and turn it into a competitive bet. All proceeds are directed towards the charity of the bettor’s choice. Online Casino Report’s lunar gambling prediction can be viewed at www.longbets.org/377.

Scientists Find Evidence of Water on the Moon

Published
by
Doug
on July 10, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

New scans show evidence of water on the moon
Maggie Fox
Reuters

“Tiny green and orange glass balls brought back from the moon nearly 40 years ago by astronauts show evidence that water existed there from the very beginning, scientists reported on Wednesday….

“Their study, published in the journal Nature, could support evidence that water persists in shadowed craters on the moon’s surface — and that the water could be native to the moon and not carried there by comets.”

Brown-Led Team Finds Evidence of Water in Moon’s Interior
Brown University Press Release

“A Brown-led research team has for the first time found evidence of water deep within the Moon. In a paper published in the July 10 issue of the journal Nature, the researchers believe the water was contained in lunar magmas ejected more than 3 billion years ago. The discovery strongly suggests that water has been a part of the Moon since its early existence – and perhaps since it was first created…

“NASA plans to send its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later this year to search for evidence of water ice at the Moon’s south pole. If water is found, the researchers may have figured out the origin.”

Former NASA AA Alan Stern Joins Google Lunar X Prize Team Odyssey Moon

Published
by
Doug
on June 19, 2008
in News
. 1 Comment

ODYSSEY MOON PRESS RELEASE

Washington, DC – Odyssey Moon, a commercial lunar enterprise, announced today that former NASA Associate Administrator Dr. Alan Stern has accepted a role with the Isle of Man-based company. Dr. Stern was a recognized engine of change and innovation as chief of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, championing new science programs while being a stalwart advocate of cost and value control when he served at NASA.

Dr. Stern has joined the Odyssey Moon executive team on an exclusive part time consulting basis as the company’s Science Mission Director, part of a new diversified career focus spanning many of his lifelong interests and activities. He expects that his blended understanding of science and business will help Odyssey Moon establish a commercial lunar business while pursuing the $30 Million Google Lunar X PRIZE. “I am a fan of public-private partnerships and building bridges to new markets,” he said. “I believe we are on the verge of a whole new era of space exploration and that the private sector can provide reliable cost effective services that can increase the value and leverage government space budgets.”

A veteran of space exploration with over 25 year experience, Stern’s alliance with the private space sector comes at a critical time when NASA and other space agencies are looking carefully at the value proposition in partnering with the commercial sector for space activities.

Continue reading ‘Former NASA AA Alan Stern Joins Google Lunar X Prize Team Odyssey Moon’

Where to Now? Analysts Ponder U.S. Space Program After Bush

Published
by
Doug
on June 19, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

As the Bush Administration limps toward the finish line, analysts are trying to work out what the American space program should look like in the future. The Space Review has been examining these issues over the last few weeks.

The Vision for Space Exploration and the retirement of the Baby Boomers (part 3)
Charles Miller and Jeff Foust

In part 1 of this series, we made the case that the current plan to achieve the Vision for Space Exploration may well be unsustainable and unaffordable in the face of huge financial pressures created by the coming retirement of the baby boomers. In part 2 of this series, we suggested a Plan B strategy for achieving the goals of the VSE, which is credible even if NASA’s budget is significantly cut in the coming decade….Now, in part 3 of this essay, we make specific recommendations on “how” our nation should proceed to achieve cheap and reliable access to space (CRATS).

Space policy questions and decisions facing a new administration
Eligar Sadeh

The next president will face a number of major issues related to space policy upon taking office next January. Eligar Sadeh examines those issues as discussed at a forum earlier this year.

How to become a presidential hero
Greg Zsidisin

Promising to reexamine NASA’s implementation of the exploration vision, including such vehcles as the Ares 5 (above), could be a winning proposition for a presidential candidate.

The so-so space debate
Jeff Foust

Last Friday representatives of the three remaining major presidential candidates gathered in Washington to discuss space policy. Jeff Foust reports that the discussion ended with many of the questions about the candidates’ policies left unanswered.

Report: Work on Chandrayaan-1 Progressing Smoothly

Published
by
Doug
on May 17, 2008
in News
. 0 Comments

The Times of India reports that engineers are making good progress in preparing that nation’s first lunar orbiter, Chandrayaan-1, for launch later this year.

The spacecraft is being assembled at the Indian Space Research Organisation’s facility in Bangalore. Officials report that five instruments from the United States and Europe have been successfully tested.

The launch has slipped a couple of months. ISRO officials have said they expect to send the orbiter off on its mission sometime in the third quarter of the year.