NASA rover fact sheets
Small Pressurized Rover Fact Sheet
Lunar Missions and Tests Analogs Fact Sheet
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LCROSS Finds Water on the Moon
NASA Science News, November 13, 2009
The argument that the Moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water. At a press conference today, researchers revealed data from NASA's LCROSS mission indicating that water exists in a permanently shadowed lunar crater.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/13nov_lcrossresults.htm?list981299
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Constellation Overview:
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/CxEMM_SITE/index.html
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Exploration 101:
http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/library/exploration_101.html
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Moon 101:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/moon101/
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Lunar Samples:
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/samples/
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Overview of the Working Environment:
http://www.workingonthemoon.com/WOTM-EnviroIntro.html
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Preliminary Science Reports:
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html
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Lunar Source Book:
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/store/products.cfm?prod=57&cat=8
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Water Molecules Found on the Moon
NASA Science News, September 24, 2009
Using instruments on three separate spacecraft, scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the Moon.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/24sep_moonwater.htm?list981299
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NASA Instruments Reveal Water Molecules on Lunar Surface
RELEASE: 09-222, Sept. 24, 2009
WASHINGTON -- NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small. Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, also was found in the lunar soil. The findings were published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.
NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3, instrument reported the observations. M3 was carried into space on Oct. 22, 2008, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's EPOXI spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding. The spacecraft imaging spectrometers made it possible to map lunar water more effectively than ever before.
The confirmation of elevated water molecules and hydroxyl at these concentrations in the moon's polar regions raises new questions about its origin and effect on the mineralogy of the moon. Answers to these questions will be studied and debated for years to come.
"Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This surprising finding has come about through the ingenuity, perseverance and international cooperation between NASA and the India Space Research Organization."
From its perch in lunar orbit, M3's state-of-the-art spectrometer measured light reflecting off the moon's surface at infrared wavelengths, splitting the spectral colors of the lunar surface into small enough bits to reveal a new level of detail in surface composition. When the M3 science team analyzed data from the instrument, they found the wavelengths of light being absorbed were consistent with the absorption patterns for water molecules and hydroxyl.
"For silicate bodies, such features are typically attributed to water and hydroxyl-bearing materials," said Carle Pieters, M3's principal investigator from Brown University. "When we say 'water on the moon,'we are not talking about lakes, oceans or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl that interact with molecules of rock and dust specifically in the top millimeters of the moon's surface."
The M3 team found water molecules and hydroxyl at diverse areas of the sunlit region of the moon's surface, but the water signature appeared stronger at the moon's higher latitudes. Water molecules and hydroxyl previously were suspected in data from a Cassini flyby of the moon in 1999, but the findings were not published until now.
"The data from Cassini's VIMS instrument and M3 closely agree," said Roger Clark, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist in Denver and member of both the VIMS and M3 teams. "We see both water and hydroxyl. While the abundances are not precisely known, as much as 1,000 water molecule parts-per-million could be in the lunar soil. To put that into perspective, if you harvested one ton of the top layer of the moon's surface, you could get as much as 32 ounces of water."
For additional confirmation, scientists turned to the EPOXI mission while it was flying past the moon in June 2009 on its way to a November 2010 encounter with comet Hartley 2. The spacecraft not only confirmed the VIMS and M3 findings, but also expanded on them.
"With our extended spectral range and views over the north pole, we were able to explore the distribution of both water and hydroxyl as a function of temperature, latitude, composition, and time of day," said Jessica Sunshine of the University of Maryland. Sunshine is EPOXI's deputy principal investigator and a scientist on the M3 team. "Our analysis unequivocally confirms the presence of these molecules on the moon's surface and reveals that the entire surface appears to be hydrated during at least some portion of the lunar day."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the M3 instrument, Cassini mission and EPOXI spacecraft for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Indian Space Research Organization built, launched and operated the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.
For additional information and images from the instruments, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars
For more information about the Chandrayaan-1 mission, visit: http://isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan/htmls/home.htm
For more information about the EPOXI mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/epoxi
For more information about the Cassini mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini
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The Exploration Generation Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP3eC4DMDyM
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GRAIL aims to map the moon's quirky gravity field
NASA Science News for May 22, 2008
Gravitationally speaking, the moon is a strange place. Satellites in lunar orbit feel odd, sideways tugs and sometimes end up nose down in the moondust. Astronauts standing in the middle of lunar lava seas weigh more than they do standing on the shore. A new NASA mission named GRAIL aims to map the moon's quirky gravity field and thus pave the way for future exploration.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22may_grail.htm?list981299
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100th Explosion
NASA Science News for May 21, 2008
NASA astronomers have been watching the Moon to see how often meteoroids crash into the lunar surface and they've just video-recorded their 100th explosion. This surprisingly bountiful data-set allows researchers to start drawing conclusions about when, where, and how often the Moon gets hit.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/21may_100explosions.htm?list981299
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New Radar Maps of the Moon
Feb 29, 2008
New high-resolution radar maps of the Moon's south pole reveal a fantastic land with peaks as high as Mt. McKinley and crater floors four times deeper than the Grand Canyon. NASA has used the data to create a dramatic VR movie of a moon landing from the point of view of an astronaut.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/29feb_radarmoon.htm?list981299
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Watch Out for Flying Moondust
"NASA Science News" - November 23, 2007
New research by NASA scientists shows that moondust kicked up by the jets of lunar landers can go on a fantastic journey, completely circling the Moon before settling back to the ground. This interesting phenomenon may affect the planning of lunar outposts and other activities as NASA prepares its return to the Moon.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/23nov_flyingmoondust.htm?list981299
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NASA Lunar Landing Project Office, AIAA Presentation
Houston, TX, Feb 20, 2007
Download Presentation
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Lunar Outpost Simulation Facility
Students who want to collaborate with or discuss their ideas with science and engineering students may wish to contact the international PISCES enterprise, a lunar outpost simulation facility on the Big Island of Hawaii: http://pisces.hilo.hawaii.edu/
The PISCES project is hosting a lunar outpost competition. Students and faculty advisors that participate in the PISCES project may be able to help art students ensure their concepts are in line with what could reasonably be achieved in lunar conditions.
For more information about the PISCES project and its design contest, please visit their web site at
http://pisces.uhh.hawaii.edu/competitions.php
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The Moon is a Harsh Witness
In this story, planetary geologist Paul Spudis discusses some of the mysteries of Earth that might be solved by returning to the Moon.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/26jan_harshwitness.htm?list981299
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181 Things to do on the Moon
If you woke up tomorrow morning and found yourself on the moon, what would you do? NASA has released a list of 181 good ideas.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/02feb_181.htm?list981299
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No Safe Place from Solar Storms
The ESA-NASA Ulysses spacecraft has discovered that there is no place in the inner solar system completely safe from solar radiation storms.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/22feb_nosafeplace.htm?list981299
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Moon Daily
This Drudge-style website collects news articles about the Moon from all over the world and posts them on a regular basis.
http://www.moondaily.com/
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Digital Lunar Orbiter Photographic Atlas of the Moon
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_orbiter/
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Non-Fiction Books: