Popular Mechanics Analyzes the Candidates

I suppose I should not stand on a political soap box - BUT -
if you live in the USA you in the middle of much political debate.

Where NASA and the thought of going to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond is going will be tempered by what is happening in the real world, both local and global.

The Popular Mechanics article has some links where you may choose to add your 2 cents worth to the candidates.

Will be interesting to see what will be left to look up at after the elections. The return on investment may well need to contribute to solving the energy crises.

Maybe someone will come up with a way to send a mechanical spider to space that can spin a solar net that will capture the energy from the Sun and space and know how to repair itself when hit by space debris. You too may be able to catch some rays.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
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http://actionforspace.blogspot.com/2008/04/popular-mechanics-analyzes-candidates.html
Thursday, April 24, 2008Popular Mechanics Analyzes the Candidates Popular Mechanics systematically exposes that all 3 presidential candidates are soft on space. McCain will freeze the budget, Hillary focuses on a ensuring expensive government capability to do what COTS is trying to do, and Obama is stately against expensive and dangerous human spaceflight.
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http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/air_space/4260504.htmlHow Clinton, Obama and McCain Could Change U.S. Space Policy: Geek the Vote Guest Analysis snipThe Bottom LineFor voters already behind NASA's targeted human spaceflight, don't get your hopes up—none of the three major candidates are likely to fund the current plan, because they'll all face the budgetary pressures implied by an aging population and a burgeoning federal deficit. snip
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http://www.spacepolitics.com/2008/04/14/the-coming-nasa-budget-crunch/
The coming NASA budget crunchApril 14, 2008 at 8:01 am · snip[The comments to the above post are interesting as well. - LRK -]==============================================================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
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Preliminary thermal modeling accounts for some (but not all) of the Pioneer Anomaly

Apr. 17, 2008 19:59 PDT Apr. 18 02:59 UTC

On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 9:45 AM, LARRY KLAES wrote:

To quote from The Planetary Society blog:
The Pioneer Anomaly: April 13, 2008 presentation Slava Turyshev reported on the progress of thermal modeling of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft at the American Physical SocietyMeeting in St. Louis, Missouri on April 13, 2008.

The completepresentation may be downloaded here (PDF format, 7.2 MB).
http://planetary.org/blog/article/00001400/

Thanks for the link.- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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==============================================================
If anyone is interested in the Pioneer Anomaly paper that provides the information as to
where the data Slava Turyhev is using came from, you can down load the paper here.
- LRK -
http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0512121 The Study of the Pioneer Anomaly: New Data and Objectives for New Investigation Authors: Slava G. Turyshev, Viktor T. Toth, Larry R. Kellogg, Eunice. L. Lau, Kyong J. Lee(Submitted on 21 Dec 2005 (v1), last revised 6 Mar 2006 (this version, v2))
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/gr-qc/pdf/0512/0512121v2.pdf

The file on the complete APS presentation seemed to take a very, very long time to access the Amazon.com server.
http://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/misc/Pioneer-Anomaly-TPS-20080417.pdf

Nice presentation, recognize Viktor Toth's work with MDR data.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
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Phil Plait's Moon Hoax London Speech - Report

Maurizio sent me a copy of his post about seeing Phil Plait talk about the Moon Hoax.
Copied below.

There are still some that seem to think we never went to the Moon and yet scientists have been studying the materials brought back for some time.
Maybe we should just action off Moon Rocks and make some expensive Lunar Jewelry.
Hope we start bringing stuff back again and that it goes on a World Tour. :-)

Thanks for looking up with me.

And thanks even more to you who have woken me up from time to time. :-)

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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Hello Larry

Just back from attending a speech on the Moon Hoax by renowned Phil
Plait aka "The Bad Astronomer". Perhaps your reader may find it
interesting?

regards
maurizio

http://omnologos.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/phil-plaits-moon-hoax-london-speech-report/
I had the honour to attend tonight in London a speech by Phil Plait
"The Bad Astronomer" on the "Moon Hoax Hoax" (i.e. the hoax perpetrated
by those that believe the Apollo manned lunar landings were a fake).

The presentation was organized by the UK's Skeptic Magazine as part of
their Skeptics in the Pub's monhtly gathering, taking advantage of
Plait's schedule in-between his Colorado home and a visit to the Large
Hadron Collider in Geneva.

In front of a large crowd downstairs at the in Holborn, Plait chose to
wear a hat after dazzling us with an impressive hairdo (or lack
thereof).

So how to respond to people still clinging to the odd notion that NASA
has been able to pull off a multi-decadal hoax involving tens of
thousands of people, something much more difficult that actually
landing on the Moon itself? The Bad Astronomer went through familiar
questions and answers, here summarized:

(1) No stars in Moon photographs? Obviously not. Those are pictures of
bright spacesuits and a bright terrain directly hit by the Sun's rays.

(2) Shadows are not parallel, "demonstrating" multiple light sources?
First of all, multiple light sources cause multiple shadows, and there
is none of that in the Apollo pictures. Furthermore, shadows are not
parallel on Earth either: it's called perspective!!!

