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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 :)

Moon's Interior Has 100 Times More Water Than Previously Thought? June 14, 2010

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

Space.com has reported that a new study has shown that the Moon’s interior may have 100 times more water than previously thought.

The study of volcanic glass beads found during Apollo suggests that the minimum level of hydroxl—a minor element found throughout the moon—is much higher than estimated when it was first detected in 2008.

“It is gratifying to see this proof of the hydroxyl contents in lunar apatite. The concentrations are very low and, accordingly, they have been until recently nearly impossible to detect. We can now finally begin to consider the implications – and the origin – of water in the interior of the moon.” – Washington University lunar scientist Bradley Jolliff, “Research Suggests Water Content Of Moon Interior Underestimated”, NASA

While this isn’t quite as epic as other recent discoveries of water on the Moon, it’s yet another drop in the bucket towards illustrating that the Moon is not the bone-dry place it was once thought to be—and another hint that we’ve just barely begun to understand what secrets (and benefits) the Moon may hold :)

Check out the Space.com article for more of the geologic details on hydroxl and the source of this water!

LRO Image of the Week: The Rolling Stones Wish You Were Here? May 23, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, LRO Image of the Week, Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, Schmitt, selenography , add a comment

For this edition of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Image of the Week, we summit the central peak of Tsiolkovskiy– a conspicuously dark crater on the far side of the Moon.

The location of Tsiolkovskiy, via Google Moon.

The darkness, like the mare, comes from a floor that filled with lava. The unusual nature of Tsiolkovskiy led it to be considered as a landing site for Apollo 17 or the later Apollo missions that were cancelled. As no Apollo missions ended up going to the far side, that’s still a cookie left to be had—the first man to ever reach the far side of the moon. (Side note: the dark side of the moon and the far side are actually separate concepts; the Moon does rotate, just perfectly in sync with Earth, so the far side does have day and night, with the lunar night at any given time being ‘the dark side’.)

The LRO image at top shows a litany of boulders, many with trails behind them visible (rolling stones on the far side…all we need are beetles and a zeppelin-shaped craft, and we’ve got a true rock odyssey). For these locales where no man has gone before, the incredible hi-def eye of the LRO can finally take us deep into the places we longed to explore 40 years ago.

LRO Image of the Week #2: Eagle Has Landed May 7, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, hoax theories, LRO Image of the Week, Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter , add a comment

This week’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Image of the Week is perhaps the Orbiter’s most famous (already): it is an image of the Apollo 11 lunar lander (Eagle) on the surface of the moon!

This image (and others of Apollo landing sites) is a nail in the coffin of the various Apollo hoax theories still floating around out there. As long as these images (and the entire LRO mission) are not themselves hoaxes ( ;) ), this snapshot of the Eagle’s final lunar aerie serves as clear proof that we did, in fact, actually land people up there.

The module is tiny amongst the Sea—located by the long shadow it casts in the early dawn light (center of image).

For more on those long lunar shadows, check out my first LRO Image of the Week; and, be sure to check back next week for #3 :)

Orbiting Atlas #6: Oceanus Procellarum—The Ocean of Storms January 25, 2010

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Orbiting Atlas is a weekly series here  at Luna C/I looking at notable points inselenography—the geography of the Moon. Come by every Monday for an exploration of a different locale, and its potential regional significance :)

For this edition of the Orbiting Atlas, we set sail off to…

Oceanus Procellarum (The Ocean of Storms)

The destination of Apollo 12 (as pictured above), the massive Oceanus Procellarum is perhaps the largest single region on the Moon (and by far the largest non-highland region)—hence the “Ocean” label.  About 1,300+ miles from north to south and ranging from 450-600 miles wide, it’s approximately the size of Mongolia.

Being essentially a giant Mare, the mostly-flat Oceanus serves as the lunar great plains. While generally featureless, there are a few points of special interest along the eastern edge—namely, the unusually-bright crater Aristarchus, and the longest groove on the Moon, Vallis Schröteri (the intended destination of Apollo 18 before cancellation).

Aristarchus is potentially an interesting target for geologic study and/or resources, as its brightness is due to its youth and relative lack of weathering from the solar wind.

