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NG-Built Antennas Helping Provide Data On Moon's Thermal History For Japan's KAGUYA (SELENE) Mission

Northrop Grumman's dipole antennas are depicted fully deployed in this artist's concept of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's "KAGUYA" (SELENE) lunar explorer spacecraft. The exploration seeks to answer questions about how the moon was formed and how it has changed. (JAXA Image)
by Staff Writers
Carpenteria CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2008
Four specialized antennas built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are functioning as expected after deploying successfully onboard the SELenological and ENgineering Explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE), Japan's first large lunar explorer.

The four dipole antennas deployed to their 15-meter (49.5 feet) full design length Oct. 31. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman's Astro Aerospace business unit, the two sets of antennas have a tip-to-tip length of 30 meters (99 feet) and were built under contract to JAXA.

"The successful deployment of these antennas continues Astro Aerospace's unmatched record of 100 percent successful on-orbit deployments, encompassing thousands of units during the last 49 years," noted Tom Romesser, vice president and general manager of the Technology and Emerging Systems Division for Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector.

Astro Aerospace's antennas transmit high-power radio frequency (RF) pulses and receive echo signals, supporting the spacecraft's Lunar Radar Sounder (LRS). The LRS' equipment will measure lunar tectonic features up to about five kilometers (3 miles) in depth by observing RF reflection from the lunar surface and subsurface using radio radar wave.

The LRS also observes radio frequencies from other planets when the satellite is on the back side of the moon, where no artificial radio waves from the Earth interfere with the observations. This instrument will contribute to the study of the thermal history of the lunar surface region during a timeframe of several millions of years, according to JAXA.

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Amateur Radio Operators Asked To Tune Into Lunar Radar Bounce
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 18, 2008
Scientists at the Air Force/Navy High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in Alaska and the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) in New Mexico back in October, 2007 received what is believed to be the lowest frequency RF echo off the lunar surface.







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