(3) Astronaut's suits in the dark shadows on the Moon are not black? Of
course not, they are illuminated by the surrounding, bright lunar
surface.

(4) Waving flags on the Moon? Sure, with nothing much to dampen any
vibration, that's exactly what to expect.

(5) No crater from the LEM's landing engine? Large thrust, over a
large surface, means low pressure, hence...

(6) No flames from departing LEM's upper half in Apollo 17 video?
Flames are only visible for certain types of rocket fuel. Even the
Space Shuttle's main engines produce a barely visible blue flame at
take-off.

There are two main problems with "moon hoaxers": one, as Plait pointed
out, is that they choose to tell only that part of the truth that suits
them. The second, if I may add, is that they invariably never ever
reveal what evidence would convince them to change their mind.

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

I have only one remark for the Bad Astronomer: sometimes he goes too
hard for it. All Moon-hoaxers' claims I have seen so far are already
ridiculous enough. Is it really necessary to build jokes around stuff
that is already laughable on its own?

Anyway...it's been great to meet somebody that enrolled me some time
ago as one of his minions.

Here some pictures from the evening�
[see at the bottom of Maurizio's blog. - LRK -]

Maurizio - Omnologos

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

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Moon is younger and more Earth-like than thought

Geoff Heaps in New Zealand passed my an article written last December about how one might determine the age of the Moon.

Rocks brought back by the Astronauts have been looked at by scientists and from what is seen in their composition, have made some interesting observations about how old the Moon might be.

I hope we get a chance to get a better sampling from more areas of the Moon, both near and far side.

What the poles look like will certainly be of interest as well.

- LRK - Moon is younger and more Earth-like than thought20:13 19 December 2007 NewScientist.com news service Maggie McKee
(see more below)

Thanks for looking up with me.

And thanks even more to you who have woken me up from time to time. :-)

Larry KelloggWeb 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
==============================================================
Moon is younger and more Earth-like than thought
20:13 19 December 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Maggie McKee

It's a good thing the Moon doesn't have any feelings to hurt. New research suggests it is actually 30 million years younger than anyone had thought, and that it is merely a 'chip off the old block' of Earth rather than being made up of the remnants of a Mars-sized body that slammed into Earth billions of years ago.

That violent impact was thought to have taken place 30 million years after the solar system began to condense from a disc of gas and dust 4.567 billion years ago. The event was thought to have melted the Earth, generating a magma ocean that covered the planet and allowed iron and other metals to sink to its centre, forming a core.

At the same time, the Moon was thought to have coalesced from a disc of molten debris blasted off the Earth and the Mars-sized interloper.

But new research led by Mathieu Touboul of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich suggests that picture is not so simple. The researchers base their analysis on studies of an isotope of the metal tungsten in lunar rocks.

That isotope, tungsten-182, is produced by the decay of two other elements: hafnium-182, which has a half-life of 9 million years, and tantalum-182. Tantalum-182, however, is not an intrinsic component of the Moon – it forms when energetic charged particles from space, called cosmic rays, slam into the lunar surface.

Previous estimates of the Moon's age were based on tungsten measurements that did not subtract the effect of the decay of tantalum. "It is crucial to remove all the tungsten-182 coming from the cosmic-ray production," Touboul told New Scientist. "Otherwise, the age one gets is too old."

Lengthy formation
When Touboul's team accounted for tantalum, they found that the giant impact had to have occurred at least 50 million years after the solar system began to form, and that the Moon had completed its formation within the next 10 million years – about 30 million years later than thought.

The revised timing of the impact implies the terrestrial planets, such as the Earth and Mars, took longer to build up from the collision of smaller 'planetesimals' than previously thought. "The age of the Moon is also the age of Earth because the Moon-forming giant impact was the last major event in Earth's formation," says Touboul.

Alan Brandon, a scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, US, agrees. "It may mean that Earth and Mars took at least 50 million years, and possibly hundreds of millions of years, to reach their final mass," he comments.

The researchers also found that the composition of the Moon appears identical to that of the Earth's rocky mantle, "such that a major portion of the Moon must have been from proto-Earth", Brandon told New Scientist.

Similar makeup
He says this runs counter to some computer models showing that at least 80% of the Moon is made up of material from the Mars-sized world, which is expected to have a different makeup from the Earth. "I think the Moon-forming impact models will have to be redone to try to get an explanation for why the Earth and Moon are so compositionally similar," he says.

Intriguingly, the new work suggests the Moon formed at least 16 million years after the Earth's core formed. That raises questions about how the planet's iron-rich core could have coalesced in the absence of global magma oceans produced by the Moon-forming impact.

"It could be that there were several generations of magma oceans in Earth," Brandon says. "My guess is … that the Earth probably had a magma ocean at the time the Earth's core formed," he says, adding that the giant impact may have re-melted the material millions of years later.

