Moon News, - rassegna stampa -

RELEASE : 08-149
NASA Tests Lunar Robots and Spacesuits on Earthly Moonscape

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jun/H...Moses_Lake.html

http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/NASA%20EDGE%...3072954470.html

WASHINGTON -- Conditions on the moon will be harsher, but prototype NASA robotic vehicles braved sand storms and unprecedented temperature swings this month on sand dunes near Moses Lake, Wash., to prepare for future lunar expeditions. Teams from seven NASA centers and several universities conducted the tests from June 2-13.

"The goal was to gain hands-on experience with specific technical challenges anticipated when humans return to the moon by 2020, begin to explore the lunar surface, and set up outposts," said Test Director Bill Bluethmann of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA's Human Robotic Systems Project, part of the agency's Exploration Technology Development Program, focused on human and robotic mobility systems for the moon, but also looked at communication and command and control systems that will connect the explorers with Earth and each other. The Moses Lake dunes provided a wide variety of soil consistencies and terrain that allowed the team to put prototype scout robots, rovers, cargo carriers, cranes and spacesuits through tests in a harsh and changing environment.

The prototype tests will be used to inform developers of specific requirements needed in lunar surface support systems for the Constellation Program. The program is building the launch vehicles and spacecraft that will take a new generation of explorers to the moon, as well as lunar landers, habitats, life support systems, vehicles and robots to support them. A ground control team located thousands of miles away at Johnson operated the robots and coordinated the movements of the suited explorers.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., tested two K10 rovers that surveyed simulated lunar landing sites and built topographic and panoramic 3-D terrain models. One rover used a ground-penetrating radar to assess subsurface structures. The other used a 3-D scanning laser system known as LIDAR to create topographic maps. The scout robots are designed to perform highly repetitive and long-duration tasks, such as site mapping and science reconnaissance.

"It's as close as we can get in a terrestrial environment to the lunar environment," said Brian Wilcox, principle investigator for the All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer robot, known as ATHLETE, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

JPL tested two ATHLETE cargo-moving rovers. Each rover has six legs capable of rolling or walking over extremely rough or steep terrain. This will allow robotic or human missions on the surface of the moon to load, manipulate, deposit and transport payloads to desired sites. The team includes members from Johnson, Ames, Stanford University and The Boeing Co. of Chicago.

NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh tested an autonomous drilling rover that could be used to search for valuable resources under the lunar surface in the moon's polar regions. The team also includes members from Ames, Johnson, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Canadian Space Agency and the Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. in Sudbury, Ontario.

Engineers from Johnson tested a crew mobility chassis prototype, or lunar truck, and advanced spacesuit designs that could be used to greatly expand the exploration range of human explorers. NASA's new concept for a lunar truck was built in less than a year with unique features that allow each of its six wheels to move independently, giving the vehicle the ability to drive in any direction. Human drivers stood in turrets on the trucks that can pivot 360 degrees, contributing to easy steering.

To practice soil-moving techniques for the moon, Kennedy developed a bulldozing blade for the lunar truck, named the Lunar Attachment Node for Construction Excavation, or LANCE. A lightweight, composite technology such as LANCE will be used on the moon to clear landing pads and protect outposts from dust and debris generated by arriving spacecraft. The tests will help NASA evaluate the feasibility of excavating lunar soil, or regolith, for landing pads, blast protection berms, pathways, foundations and lunar operations areas.

NASA's Langley Research Center of Hampton, Va., demonstrated a lunar surface crane that could be used to lift and reposition heavy cargo, including modules used for crew quarters. The Lunar Surface Manipulator System is a lightweight lifting and precision positioning device that could give astronauts a helping hand during early outpost construction and follow-on operations. The crane can be operated autonomously, remotely or manually in backup mode, and can be reconfigured to perform different tasks. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center of Greenbelt, Md., provided lunar payload mockups that were used with the lunar crane to demonstrate payload handling operations.

Participants in the June tests will evaluate their data and prepare for additional tests in October at another site, yet to be announced, with moon-like conditions.

For an image gallery and video from the tests, as well as more information about the work NASA is doing to return to the moon, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

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Moon-Bound NASA Spacecraft Passes Major Preflight Tests


MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- Engineering teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, that will take a significant step forward in the search for water on the moon.

