jump to navigation

I’m Officially Part of the MyMoon Street Team! December 30, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Luna C/I, MyMoon , add a comment

I am now officially a member of the MyMoon Street Team!

I’ll be blogging, tweeting, and representin’ on all things lunar as part of their efforts to get people really talking about the Moon.

My first blog over there has a Christmas theme to it…check it out:

Apollo 8 Found Santa on the Far Side of the Moon…but Where?

And keep an eye out for many more musings on all things Moon! I’ll post a link to each new one here at the ‘old haunt’, too :)

And don’t be shy…come join the co-Moon-ity fray over there and get some blogs out there yourself! :)

China Taking Over the Moon? Bigelow Aerospace Worried October 21, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Bigelow Aerospace, China, Frontiers , add a comment

Alan Boyle over at the awesome MSNBC Cosmic Log has a great article about China’s moon colonization presence, and how it has private space heavyweight Bigelow Aerospace concerned…

Will China Take Over The Moon?

“Is China on course to surpass the United States as the world’s space superpower and stake a claim on the moon in the next 15 years? Billionaire space executive Robert Bigelow is deeply worried about that scenario — and he says Americans need a “kick in the ass” to respond to the challenge.” -Alan Boyle, “Will China Take Over The Moon?“, Cosmic Log

The post is one of the better overviews I’ve seen on why the Moon at all, why China’s leading, and where Bigelow and other private space efforts fit into the moon colonization.

The potential tension between a private-ruled lunar future and China’s preferred UN-style moon is fascinating…and rising, as both sides get closer to serious business. To me, history shows private enterprise opens the way (the American West, for example—government was involved, but it really didn’t develop until more personal, private influence became feasible), but it’s a different world (worlds?) now.

In terms of giving the U.S. a “kick in the ass” (as Bigelow puts it), I think switching the focus from NASA to private space is intended as one—U.S. companies within our free enterprise could theoretically be a much more powerful force than U.S. government presence could ever be. The settlement of Oregon and Washington is a similar example: England was competing for it, and co-managed the territory, but the influx of American settlers tipped the region in the American direction (with England settling for modern British Columbia).

For the full range of Bigelow’s colorful opinions on the lunar situation and details on China’s status, click through to the complete article! 

Students Can Name NASA’s Twin Moon-Bound GRAIL Craft! October 10, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : GRAIL, NASA , add a comment

It’s not quite getting your name on a lunar mare or mountain, but it’s a start…

Students K-12 can now enter a contest to name two moon-bound craft!

The twin craft of NASA’s lunar gravity mission, GRAIL, currently carry the thrilling names of GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B…so, NASA has opened up this essay contest to give the mission’s craft more inspiring monikers!

So, what are you waiting for—send this to your favorite budding student and give them a headstart on signing their own John Hancock onto the Moon! :)

For similar awesomeness, see the naming of NASA’s Mars craft, Curiosity :)

When One Door Closes…? July 10, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : NASA, poll, Simon Jester , add a comment

Glass half empty, or glass half full?

Now What?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Even More Moon Water Found! Apollo 17 Orange Soil Adds Wrinkle to Moon Origin Theories May 31, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, water , add a comment

A new study of the famous orange soil from Apollo 17 shows that the Moon’s interior holds even more water than previously thought…and that our current lunar origin theories are holding a little less.

The rather chance discovery came from a look at pockets within crystals found on the lunar surface. Using new tech, researchers realized this ancient magma was as wet as Earth’s mantle—challenging how exactly the Moon formed, and where it gets its water.

This is similar, but not the same, as an earlier big water discovery involving crystals.

Over just the past couple of years,  these water discoveries have been getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger.

Here’s a quick timeline:

From mare to shining mare, the Moon has proven to have not just water, but some downright substantial sources of it…which will prove handy, for fuel, radiation shielding, and a cool drink. The Moon’s prospects as a station for mankind just keep on getting better :)

50 Years Ago Today: May 25, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Frontiers , add a comment

“The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in the race for space.

Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the industrial revolutions, the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of nuclear power, and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it–we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.”

Lockheed Accelerates NASA’s Orion—Manned Lunar Flyby in 2016? April 26, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Constellation, New NASA Heavy Lift Vehicle (HLV), Orion (craft), United Launch Alliance , 1 comment so far

In an exclusive interview with Universe Today, Lockheed Martin’s John Karas announced today that they’ve accelerated NASA’s Orion craft to a 2013 first launch—with a potential 2016 manned lunar flyby!

One of the few pieces of NASA’s Constellation program to survive it’s cancellation, the Orion is the manned vehicle slated to replace (more or less) the Space Shuttle for ventures to the ISS and elsewhere.

Orion has been planned to launch on Lockheed’s Delta IV rocket for 2013, but Congress’ recent push to have NASA develop and launch a Heavy Lift Rocket (HLV) by 2016 has presented some interesting options:

“If we have a heavy lifter, the 2016 flight with the first human crew could be a deep space mission or a lunar fly by lasting more than a week.”- John Karas, VP of Human Space Flight programs, Lockheed Martin; “Lockheed accelerates Orion to Achieve 2013 launch and potential 2016 Manned Lunar Fly-By“, Ken Kremer, UniverseToday.com

A manned lunar fly-by in 2016 is a huge development!

For comparison, the original Constellation timeline had a manned lunar fly-by in…2019. So this would actually be three years earlier than Constellation would have been! With the first 2013 Orion flight being about a year faster.

Granted, this assumes the new NASA HLV rocket stays on track, but even if the timeline’s delayed two full years, it still beats the slated Constellation mark.

As far as a lunar landing, part of this speedier timeline is related to the Altair lander having been axed with Constellation; the program’s first Orion lunar flight would have included a landing. But it’s not out of the question a lander could be developed by private space or even within NASA before long; even multiple-year delays would still put this timeline to around Constellation’s.

At this stage, it looks like NASA might end up having hardly missed a beat on its way back to the Moon. The universe takes funny turns sometimes…who knew cancelling your program got you to your destination faster? ;)

Google Lunar X PRIZE Roundup #44 April 15, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Google Lunar X Prize Roundup , 2comments

The Google Lunar X PRIZE is a $30 million competition challenging private space enterprises to land a rover on the Moon. Every two weeks, I round up the latest developments as the teams rocket forwards and upwards…


Apollo veterans are popping up left and right across the GLXP! Lots of content and some great interviews from March 15-31st, so dig right on for some of the latest developments in private space’s march to the moon…

Almost half of those were from one day—-March 31st. Phew! An epic day for GLXP goodness :) Roundup #45 should be coming along shortly (for April 1-15), so keep an eye out… :)

SpaceX Reveals New Falcon Heavy—World’s Most Powerful Rocket April 6, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : SpaceX, United Launch Alliance , add a comment

Leading private space company SpaceX has announced their newest rocket: the Falcon Heavy!

Taking aim at the United Launch Alliance‘s Delta IV, the Falcon Heavy will be not only the most powerful rocket in the world, but the most powerful since the legendary Saturn V of the Apollo missions. (That might not be for long, though, as Congress and NASA are haggling out plans for a heavy-lift rocket that could carry more.)

Set for its first launch in late 2013 or early 2014, the Falcon Heavy is designed to provide twice the carrying power of a Delta IV at “less than a third” of  the cost. SpaceX’s emphasis on its efficiency over the Delta, to me, represents something of a first salvo of direct competition within private space: one private company very specifically trying to trump the offering of another.

And SpaceX has its eyes on more than just orbit:

“‘[The Falcon Heavy's power] certainly opens up a wide range of possibilities, such as returning to the moon and conceivably going to Mars…The Falcon 9 Heavy could go much farther than low-Earth orbit.’” -Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO; “Huge Private Rocket Could Send Humans to Moon or Mars“, Clara Moskowitz, Space.com

With one Google Lunar X PRIZE team, Astrobotic, already having a ride with SpaceX lined up, SpaceX’s role as a major lunar player is starting to take shape.

And they could just be getting started…:

“SpaceX is also considering building an even more powerful rocket called a “super heavy-lift” vehicle that would have about three times the capability of a Falcon Heavy, or about 50 percent more power than the Saturn 5.” – “Huge Private Rocket Could Send Humans to Moon or Mars“, Clara Moskowitz, Space.com

It’s Luna C/I’s Third Anniversary! :) April 2, 2011

Posted by Nick Azer in : Luna C/I , add a comment

Three years ago today, I started up Luna C/I with a simple post called Magnificent Desolation.

“One small post for a blog…one giant leap for this blogger.”

Little did I know how much that would pan out. I’ve gone from a freshly-minted urban planning graduate to, now, having just started a grad certificate in web development. That little post has represented the first step on not just one, but several significant paths for me; and I’m much the better for it, with an exciting road ahead :)

As the Google Lunar X PRIZE heats up and space tourism starts breaking on the horizon, and as I pick up a whole new set of nifty skills to augment my experience, this should prove to be an awesome, interesting, and upward-and-onwards year here at Luna C/I…so strap in, keep an eye on that super Moon of ours, and get ready as the engines of the lunar frontier era take flight :)