Journal reference: Nature (vol 450, p 1169 and 1206)

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http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7173/abs/nature06428.html
LetterNature 450, 1206-1209 (20 December 2007) doi:10.1038/nature06428; Received 12 July 2007; Accepted 24 October 2007
Late formation and prolonged differentiation of the Moon inferred from W isotopes in lunar metalsM. Touboul1, T. Kleine1, B. Bourdon1, H. Palme2 & R. Wieler1Institute for Isotope Geochemistry and Mineral Resources, Department of Earth Sciences, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 25, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland Institut für Mineralogie und Geochemie, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicherstrasse 49b, 50674 Köln, Germany Correspondence to: M. Touboul1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to M.T. (Email: touboul@erdw.ethz.ch).

The Moon is thought to have formed from debris ejected by a giant impact with the early 'proto'-Earth1 and, as a result of the high energies involved, the Moon would have melted to form a magma ocean. The timescales for formation and solidification of the Moon can be quantified by using 182Hf–182W and 146Sm–142Nd chronometry2, 3, 4, but these methods have yielded contradicting results. In earlier studies3, 5, 6, 7, 182W anomalies in lunar rocks were attributed to decay of 182Hf within the lunar mantle and were used to infer that the Moon solidified within the first 60 million years of the Solar System. However, the dominant 182W component in most lunar rocks reflects cosmogenic production mainly by neutron capture of 181Ta during cosmic-ray exposure of the lunar surface3, 7, compromising a reliable interpretation in terms of 182Hf–182W chronometry.
snip
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http://www.spacedaily.com/news/lunar-01d.html
Boulder - August 15, 2001The "giant impact" theory, first proposed in the mid-1970s to explain how the Moon formed, has received a major boost as new results demonstrate for the first time that a single impact could yield the current Earth-Moon system. Simulations performed by researchers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) show that a single impact by a Mars-sized object in the late stages of Earth's formation could account for an iron-depleted Moon and the masses and angular momentum of the Earth-Moon system
snip

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0108/15mooncreate/

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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071219-moon-collision.htmlEarth-Asteroid Collision Formed Moon Later Than ThoughtRichard A. Lovettfor National Geographic News
December 19, 2007

The moon was formed from fragments of Earth after a collision with a giant asteroid relatively late in our planet's formation, new tests of moon rocks show.

The finding upends many of the prior theories for how the moon came to be, researchers say. Scientists have long believed that the moon was formed by a collision between our planet and a Mars-size object. Computer models have shown that in this scenario 80 percent of the moon's material should have come from the asteroid, with only 20 percent from Earth.

But the new study of moon rocks collected three decades ago by Apollo astronauts, however, found that Earth and the rocks were too similar for that to be the case. Earthly Material

The most likely explanation is that the moon was formed primarily of Earthly material, the authors say. Lead author Mathieu Touboul of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich said there is another theory that may explain its formation.

snip
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071219-moon-collision_2.html
Page 2 has more information. - LRK -

snip
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http://www.psi.edu/projects/moon/moon.html
PSI's role:Two PSI senior scientists, Dr. William K. Hartmann and Dr. Donald R. Davis, were the first to suggest the leading modern hypothesis of the moon's origin, in a paper published in 1975 in the journal Icarus.
snip
-------------------------------------------------
How interesting, just finished reading Dr. Hartmann's book "Out Of The Cradle".-LRK -

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

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Out Of The Cradle - EXPLORING THE FRONTIERS BEYOND EARTH

We mentioned this 1984 book, by William K. Hartmann, Ron Miller & Pamela Lee, back in November of 2006 and having received an e-mail from Dr. Hartmann, have re-read it and looked again at the beautiful pictures.

I find it interesting to compare where folks thought we might be in the year 2000 and where we are now that it is already 2008. There were predictions that we would be running out of our natural resources. All the oil is not gone, but the price is over a $100 a barrel, so something to consider.

Events have slipped a bit but much has been accomplished. We have communication satellites, cell phones, and the Internet. We are connected and we are part of an ever growing global economy. Do you raise cattle, sugar cane or soy beans, here or over there or down under?

Going to space hasn't always matched time tables as predicted, but a lot has happened since 1984. I no longer have a job, for one. :-)

The Galileo spacecraft did finally get launched, not the way described in the book, but launched and mission completed.
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/

There is a mission to Saturn.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

We have nations with their spacecraft orbiting the Moon and more planned.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Lunar_spacecraft

Mars has several missions on going.
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

There is a mission to Pluto and to Mercury.
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

A big question that remains open is whether humans will go to all these places that writers have described and space nicks have dreamed about.

Launching humans to orbit and beyond costs a lot of money and not many will get to participate first hand.
Launching rovers and orbiters has let a lot of folks look at what they can do, so at least the dream is being kept alive.

In countries that have the resources and money to launch these kinds of missions, we aren't starving yet, and we still drive our cars, but we haven't launched humans to Mars either. Spacecraft have touched down on an asteroid but no mining started.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/missions/nearlanding_preview_010212.html

In the countries that might want other resources developed, they don't have the money and finding their next meal is more important than looking up to the Moon and Beyond.

How this all plays out in the future will probably be in the hands of the kids coming up through the educational system.
Will they have the dream?

