Many folks would like to see us back on the Moon and developing its resources.

Thursday, October 27, 2005


If you have not seen the Animusic web site or listened to their productions, I recommend you do so. I have enjoyed the Animusic 1 DVD and now Animusic 2 DVD is about ready for distribution.
http://www.animusic.net/dvd-info-clips-2.html

You can listen and watch samples on the web at their site.
http://www.animusic.com/dvd-info-clips-1.html

Enjoy.
- LRK -

-------------------------------------------------
http://www.animusic.com/index.shtml

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 18:21:44 -0700

The New DVD is Almost Ready...

Dear Friends of Animusic,

We’re excited to announce that the production on Animusic 2 has wrapped! We’ve moved on to the manufacturing stage. It looks like we’ll be able to ship DVDs sometime in November, in plenty of time for those buying the DVD for holiday gifts.

The production team packed so much onto this DVD (it’s a dual-layer DVD that’s 99.6% full), and sweated so much over the final audio mixes that we ended up going over the schedule by about two weeks. We really apologize to everyone who’s been anxiously awaiting its arrival. We’re sure it will be worth the wait!

In the meantime, check out some new preview video clips on the web site, hope you enjoy those!

And here are answers to a few common questions:

Q: When can I order Animusic 2?
A: We expect to have DVDs in inventory sometime mid-November. As soon as we are given an arrival date we will update the web site and begin taking orders.

Q: How much will Animusic 2 cost?
A: The Animusic 2 DVD will sell for $19.95.

Q: Will there be a discount if I buy Animusic 1 and 2 together?
A: Yes, those two together will initially sell for $34.95.

Q: Can I get Animusic 2 from a retail store?
A: The initial availability will mainly be on the Internet. In 2006 we will begin the process of rolling it out for retail.

Q: Will there be an audio CD of Animusic 2?
A: Yes, that’s the plan. But as with Animusic 1, the priority was on the DVD. Production on the Soundtrack CD has not yet begun.

Q: Will there be a VHS of Animusic 2?
A: Although our plan was to release only DVDs starting with Animusic 2, we will consider a VHS version if there seems to be enough demand. We appreciate your patience and support very much.

Best Regards,
The Animusic team
http://animusic2.c.topica.com/maad9yKablAQYaLxYS7eadIetv/

==============================================
More info from another page on their site. - LRK -

What is Animusic?

Animusic is computer animated music – It's unique, captivating, and not that infrequently causes jaws to drop.

You'll experience Animusic as individual animations that are typically about 4 to 5 minutes long. They're collected together to form a "visual album", and sold as a DVD (or VHS). Our first release features 7 distinct music animations. You could say it's like a record album where you get to see the music.

The animations are created with computers utilizing a process similar to that of movies like Shrek and Finding Nemo (although we add our own "secret sauce" that allows musical instruments to magically animate themselves).

Each animation features inventive instruments playing music in different settings. Although people sometimes think they are viewing actual instruments (a testament to the detail work and care put into each piece) alas, it's all digital and can only be seen on a screen.

Animusic isn't targeted to any particular age group or gender, and it's great to see that so many different types of people enjoy watching the animations; teens, toddlers, grandparents, engineers, musicians, animation fans . . . it appeals to a very broad spectrum.

That's a quick introduction. We invite you to explore our site and learn all the details . . . simply use the navigation buttons to the left, or follow any yellow text links (may we suggest
DVD Info & Clips or Reviews?)

Also, many common questions are answered on our
support page.

Thank you for visiting our site. Let us know what you think – the
feedback form makes it easy!

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Good day - I hope.

Copied a post from the Mars Society which is a copy from Space.com
http://www.space.com/news/051021_budget_fight.html

If you go to Space.com you can read all the adds and related links.

I know, we get enough adds, BUT ......

Somehow it seems that it will be very important to lend support to the idea that SPACE IS A PLACE and that is worthwhile being there and developing its use for further generations.

I have been watching the History Channel on cable and they ran stories about the Apollo Missions all week. I hope a goodly number of folks watched and were excited about this bit of history.

Now, we need to make some more history so this generation can participate.

