It looks like this meeting was fruitful.
An India paper headline says 'Treaty' signed. I think a bit strong.
Quotes the San Jose Mercury News which says a deal was signed.
The NASA Release 08-190 says representatives from space agencies considering participation in
the International Lunar Network (ILN)agreed on a statement of intent as a first step in planning.
We would like to see eight landers and only have money for four, so others are welcome.
Since eight nations were represented, hopefully they will convince their powers to be that this is a good idea.
Also
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RELEASE: 08-192
NASA LUNAR SCIENCE INSTITUTE NAMES FIRST INTERNATIONAL PARTNER
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Lunar Science Institute at Moffett
Field, Calif., has announced its first international affiliate
partner for conducting lunar science activities. Canada's University
of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, will represent the Canadian
lunar science community as part of the newly established Canadian
Network for Lunar Science and Exploration.
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http://www.spaceref.com/news/
http://www.uwo.ca/ Read more.
Thanks for looking up with me.
Larry Kellogg
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/
==============================================================
July 29, 2008
Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
Dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-3937
michael.s.mewhinney@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 08-190
NASA HOSTS INTERNATIONAL MEETING FOR LUNAR SCIENCE DISCUSSIONS
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA hosted a meeting of space agencies from
nine countries last week to discuss the next steps in the ongoing
scientific exploration of the moon. The meeting laid the groundwork
for a new generation of lunar science.
Discussions, led by NASA Headquarters officials, were held at NASA's
Lunar Science Institute, located at the Ames Research Center at
Moffett Field, Calif. Representatives from space agencies in Canada,
France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the
United Kingdom, and the United States attended the meeting. During
the meeting, attendees discussed cooperation on an international
activity called the International Lunar Network (ILN). The network is
designed to gradually place 6-8 fixed or mobile science stations on
the lunar surface. The stations will form a second-generation robotic
science network to replace hardware left by the Apollo Program to
study the moon's surface and interior.
NASA plans to place its first two ILN landers on the surface of the
moon in 2013-14. The landers are being developed under the Lunar
Precursor Robotic Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Huntsville, Ala.
The ILN is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the
agency's headquarters in Washington. It was created in response to a
2007 report released by the National Research Council, which affirmed
that the moon offers "profound scientific value" and "lunar
activities apply to broad scientific and exploration concerns."
Representatives from space agencies considering participation in the
ILN agreed on a statement of intent as a first step in planning. The
statement marked an expression of interest by the agencies to study
options for participating in a series of international lunar
missions. The goal is to form a network of missions that will benefit
scientists worldwide.
"We are tremendously excited by the enthusiasm shown for the ILN and
lunar science more broadly," said Jim Green, director of the
Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. "This international
activity will greatly extend scientific knowledge of the moon in a
number of important areas."
The statement of intent does not completely define the ILN concept.
The document leaves open the possibility for near and long-term
evolution and implementation. Initially, participants intend to
establish potential landing sites, interoperable spectrum and
communications standards, and a set of scientifically equivalent core
instrumentation to carry out specific measurements.
"We are in a new era of lunar exploration," said Jim Adams, deputy
director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters.
"Scientific coordination of the international armada of missions
being sent to the moon in the next decade will greatly leverage our
scientific capabilities, and perhaps even more importantly, develop
the next generation of lunar scientists."
International participation in specific ILN activities will be
established by appropriate international agreements. Additional
participants may join in the future when they are programmatically
and financially ready. Participation in the ILN could include the
contribution of landers, orbiters, instrumentation, or other
significant infrastructure, such as ground segment elements or power
supplies for surviving the lunar night.
For more information on NASA lunar activities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
-end-
==============================
http://www.mercurynews.com/
U.S. signs deal with eight other nations in new effort to explore moon
Mercury News
In hopes of discovering clues to the origin of life on Earth, the United States and eight other nations signed a landmark agreement at NASA's Ames Research Center this week that scientists hope will lay the groundwork for a new generation of lunar exploration and science.
Unlike the all-American Apollo program, the new agreement sees a multinational fleet of robot spacecraft returning to the moon in coming years, with the maturing space programs of countries like India, Germany and South Korea playing key roles in an effort that ultimately would lead to the return of astronauts.
"It's sort of like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, like at the end of 'Casablanca,' " James Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, said at Moffett Field this week.
"Many of these countries are quite interested in the manned program. They want to provide astronauts to be the first Canadian or the first Italian or the first French man or French woman on the moon."
NASA and the eight other countries - Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Britain and France - plan to formally announce the agreement Tuesday. The multinational agreement capped a momentous week at Ames, including the largest NASA science conference purely devoted to the moon since the 1970s.
A multinational moon effort would allow NASA to share costs. The United States budgeted money for four landers, but scientists want up to eight spacecraft on the surface. Representative of the space and science agencies of the nine countries spent Thursday at Moffett Field working on a plan to launch lunar landers and orbiters, establishing a network to monitor the moon's seismic activity that would stretch from the poles to the far side.
snip==============================
http://www.rediff.com/news/
India inks treaty with US to explore the moon
July 27, 2008 10:01 IST
India, along with seven other countries, has signed a landmark agreement with the United States to carry out lunar exploration.
The agreement was signed at American space agency NASA's Ames Research Centre in Silicon Valley this week and it would be formally announced on Tuesday.
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
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