Some have said we can't or shouldn't be thinking of sending humans to space.
I don't think it hurts to dream, and dreaming comes before drawing up plans.
As kids we dream and we aren't afraid to build things out of cardboard boxes.
Building spaceships takes a lot more money, but the dream still needs to be there.
So I say, Dare to Dream.

If you have not read "Out Of The Cradle" may I suggest you take a look at Amazon.com or
as Bill mentions, the PSI website. (although I see the "GRAND TOUR" and not "Out Of The Cradle")

There are 68 available from 1 cent plus $3.99 shipping and handling. (Soft cover) :-)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0894807706/ref=dp_olp_2
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Cradle-Exploring-Frontiers-Beyond/dp/0894807706
http://www.psi.edu/bookshop/

You might just catch the dream.

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
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==============================================================
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "William K. Hartmann" <hartmann@psi.edu>
To: lunar-update@news.altair.com
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:26:34 -0700 (MST)
Subject: Out of the Cradle
Greetings --

I was checking (on the web) the publication date of my book, Out of the Cradle, when your site turned up as the first reference. Glad to see my book was of interest to you.

That book had an interesting history. (Feel free to share this!) It didn't do nearly as well as it's companion book, Grand Tour, which is now in its third edition 25 years later, but in a way it was more a labor of love and more prescient and (sez me) maybe more important. Grand Tour is pure "science" of the solar system, a tour of the planets, but Out of the Cradle is about what humans might do in the solar system. Out of the Cradle was not only an early account of asteroid resources and solar power satellite possibilities, but one of the first (maybe the first?) to consider seriously that then-popular "Club of Rome"-style projections of Earth resources, assumed a finite-sized economic system -- the Earth; and that therefore the availability of space-based resources might change the whole picture.

I think the Club of Rome projects, viewed within that limitation, were essentiallly true. If we limit Earth's economy to Earth itself, and consider resource bases and population/lifestyle/consumption trends, it's not hard to project that serious disruptions in lifetyle and economic conditions will occur in the mid-21st century. We may be starting to see the beginnings of that. For example, for the first time, not just environmentalists but also petroleum company geologists have begun to talk about an imminent flattening of planetary petroleum production. We argued that our society will have to deal with that either in a smooth evolutionary way (if we get busy and deal with it) or with a catastrophic disruption (if we stay asleep at the switch.)

One of our points in Out of the Cradle was that the "free" 24/hour/day solar energy flow accessible in space, and the known presence of metal resources in asteroids, might start to change all that, if we can figure out a way to access and distribute those resources.

As you noted, the book is still available at Amazon, and it is also available direct from Workman Publishing in New York. We also have autogrpahed copies from the "bookstore" at our non-profit Planetary Science Institute (See www.psi.edu).

Cheers (I guess!) -- and thanks for your interest!

Bill Hartmann
Senior Scientist
Planetary Science Institute, Tucson

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What I think Bill found from post back in November of 2006. - LRK -
http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/2006/11/out-of-cradle-exploring-frontiers.html
http://news.altair.com/pipermail/lunar-update/2006-November/001095.html

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Out of the Cradle: Exploring the Frontiers Beyond Earth
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Cradle-Exploring-Frontiers-Beyond/dp/0894807706/
by William K. Hartmann, Ron Miller, Pamela Lee

Well I think I found the book I had copied pages out of that dates back to 1984.

What had caught my eye was the many paintings of scenes on the Moon
with human figures portrayed.

Since what I have here is only a black and white copy I thought I
would order the book.

I see that William K. Hartmann is an astronomer, writer, and painter.

You can see some of his works on-line.
- LRK -
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http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/
Bill Hartmann's Home Page
My creative work in the last few years has been divided among three
areas: scientific research at PSI, my paintings, and my writing. I am
currently on the imaging team of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor mission.
My paintings include astronomical scenes (used for magazines, book
covers, etc.) and my writing includes popular science books and two
recent novels. You can explore all these efforts in more detail by
clicking on the listings below

Snip
http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/planets.html

http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/painting.html
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snip

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Dr. Hartmann responded to these comments. - LRK -

snip
With the price of fuel going up every time I get gas one would think that developing resources from space would be of more interest. Copper at $4.00 a pound it creating a lot of concern for folks that get their wiring ripped off. We use to complain about the Amazon forests being cut down for cattle and now it is for soy beans to make alternate fuels. The price of corn is going up because it is being to make ethanol. (and subsidized as well)

My wife, Sangad, is Thai and so we go through a lot of rice. A 50 pound bag use to cost $17, then $22, last bag cost $30 and has been reported at $50 in the SF Bay area. In Thailand we have had complaints of high food prices because it costs more to fuel the tractors. (not so many water buffalo pulling plows)

As a kid I was thrilled with Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon and Saturday Matinees with Gene Autry. The illustrations in the Colliers magazine and books like yours gave you something to stick in your mind and wish for.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collier's_Weekly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Will_Conquer_Space_Soon%21

http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/painting.html
http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/index.html
snip
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Hi Larry,

Good old Colliers articles about the von Braun mission designs, with Bonestell's paintings! I had them when I was a kid, along with The Conquest of Space by Willy Ley and Chesley Bonestell.

I had an interesting experience in during a meeting at the Huntsville NASA center. They have an archive of von Braun's papers and I found some magazines in which von Braun wrote series of articles aimed at kids, explaining principles of rocketry and space flight -- and picking them up triggered a memory that I had copies of them as a kid, too. As a result of those articles by von Braun, Ley, and others, I recall reading about, and asking my teachers around 7th grade about, parabolas, gravity, mass ratios of payload to vehicles, etc. What it really makes me wonder about is: who is producing that kind of material today. There's a tremendous number of interesting documentaries on TV, but it is mostly designed as rapid fire visual material to entertain, & it's not clear to me if much real science or technology comes across. Of course...I recognize too that in every generation there's a tendency that as one gets older, one starts complaining that "kids today" and society in general are going to wrack and ruin!

Maybe the main thing about my email and your email is that it's important to have people articulate a vision of what can be done. I think that was the main result of, for instance, Bonestell's famous cover painting on The Conquest of Space in 1949, showing that silver rocket on the moon. It's amazing when I ask among my science colleagues of that generations, and the NASA engineers who put Apollo on the moon, how many of them had that book when they were 10 or 14, and were inspired by it!

Cheers,

Bill

PS (Feel free to share above if you want to post it).
snip
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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NASA Lunar Science Institute

The NASA Lunar Science Institute is a new organization that supplements and extends existing NASA lunar science programs. Competitively selected team investigations will focus on one or more aspects of lunar science -- investigations of the Moon (including lunar samples), from the Moon, and on the Moon.

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http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/index.php?fuseaction=home.about#mission
The Mission of the NLSI and its member investigators is to advance the field of lunar science by:

1) carrying out and supporting collaborative research in lunar science, investigating the Moon itself and using the Moon as a unique platform for other investigations;

2) providing scientific and technical perspectives to NASA on its lunar research programs, including developing investigations for current and future space missions;

3) supporting development of the lunar science community and training the next generation of lunar science researchers; and

4) supporting Education and Public Outreach by providing scientific content for K-14 education programs, and communicating directly with the public.

snip

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

Well, well, I see that NASA Ames still has a role to play in our learning more about the Lunar Missions.
Will look forward to see what comes of this as we approach 2008 and the election of a new President of USA.

Hope we in the USA make sure we let the new administration know our interest in the development of space.
- LRK -

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
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==============================================================
http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/calendar.html?pid=4876
NASA Ames Lunar Science Institute Dedication Ceremony

News media are invited to interview key NASA officials and attend a dedication ceremony for the new NASA Lunar Science Institute at NASA Ames Research Center on Friday, April 11, 2008.

The NASA Lunar Science Institute is modeled after the successful NASA Astrobiology Institute, also managed by Ames, and features teams of scientists across the country collaborating in lunar science and future lunar exploration.

snip
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http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/apr/HQ_08095_LADEE.html

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
203-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Deborah Robin Croft
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-6787
dcroft@mail.arc.nasa.gov

April 9, 2008

RELEASE : 08-095

NASA Sets Sights on Lunar Dust Exploration Mission

WASHINGTON -- NASA is preparing to send a small spacecraft to the moon in 2011 to assess the lunar atmosphere and the nature of dust lofted above the surface.

Called the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), the mission will launch before the agency's moon exploration activities accelerate during the next decade. LADEE will gather detailed information about conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. A thorough understanding of these influences will help researchers understand how future exploration may shape the lunar environment and how the environment may affect future explorers.

"LADEE represents a low-cost approach to science missions, enabling faster science return and more frequent missions," said Ames Director S. Pete Worden. "These measurements will provide scientific insight into the lunar environment, and give our explorers a clearer understanding of what they'll be up against as they set up the first outpost and begin the process of settling the solar system."

LADEE is a cooperative effort with NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The total cost of the spacecraft is expected to be approximately $80 million.

Ames will manage the mission, build the spacecraft and perform mission operations. Goddard will perform environmental testing and launch vehicle integration. The mission will be established within Marshall's newly created Lunar Science Program Office. Marshall will draw upon experience gained from managing a larger suite of low-cost, small satellite missions through NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers Program.
snip

==============================================================
April 10, 2008

JD Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 08-097

NASA LAUNCHES NEW SCIENCE WEB SITE

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Science Mission Directorate has launched a new
Web site that provides enhanced and engaging information about NASA's
vast scope of scientific endeavors and achievements.

The site will provide in-depth coverage of NASA's past, present and
future science missions with features that include:

- Interactive tables and searches for Earth, heliophysics, planetary
and astrophysics missions
- Insight into dark matter and dark energy, planets around other
stars, climate change, Mars and space weather
- Resources for researchers including links to upcoming science
solicitations and opportunities
- A mapping of science questions for NASA science missions and the
data they produce
- A citizen-scientist page with access to resources that equip the
public to engage in scientific investigation
- Expanded "For Educators" and "For Kids" pages to provide access to a
broader range of resources for learning the science behind NASA
missions
- Easy-to-navigate design and an improved search engine to help find
information

Visit the new NASA science Web site at:

http://nasascience.nasa.gov
==============================================================
April 10, 2008

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Sara Hammond
University of Arizona, Tucson
520-626-1974
shammond@lpl.arizona.edu

RELEASE: 08-100

NASA SPACECRAFT FINE TUNES COURSE FOR MARS LANDING

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of
the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May
25th landing on the Red Planet.

