The next missions to the moon

Selene, Japan's lunar spacecraft and HD peeping Tom, keeps sending stunningly-detailed information from our crystal clear Moon to trashed Mother Earth. These first-ever high definition global topographic maps of the Moon were created using 1,127,392 point measurements, taken with its laser altimeter. And they are just preliminary versions.

First High Definition Moon Map Released, Uranium Sites Located




(image help)



[edit on 17-4-2008 by Jbird]

reply to post by Enceladus

Thanks for the update, Enceladus: and it's also a very important one, because this is basically the first actual result of Kaguya Selene mission.

Internos,
Awesome, spectacular, incredible, stupendous, fantastic thread you have going here!
I just found this thread and have just spent an hour “skimming” it. Many more hours will be spent reading all the fine links and info that you, Enceladus and others have provided!

My sincere thanks and admiration for your time and unmatched diligent compilation of all that you have provided!

The timing of these multi-national efforts to revisit the moon is incredibly provocative.
I have often wondered why it has taken 3 decades for a renewed effort to return. Even seemingly lacking the political, economic and scientific motivation. Could be we were warned off. I just don’t know.

The presentation of your thread has put this new space-race into a much clearer perspective.

I wish there was a way to give you more than a star and a flag.

Cheers

reply to post by Zeptepi

Zeptepi, thank you!
Posts like your last one, are the best award one could expect:
is in these posts that i find the energy needed to keep on working on this
What a nice deep thought: thanks again, mate.

Kaguya - Selene UPDATE # 1
Jaxa releases MI (multibander Image) image of Apollo 11 Landing site (around Mare Tranquillitatis)

These images are enlargement of a part of the image of Apollo 11 landing site taken by Multiband imager (MI) on December 16, 2007. The landing site of Apollo 11 is pointed out by a red arrow in the left image.

The left image shows the single-band image (750nm) and the right image shows the color composite band ratio images among three bands (415nm, 750nm and 950nm). In the first report of MI, only a band ratio image showing the comparison of the strength of two bands (750nm and 1000nm) is posted, but for this image, three band ratio images
are assigned to RGB (Red, Green, Blue) colors. MI is able to analyze mineral distributions and degree of space weathering with such band ratio images.

For instance, the red colored area covering the most part of the right image are thought to be old soil that exposed in space for long time and suffered space weathering heavily. In contrast, the blue to yellow green colored areas in spots indicate the flesh soil that were excavated by impacts of meteorites and suffered little space weathering effect. We have to study further to know which minerals distributed around this area.
Many Apollo samples from this area will help us to analyze the KAGUYA image data in the future study.

The data was processed by LISM/MI team.

wms.selene.jaxa.jp...


Full Single-band image (750nm)
wms.selene.jaxa.jp...


Full Color composite band ratio images among three bands (415nm, 750nm and 950nm)
wms.selene.jaxa.jp...


Apollo 11 landing site on Single-band image (750nm)


I've made an animation combining the two:
the result looks nice, and makes the point, imho:


Kaguya - Selene UPDATE # 2
Apr. 11, 2008: KAGUYA's high vision Camera captures Full Earth-rise.


The lunar explorer KAGUYA initially captured the right-side waned "Earth-rise" in November 2007 with its high-vision camera, but this time, it succeeded in capturing the "Full Earth-rise" without any wane. This is the
first time that a high-vision image of the "Full Earth-rise" has been captured from space, 380,000 kilometers away
from Earth.

These are digest version of HD movies of "Earth-rise" and "Earth-set" taken by the high definition television

(HDTV) on November, 7, 2007 (JST). These movies are higher resolution movies (DVD quality) than those in JAXA Video

Archives.("Earth-rise" "Earth-set" )
Please enjoy the bleak but spectacular Moon and the vivid Earth.

In future, JAXA will make efforts to up more high resolution HDTV movies in cooperation with NHK (Japan

Broadcasting Corporation).

www.jaxa.jp...

