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Japan Planning Robotic Moon Base for 2020! May 28, 2010

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan, robotic moon base, rover , add a comment

By way of Universe Today and Popular Science, word comes from Japanese tech outlet Node that Japan now has plans for a robotic moon base to be completed by 2020!

The ~$2.2 billion base will feature some pretty hardcore robots—including 660-pound beasts and robots that could potentially range within a 60-mile radius of the base. (For a comparison, the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are 387 pounds each, making them the largest unmanned. NASA’s manned Lunar Electric Rovers would have been 5,000 pounds with 596-mile total trips, though, so grander vehicles have been planned before).

These aren’t your mother’s rovers, either—these robots could have a degree of decision-making autonomy as they complete their tasks.

The base will be located near the lunar south pole, where plentiful sunlight makes it the prime location for solar power.

2020 sounds pretty ambitious, but if you think about it, the GoogleLunar X PRIZE has companies landing rovers by 2013/2014, so having simply more rovers together building a base isn’t all that extreme for 2020. Especially with 200 billion yen.

Popular Science brings up an interesting potential side benefit of the project:

“Even if Japan falls short of its 2020 deadline, the advances in robotics technology that could fall out of this little project could be as exciting as the moon base itself.”-  Clay Dillow, “Japan Plans a Moon Base by 2020, Built By Robots for Robots“, Popular Science

Much like NASA shifting its plans to drive industry (and the economy) at home, JAXA investing in such a major robotic project could help drive Japan’s robotic industry to new levels.

Regardless, this is an exciting project, and could well prove to be one of the major historical beachheads for colonization and mining efforts :)

JAXA's Kaguya/SELENE Mission Completed with Controlled Impact on Lunar Surface June 10, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan, Kaguya, Peak of Eternal Light, SELENE-2 , add a comment

This morning, Japan’s Kaguya (also known as SELENE) lunar orbiter (launched in September 2007) made a controlled impact with the lunar surface, ending what has been a highly successful mission.

That is a map released today of the orbiter’s impact location (near the Moon’s south pole).

A look at the some of the most significant accomplishments of the mission:

JAXA’s next mission, SELENE-2, is set to deliver a lunar rover to the surface and perform research on lunar geology and lunar base issues (surface construction, dust,  radiation, etc.).

JAXA put out a call for images of the orbiter’s impact, and other agencies such as the European Space Agency are churning out further information on the craft’s finale, so keep an eye here for more  images, video, and details as they come along over the next few days :)

Here’s an HDTV video uploaded yesterday, that’s low-altitude near the crater Zeeman, and one of the best I’ve seen so far:

Japan's Kaguya Mission Ending June 10th (This Wednesday) June 7, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan, Kaguya , add a comment

Japan‘s Kaguya lunar orbiter mission, which produced a lot of famous HD video and still images (check out the official Youtube channel for lots of the goodies, in both Japanese and English), is winding down to an end this week, with the orbiter set to impact the Moon near the south pole this Wednesday, June 10th at 10:30 am PST.

Here’s the famous 2007 HD video of an Earthrise captured by Kaguya:

Check back here on the 10th for a retrospective on the mission, and a look at what’s next for JAXA :)

New Kaguya HD Video: The Moon from 11km Up June 4, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan, Kaguya , add a comment

A new video from the Japanese lunar orbiter Kaguya‘s HD video camera has been posted, and it’s a spectacular one:

That’s the Moon from only 11km in the air. Pretty spiffy.

JAXA has a whole boatload of videos (and even their own custom channel  logo) over at their Youtube channel. More lunar HD goodness than you can shake a stick at! (At least, until the Google Lunar X PRIZE‘s Mooncasts start rolling in) :)

Japan To Have Bipedal Robots on the Moon by 2020? April 3, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan, robotics , add a comment

The cabinet-level Japanese Strategic Headquarters for Space Development has, according to an AP report, laid out a plan to have a walking robot on the Moon by 2020.

While details are thin at the moment (at least until the more detailed framework is released next month), Japan’s role in the base race has been increasing as of late–their Kaguya orbiter has made significant findings (including recently disproving the concept of a lunar “peak of eternal light”), they plan on having an astronaut on the moon by 2030, and the Japan Space Elevator Association made headlines as a leading effort.

NASA has a vaguely similar concept already in development–the Robonaut (arms and a head, but no legs):

Japan's SELENE Disproves Concept of 'Peak of Eternal Light' on the Moon March 5, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan, Kaguya, Malapert, Peak of Eternal Light, Polar ice, Shackleton, solar power , 4comments

In what seems to be a little-noticed but highly important development for lunar base planning, Japan‘s SELENE (also known as Kaguya) lunar orbiter last month determined that the concept of a ‘Peak of Eternal Light‘ at either of the lunar poles does not exist.

