NASA MOON-IMPACTOR MISSION PASSES MAJOR REVIEW

NASA MOON-IMPACTOR MISSION PASSES MAJOR REVIEW
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2007/07_04AR.html

One step at a time, a mission plan progresses.

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)
http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/

I hope there is a coordinated effort with other nations sending instruments
to the Moon.
- LRK -


http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/enterp/missions/selene/index.shtml
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA) plans to launch
SELENE(SELenological and ENgineering Explorer) on-board H-IIA Launch Vehicle
from Tanegashima Space Center in 2007(FY).

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-01/03/content_5562198.htm
Moon shots: China, Japan in '07; U.S., India in '08

http://www.europlanet-eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=30
Chandraayan-1 is the first Indian mission to the Moon. It will map the Moon
in visible, infrared and X-ray wavelengths to determine the chemistry and
mineralogy of the lunar surface. It will also look for surface and
sub-surface water ice.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060908144658.htm
ource:   Washington University In St. Louis
Date:  September 18, 2006

U.S., Chinese Researchers To Collaborate On China's Moon Missions

Science Daily - Amid a bevy of international space exploration missions to
the Moon, the Washington University Department of Earth and Planetary
Science in Arts & Sciences and ShanDong University at WeiHai (SDU at WH) in
Mainland China have agreed to cooperate on scientific research and joint
training of students in the two institutions.

The agreement comes less than a year away from the planned launch of
Chang'E-1, the Chinese lunar probe project, in April, 2007. The goals of
China's Chang'E-1 project are first to place a satellite into orbit around
the Moon in 2007; then to land an unmanned vehicle on the Moon by 2010; and
to collect samples of lunar soil with an unmanned vehicle by 2020. The
spacecraft carries five instruments to image and measure different features
of the Moon.

Within two years, three additional missions from the United States, India
and Japan will generate a furious flurry of data that will keep space
scientists enthralled for the better part of the next decade. The Japanese
Selene mission is scheduled to launch in the summer of 2007, the Indian
Chandrayan-1 in late 2007 or early 2008, and the United States' Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter for October 2008.

Snip
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Those with eyes to see, let them see, and those that have funds, let them
fund.  Tell your governmental representative that you too would like to see
some Lunar activity.  Make it so!

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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Following from NASA News
hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices.nasa.gov
- LRK -
Also at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2007/07_04AR.html
RELEASE: 07_04AR
NASA Moon-Impactor Mission Passes Major Review
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Feb. 2, 2007

Beth Dickey/J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/5241

John Bluck
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-5026/9000

RELEASE: 07-21

NASA MOON-IMPACTOR MISSION PASSES MAJOR REVIEW

WASHINGTON - NASA's drive to return astronauts to the moon and later
probe deeper into space achieved a key milestone recently when agency
officials approved critical elements of a moon impact mission
scheduled to launch in October 2008. NASA's unmanned Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, will strike the
moon near its south pole in January 2009. It will search for water
and other materials that astronauts could use at a future lunar
outpost.

Scott Horowitz, associate administrator of the agency's Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate, led a confirmation review panel that
recently approved the detailed plans, instrument suite, budget and
risk factor analysis for the satellite.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., manages the
mission. The mission is valued at $79 million, excluding launch
costs. The mission will help NASA gain a new foothold on the moon and
prepare for new journeys to Mars and beyond.

The confirmation review authorized continuation of the lunar impactor
project and set its cost and schedule. Another mission milestone, the
critical design review, is scheduled for late February. That review
will examine the detailed Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite system design. After a successful critical design review,
the project team will assemble the spacecraft and its instruments.

"The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite project represents
an efficient way of doing business by being cost capped, schedule
constrained and risk tolerant," said Daniel Andrews, project manager
at Ames for the lunar impactor mission.

The lunar impactor will share a rocket ride into space with a second
satellite, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. After the orbiter
separates from the Atlas V launch vehicle for its own mission, the
LCROSS will use the spent Centaur upper stage of the rocket as a
4,400-pound lunar impactor, targeting a permanently shadowed crater
near the lunar South Pole.

According to scientists, the Centaur's collision with the moon will
excavate about 220 tons of material from the lunar surface. The Lunar
Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite will observe the plume of
material with a suite of six instruments to look for water ice and
examine lunar soil. The satellite will fly through the plume, also
impacting the lunar surface. That second impact will be observed from
Earth.

The prime contractor for the satellite is Northrop Grumman Space
Technologies of Redondo Beach, Calif.

For information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite on the Web, visit:

http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

-end-

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

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