Fly me to the Moon - Land where? - Use what Map?

Ron Wells asked me if I knew of any documents that described the "Lunar
Ellipsoid"

Not knowing what that was sent me on a search with Google and my, my,
just where you are on the Moon might depend on what you use for your
reference as to the shape of the Moon and what mapping system you have
agreed to abide by.

It will really help to be on the same map when we decide to touch down
and set up a lunar base camp.

It is also nice to know how high the mountain is that you come over
while trying to set down in some valley. Not so much fun to strike your
landing gear on a mountain peak while looking over your shoulder
- LRK -.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be going to the Moon and taking a
lot of pictures and measurements. For those to be interpreted here back
on Earth one needs to be talking about the same coordinate system.

Just where do you paste your picture on that lunar globe?
- LRK -

Maybe you would like to be on the same page as well.
- LRK -

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http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/library/451-SCI-000958.pdf (11 page, 301 KB, PDF)
A Standardized Lunar Coordinate System for the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

LRO Project White Paper
Version 4
2008 May 14

1.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this White Paper is to provide a summary on
the planned Lunar Coordinate System that will be used for
the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission for operational
targeting,interdisciplinary science, and communication among
future and ongoing US and international lunar missions. The
same system will be used for all LRO data products archived
in the Planetary Data System (PDS).
snip
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If you find a LOT of water, just where would your shoreline be? :-)
http://www.vttoth.com/probes/moon.html

Well, maybe not that much water.
Some more in depth PDF document references below.
- 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
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
==============================================================
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?lunar_doc
Lunar Constants and Models -
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/dat/lunar_cmd_2005_jpl_d32296.pdf
Title: Lunar Constants and Models Document
Author: Ralph B. Roncoli
Date: September 23, 2005
Reference: JPL Technical Document D-32296

Summary: The primary purpose of this document is to provide a single
source for the constants and models to be used in the trajectory and
navigation design of missions whose objective is to orbit or land on the
Moon. A secondary objective is to provide the mission analyst with some
basic background information about the Moon, its orbit, and the previous
missions that have explored the Moon. As a result, this document
contains more information than the typical constants and models
document. Some of the data are required for mission studies while other
data are simply provided for "educational purposes". This document
provides only brief descriptions of the constants and models. The user
should consult the references if more detailed information is desired.
Format: PDF
Link: download here
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/dat/lunar_cmd_2005_jpl_d32296.pdf (82 page, 24.3 MB)

snip
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http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/library/02b-Lunar_Crd_Sys-Archinal.pdf (58
page, 5.5 MB)
Lunar Coordinate Systems, Frames and Geodetic Products

Brent A. Archinal
U.S. Geological SurveyFlagstaff, AZ

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Project Science Working Group Meeting
University of Hawaii Manoa Campus
2006 November 28-30

I. Systems and Frames
* Coordinate Systems and Frames
* Conventions, historical and current
* Dataset Registration

II. Past and Present Frames/Products
* Horizontal Reference Frames and Products
* Vertical Reference Frames and Products

III. Future Control and Products
* Pre (end of) LRO Frames/Products
* Post LRO Frames/Products�Recommendations & Discussion

snip
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Care to look at more references? - LRK -
Is the Moon really round, or round enough for talking about?

Take a look at Maria Zuber's publications page:
http://www-geodyn.mit.edu/mtzpub.html

and maybe this one there:

http://www-geodyn.mit.edu/hood&zuber.pdf (14 page, 4.4 MB)
Hood, L., and M.T. Zuber, Recent refinements in geophysical constraints on
lunar origin and evolution, Origin of the Earth and Moon, ed. R. Canup and
K. Righter, in press, Univ. of Ariz. Press, Tucson, 2000.

snip

The following quote is from the paper by Hood & Zuber:

---------------------------------------
The best current representation
of the shape of the Moon is shown in Fig. 1a. The
field is Goddard Lunar Topography Model-2 (GLTM-2), a
72nd degree and order spherical harmonic expansion of lunar
radii derived from the ~73,000 valid Clementine lidar
range measurements. The GLTM-2 model has an absolute
vertical accuracy of ~100 m and a spatial resolution of 2.5°
(76 km at the equator). The model shows that the Moon can
be represented as a sphere with maximum positive and negative
deviations of ~8 km, both occurring on the farside, in
the areas of the Korolev and South Pole-Aitken Basins.
---------------------------------------

==============================================================
http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/pds.html
SPICE
The Planetary Science Division's
Ancillary Information System

The Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) provides NASA
planetary flight projects and NASA funded professional planetary
researchers an information system named "SPICE" to assist scientists in
planning and interpreting scientific observations from space-borne
instruments. SPICE is also widely used in engineering tasks associated
with planetary missions.

SPICE is focused on solar system geometry. The SPICE system includes a
large suite of software, mostly in the form of subroutines, that
customers incorporate in their own application programs to read SPICE
files and to compute derived observation geometry, such as altitude,
lattitude/longitude, and lighting angles. SPICE data and software may be
used within many popular computing environments. The software is offered
in FORTRAN, C, IDL® and MATLAB®

NAIF serves as the "Navigation Node" of NASA's Planetary Data System,
archiving and providing the science community access to SPICE data from
NASA missions.

