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

Saturday, January 08, 2011

Moon's Core Much Like Earth's

Jeff sent me a link to an article in Discovery News about some recent findings about the Moon's core using data taken during those long ago Apollo missions but using new software to look at this old data.

I mentioned that it was also on the NASA News e-mail letter.
To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices.nasa.gov
- LRK -

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http://news.discovery.com/space/moon-core-formation-110107.html
Moon's Core Much Like Earth's
Earth's moon may be a chip off of the old block in more ways than one.

By Irene Klotz
Fri Jan 7, 2011 05:00 PM ET

THE GIST
  • A new look at old Apollo seismic data confirms the structure of the moon's core.
  • Like Earth, the moon has a solid inner core and a liquid outer layer. The moon also has a mushy, semi-liquid layer around that.
  • A new NASA mission due to launch this year should provide more details of how the moon evolved.
The moon may not only be a chip off the home planet. It may also have formed an Earth-like core, new research suggests, a finding that has implications for understanding the moon's history and evolution.
Using seismic analysis tools developed for probing Earth, scientists took another look at data collected by four sensors positioned on the lunar surface by NASA astronauts during the 1969-1972 Apollo moon program.
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The information contained in the NASA News can be read here.
I hope you read the whole article, especially the last few paragraphs.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jan/HQ_11-004_Moon_Core.html
RELEASE : 11-004  Jan. 6, 2011
 
NASA Research Team Reveals Moon Has Earth-Like Core
 
WASHINGTON – State-of-the-art seismological techniques applied to Apollo-era data suggest our moon has a core similar to Earth's.

Uncovering details about the lunar core is critical for developing accurate models of the moon's formation. The data sheds light on the evolution of a lunar dynamo -- a natural process by which our moon may have generated and maintained its own strong magnetic field.

The team's findings suggest the moon possesses a solid, iron-rich inner core with a radius of nearly 150 miles and a fluid, primarily liquid-iron outer core with a radius of roughly 205 miles. Where it differs from Earth is a partially molten boundary layer around the core estimated to have a radius of nearly 300 miles. The research indicates the core contains a small percentage of light elements such as sulfur, echoing new seismology research on Earth that suggests the presence of light elements -- such as sulfur and oxygen -- in a layer around our own core.

The researchers used extensive data gathered during the Apollo-era moon missions. The Apollo Passive Seismic Experiment consisted of four seismometers deployed between 1969 and 1972, which recorded continuous lunar seismic activity until late-1977.

"We applied tried and true methodologies from terrestrial seismology to this legacy data set to present the first-ever direct detection of the moon's core," said Renee Weber, lead researcher and space scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

In addition to Weber, the team consisted of scientists from Marshall; Arizona State University; the University of California at Santa Cruz; and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France. Their findings are published in the online edition of the journal Science.

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Future NASA missions will help gather more detailed data. The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, is a NASA Discovery-class mission set to launch this year. The mission consists of twin spacecraft that will enter tandem orbits around the moon for several months to measure the gravity field in unprecedented detail. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon and provide scientists a better understanding of the satellite from crust to core, revealing subsurface structures and, indirectly, its thermal history.

NASA and other space agencies have been studying concepts to establish an International Lunar Network -- a robotic set of geophysical monitoring stations on the moon -- as part of efforts to coordinate international missions during the coming decade.

For more information about NASA science exploration missions, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars

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A lot of related information.  Worth bookmarking to keep up with what is happening.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/
Moon & Mars

LRO Creates New Lunar Topographic Map

LRO is allowing researchers to create the most precise and complete map to date of the moon's complex, heavily cratered landscape.

NASA Research Team Reveals Moon Has Earth-Like Core

01.06.11 - State-of-the-art seismological techniques applied to Apollo-era data suggest our moon has a core similar to Earth's.

NASA Selects Companies for Further Lunar Demonstrations Data

12.20.10 - NASA has issued delivery orders to three companies as part of its Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data (ILDD) project.
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There are different ways to look at the Moon.  Some from analyzing radio metric data from satellites orbiting the Moon as was done with Lunar Prospector. Of course it is nice to actually use the data from the instruments as well.
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/printerready/science/newresults/index.html
- LRK

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http://www.sciencemag.org/content/281/5382/1476.full
Improved Gravity Field of the Moon from Lunar Prospector
  1. A. S. Konopliv,
  2. A. B. Binder,
  3. L. L. Hood,
  4. A. B. Kucinskas,
  5. W. L. Sjogren and
  6. J. G. Williams

Abstract

An improved gravity model from Doppler tracking of the Lunar Prospector (LP) spacecraft reveals three new large mass concentrations (mascons) on the nearside of the moon beneath the impact basins Mare Humboltianum, Mendel-Ryberg, and Schiller-Zucchius, where the latter basin has no visible mare fill. Although there is no direct measurement of the lunar farside gravity, LP partially resolves four mascons in the large farside basins of Hertzsprung, Coulomb-Sarton, Freundlich-Sharonov, and Mare Moscoviense. The center of each of these basins contains a gravity maximum relative to the surrounding basin. The improved normalized polar moment of inertia (0.3932 ± 0.0002) is consistent with an iron core with a radius of 220 to 450 kilometers.
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Nice to look at past data and find more questions to answer.
More data every day from LRO.  Maybe someone will look up and realize we haven't done all that can be done.
Start mapping out your plans for exploration.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/image_release.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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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http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_data/
Lunar Data Project