"This is our first trajectory maneuver targeting a specific location
in the northern polar region of Mars," said Brian Portock, chief of
the Phoenix navigation team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif. The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made
last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to
intersect with Mars.

NASA has conditionally approved a landing site in a broad, flat valley
informally called "Green Valley." A final decision will be made after
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter takes additional images of the
area this month.
snip
For more information about Phoenix, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

snip
==============================================================

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

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

Virgle - Take me to Mars - April Fool - OR -

Wouldn't it be nice if it were true.
It is probably going to take popular support and companies like Virgin
and Google to help make it happen.
Just send in your 30 second YouTube clip explaining why you would like
to go live on Mars.

http://www.youtube.com/projectvirgle
http://www.google.com/virgle/opensource.html
http://groups.google.com/group/virgle/

And my Google News Alert for Mars picked up the link below and I copied
the list of stories below just to let you know there was some response.
- LRK -

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

Richard Branson dupes entire wireless industry with Google on *Mars* gag
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/02/google_branson_fly_to_mars/>
Register - London,England,UK
And the idea is to head towards *Mars* with the plan - in our lifetime,
hopefully - to actually put people on *Mars* and build a city on *Mars*.
*...*
See all stories on this topic
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/02/google_branson_fly_to_mars/>


snip
--------------------------------------------------------------

Now back to reading Arthur C. Clarke's
2001: A Space Odyssey,
2010: Odyssey Two,
2061: Odyssey Three, and
3001: The Final Odyssey

We should be able to go from Mars to Jupiter and its moon Europa, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010:_Odyssey_Two>

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>
==============================================================
Cassidy: Valley takes April Fool's jokes far too seriously
<http://www.mercurynews.com/realestatenews/ci_8779749>
San Jose Mercury News, USA - 1 hour ago
By Mike Cassidy April Fools' Day 2008 had me longing for the days of
hand buzzers, whoopie cushions and plastic flowers that shoot water. *...*

A daily dose of postings from The Chronicle's technology blog *...*
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/01/BU74VU4VL.DTL>
San Francisco Chronicle, USA - 11 hours ago
Google introduced a handful of initiatives Tuesday that draw on the
Internet search company's singular technology to "resolve the issues of
causality," *...*

Richard Branson dupes entire wireless industry with Google on Mars gag
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/02/google_branson_fly_to_mars/>
Register, UK - 14 hours ago
By Cade Metz in Las Vegas � More by this author CTIA Wireless Speaking
this morning (Tuesday) at the CTIA Wireless trade show in Las Vegas, *...*

April Fooled by Google and Virgin?
<http://time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1726938,00.html?imw=Y>
TIME - 15 hours ago
If you don't buy this joke, we'll kill this billionaire. Now, that's
satire! Now that Google has effectively conquered Earth, the
all-powerful Web giant is *...*

Google, Virgin Launch Hoax Mars Settlement
<http://www.redherring.com/Home/24065>
Red Herring, CA - 20 hours ago
by Cassimir Medford Google and Virgin Group in an April Fool's Day prank
on Tuesday launched Virgle, a joint venture that touts open-source
development to *...*

Google even raises the bar on April Fool�s Day
<http://mercextra.com/blogs/pizarro/2008/04/01/google-even-raises-the-bar-on-apr
il-fools-day/>
San Jose Mercury News, USA - 21 hours ago
Jens Hussey: If you haven�t been to Cinequest before then I highly
recommend it. The films are better than ever... Lina Broydo: Life is
really glamorous in *...*

That day of the year, again
<http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/04/02/stories/2008040251970400.htm>
Hindu Business Line, India - 22 hours ago
Chennai, April 1 How will you feel if you can get tomorrow�s news today?
Of course, with some technical help. It is called gDay and apparently is
powered by *...*

Beware of April Fools' Day jokes today
<http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/NEWS09/80401026/&imw=Y>
Detroit Free Press, United States - 23 hours ago
Keep your eyes peeled for an impending hoax, for today is the national
holiday of office pranksters. Virgle -- a joint effort between Google
and Virgin *...*

Open Sauce Software
<http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10007702o-2000469549b,00.htm?new_comment>
ZDNet UK, UK - Apr 1, 2008
Anyone who's been to BA Terminal 5 will have shown enough fortitude and
courage to earn a priority place on the open source Mars colony,
announced today by *...*

Google does April Fools': 'Custom time' and a Mars trip
<http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9907571-36.html?tag=nefd.top>
CNET News.com, CA - Apr 1, 2008
'Custom Time' in action. Darn, I wish I'd had this when I forgot to ask
my boss for some days off. As expected, Google's Gmail rolled out a fake
"custom *...*