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

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Up Up and Away - No we just did that - How about Down Down let us explore our underwater world.

I watched the Shuttle Discovery, STS-124 mission, with Japan's Kibo module on board, lift off and now on its way to the ISS.
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Having watched the replays for awhile decided to check my e-mails and take a look at some of the TED Talks.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks

When you watch someone that is totally excited about what they are doing you just want to join with them.
Robert Ballard is hoping to get Middle School students EXCITED about exploring our under water resources before the get turned off to becoming scientists.

If you have ever gone to a county fair and watched the knife and slicer demo put on by someone that makes you just want to buy that thing that "slices, dices, and will chop anything' you will know how Robert Ballard comes across. I had tears in my eyes and why aren't we exploring our underwater world?
Can you take a bit of NASA vs NOAA?
- LRK -

---------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/264

Robert Ballard: Exploring the ocean's hidden worlds
Ocean explorer Robert Ballard takes us on a mindbending trip to hidden worlds underwater, where he and other researchers are finding unexpected life, resources, even new mountains. He makes a case for serious exploration and mapping. Google Ocean, anyone?

About Robert Ballard

On more than 120 deep-sea expeditions, Robert Ballard has made many major natural discoveries, such as the deep-sea vents. Oh, and he found the Titanic. Read full bio

Snip
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There are some other very interesting talks too. Hope you can find the time to enjoy some of them.
- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me. Maybe a look under in the deep depths of our oceans too.

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
==============================================================
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks

This week on TED.com, Paul Collier asks a bold question: Simply, why are poor countries poor? He's identified 4 traps that the poorest countries fall into -- and shows how it's in the whole world's interest to help them climb out, and to close the gap between rich and poor. To see what the rich-poor gap looks like on the ground, watch Dr. Seyi Oyesola's searing tour of a Nigerian hospital, all mismatched gear and low-tech hacks. Sculptor Arthur Ganson shares his elegant, thoughtful (and endearingly geeky) work, while Yves Behar talks about designing objects with soul -- like the "$100 laptop." And Robert Ballard's rousing talk on ocean exploration will leave you filled with awe at the enormous, largely unexplored world that laps at our shores.

Snip

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/264
Robert Ballard: Exploring the ocean's hidden worlds
Ocean explorer Robert Ballard takes us on a mindbending trip to hidden worlds underwater, where he and other researchers are finding unexpected life, resources, even new mountains. He makes a case for serious exploration and mapping. Google Ocean, anyone?

Snip

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/267
Arthur Ganson: Sculpture that's truly moving
Sculptor and engineer Arthur Ganson talks about his work -- kinetic art that explores deep philosophical ideas and is also gee-whiz fun to look at. A fascinating glimpse into the creative mind.

Snip

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/266
Yves Behar: Designing objects that tell stories
Designer Yves Behar digs up his creative roots to discuss some of the iconic objects he's created (the Leaf lamp, the Jawbone headset). Then he turns to the witty, surprising, elegant objects he's working on now -- including the "$100 laptop."

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

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Phoenix landed and now pictures relayed by orbiters - activities relayed by cell phone

Well watched the JPL responses to the Phoenix landing on NASA TV
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

And you folks started telling me you were watching too.
Some even by Cell Phone.  :-)
- LRK -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Fischer to me

Have a look at http://qik.com/video/86710 - a cell phone
video shot by a congressman from inside mission control.
Welcome to the 21st century ...

Dan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, we have come a long way since the scientists usually held their
data until they published their papers.

NASA Ames thought they had done real good when it only took a short
time to get an image of Jupiter constructed after Pioneer 10 flew by
back on December 3, 1973.

I thought we did good with Lunar Prospector when I got to tail the
last 5 minutes of data and send it to the Lunar Prospector web site
for display.
http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/

I wasn't allowed to put my PC on the secure work station Local Area
Network, so had to have a Micro VAX grab five minute chunks of data
and then I could copy that and play it out at the same rate it was
coming from the Moon. Go back and grab the next 5 minute chunk and
play it back. (Oops, when Lunar Prospector went out of sight behind
the Moon you got to see the same five minutes of data repeated over
and over again until it came out and we picked up real time data.
Shhhsh, don't tell anyone.)

Now look what we have.  A Congressman from Texas, wandering around at
JPL Operations with his cell phone and sending live shots of what was
going on and hobnobbing with the folks there.
http://qik.com/
http://qik.com/johnculberson
http://qik.com/video/86710


Thanks much Dan for the heads up.

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
==============================================================
http://qik.com/video/86710
JPL - Mars Landing - Live from the Control Room
By johnculberson on May 25, 2008  |  208 views
snip
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jeff_foust   Culberson still relaying video from the control room;
an unusual perspective and technical approach:
http://qik.com/johnculberson    about 2 hours ago  from twitterrific

snip
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http://qik.com/video/86763
Live from the Mars Landing
By johnculberson on May 26, 2008  |  157 views

More from johnculberson

snip
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http://qik.com/johnculberson
johnculberson
John Culberson

snip
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http://culbersonforcongress.com/

The 7th District has seen much change over the years as the city of
Houston has grown and the district lines have been redrawn as part of
redistricting.
More about the 7th District

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

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