(hmmm, where is that old Polaroid snap I took of my TV as Apollo 11 touched down?)
http://www.live365.com/stations/apollo_11_oda
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo11.html
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_11_30th.html
http://www.boeing.com/news/feature/apollo11/gallery/apollo10.html

Don't let the storms here on Earth stop us from tackling the dust on the Moon.
- LRK -



Larry Kellogg

Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link at http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr at https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update

=============================================================

Heads up, everbody.
Jeffrey Liss
Member, Board of Directors
National Space Society

-------------------------------------------

http://www.space.com/news/051021_budget_fight.html

Top Dem on House Science Committee Predicts Tough Fight for NASA's Budget
By Colin Clark
Editor, Washington Aerospace Briefing
posted: 21 October 2005
03:15 pm ET

WASHINGTON –- The top Democrat on the House Science Committee says NASA faces
a protracted fight for its budget and the future of space exploration, and
that the attacks will come from the right and the left.

Rep. Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) told the audience at an Oct. 21 breakfast meeting
of the Space Transportation Association that he expects conservative
Republicans to press for savings from the NASA budget and some Democrats to push for
NASA dollars to be spent on “problems here on Earth.”

Defending the NASA budget will be difficult, Gordon said, in part because the
agency suffers from a credibility problem arising from years of broken
promises and incorrect cost projections on programs like the international space
station. On top of that, he said, U.S. President George W. Bush’s vision for
returning to the Moon and going on to Mars is difficult to defend when funding
gets tight. “Going to the Moon is just something that is so easy to slap at,” he
said.

To counter those weaknesses, he urged the space community to do a better job
mobilizing lower tier suppliers to lobby Congress on behalf of the space
agency’s agenda. He urged them to build a strong coalition to bolster NASA and do a
better job of communicating NASA’s importance to the general public. Part of
that coalition’s job will be to “explain that we are going to the Moon not
just on a tourist expedition but that there are good reasons for it.”

“Even though I think we will get by this time, what we want to avoid is blood
in the water,” said Gordon, noting that any cuts in NASA’s budget now would
send the message that the agency is easy prey for those searching the federal
budget waters for spending cuts.

“We are getting into an every-man-for-himself situation,” Gordon said. That
environment, he said, makes cuts to the NASA budget over the next three to
four years a “realistic scenario.”

When push comes to shove and the power of the president may be the only thing
standing between NASA and significant budget cuts, Gordon said he is worried
that Bush might not come through.

“I don’t think President Bush is a space guy when it comes down to it,” he
said, citing the president’s apparent lack of interest in space issues while he
was governor of Texas.

Several space industry officials who attended the breakfast said they were
watching the coming federal budget clash with trepidation and planned to do as
much as possible to avoid cuts to NASA’s budget, especially its space
exploration spending.

“As a member of the Coalition for Space Exploration, it is critical that we
heed his challenge to do a better job of communicating the benefits and
relevance of space R&D to a broad public audience,” said one attendee.

Several sources at the breakfast expressed some surprise at Gordon’s call to
bolster the use of suppliers to lobby Congress. “We already do everything he
mentioned,” said one industry representative. “But we’ll keep pushing, because
he’s right that people are going to come after NASA dollars.”


************************************************************************
This message comes from the Illinois/Chicago Area Chapters of the Mars Society.
************************************************************************
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mars-chicago/

=============================================================

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
=============================================================

WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

=============================================================

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Good day
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's Remarks for 56th International
Astronautical Congress (http://www.iac2005.org/) are linked to at
SpaceRef.com http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18071
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18071
Date Released: Thursday, October 20, 2005
Source: NASA HQ
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's Remarks for 56th International
Astronautical Congress
17 October 2005
Fukuoka, Japan
Thank you, Mr. Takayanagi, for that generous introduction, and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to present NASA's visions and plans for the next 20 years in the exploration and utilization of space alongside my distinguished colleagues from Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia and the European Space Agency, and to such a knowledgeable audience.
To preface my remarks, let me say as someone who's been privileged to work in the aerospace business for almost 35 years, that it is remarkable how far we've come in less than 50 years of activity in space.
Twelve human beings have explored the surface of the moon; it is now my job to make that number grow by leaps and bounds. The world's spacefaring nations have sent robotic pathfinders to all of the planets of our solar system, with the exception of Pluto, and if we are able to launch New Horizons in January 2006, we'll have one on the way to that planet, as well.
In just 10 years, over 150 planets beyond our solar system have been discovered, and there are indications that at least one has the same rocky characteristics of our home planet. And closer to home, our citizens have reaped enormous benefits from communications, navigation, weather, and other remote sensing satellites.
snip
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html?skipIntro=1
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/136535main_griffin_japan.pdf (PDF 55 Kb, 8 page)
------------------------------------------------------------
The Vision of going to the Moon, Mars and Beyond is reshuffling NASA's priorities. Some of the items that were going to go to the ISS may not go. When you don't have enough money for everything you want, some things don't get funded.
- LRK -
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=16174
6 April 2005 Letter From Sen. Barbara Boxer to Frederick Gregory regarding NASA Ames Research Center FY06 Funding Issues
snip
In addition to facing budget cuts, I understand that NASA Headquarters is considering eliminating one of NASA Ames' premier programs, the Space Station Biological Research Program (SSBRP). The elimination of this project alone would result in the loss of nearly 100 jobs.
snip
------------------------------------------------------------
All of these changes ripple throughout the community and to those that we have had intenational agreements with as well.
- LRK -
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nasawatch.com/
snip
The New Regime, Government Executive
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1005/101905mm.htm
Griffin: "Our plans and our budgets left us with 2,000 civil servants who weren't assigned to a job that NASA was doing. For many years, NASA did not address a growing mismatch between what our civil service skill mix was and what we needed it to be. As we change our emphasis, some skills aren't needed anymore."
Continue reading "Layoff Update" http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2005/10/layoff_update_2.html#more
Posted by kcowing at 11:42 AM Permalink
snip
------------------------------------------------------------
This 2003 update from Japan will have to be looked at as well as schedules are adjusted
- LRK -.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://spaceinfo.jaxa.jp/db/kaihatu/station/station_e/kokusai_e.html
snip
Kibo will make it possible to conduct experiments that require special environments such as microgravity and near vacuum, which are difficult to reproduce on Earth. These experiments will include:
I. New materials development utilizing microgravity, and life science experiments to study the relationship between organic life and gravity;
II. Manned space technology research to study physical and psychological adaptability and to pursue future safe and comfortable habitation in space;
and
III. Space engineering such as space transportation, robotics, telecommunications, energy, and structures.

Separate launches for the Pressurized Module, Experiment Logistics Module, and Exposed Facility will start around 2004. The ISS is expected to be completed in 2006.
------------------------------------------------------------
http://iss.sfo.jaxa.jp/index_e.html
------------------------------------------------------------
Well the ISS is up.
- LRK -
------------------------------------------------------------
http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Technology/Space/International_Space_Station/
------------------------------------------------------------
The Moon would be further up.
- LRK -
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-09-15-moon-2018-mission_x.htm
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/chrono_future.html
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/NASA_plans_for_future_moon_missions
------------------------------------------------------------
How about Mars?
- LRK -
------------------------------------------------------------
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/2005-plus.html
Beyond 2005
During recent months, NASA has been developing a long-term Mars exploration program that charts a course for the next two decades. The new program incorporates the lessons learned from previous mission successes and failures, and builds on scientific discoveries from past missions. International participation, especially from Italy and France, will add significantly to the plan.
snip
------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, I didn't answer the question, but you will have to if it is to happen.
- LRK -

Larry Kellogg
larry.kellogg at sbcglobal.net

Web Site http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
Blog Spot http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link at http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
News ltr at https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
=============================================================
In a message dated 10/19/2005 4:38:14 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
SpaceADG@yahoogroups.com writes:
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2005 03:44:48 -0000
From: "hdot_tech"
Subject: Re: Digest Number 808
Steve, Excellent points. As I once said, sending a robot into space can be compared to sending your video cam and thermometer to Hawaii via UPS and having a third party in Hawaii shoot some video and relay the temp readings to you. You end up with some pretty video and the
knowledge that Hawaii is a warm place, but it's just not the same as going there yourself. You can't "know" Diamond Head without beholding it up close.