Google and Virgin Team Up to Spell 'Virgle'
<http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/google-and-virg.html>
Wired News - Apr 1, 2008
By Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides April 01, 2008 | 8:14:45 AMCategories:
Humor, Space In about the funniest April Fools Day spoof I have seen, *...*

After Google Earth, search giant sets April 1 sights on Mars
<http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2008/04/01/after-google-earth-search-giant-sets-april-1-sights-on-mars/>
Reuters - Apr 1, 2008
Google showed how funny its plans for world domination could be by
issuing an April Fool�s invitation to establish a human colony on the
planet Mars in an *...*

Virgin and Google to put men on Mars, via Virgle
<http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/04/01/virgin_and_google_to_put_men_on_mars_via_virgle.html>
Guardian, UK - Apr 1, 2008
As Sir Richard Branson writes on the Official Google blog: "Virgle's
goal is simple: the establishment of a permanent human settlement on
Mars. *...*

Google's April fool is out of this world
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3659176.ece>
Times Online, UK - Apr 1, 2008
Google and Virgin Group this morning announced a joint-venture aimed at
creating a human settlement on Mars by 2050, in a project the two
companies called *...*

Ganksters: Google Pranks Users <http://yourtechtoday.com/?p=101>
Your Tech Today, NC - 1 hour ago
If you have visited Google or Gmail yesterday, you might have seen the
new features that Google is providing. The first is �Custom Time�. *...*

<http://www.enews20.com/news_Best_Web_Pranksters_Google_and_Virgin_06955.html>

Best Web Pranksters: Google and Virgin
<http://www.enews20.com/news_Best_Web_Pranksters_Google_and_Virgin_06955.html>
Enews 2.0, UK - 3 hours ago
By Alexandre Carst Many, including major web companies, took advantage
of April Fools� Day in 2008 as well. Several search engines, news
websites and video *...*

Google attacks! Latest prank talks up mission to Mars
<http://www.cbc.ca/technology/technology-blog/2008/04/google_attacks_latest_prank_ta.html>
CBC News, Canada - 5 hours ago
by Paul Jay, CBCNews.ca When it comes to April Fool's Day jokes, Google
remains to king, or rather, the court jester. Today the company's
elaborate prank *...*

Google/Virgin Venture Time And Space On April Fools� Day
<http://news.ebrandz.com/content/view/1814/548/>
eBrandz, India - 6 hours ago
Mountain View -- Continuing an April Fools� Day tradition, Google and
Virgin have joined in a co-venture called Virgle to settle humans on
Mars by the year *...*

April Fool's 2008: Web Roundup
<http://www.trustedreviews.com/home/news/2008/04/02/April-Fools-2008-Web-Roundup/p1>
TrustedReviews, UK - 7 hours ago
Love it or loath it, April Fool's Day has become something of a
phenomenon in Internet circles. Many of the larger sites now dedicate a
considerable amount *...*

Worst of the Day
<http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/FREE/968995871>
RCRNews.com, CO - 7 hours ago
By Mike Dano Well, April Fool�s Day came and went without much notice
during the CTIA Wireless 2008 show. I find this disheartening; the CTIA
show presents *...*

Branson and Google team up... and play the best April Fools trick
<http://techdigest.tv/2008/04/branson_and_goo.html>
Tech Digest, UK - 7 hours ago
At yesterday's CITA Wireless Trade Show, Sir Richard Branson used his
keynote to announce a prank partnership with Google, whose purpose is to
build a *...*

It's time to leave this rock
<http://www.cw.ua.edu/home/news/2008/04/02/Opinion/Its-Time.To.Leave.This.Rock-3296777.shtml>
The University of Alabama Crimson White, AL - 10 hours ago
I was planning to write this column about the Internet. As I've gone out
of my way so many times to mention, I work for a movie news Web site. *...*

Virgle Fool�s Day
<http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q208-virgle-fools-day/>
Gear Live, WA - 16 hours ago
When we saw Virgin founder Richard Branson on Craig Ferguson�s show last
night announcing his new project �Virgle� we knew it had to be an April
Fool�s Day *...*

Virgin Teams Up With Google to Form Virgle - An Effort to Colonize *...*
<http://www.gambling911.com/Virgin-Teams-Up-With-Google-Virgle-Colonize-Mars-040108.html>
Gambling911.com, FL - 18 hours ago
Want to be a Virgle pioneer? Sergey Brin and Richard Branson were
offering the opportunity all day Tuesday for the lucky few. Virgin, a
Gambling911.com *...*

Branson's Mars Mission: Prankster Or Pathfinder?
<http://www.cnbc.com/id/23904477>
CNBC, NJ - 20 hours ago
AP Is he or isn't he, that is the question. I'm talking about Sir
Richard Branson and his lofty (extraterrestrial?) goal of a manned
mission to Mars, *...*

Please Help Us Send Google To Mars
<http://io9.com/374719/please-help-us-send-google-to-mars>
io9, CA - 22 hours ago
If only today's announcement from Google and Virgin were true.
Supposedly Google and Virgin Inc. are teaming up to create Virgle, a
scheme to settle Mars by *...*

