Luna C/I: Moon Colonization and Integration

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:

Took tons of spectacular HD images and video of the Moon, including inspiring videos of Earthrises. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut, called the media “the closest thing to being there he had experienced since ‘being there’ in lunar orbit in 1972″. Check out JAXA‘s official image gallery and especially, their awesome Youtube channel for tons of
Returned data that surprisingly disproved the concept of “Peaks of Eternal Light” on the Moon. While the data showed that some polar areas still recieved sunlight as much as 89% of the time, there proved to be no areas that were always illuminated (which would have provided a year-round solar power source).
Provided important new information on the gravity map of the far side of the Moon, showing ntoable differences between the near and far sides of the Moon
Blazed a path for future Japanese operations and presence on the Moon

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'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.

Chandrayaan-1 Payload Spotlight #1: Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) November 9, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-1 Payload Features, Chang'e, European Space Agency, Indian Space Research Organization, Kaguya, Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, NASA, selenography , add a comment

Today is the first in a series of features on each of India‘s recently-launched Chandrayaan-1‘s scientific payloads.

The Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter (which just Saturday reached lunar orbit) has 11 scientific instruments onboard to complete an array of measurements: five Indian instruments, and six from other nations and organizations (including the ESA and NASA). Japan and China launched similar missions last year, but not with foreign instruments onboard.

This chart below, from the ISRO, shows what types of ‘coverage’ the payloads as a unit have:

As I cover each of the eleven payloads in individual posts over the next few weeks, I’m going to alternate between the Indian and foreign payloads.

Without further ado, here’s your spotlight on the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC).

Terrain Mapping Camera

An Indian instrument, the first payload being featured here was also the first one to be tested.

It’s mostly as it sounds: a high-resolution camera that can take black and white photographs of the lunar surface (with a 5m spatial resolution–”the ability to distinguish between two closely spaced objects on an image“–in 20km swaths[PDF] ), with the intent to map the entire topography of the moon (including the dark side and the poles) at that 5m resolution; creating the most high-resolution, detailed map of the lunar surface to date. Such maps exist of Mars, but not of the Moon.

NASA’s Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission set for next year will have similar, if more powerful, camera and mapping systems. These kinds of maps will clearly be useful for the planning stages of the eventual lunar colonies and for other efforts.

The power of the TMC could well be enough to finally settle one thing for NASA ahead of time, though: it could photograph the Apollo and other NASA craft on the Moon’s surface, hopefully putting all those conspiracy theories to rest. :)

Here’s a picture from the ISRO of the TMC itself:

And, last but not least, one of the test images the camera took of Earth (high resolution here):

For every technical detail you ever wanted to know about the TMC, see this PDF.

Check back within the next couple of days for the next feature, on one of the Chandrayaan-1′s foreign payloads, as well as for any other updates on the moon mission’s progress that may come along :)

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.

Picture of the Week: Moon Princess August 26, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, Gaia Selene, Google Lunar X Prize, Japan, Kaguya, Mooncast, Mythology, Picture of the Week , add a comment

That is an official JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) rendering of their lunar orbiter Kaguya (formerly SELENE; the new name is derived from the name of a lunar princess in the oldest surviving piece of Japanese fiction, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), which completed much of its operations (namely visual documentation, including amazing HD video of Luna’s surface, which can be viewed here) in 2007.

A main facet of the Google Lunar X Prize‘s award conditions is the completion of a ‘Mooncast‘, including HD video, from the surface of the moon, representing something of a next step forward from what JAXA’s Kaguya carried forward from Apollo.

For a remarkably thorough and neat examination of the Kaguya craft itself, see this Discovery Channel profile on it.