Jim,
Also good points.
Which reminds me of yet another in the same vain... When I was 14 in '73 I took a trip through the western states with a youth group for a month. I remember how impressed I was standing there looking at the Rocky Mountains all around me and thinking, "You can see this a million times in books, on t.v. or in the movies, but actually BEING here seeing them with all my senses simply does not compare in any way". Humans must experience if we want to remain human.
I hear/read people bringing up the same old, mostly discredited, arguments against a robust space program and feel we must counter them with more than the same old (yet again, valid) arguments. As the saying goes, the definition of insanity is using the same methods to solve a problem and expecting different results. We as space activists (and allegedly smart folks) need to do more "out of the box" thinking. I sense that we are beginning to.

Steve Stein
Medina, Ohio
=============================================================
THE DAY IN SPACE
__________________
In today's space news from SpaceRef:
-- Hubble's View of the Apollo 17 Landing Site
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18427
-- NASA Hubble Space Telescope View of Aristarchus Plateau on the Moon
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18426
-- NASA Hubble Space Telescope Image: Apollo 17 Landing Region
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18425
-- NASA's Hubble Looks for Possible Moon Resources
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18070
"NASA is using the unique capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope for a new class of scientific
observations of the Earth's moon. Hubble's resolution and sensitivity to ultraviolet light have
allowed the telescope to search for important oxygen-bearing minerals on the moon. Since the
moon does not have a breathable atmosphere, minerals, such as ilmenite (titanium and iron
oxide), may be critical for a sustained human lunar presence. Ilmenite is a potential source of
oxygen for breathing or to power rockets."

-- NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 19 October 2005
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=18428
"Last night’s ISS reboost was aborted when Progress 19 thrusters shut down after only 117 sec
into the first of two planned burns. Preliminary indications from Moscow are that the thrusters
fired as commanded, but that a subsequent loss of communication ("talk back") in the pressure
sensing feedback loop within the Progress thruster system caused the premature shutdown."
snip

-- NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's Remarks for 56th International
Astronautical Congress
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18071
"I recall that Louis Armstrong once said about jazz music, "if you have to ask what jazz is, you'll
never know". Similarly, when frustrated, I have at times been moved to say that if you have to ask why we should explore space, you'll never understand the answer. But this is
not good enough. If we in the space community expect to lay a legitimate claim to even a very
small portion of public financial support in our various nations, we must justify those claims in a
way that others, not of our community, can understand."
snip
=============================================================
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
=============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
=============================================================

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Good day
If you missed the Lunar Eclipse (I got up but too late.) SpaceWeather has a
nice picture.
The Moon was bright and will be tonight too along with Mars as it rises in
the East.
Thanks to Kendall for waking me out of my trance.
I have been studying the Pioneer 10 documents and trying to understand what
all went on for 30 years.
The old documents that had been archived where I used to work have been
moved to Ames History and I will talk to them to see if there is a way to
share some of them with the general public.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1972-012A


Larry Kellogg
larry.kellogg at sbcglobal.net
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
=============================================================
Space Weather News for Oct. 18, 2005
http://spaceweather.com
Looking for Mars? Tonight you can find it using the Moon as a "landmark." Go
outside between 9 and 10 p.m. local time and look east. (You can do this
even earlier if you have a clear view of the eastern horizon.) You'll see
the Moon and Mars rising together in the eastern sky. Both are bright: The
Moon is almost full and Mars looks like a brilliant orange star. If you're
impressed by Mars tonight, you'll be even more impressed two weeks from now
when Mars makes its closest approach to Earth for the next 13 years. Get the
full story and a sky map at http://spaceweather.com .
EXTRA: Amateur astronomers are monitoring a growing dust storm on Mars big
enough to see through backyard telescopes. Visit http://spaceweather.com for
images and updates.
=============================================================
Good Morning, Larry
Wanted to give you a heads up:
The Moon and Mars are going to be conjunct
tonight (10.18) and in the early morning hours
of tomorrow (10.19). Should be spectacular!
Hope you are fine.
Here's to looking up!
Kendall Johnson
=============================================================
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
=============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
=============================================================