Downlinks: [.mpeg format]

Earth rise
Earth set

Source:
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency


[edit on 18/4/2008 by internos]

Gravity Anomaly detected by using 4-way Doppler observation data from the RSTAR / OKINA - RSAT
New finding in study on the Origin of Dichotomy for the Moon


A schematic figure showing the principle of the four-way Doppler measurements of the Main Orbiter (KAGUYA) by using a relay satellite (OKINA). The uplink radio wave from the Usuda Deep Space Center (UDSC) is relayed to the Main Orbiter via the relay satellite (OKINA), which is returned to the UDSC via relay satellite (OKINA) again. Then the Doppler frequency is measured at the UDSC.


JAXA announced a new finding of a gravity anomaly for both the near side and far side of the Moon by using 4-way Doppler observation data from the RSTAR (OKINA) with the main orbiter, the KAGUYA.

Until now, the gravity anomaly of the far side of the Moon has not been understood well. The gravity anomaly, which was obscure before, has been clearly revealed through observations by the Kaguya mission. For instance, the gravity anomaly of a basin on the far side is found to be characterized by a negative anomaly in a ring like the Apollo basin. On the other hand, the gravity anomaly of the basin on the near side is uniformly positive over the region such as with the Mare Serenitatis. Thus, the clear difference in gravity anomaly on the near side and the far side has been newly discovered and this fact brings a different story about the structure of the underground and the history of the evolution of the far side and near side of the Moon.

The gravity anomaly map for many regions will be developed more precisely and show the difference of gravity anomaly between the near side and the far side by adding more observation data. The latest observation data by the Kaguya will play a key role to promote the study of the origin and the evolution of the Moon. In addition, highly accurate lunar gravity distribution data will be useful for future lunar explorers.

• Gravity anomaly: The lunar gravity field is not homogenous. Any region of the Moon with a higher than expected mass density will produce a gravity anomaly.
  
  
• Dichotomy of the Moon: Between the near side and the far side, clear asymmetry is called the "Dichotomy of the Moon" as in the thickness of the lunar crust and the distribution of the lunar Maria.
  
  
• RSAT/VRAD mission instrument team:
  Kyushu University (RSAT Principle Investigator), NAOJ (VRAD: VLBI Satellite radio source Principle Investigator), Researchers from JAXA also participate as sub-PI or Co-I in the mission instrument team.
  
  

Current lunar gravity field models include large uncertainties on the far side of the Moon. For instance, the figure in the middle shows the current gravity distribution model for the Apollo basin by LP165P*. The color of the figure shows strength of the gravity field in blue, green, yellow, and red, in that order. Red indicates a positive gravity anomaly related to either a topographic high or a dense material in the subsurface. In contrast, blue shows that a negative gravity anomaly related to a topographic low or less dense material. The gravity anomaly shown in the figure on the right hand side is processed by new data taken by the KAGUYA. The gravity anomaly in the Apollo basin is now identified as concentric rings of yellow, blue, and thin red from the center to outside.
*LP165P: Lunar gravity model developed by Konopliv et al.. incorporating tracking data from the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into a historical data set.

A new gravity anomaly map developed by the KAGUYA reveals that not only the Apollo basin, but many other basins on the far side of the Moon are characterized by a large negative gravity anomaly. Such a signature of far side gravity is distinguished from that on the near side. For example, the Mare Serenitatis, the representative basin on the near side, shows a strong positive (red color) gravity anomaly at the center of the basin (figure in the middle). The newly found difference of gravity anomaly on the near side and the far side gives us clues to important questions regarding the structure of the lunar interior and the formation of the far side and near side of the Moon.

Gravity Anomaly Map at the Mare Serenitatis

Thanks to olegkvasha for bringing this one to my attention.