The possibility of a Peak of Eternal Light at one of several locations, including the rim of Shackleton Crater or on Malapert (both at the South Pole), made those locations prime candidates for early lunar bases. Having eternal sunlight is, clearly, an advantage for any outpost relying largely on solar power :) .

Some of these points at the lunar poles do have as much as 89% illumination, though, so they remain very strong locations as far as near-constant solar power.

The pessimists of the universe, though, will rejoice in knowing that permanent shadow was confirmed to exist–leading to potential water ice.

The JAXA team’s findings were published in the U.S. journal of Geophysics last month.

Japan's Kaguya Captures Eclipse From the Moon February 22, 2009

Posted by Nick Azer in : Japan , add a comment

The image at left is a penumbral lunar eclipse, captured recently by JAXA ‘s ongoing Kaguya lunar orbiter project.

Though, perhaps ‘lunar’ is the wrong word, as this was taken from the Moon of Earth. A terran eclipse?

“Penumbral” refers to the fact that it is not total, e.g. theres a bit of a corona of light there peeking out. The next total lunar eclipse is on December 21st, 2010—despite that being pretty soon, it’s amazing to think that a team concievably could have won (or at least launched for) the Google Lunar X PRIZE by then.

The Kaguya has already made its mark on history with its HDTV video of the moon–check out the new English narrations of some of their more spectacular videos, as well as their wealth of additional Japanese-language videos.

New English Narration on Japan's Spectacular HDTV Kaguya Footage February 8, 2009

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

Japan’s space agency, JAXA, has posted on one of their Youtube channels two HD videos from their Kaguya lunar orbiter’s mission, with new English narration.

The videos are not embeddable, but can be found linked below:

The Kaguya lunar orbiter (also known as SELENE) took the footage in 2007, with these new narrations posted just last week.

These videos were a significant first drop in the pond for lunar HD video—a key element of the Google Lunar X PRIZE‘s $20 million payout is successful broadcast of HD video from the surface (a “mooncast”), and HD streams and other video could become both common and in-demand within 3-6 years. JAXA’s videos are an opening act for what should be an avalanche of astounding imagery over the next decade that’ll have each of us feeling that much closer to standing on the Moon, just as everyone from Armstrong and Aldrin to Schmitt and beyond has done :)

India Launches Chandrayaan 1 Moon Mission (News) October 22, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Base Race, Bulgaria, Chandrayaan, European Space Agency, Helium-3, Indian Space Research Organization, Japan, Kaguya, Roscosmos, rover, Russia, selenography , add a comment

Today, India’s Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched it’s first lunar mission, the Chandrayaan 1.

An unmanned lunar explorer (a la Japan‘s Kaguya), the Chandrayaan-1 (which is “moon craft” in Sanskrit) is set to map lunar topography in 3D, creating (as the ISRO puts it) a “3D atlas” and notably, chemical mapping of the lunar surface.

While I haven’t found any specific references to helium-3 in any Indian or other documentation of the Chandrayaan project, that prominent “chemical mapping” goal suggests that, like Russia, China, NASA, and others, India is seriously interested in the resource potential of the Moon.

The craft is carrying scientific payloads for six other organizations (check that link for specific pages for each one), including NASA, Europe’s ESA, and Bulgaria’s Space Research Institute.

This story got some big media play in the form of a huge front-page Drudge Report splash, with a huge picture of the Moon in the place usually reserved for the likes of Obama and McCain. Here’s that spectacular image (which ran with an “INDIA TO THE MOON!” headline):

I’m a little surprised at the high-profile coverage, as this Indian mission isn’t a whole lot different than JAXA‘s, which didn’t appear to get quite the same sort of media push. I think this speaks to the sort of excitement the Base Race can generate, especially as the significant 2010-2020 decade pulls closer (and as things domestically get more and more grim in the meantime).

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is expected to last for two years, with Chandrayaan-2, a joint Indo-Russian moon rover venture, shooting for 2011.

Japan Moving Forwards on Space Elevator (News) September 22, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Current News, Integration, Japan, Space Elevator , 2comments

Up until now, the space elevator (a high-concept, low-cost alternative way of moving goods from the Earth and other planetary surfaces out of gravity fields and into space) was something that ‘could’ be done, that some were ‘thinking’ of doing, a project for ‘someone, someplace’ to take on ‘someday’.

News from the Times Online today (and subsequently hitting the legendary front page of Drudge Report) is that the Japan Space Elevator Association (official website, which is entirely in Japanese) is moving forwards on actually building a space elevator, with a conference (“JpSEC2008″) set for later this year to establish a specific timetable.

This is much sooner than I personally had anticipated; to see such concrete initiative on the concept in 2008 is a big, and really exciting, step. Though it still sounds like they’re essentially in the planning stages, to have such large media exposure for their effort/conference is a major event in its own right.

Keep an eye here at Luna C/I for updates on the JSEA’s progress as they continue to gain steam, and be sure to check out my earlier features on Space Elevators for the full skinny on the concept :)