Direct From The Moon

I received another e-mail from Minjae Ormes (see below) with info on
an upcoming National Geographic Channel program, "Direct From The
Moon", which will air Monday, November 17, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

I looked at the video trailer and found it entertaining, even the
GEICO ad with the Gecko. :-)
Also available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp3sc6OBv38
(less the Gecko)
- LRK -

Gunjan Gupta and Larry Klaes have kept me posted on Chandrayann-1.
Here is a link to the announcement that Chandrayaan-1 is now in orbit
around the Moon.
- LRK -
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Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO)
lunar orbiter, was captured into orbit around the Moon on 8 November.
One day later, the spacecraft performed a manoeuvre that lowered the
closest point of its orbit down to 200 km from the Moon.

More at:
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMJD85KXMF_index_0.html

snip
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On Mars the Phoenix Lander mission comes to a close.
Bob passed this link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7721032.stm

And here is a NASA link.
- LRK -
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work on Red Planet

11.10.08 -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications
after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal
decline in sunshine at the robot's arctic landing site is not
providing enough sunlight for the solar arrays to collect the power
necessary to charge batteries that operate the lander's instruments.

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

I have had my head buried in books about the brain and not the best in
multitasking.
Thanks to all that have alerted me to what is happening up and out there.
- LRK -

"The Cerebral Code - Thinking A Thought In The Mosaics Of The Mind" by
William H. Calvin
http://williamcalvin.com/bk9/index.htm

Also, "How Brains Think - Evolving Intelligence, Then and Now" by
William H. Calvin
http://williamcalvin.com/bk8/

Also close to home, the Army daughter and her husband are back from
Iraq and getting situated back on base in New York.
Expect them out in December to pick up the kids and dogs.
That should relieve be of my chauffeur job and let me return to just
being retired. :-)

Thanks for looking up with me. [and for 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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Minjae Ormes to me - LRK -

Hi Larry –

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I wanted to send you a video from
Direct From The Moon, which is coming up next week as part of our
first annual Expedition Week (http://natgeotv.com/expedition). I have
also included the program description again, just so that you have
them together in one email:

Direct From the Moon – Monday, November 17, at 9 p.m. ET/PT
Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin enthralled the nation
when they became the first men to land on the moon. Nearly 40 years
later, lunar exploration has returned to the headlines as scientists
are uncovering a treasure trove of information from the moon about the
birth of our solar system. Now, high-definition video of the moon's
surface is being beamed directly back from just above the moon,
unveiling the astonishing lunar terrain in spectacular detail thanks
to Kaguya, a Japanese lunar orbiter launched in September 2007.
Custom-built to map the lunar surface and measure the moon's magnetic
and gravitational fields, Kaguya will also allow scientists to perform
pioneering analysis, setting the groundwork for future missions to the
moon and a prolonged lunar base. We also hear directly from Aldrin as
he watches breathtaking images of the moon's craters, haunting plains
and an actual "full Earth-rise." Then, NASA scientists discuss the
challenges involved and innovations under way for establishing a lunar
outpost. Direct from the Moon features images so powerful, some
scientists claim they will inspire the next generation of lunar
exploration.

Direct From the Moon Video: Humankind's first steps on the surface of the moon.
(http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/player.html?channel=1806&category=5569&title=06061_00)

Also available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp3sc6OBv38
Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a wonderful week!

Best,
Minjae

snip
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http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMJD85KXMF_index_0.html
Chandrayaan-1 now in lunar orbit

10 November 2008
Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) lunar
orbiter, was captured into orbit around the Moon on 8 November. One
day later, the spacecraft performed a manoeuvre that lowered the
closest point of its orbit down to 200 km from the Moon.

The spacecraft's liquid-fuel propelled engine was fired at 12:21 CET
(16:51 Indian Standard Time) when it was at a distance of about 500 km
from the Moon. This reduced the spacecraft's velocity, enabling the
Moon's gravitational field to capture Chandrayaan-1 into lunar orbit.
In this configuration, the orbit's point closest to the lunar surface
was at 504 km and the spacecraft circled the Moon in 11 hours.

This lunar orbit insertion manoeuvre was executed from the
Chandrayaan-1 Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking
and Command Network at Bangalore. The performance of all the systems
on board Chandrayaan-1 was registered as normal.

snip
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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20081110.html
Mars Phoenix Lander Finishes Successful Work on Red Planet - 11.10.08

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications
after operating for more than five months. As anticipated, seasonal
decline in sunshine at the robot's arctic landing site is not
providing enough sunlight for the solar arrays to collect the power
necessary to charge batteries that operate the lander's instruments.

Mission engineers last received a signal from the lander on Nov. 2.
Phoenix, in addition to shorter daylight, has encountered a dustier
sky, more clouds and colder temperatures as the northern Mars summer
approaches autumn. The mission exceeded its planned operational life
of three months to conduct and return science data.

The project team will be listening carefully during the next few weeks
to hear if Phoenix revives and phones home. However, engineers now
believe that is unlikely because of the worsening weather conditions
on Mars. While the spacecraft's work has ended, the analysis of data
from the instruments is in its earliest stages.

"Phoenix has given us some surprises, and I'm confident we will be
pulling more gems from this trove of data for years to come," said
Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of
Arizona in Tucson.

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

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