[edit on 2/6/2008 by internos]

Lunar Robotic Manipulator Passes Early Test

What will it take to live and work on the moon's surface? That's the question a NASA team demonstrated during an early June week on the lunar-like landscape near Moses Lake, Wash.

NASA scientists took some of their most promising lunar equipment concepts -- robots, rovers and more -- to perform a multitude of field tests, activities they believe will be needed to live and work on the moon.

One test series studied how astronauts would handle and manipulate equipment on a planetary outpost. Astronauts will need a helping hand during early lunar outpost construction and as they expand their base of operations.

Source

Mobile Lunar Transporter



Autonomous Drilling Rover



Lunar ATV's



Recon Robot



View all images and details here

Rocket completes mission, India's first moon spacecraft now in orbit

Wed, Oct 22 07:03 AM

Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 22 (IANS) With a perfect liftoff, India's first spacecraft to the moon entered its scheduled orbit early Wednesday, placing the country in a select group of six. The US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan have sent spacecrafts to the moon earlier.

The 44-metre-tall 316-tonne rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C11), had a copybook launch at 6.22 a.m., and completed its mission by placing the lunar orbiter Chandrayaan into its scheduled orbit around the earth within 18 minutes, just as planned.

Source

Updating the thread with Chandrayaan-1 info, India's 1st unmanned moon mission.

There's a treasure trove of info on this thread..

But to get the long and short of it.. here's a peak at the latest:

isro.org...

Note this is at 5m per pix resolution; the sharpest pictures/videos ever taken

Time posted an article on Nov 13th called "40 Years Later, It's Moon Race 2.0" that's got some recent info. Regarding the US efforts the Time article states:

By 2015, to hear NASA tell it, a new manned spacecraft--the evocatively named Orion--will be carrying crews to Earth's orbit. By 2020, Orion will be paired with the lunar lander Altair. That same year, fresh American bootprints will be made on the lunar soil--the first since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Contractors have been chosen, metal is being cut, and most important, money has been allocated.

It'll be interesting to see how the timeline holds up and just how "allocated" the money is.

I realise this may not be the correct place to say this, but all this new 'going-to-the-moon again' stuff is rubbish. There is ample evidence of the fact that we are already there and have been for decades. They are just getting ready to 'reveal' it to us and make it acceptable to everyone.

all i gotta say is clean up ya garbage america! how much junk is on the moon already... ! i mean all that stuff would be worth heaps if it was recyled or sent back to earth to be auctioned off.

New data from moon’s poles soon: ISRO

The Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI), one of the Indian payloads on board Chandrayaan-1, has completed about 40 per cent coverage of the lunar polar region and it will soon provide new data, according to J.A. Kamalakar of Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bangalore.

Read complete article here

Sorry to say but with the budget cuts nasa's orion/ares 1 and 5 might not go ahead. theyre short by about US$100m i believe

Since she's been mentioned repeatedly here:

www.hindu.com...

Chandrayaan-1 is toast. Official story says a leak or malfunction of a power subsystem which may have had a cascade effect.

Sinking that much money into a project for it to falter like that... makes me wonder. Thoughts?

I think the fact that all these countries have suddenly become interested in the moon again only can mean one thing.

The only reason countries are usually interested in going anywhere. Raw Materials.

I reckon a recent mission has discovered valuable minerals of some sort up there and now the race is on to get there, claim the land and start burrowing.

All the surface mapping, tests etc sounds like similar to what they do when they are searching the ocean for oil.

We shall find out in time.
g.

some videos about helium 3 mining on the moon -

Don't you mean FIRST mission to the Moon...

Hey guys ,

Sorry if this is a repost

I found some amazing pictures of Moon indicating life ,UFO like our crafts and UFOs that may have crashed.

IF these pics are real then they will shed some information on the things unknown till now

theorionconspiracy.com...

We should already be living on the moon. I wish they would stop sending satellites and robots and just go in person. And I also think the first "walk on the moon" was a fake.