In the long run, the vast size and flatness of the Ocean of Storms could lend to both convenient helium-3 harvesting (lots of elbow-room, few obstacles, and plenty to go around?) and long-range transportation and exploration tests, perhaps providing a comparable environment to large sections of Mars.

The Apollo 12 mission provides an interesting anecdote about the weather: while taking off from Earth en route to the ‘Ocean of Storms’, their rocket was, of course, hit by lightning. :)

Check out an HD video of the Oceanus’ northwestern side taken by the Japanese orbiter Kaguya:

Orbiting Atlas #4: Mare Tranquillitatis (The Sea of Tranquility) January 4, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, hoax theories, Orbiting Atlas , 1 comment so far

Orbiting Atlas is a weekly series here  at Luna C/I looking at notable points inselenography—the geography of the Moon. Come by every Monday for an exploration of a different locale, and its potential regional signifigance :)

Today, we take a look at the finer details of the most historic location on the Moon:

Mare Tranquillitatis— The Sea of Tranquility

Located in the central-southeast of the near side of the Moon (see above), the flat Mare is, of course, the landing site of Apollo 11 (in the southwest corner; see below); but beyond that, the Mare has developed even more significance.

The tiny Apollo 11 landing site is only a small mark on the ~170,000-square-mile expanse, which is about the size of Iraq or the U.S. state of California. This helps cut off a potential conundrum: as it turns out, Mare Tranquillitatis could be one of the richest areas in all-important helium-3 on the Moon. But, considering that size, there should be plenty of room for both regolith harvesting efforts and any historical conservation. (And, by the way: the site has recently been photographed in high definition, so unless the images and orbiter that took them are also a hoax, Apollo was not a hoax :) ).

A leading Google Lunar X PRIZE team, Astrobotic, plans to explore the landing site in May 2011 with their rover.

The Mare, selenographically, has some interesting features—notably, Rupes/Dorsa (cliffs/ridges) and Rimae (fissures), but otherwise is a giant, flat plain…covered with valuable resources. Get those grazing herds of helium-3 harvesters ready! :)

Below is an HDTV video by Japan’s Kaguya orbiter, showing the Mare and the area of the Apollo 11 landing site:

Moon Colonization: An American Historical Perspective July 20, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : American History, Apollo, Frontiers, Obama , 3comments

Louisiana Purchase

On this, the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the map above demonstrates not only where America stood in 1803; in a sense, it is where America stands now.

The Apollo 11 mission is often compared to Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery. They are indeed, similar: bold scientific missions of exploration, with eventual political and economic goals in mind, mandated by a President with a dreamer’s eye and performed by a squad of mostly military hands (with important civilian assists). Incredibly dangerous, incredibly unlikely, and completed incredibly well.

Lewis and Clark’s expedition was followed, eventually, by a wave of frontier colonization that has resulted in the Union’s most populous state and also the metropolis I currently reside in (Portland, Oregon). It was the spark for generations of expansion that took America places it could hardly have even imagined.

“You’re familiar with the phrase ‘man’s reach exceeds his grasp’? It’s a lie: man’s grasp exceeds his nerve.” -David Bowie as Nikola Tesla in “The Prestige“

“Man’s reach exceeds his imagination!”- Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier, later on in “The Prestige“

Those same quotes could be applied to America, today. 40 years after Apollo 11′s own journey of discovery, America is on the verge of repeating its history: we stand at the cusp, along with other nations, of a new colonial era, the true wave of integration to follow that initial step the explorers took.

America’s government, and perhaps more importantly its companies, now have Moon settlement (and mining) within their grasp. The potential that Kennedy’s mandate—and Jefferson’s before him—spoke of now has the technology in place to be readily met, the same way that the railroads led to the true opening of the West.

The time is now; the lunar colonial era is our era, and our generation. In my mind, there’s no time to waste—the Louisiana Purchase had significant foresight, and perhaps there are decisions that could be made now, that could have similar impact on America’s role in developing this new frontier (a resource-rich swath of land being added to humanity that is nearly the size of Asia).

