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Friday 24 May 2013

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04 Moon

This figure shows a preliminary sketch of the minimalist ascent pod with surface habitat concept packaged in a five-meter diameter payload fairing. [Larger image below] - Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Completes Lunar Lander Study for Golden Spike

Study Identifies New Minimalist Ascent Pod Lander Concept BOULDER, Colo. — The Northrop Grumman Corporation
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May 8th, 2013
Earth's atmosphere layered below image of the moon. - NASA

Why LADEE Matters

NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Relevant to Home Planet by brian day MOFFETT
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April 30th, 2013
Would orbiting a spot in empty space, 15 percent farther from home than the Apollo astronauts ventured, be too much of a stretch for NASA, or too little? One big advantage is that it could be done soon, with equipment already under construction. - Lockheed Martin

Beyond the Moon | Air & Space Magazine

The mission: Send astronauts to an empty spot in space, high above the lunar far
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March 27th, 2013
Relative positions and flight paths of the spacecraft. - NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

LRO Spacecraft Sees Birds-Eye View of GRAIL’s Explosive Impact

Impact Seen as Another Opportunity to Study Moon’s Composition GREENBELT, Md. — Many spacecraft just
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March 19th, 2013
Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) components integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. - NASA

NASA’s First Laser Communication System Integrated, Ready for Launch

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — A new NASA-developed, laser-based space communication system will enable higher rates
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March 15th, 2013
The secrets of the Moon are being unlocked. - NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Mapping the Early History of the Moon

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — For much of human history, the moon has been a familiar, yet
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March 13th, 2013
Astronaut James Irwin works at the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the Apollo 15 mission. - NASA/David R. Scott

Water in Moon Rocks Challenges Lunar Formation Theory

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Scientists have recently discovered small traces of water from samples brought
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February 25th, 2013
South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, the biggest and most ancient lunar basin. Arrow identifies the location of interesting wrinkled ridges within Aitken crater. Image width is 250 km. - NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.

NASA Scientists Develop Lunar South Pole Landing Site Database

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The NASA Lunar Science Institute’s (NLSI) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI)
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February 16th, 2013
Tim with the rocket motor that powered SpaceShipOne to the Ansari X PRIZE. - timpickens.com

Rocket Pioneer Tim Pickens Officially Joins Moon Express

Becomes Chief Propulsion Engineer for the Google Lunar X PRIZE Team MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. —
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February 14th, 2013
Illustration of integrated robotic and human surface operations during moon exploration. - Daniel D. Durda

Lunar and Planetary Institute Summer Intern Program Announced

HOUSTON, Texas — The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) has announced that applications are being
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February 6th, 2013
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richard hayes commentary temp

Commentary

The Lonely Universe: Are We All There Is?

by richard hayes

In a forthcoming article in Odyssey, I’ll be suggesting that the likelihood of extra-terrestrial intelligence may be fairly low. If you consider objectively the question of the Fermi Paradox
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Video

Al Globus – Three Paths to Space Settlement  |  Moonandback Interview

Al Globus talks about his presentation on space settlement given at Space Access 2013 in
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Artist's concept of a Bigelow Lunar Habitat. - Bigelow Aerospace

News

NASA, Bigelow To Discuss Private Sector Human Space Exploration And Development

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NASA and Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas are holding a media availability
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drilled into this rock target, "Cumberland," during the 279th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (May 19, 2013) and collected a powdered sample of material from the rock's interior. - NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Planetary

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Drills Second Rock Target

PASADENA, Calif. – NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its robotic arm
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The Red Bull Stratos team at a press conference at Hanger 7, in Salzburg, Austria on October 27, 2012. - Red Bull Stratos

News

Art Thompson and Red Bull Stratos Team Receive Safety Award

..to Receive Award on May 22nd at IAASS Conference in Montreal by merryl azriel The
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The Nanosatellite Launch Adapter System (NLAS) was developed to increase access to space while simplifying the integration process of miniature satellites, called nanosats or cubesats, onto launch vehicles. It consists of an adapter, four dispensers and a sequencer. The adapter is mounted to the lower surface of the launch vehicle and the upper deck of the primary mission spacecraft. - NASA Ames

Orbit

NASA-Built Nanosatellite Launch Adapter System Ready for Flight

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Nanosatellites now have their own mass transit to catch rides to
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Skylab as seen by astronauts after repairs to replace the lost shielding and deploy the stuck solar array. The one on the left was lost during launch, and the remaining one nearly so - NASA

News

Building a Home in Space  |  This Week In Space History

The drawing was simple, almost crude, but direct. And it would change space history. On
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mars-book-aldrin

News

Buzz Aldrin’s Mission to Mars: A Book Review

by dennis wingo I am reading the new book “Mission to Mars, My Vision for
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The pale rock in the upper center of this image, about the size of a human forearm, includes a target called "Esperance," which was inspected by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. - NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

Planetary

Opportunity Rover Examines Clay Clues in Rock

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s senior Mars rover, Opportunity, is driving to a new study area
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Video

JP Aerospace Take Thousands of Experiments to Space

This is a short version of the April 2013 PongSat Mission video. The launch, the
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On the 3,309th Martian day, or sol, of its mission on Mars (May 15, 2013) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity drove 263 feet (80 meters) southward along the western rim of Endeavour Crater. - NASA/JPL-Caltech

Planetary

Nine-Year-Old Mars Rover Passes 40-Year-Old Record

PASADENA, Calif. — While Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt visited Earth’s moon
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These polar maps show the first global, topographic mapping of Saturn's moon Titan, using data from NASA's Cassini mission. To create these maps, scientists employed a mathematical process called splining, which uses smooth curved surfaces to "join" the areas between grids of existing topography profiles obtained by Cassini's radar instrument. - NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/JHUAPL/Cornell/Weizmann

Planetary

Cassini Shapes First Global Topographic Map of Titan

LAUREL, MD. — Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn’s moon Titan,
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This set of images from cameras on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter documents the appearance of a new cluster of impact craters on Mars. The orbiter has imaged at least 248 fresh craters, or crater clusters, on Mars. - NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Univ. of Arizona

Planetary

NASA Probe Counts Space Rock Impacts on Mars

PASADENA, Calif. — Scientists using images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have estimated that the
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The Aletschglacier in Switzerland is the largest valley glacier in the Alps. Its volume loss since the middle of the 19th century is well visible from the trimlines to the right of the image. - Frank Paul, University of Zurich

Environment

NASA Helps Pinpoint Glaciers’ Role in Sea Level Rise

PASADENA, Calif. – A new study of glaciers worldwide using observations from two NASA satellites
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Video

Curiosity Rover Readies for Second Mars Drilling

This video report contains Curiosity preparing for a second drilling and a tutorial on the
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The newest ESA center, pictured above, is located in Harwell, Oxfordshire, UK. - ESA

News

The European Space Agency Opens New Center in U.K.

HARWELL, Oxford, UK — David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science, and Jean-Jacques Dordain,
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2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the Skylab, America's first space station. - NASA

News

Skylab 40th Anniversary, Part 1

by greg kennedy 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the Skylab, America’s first space station.
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The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collecting a sample from the surface of Bennu. - NASA/ASU

Planetary

NASA’s Asteroid Sample Return Mission Moves into Development

GREENBELT, MD. — NASA’s first mission to sample an asteroid is moving ahead into development
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