Google Tackles Time and Space on April Fools' Day
<http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0010003B3YKI>
CIO Today, CA - 22 hours ago
By Barry Levine Continuing an April Fools' Day tradition, Google offers
e-mails to the past and a co-venture with Virgin called Virgle to put
humans on Mars *...*

CTIA 2008: Richard Branson Said "Martians," Not "Marketers"
<http://www.gearlog.com/2008/04/ctia_2008_richard_branson_said.php>
Gearlog, NY - 22 hours ago
In a rambling but highly entertaining CTIA keynote address,
super-entrepreneur Richard Branson recounted the history of his more
than 300 Virgin companies, *...*

Google gets funny, too
<http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2008/04/01/google_gets_funny_too.html>
Waco Tribune Herald, TX - 23 hours ago
By Ken Sury | Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 11:58 AM Australian and British
newspapers aren�t the only ones having fun with April Fool�s Day as I
noted in a *...*

Fools at Google announce Mars settlement
<http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20080401_Prankly__Google__Branson__announce_Mars_settlement.html>
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - 23 hours ago
By Sam Wood Google, the multi-billion dollar company that dominates
cyberspace, announced today that it's extending its reach into outer
space - to Mars. *...*

Google/Virgin venture, custom time creation part of April Fool's
<http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/36730/113/>
TG Daily - 23 hours ago
By Mark Raby Mountain View (Mars) - Google and Virgin have joined up to
settle on Mars by the year 2050, Sophos can now recognize hackers based
on their *...*

Penguins can fly ... on April Fool's Day
<http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/04/01/aprilfools-day.html>
CBC Toronto, Canada - Apr 1, 2008
Plans to start a new community on Mars and video of flying penguins were
some of the hoaxes and false news stories marking the spring silliness
of April *...*

Virgle Seeks Mars Attack
<http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Virgle_Seeks_Mars_Attack_15824.html>
eFluxMedia - Apr 1, 2008
By Jane Ivory The newly formed partnership between Virgin and Google �
poetically named Virgle � seeks to expand the human race�s dominion into
outer space, *...*

Google and Virgin Announce Mars Expedition and Colony
<http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=25078>
Space Ref (press release) - Apr 1, 2008
Editor's note: Yes, I know, it is April Fool's day - but this is fun ...
so why not play along! MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and LONDON, England (April
1st, *...*

Roundup: Tech firms produce bumper crop of April Fool's tricks
<http://www.itpro.co.uk/security/news/183387/roundup-tech-firms-produce-bumper-crop-of-april-fools-tricks.html>
IT PRO, UK - Apr 1, 2008
It's been a busy and fun day in the technology sector, as Google and
Virgin lead the field of companies trying to trick us all in the spirit
of April Fool's *...*

Don't Just Join a Startup; Start Up a New Chapter for Man.
<http://www.adrants.com/2008/04/dont-just-join-a-startup-start-up-a.php>
Adrants, MA - Apr 1, 2008
Last year Google turned your love life into an algorithmically solvable
search problem. This year it's teamed up with Virgin to give us Virgle:
the *...*

Is it April 2nd Yet? Google Launches Mars, Time Travel Initiatives
<http://www.appscout.com/2008/04/is_it_april_2nd_yet_google_lau_1.php>
Appscout, NY - Apr 1, 2008
It's an odd thing when, as a company, it becomes difficult to draw the
line between your day-to-day announcements and those that you launch on
the first of *...*

Mars Needs Google
<http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/04/01/mars-needs-google>
Conde Nast Portfolio, NY - Apr 1, 2008
Google has become famous for its annual April Fool's hoaxes. This year,
the search giant has dialed the amp up to 11. Last year's pranks, it
must be said, *...*

Branson unveils plans for another new space venture: one-way *...*
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=552888&in_page_id=1770>
Daily Mail, UK - Apr 1, 2008
Not content with setting up commercial flights to space, Virgin boss Sir
Richard Branson has revealed he hopes to send people to Mars in a Noah's
Ark. The *...*

Google whacks out double April fool
<http://www.security.itproportal.com/articles/2008/04/01/google-whacks-out-double-april-fool>
ITProPortal, UK - Apr 1, 2008
As it is the case every year, Google has made two April fool
announcements with one of them actually involving a company outside
Google for the first time *...*

Virgle April Fools Day: Join Google and Virgin on mars
<http://www.product-reviews.net/2008/04/01/virgle-april-fools-day-join-google-and-virgin-on-mars/>
Product Reviews, UK - Apr 1, 2008
Both Virgin and Google are pulling their resources together in the hope
of starting up the permanent human colony on Mars; the project will be
called Virgle *...*

Project Virgle Launched by Google and Founder of Virgin Group
<http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1207034966>
Chiropractic News (press release) - Apr 1, 2008
by Michael Dorausch, DC The Founder of Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson
(one of my heros) and Google have announced Project Virgle, for the
establishment *...*

Virgle launched by Google and Virgin
<http://www.i4u.com/article15936.html>
I4U - Mar 31, 2008
Virgle, Inc., a joint venture between the Virgin Group and Google.
Virgle's goal the establishment of a permanent human settlement on Mars.
*...*

snip
==============================================================

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

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