America was a leader in reaching the Moon, and now we can lead in developing the Moon. Mankind’s past colonial eras have done many wrongs, particularly America’s; so perhaps this is a time for us to correct our past, to take steps to lead by example in ensuring a smooth and peaceful rollout of humanity onto the Moon (mutually beneficial to everyone).

The moon is there for us; our grasp exceeds our imagination, today. Let’s see what we can do.

The Dust is Settled?: Lunar Dust 'Stickiness' Influenced By Sun's Elevation April 21, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, lunar land use planning, Lunar Surface Systems Workshop, NASA , add a comment

A new study of old dusted-off data has shown that lunar dust’s stickiness varies with the elevation of the sun.

75-year-old Australian scientist Brian O’Brien compiled the study by himself over a period of two years. By studying the data of the dust collection on various instruments and when it fell off, he determined that the sun’s rays affected the forces keeping the dust attached to the objects.

Lunar dust is quite the nuisance, and generally the greatest hazard on the Moon—causing equipment to overheat and posing a health threat to astronauts should it get inside working spaces. So, any knowledge towards solving the lunar dust issue is a huge boon to lunar planning of any variety. Check out the news release for the full skinny on O’Briens story and how he made his conclusions.

O’Brien offers a straightforward solution to the problem—a sun-proof shed to shadow lunar operations from the sun’s rays, therefore reducing the stickiness of the dust.

According to Leonard David over at the Space Coalition blog, O’Brien says that “more surprising findings from his studies are on the way”, so stay tuned…

For more on lunar dust solutions, keep an eye on my Lunar Surface Systems Workshop coverage, as several presentations from that forum offer neat concepts and scenarios for dealing with various dust issues.

New High-Quality Footage of Armstrong’s First Step March 7, 2009

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New Footage of Armstrong’s First Steps

That’s a new video of Neil Armstrong’s first step onto the Moon, which has surfaced originally from a DVD rip by the site Depleted Cranium and made its way through numerous Twitter ReTweets and blogs of all kinds across the internet.

The first step is at 3:53 on the video—it’s interesting to think about his first observations on the “sandy” lunar regolith, especially in the current context of the fact that helium-3 is mined largely from that very regolith.

A funny fact about that first step: Armstrong actually flubbed what he had originally intended to say.

New Contender for NASA Administrator: Ret. USAF Gen. Lester L. Lyles February 10, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : African-American History, Apollo, Civil Rights, NASA, Obama, Theatre , 2comments

Despite Gen. Scott Gration having been an apparent early leader for the role of new NASA Administrator, reports have been indicating that there is a new frontrunner for the job: Retired USAF Gen. Lester L. Lyles.

Early murmurs surfaced at NASA Watch, and culminated in an article from the Wall Street Journal (with some excellent additional coverage to be found over at Space Politics).

According to the WSJ article, opposition from key Democratic leadership (including Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, an avid space supporter and congressional NASA expert, pictured above with President Obama before the November election) arose over Gen. Scott Gration’s lack of space experience.

Gen. Lyles, pictured above and at top, has a great wealth of space experience, including being a member of a 2004 Presidential commission on how to get us back to the Moon and Mars.

I recently saw an excellent play, written by Nancy Keystone, called “Apollo” (at the Portland Center Stage), about some of the societal and ethical costs of the birth of the American space program–the third part of the play exploring African-Americans, our country’s slave history, and the relation of those to the Huntsville, Alabama location of the Marshall Space Flight Center (key to Apollo development) during the 1960′s, height of both the Civil Rights Movement and the space race (with the first two parts exploring ethical considerations of the history of Nazi engineers with rocketry and NASA).

While the play currently doesn’t include anything on the recent election of President Obama (and his space dreams), I found it interesting in context that it’s, in fact, an African-American President that will be carrying the significance of space in America (both private and government) forward into bold new territory. If Lester L. Lyles were to become the NASA administrator under President Obama in this central and historical stage of mankind’s space development, this poignant shift becomes even more marked as we progress into a promising new era.

For some video of Gen. Lyles, below is a Youtube video of him recieving an Engineering award (his speech beginning at 6:00):