Monday, October 10, 2005

Good day,
Larry Klaes posted the below two links.
-------------------------------------------------------
The Lunar Constants PDF file link opens an HTML page where you can down load
an 82 page, 24.3 Mb, PDF file with all kinds of information about the Moon.
Thanks Larry Klaes. - LRK -
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/lunar_doc.html

The second link Larry Klaes posted is also about the Moon and how the heat
of the Sun makes for seismic noisy Moon. One would hope at the poles this
would be less so if you are going to set up telescopes. Maybe in one of
those cold dark craters where there might be frozen water would be stable.
Just would limit your view angle if you went too deep. :-) - LRK -
http://list.astronomy.com/UM/T.asp?A12.80.214.7.278623

-------------------------------------------------------
On some of the Yahoo groups about the Apollo missions there has been recent
talks about launch angles and the need to make adjustments after the Trans
Lunar Injection (TLI) burn. Also why the ISS in its present orbit to make
access to it by Russia is not the right orbit for launching to the Moon.
One likes to take advantage of the Earth rotational speed to help you get
into orbit but you also have to take into account where your launch angle is
slinging you into space. You would like that first orbit around Earth to be
in the correct plane to place you in front of the Moon as the Moon and your
spacecraft arrive in the same proximity. The Earth is tilted, the Moon's
orbit is tilted, and matching everything up without having to make right
angle turns in space is just part of the planning. It is why you don't just
launch when you get through with your morning coffee.
- LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------
Pioneer 10 passed the orbit of the Moon in 11 hours on its way to
upiter. - LRK -
http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PN10&11.html

snip
Pioneer 10 was launched on 2 March 1972 on top of an Atlas/Centaur/TE364-4
launch vehicle. The launch marked the first use of the Atlas-Centaur as a
three-stage launch vehicle. The third stage was required to rocket Pioneer
10 to the speed of 51,810 kilometers per hour (32,400 mph) needed for the
flight to Jupiter. This made Pioneer the fastest manmade object to leave the
Earth, fast enough to pass the Moon in 11 hours and to cross the Mars orbit,
about 80 million kilometers (50 million miles) away, in just 12 weeks.
snip
http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNhome.html

http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNStat.html

-------------------------------------------------------
Lunar Prospector took 105 hours to get to the Moon. It was launched January
7, 1998 02:28:42.7 UTC with a launch azimuth of 97 deg E (29.2 deg
inclination) and a parking orbit of 87.7 x 102.7 nmi. Different months with
different launch windows gave different times of flight. You pick the wrong
day and time and you don't have enough fuel or you buy space on a different
launch vehicle. - LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------
Lunar Prospector Mission Design & Trajectory Support.
AAS98-323.pdf http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/project/pdf/AAS98-323.pdf

-------------------------------------------------------
Apollo 11 with 3 astronauts onboard took about 4 days. Touchdown on the
moon took place, as scheduled, on July 20, 102 hours, 47 minutes, and 11
seconds after launch from Cape Kennedy. (see link below - LRK -)
-------------------------------------------------------
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/apollo_11_flight_plan/

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo11.html

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_11_30th.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

-------------------------------------------------------
When you are tracking these launches into space you need to point and
antenna at the spacecraft and keep it pointing at the craft as the Earth
turns, the ocean tides flex the ground below you, the atmosphere bends the
radio signal much as a pond bends the light when trying to spear a fish.
The Earths rotation wobbles over time, the Sun may get into your eye and its
gravitational field bends your signal. The Solar Flare can ionize the upper
atmosphere which can bend some radio signals. - LRK -
http://www.cvarc.org/tech/solarindice.html

If you read the 55 page, pdf file about the Pioneer Anomaly you will see
that many things have to been considered in tracking spacecraft that are out
of the Solar system. The Earth's rotation is slowing, the Moon is leaving
us ever so slowly, the tides flex the Earth. The Sun's gravitational pull
on the Moon wobbles the Moons orbit. What you see of the Moon is affected by
whether it is above you or below you on its slide around the Earth or
whether it is closer or further away. - LRK -
-------------------------------------------------------
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/gr-qc/pdf/0104/0104064.pdf (55 page, 1.5 meg -
LRK - )
Journal-ref: Phys.Rev. D65 (2002) 082004
Our previous analyses of radio Doppler and ranging data from distant
spacecraft in the solar system indicated that an apparent anomalous
acceleration is acting on Pioneer 10 and 11, with a magnitude a_P ~ 8 x
10^{-8} cm/s^2, directed towards the Sun (anderson,moriond). Much effort has
been expended looking for possible systematic origins of the residuals, but
none has been found. A detailed investigation of effects both external to
and internal to the spacecraft, as well as those due to modeling and
computational techniques, is provided. We also discuss the methods,
theoretical models, and experimental techniques used to detect and study
small forces acting on interplanetary spacecraft. These include the methods
of radio Doppler data collection, data editing, and data reduction.
There is now further data for the Pioneer 10 orbit determination. The
extended Pioneer 10 data set spans 3 January 1987 to 22 July 1998. [For
Pioneer 11 the shorter span goes from 5 January 1987 to the time of loss of
coherent data on 1 October 1990.] With these data sets and more detailed
studies of all the systematics, we now give a result, of a_P = (8.74 +/-
1.33) x 10^{-8} cm/s^2. (Annual/diurnal variations on top of a_P, that leave
a_P unchanged, are also reported and discussed.)
snip

F. Orbit determination procedure

Our orbit determination procedure first determines the spacecraft’s initial position and velocity in a data interval. For each data interval, we then estimate the magnitudes of the orientation maneuvers, if any. The analyses are modeled to include the effects of planetary perturbations, radiation pressure, the interplanetary media, general relativity, and bias and drift in the Doppler and range (if available). Planetary coordinates and solar system masses are obtained using JPL’s Export Planetary Ephemeris DE405, where DE stands for the Development Ephemeris. [Earlier in the study, DE200 was used. See Section VA.]
We include models of precession, nutation, sidereal rotation, polar motion, tidal effects, and tectonic plates drift. Model values of the tidal deceleration, nonuniformity of rotation, polar motion, Love numbers, and Chandler wobble are obtained observationally, by means of Lunar and Satellite Laser Ranging (LLR and SLR) techniques and VLBI. Previously they were combined into a common publication by either the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) or by the United States Naval Observatory (USNO). Currently this information is provided by the ICRF. JPL’s Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP) is a major source contributor to the ICRF.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html

To display the date, time, and distance of lunar perigees and apogees for a given year, enter the year in the box below and press "Calculate". Depending on the speed of your computer, it may take a while for the results to appear in the text boxes. This page requires your browser to support JavaScript, and that JavaScript be enabled; all computation is done on your own computer so you can, if you wish, save this page in a file and use it even when not
connected to the Internet.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/moon_ap_per.html

snip
Earth's Eccentric Companion

The Moon's orbit around the Earth is elliptical, with a substantial eccentricity (as major Solar System bodies go) of 5.49%. In addition, the tidal effect of the Sun's gravitational field increases the eccentricity when the orbit's major axis is aligned with the Sun-Earth vector or, in
other words, the Moon is full or new.
The combined effects of orbital eccentricity and the Sun's tides result in a substantial difference in the apparent size and brightness of the Moon at perigee and apogee. Extreme values for perigee and apogee distance occur when perigee or apogee passage occurs close to new or full Moon, and long-term extremes are in the months near to Earth's perihelion passage
(closest approach to the Sun, when the Sun's tidal effects are strongest) in the first few days of January.
snip
-------------------------------------------------------
Now back to the Lunar Constants PDF file provided by JPL who is helping us
go back to the Moon.
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/lunar_doc.html

Hope we don't lay everyone off. - LRK -
Taken from Inside KSC groups. - LRK -
------------------------------------------------------
The person who passed this information on to me has not told me how much is kosher to pass on. I will therefore keep things brief and vague.
The 300 laid off two weeks ago were contractors. The 300 to be laid off on monday are JPL employees. My contact states that the lay offs are due to the fact that JPL will not be participating in a significant way in the lunar exploration plan laid out by pres. Bush. It seems that NASA money is being shifted around as a result, and JPL will be getting the short end of
the stick for a while...
Walt
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Looking up is getting harder with winds, rain, and earthquakes making the ground you stand on rather unstable.
Keeps tugging on my pocket book. :-(
- LRK -

Larry Kellogg
larry.kellogg at sbcglobal.net
https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update

http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/

http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

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Lunar Constants PDF file:
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/lunar_doc.html

Reference: JPL Technical Document D-32296

The primary purpose of this document is to provide a single source for the constants and models to be used in the trajectory and navigation design of missions whose objective is to orbit or land on the Moon. A secondary objective is to provide the mission analyst with some basic background information about the Moon, its orbit, and the previous missions that have explored the Moon. As a result, this document contains more information than the typical constants and models document. Some of the data are required for mission studies while other data are simply provided for "educational purposes". This document provides only brief descriptions of the constants and models. The user should consult the references if more detailed information is desired.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
I would like to thank the following people for their key contributions to this document:
Alex Konopliv (Section 343), Myles Standish (Section 343), and Jim Williams (Section 335).
Their expert knowledge of the Moon, its orbit, and the proper formulation of algorithms necessary to perform precise calculations was absolutely invaluable. In addition, their thorough review of the document as a whole was also extremely helpful. I would also like to thank Mark Rosiek of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for his help in understanding how to interpret and use the Clementine lunar topography data-files and for his general assistance with lunar maps.

Ralph Roncoli
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Sunshine makes a noisy Moon:

A new technique for analyzing faint seismic noise recorded by instruments Apollo 17 astronauts left behind in 1972 may help geologists decipher the structure of the Moon, Mars, and other bodies.
READ MORE:
http://list.astronomy.com/UM/T.asp?A12.80.214.7.278623

October 2005 astro bytes
The rise and fall of the Amazon and a noisy Moon
October 4, 2005
Pulse of the Amazon

A team led by Michael Bevis at Ohio State University in Columbus has measured how seasonal river floods compress surrounding terrain. A global-positioning-satellite station in Manaus, Brazil, near the confluence of the Amazon and Rio Negro rivers, rises and falls each year by as much as 3 inches (75 millimeters).
This is the largest crustal oscillation observed to date on Earth — and more than twice that predicted for the region. The greatest compression occurs exactly when the Amazon floods. "This suggests that we are observing, for the first time, a purely elastic response to changes in the weight of a flowing river system," the team reports in the August 24, 2005, Geophysical
Research Letters. The area covered by the Amazon and its tributaries more than triples in the course of a year, expanding to as much as 135,000 square miles (350,0000 square kilometers). —
Francis Reddy

Sunshine makes a noisy Moon

A new technique for analyzing faint seismic noise recorded by instruments Apollo 17 astronauts left behind in 1972 may help geologists decipher the structure of the Moon, Mars, and other bodies.
A team led by Eric Larose of France's Laboratoire de Géophysique Interne et Tectonophysique in Grenoble matched up weak signals recorded by four vibration-detecting geophones placed in the Moon's Taurus-Littrow valley.
They studied data beamed to Earth from summer 1976 to April 1977, just a few months before NASA shut off all functional lunar stations.
The scientists, writing in the August 16, 2005, Geophysical Research Letters, noted a curious fluctuation in the noise. A closer look showed it repeated every 29.5 days — matching the Moon's phase cycle — and that signals were strongest during the day. The activity starts about 2 days after lunar sunrise and falls off fast after sunset.
As the lunar day begins, the Moon's surface temperature rises from –275° Fahrenheit (–170° Celsius) to 230° F (110° C). The team says lunar surface material, cracking in the heat, creates the signal. Apollo-era scientists explained the Moon's tiniest quakes the same way, calling them "thermal moonquakes."
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL
ACHIEVE - LRK
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