Moon Exploration and Science News

March 18, 2013

First Laser Communication System Integrated, Ready for Launch
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 18, 2013
A new NASA-developed, laser-based space communication system will enable higher rates of satellite communications similar in capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth. The space terminal for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), NASA's first high-data-rate laser communication system, was recently integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. LLCD will demonstrate laser com ... read more

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China sets moon mission re-entry test China says it will conduct re-entry tests before 2015 of a spacecraft to be used in a mission to have a lunar explorer probe bring lunar soil samples to Earth. ... more		Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project Seeks Public Support To Retrieve Apollo Era Moon Images The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project (LOIRP) is seeking support from the public as it continues its efforts to recover and enhance Moon images from the 1960s using modern technology. The L ... more		NASA's SDO Observes Earth, Lunar Transits in Same Day On March 2, 2013, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) entered its semiannual eclipse season, a period of three weeks when Earth blocks its view of the sun for a period of time each day. On ... more
				Lunar impacts created seas of molten rock Early in the Moon's history an ocean of molten rock covered its entire surface. As that lunar magma ocean cooled over millions of years, it differentiated to form the Moon's crust and mantle. But ac ... more		Rhea Rev 183 Raw Preview NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured these raw, unprocessed images of Saturn's moon Rhea during a close flyby on March 9, 2013. This flyby marks the mission's last targeted encounter with Rhea and onl ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Cassini Makes Last Close Flyby of Saturnian Moon Rhea NASA's Cassini spacecraft will be swooping close to Saturn's moon Rhea on Saturday, March 9, the last close flyby of Rhea in Cassini's mission. The primary purpose will be to probe the interna ... more		China targeting navigation system's global coverage by 2020 China's homegrown navigation system BeiDou is expected to achieve full-scale global coverage by around 2020, a leading scientist told Xinhua on Sunday. The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System ( ... more		Space Force stands up SPACEFOR-NORTH for homeland mission Lockheed ramps up THAAD interceptor output with new framework deal and Camden facility Trump says 'very dangerous' for UK to deal with China		A Window into Europa's Ocean Right at the Surface If you could lick the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, you would actually be sampling a bit of the ocean beneath. A new paper by Mike Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technol ... more
				Chinese probe in breakthrough outer space travel China's second moon orbiter, Chang'e-2, has arrived in outer space about 20 million km from the Earth, marking a new breakthrough in the nation's efforts for deep space exploration, Chinese scientis ... more		Dawn forging through the main asteroid belt The indefatigable Dawn spacecraft is continuing to forge through the main asteroid belt, gently thrusting with its ion propulsion system. As it gradually changes its orbit around the sun, the distan ... more

Solar systems for home and business installations

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

China to use modified rocket for moon landing mission A rocket expert said Friday that China has developed a modified model of the Long March-3B carrier rocket for an upcoming moon landing mission to be completed by the Chang'e-3 moon orbiter. Th ... more		Water On The Moon: It's Been There All Along Traces of water have been detected within the crystalline structure of mineral samples from the lunar highland upper crust obtained during the Apollo missions, according to a University of Michigan ... more		Juvenile sauropods fed a hungry Late Jurassic predator guild NISAR radar view maps surface changes in Mississippi Delta NASA Libera payload completes testing for future Earth energy tracking mission		Waste Dump at the End of the World On their mission to the moon in 1969 the Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin created arguably the most famous footprints ever. Since the time the astronauts of the Apollo 11 Mission stepped ont ... more
				Cassini Sees Titan Cooking up Smog A paper published this week using data from NASA's Cassini mission describes in more detail than ever before how aerosols in the highest part of the atmosphere are kick-started at Saturn's moon Tita ... more		Building a lunar base with 3D printing Setting up a lunar base could be made much simpler by using a 3D printer to build it from local materials. Industrial partners including renowned architects Foster + Partners have joined with ESA to ... more

Panorama From NASA Mars Rover Shows Mount Sharp

Opportunity Departing South Soon

Particles and Fields Package Integrated on Upcoming Mars-Bound Spacecraft

Rhea Rev 183 Raw Preview

Cassini Makes Last Close Flyby of Saturnian Moon Rhea

A Window into Europa's Ocean Right at the Surface

'Vulcan' wins Pluto moon name vote

Public to vote on names for Pluto moons

The PI's Perspective: The Seven-Year Itch

Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project Seeks Public Support To Retrieve Apollo Era Moon Images

China sets moon mission re-entry test

Lunar impacts created seas of molten rock

	NASA Beams Mona Lisa to Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter at the Moon As part of the first demonstration of laser communication with a satellite at the moon, scientists with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) beamed an image of the Mona Lisa to the spacecraft f ... more		Titan Gets a Dune "Makeover" Titan's siblings must be jealous. While most of Saturn's moons display their ancient faces pockmarked by thousands of craters, Titan - Saturn's largest moon - may look much younger than it really is ... more

Desert sand mix points to new path for greener concrete

Neem seed biochar turns waste into thermal energy storage medium

Single molecule devices push past silicon limits

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