The mission's main objective is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region. A major milestone, thermal vacuum testing of the LCROSS spacecraft, was completed June 5 at the Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, Calif. (...)
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/jun/H...156_LCROSS.html

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Exporation of the Moon continues!
Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)

Just like on Earth, water is a crucial resource on the Moon. It will not be practical to transport to space the amount of water needed for human and exploration needs. It is critical to find natural resources, such as water, on the Moon. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission will begin the search for water, leveraging the information we learned from the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions. (...)

The Mission Objectives of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) include confirming the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the Moon’s South Pole. The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the Moon. LCROSS will excavate the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon’s polar craters with two heavy impactors early in 2009 to test the theory that ancient ice lies buried there. The impact will eject material from the crater’s surface to create a plume that specialized instruments will be able to analyze for the presence of water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. (...)


http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/
Download the new LCROSS Fact Sheet.
Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS): A First Step in the Return to the Moonì (Video Transcript)

MISSION OVERVIEW

The LCROSS mission is a search for water on the moon. The LCROSS mission is going to do this by sending a rocket crashing into the moon causing a big impact and creating a crater, throwing tons of debris and potentially water ice and vapor above the lunar surface. This impact will release materials from the lunar surface that will be analyzed for the presence of hydrated minerals which would tell researchers if water is there or not. The two main components of the LCROSS mission are the Shepherding Spacecraft (S-S/C) and the Centaur upper stage rocket. The Shepherding Spacecraft guides the rocket to a site selected on the moon that has a high probability of containing water. Because they have only one chance with this mission in finding water, the researchers have to be very precise where they program the Shepherding Spacecraft to guide the rocket.

The Shepherding Spacecraft and Centaur rocket are launched together with another spacecraft called the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). All three are connected to each other for launch, but then the LRO separates one hour after launch. The Shepherding Spacecraft guides the Centaur rocket through multiple Earth orbits, each taking about 38 days. The rocket then separates from the Shepherding Spacecraft and impacts the Moon at more than twice the speed of a bullet, causing an impact that results in a big plume or cloud of lunar debris, and possibly water. While this is happening the Shepherding Spacecraft, which has scientific instruments on-board including cameras, is taking pictures of the rocket’s descent and impact into the moon. Four minutes later, the Shepherding Spacecraft follows almost the exact same path as the rocket, descending down through the big plume and analyzing it with special instruments. The analysis is specifically looking for water (ice and vapor), hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. The Shepherding Spacecraft is collecting data continuously and transmitting it back to Earth before its own demise. This crash will be so big that we on Earth may be able to view the resulting plume of material it ejects with a good amateur telescope.

http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/mission.htm

IL «LUNAR ROBOTICS CHALLENGE» DELL’ESA SI CONCLUDE NELLA NOTTE TRA IL 24 E IL 25 OTTOBRE
Due robot italiani in finale nella Champions di automi

PISA - E’ la Champions della robotica lunare, la più prestigiosa competizione europea dedicata a ricercatori e studenti costruttori di automi. Lunar Robotics Challenge dell’Esa (l’agenzia spaziale europea) quest’anno si conclude nella notte tra il 24 e il 25 ottobre con una finale super all’interno del cratere di un vulcano spento a Tenerife, isole Canarie. All’ultima gara, superando i progetti di decine di team arrivati da 17 paesi dell’Ue, si sono qualificate otto squadre e l’Italia è riuscita a piazzare due compagini, entrambe di Pisa (Università statale e Scuola superiore Sant’Anna) che hanno costruito due robot all’avanguardia (continua... Corriere 18/19 ottobre 2008)

Partita la missione indiana verso la Luna
E' LA PRIMA IMPRESA DEL PAESE ASIATICO. DURERÀ DUE ANNI
Corriere 22 ottobre 2008

UNA SCOPERTA IMPORTANTE PER CAPIRE MEGLIO L'EVOLUZIONE DEL NOSTRO SATELLITE
Una miniera di ferro sulla Luna
L'ha scoperta la sonda indiana Chandrayaan-1, grazie a uno spettrometro americano a bordo

(Corriere 30 Dicembre 2008)

Buzz Aldrin e il coraggio del numero due
Romanzo d'esordio di Johan Harstad, norvegese con la passione per il rock e il desiderio di stare dietro le quinte.

(Corriere 31 Dicembre 2008)

DUE SONDE DELLA NASA SULLE TRACCE DEGLI ASTEROIDI THEIA
A caccia dell'origine della Luna
Una coppia di questi piccoli pianeti potrebbe aver formato l'oggetto cosmico che, scontratosi con la Terra, diede origine al nostro satellite naturale.

Corriere 10 aprile 2009