The Lunar Data Project (LDP) is an effort to take relevant, scientifically important ALSEP and other Apollo data archived at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) and put it into a digital form which can be used by researchers and mission planners. The NSSDC holds the most complete collection of these data, but much are stored on hard copy media or on magnetic tapes in old, rarely used formats, making them inaccessible to most users. The LDP will digitize the data held on microfilm, microfiche, photographic film, and hard-copy documents and will convert the magnetic tape data into standard widely-used digital formats for archive and distribution to the science and engineering communities. All these data will then be put online in a Lunar Exploration Enabling Database (LEED) in CDF (Common Data Format). LEED will provide multiple pathways and search capabilities for the data, as well as display tools. The data will also be submitted to the Planetary Data System (PDS) for validation and archiving.
NSSDC mainly distributes digital data. Effective January 1, 2007, requests for photos and non-digital data will be dealt with on a case by case basis involving the NSSDC Head. When appropriate, duplication can be initiated if all costs are recovered; this includes the potential digitization of material and posting on FTP.
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http://www.moonviews.com/
Moon Views
Providing Imagery and Data For Lunar Exploration

Figure 1: Lunar Orbiter II sub-frame 2070H2 superimposed on LROC NAC image M116154252LE.
N. G. Moss1 and T. M. Harper2, M. B. Motta3, A. Epps4
1LOIRP Project P.O. Box 375 Moffett Field, CA 94035, Neulynm-at-yahoo.com, 2 LOIRP Project P.O. Box 375 Moffett Field, CA 94035, travis.martin.harper-at-gmail.com. 3 LOIRP Project P.O. Box 375 Moffett Field, CA 94035. Mbmotta-at-yahoo.com., 4Skycorp, Building 596, NASA Ames Research Park, Moffett Field, CA 94035, Austin.epps-at-gmail.com
Submitted to 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference:
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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Friday, January 07, 2011

NASA Kicks Off 2011 Nationwide First Robotics Competition

It has been awhile since I worked at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in California but I still have some of my tee shirts from being a volunteer at the FIRST competitions.  It was a lot of fun watching the competitions and seeing the enthusiasm of the contestants.  It looks like it will be a great contest this year as well.  My best to all the students.
- LRK -
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NASA Kicks Off 2011 Nationwide First Robotics Competition
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2011/jan/HQ_11-005_FIRST_Robotics.html
RELEASE : 11-005

WASHINGTON -- An international robotics competition that develops the next generation of technology leaders kicks off this weekend. NASA, the largest sponsor of the FIRST Robotics Competition, and its centers across the nation will join local technology firms to launch the event at 10:30 a.m. EST Saturday, Jan. 8. The event at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester will air live on NASA Television.

FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is a long-standing challenge to inspire curiosity and create interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics among high school students. The event gives students the opportunity to design, build, test and compete a robot that can perform specific functions. FIRST also gives students a crucial mentoring experience with NASA professionals, who help them explore solutions to robotics problems and understand real-world challenges faced by engineers and researchers.
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FIRST Robotics Competition Kicks Off Saturday
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/news/pressrel/2011/11-001_first.html
MEDIA ADVISORY : 11-001

CLEVELAND -- NASA Television will broadcast the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition kickoff event on Saturday, Jan. 8, from 9 a.m. to noon. The broadcast will be aired at Cuyahoga Community College, Unified Technologies Center (UTC), 2415 Woodland Avenue, Cleveland.

FIRST is a program designed to help students discover how interesting and rewarding a career in engineering and science can be by giving them real world experience working with engineers to build a functioning robot in six weeks.

During the live broadcast, which originates from Manchester, N.H., Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter and founder of FIRST, will reveal this year's robotics competition for thousands of high school students across America. More than 100 students are expected to attend this year's event at UTC.
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http://www.usfirst.org/
FIRST
Watch the FRC Kickoff on January 8th LIVE courtesy of NASA
FIRST® announces the introduction of the FIRST® Green e-watt saver for FRC team fundraising
NASA Looks to FIRST® to Build the Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers
FIRST® LEGO® League Signs Three Year Sponsorship With Statoil
FIRST® Announces New Rookie Team Incentive Program
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http://robotics.nasa.gov/
2011 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff
The 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition Kick off will take place on January 8th, 2011 at 10:30AM EST. The Kickoff will be aired on NASA TV!

+ More Info on the broadcast
+ More Info on NASA TV
+ More Info on 2011 FRC Kickoff
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I hope some these future engineers and roboticists get to build robots for lunar exploration.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -

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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http://www.dc-first.org/
DC FIRST
FIRST LEGO League competition photos from the Smithsonian Institute are now on the DC-Net Facebook page #FLLhttp://on.fb.me/ab7Yf5

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http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9-12/features/first-2011-index.html
The 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition


The FIRST Robotics Competition is an exciting, nationwide competition that teams professionals and young people to solve an engineering design problem in an intense and competitive way.

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

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Moon and Mars - Videos

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