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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.

Picture of the Week: Peek-A-Boo August 8, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, Picture of the Week, selenodesy, Selenology, Vision for Space Exploration , add a comment

That is a picture of a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mockup, with the Narrow Angle Camera being looked at by a team member identified as ‘Cathy’ (which, looking at the team’s members, is probably the Deputy Project Manager Catherine Peddie).

The LRO is the first major mission of the Vision for Space Exploration era of NASA, with an expected launch of February 27, 2009. It’s mission is largely one of documentation, with a more in-depth look at the selenology and selenodesy of the moon in preparation for the set-up of colonies there before 2030 or so. In addition to what will assuredly be lots of neat, pretty pictures, the LRO will send back valuable information about radiation, water, and other key environmental elements that may or may not be present on the moon.

Picture of the Week: A Titanic Discovery (News) July 31, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Current News, Europa, NASA, Picture of the Week, Titan , add a comment

That is a picture of a place the Moon could one day be seen as an important stepping stone to: Titan, the largest of the many moons of Saturn. Long suspected to have water, today it was announced that Titan is officially the second celestial body ever found to have stable liquid on its surface (the first being the one you’re sitting on, of course).

The lake, also officially the first non-Earthen lake ever found, is called Ontario Lacus and is comprised of liquid ethane. It shares a similar shape and size to Lake Ontario here on Earth; hence the name.

Someday, the many Titan colonists will harken back to the old days when the lunar pioneers set the stage for them. Moon colonization may seem like a blip at a point when we’ve began settling bodies with the potential of Titan and Europa.

Picture of the Week: That's No Space Station… July 11, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Malapert, Peak of Eternal Light, Picture of the Week, Shackleton , add a comment

Reversing the astute observation of Obi-Wan Kenobi, this Death Star-like image is not of a space station (of course), but of Shackleton crater near the Moon’s south pole.
Along with Malapert mountain, this is considered one of the leading candidates for the location of an initial moon colony; while it’s interior is in perpetual shadow, the rim is a Peak of Eternal Light, which is (as you can probably imagine) a solar panel’s dream, providing an ideal source of energy for a base.

Picture of the Week: Fetch, Rover July 3, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Integration, Mooncast, MoonPop, Odyssey Moon, Picture of the Week, private sector , 1 comment so far

In a little toss to WALL-E‘s opening this past week, the Picture of the Week is a mock-up of what a Google Lunar X Prize rover might end up looking like (EDIT: See comments for the full skinny, but the good folks at Odyssey Moon Ltd. note this is an actual prototype, with the photo being from their media conference about being named the first Lunar X prize team. Thank you Mr. Richards for the comment and the further details :) ). Such a rover would have to be capable of completing a ‘Mooncast‘, consisting of 360º photos, both HD and near-real time video, and transmission of specific data in order for the competing group to earn the $20 million prize. Additional $5 million prizes can be earned by coming in second and/or completing additional challenges, such as roving certain distances and surviving a frigid lunar night.

I personally find the giant model of the moon there to left of it almost as exciting as anything else. Put me in the same room as that thing, and I’d be all over it.

Picture of the Week: A Model Example June 26, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Malapert, Picture of the Week , add a comment

That is a model of Malapert and the surrounding area (click for larger image), created by high school students for a project with NASA’s Tom Riley of the Goddard Space Center. Labeled on there is Mount Malapert itself (a Peak of Eternal Light, which as you can imagine is good for solar power) on the right, the South Pole below it, and to the upper left the students’ proposed spot for a settlement. The Malapert area is a leading candidate for the location of NASA’s moon base, which’ll be up and running by 2030.

Also, there’s a section rather curiously marked “The Cold and the Dark”. A quick google on that turns up a book about the aftermath of nuclear war…hmm.

Picture of the Week: Antarctiluna June 17, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Antarctica, Habitat, Picture of the Week , add a comment

As red as that is, that (of course) is not Mars but our beloved Luna, seen over Antarctica.

Antarctica and the Moon have fates that are intertwined in this era (as Modest Mouse have illustrated), as both are frontiers and similarily hostile environments. Antarctica has become known as “the closest place to Mars“, and as a result, has become a testing ground for habitats for Lunar and Martian colonization.
Within 20-50 years (when I’ll be 44-74), the population of humans on the Moon could well exceed that of those on Antarctica, which is an odd thought.

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Picture of the Week: Who Needs Video May 31, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Google Lunar X Prize, Mars, Mooncast, Phoenix lander, Picture of the Week , add a comment

The above is an animated GIF from NASA’a Phoenix Lander, brought to you from the lovely locale of Mars. A robotic arm deploying may not always the most exciting thing in the world–or, err, solar system?–, but coming straight from another planet, it’s pretty neat. (For a bunch more images from the lander, see here).

Part of the Google Lunar X Prize requirements for a qualifying victory are to send back images and data (including HD video) from the Moon; what they call a “Mooncast“.

“MOONCAST: The Mooncast consists of digital data that must be collected and transmitted to the Earth composed of the following:
• High resolution 360º panoramic photographs taken on the surface of the Moon;
• Self portraits of the rover taken on the surface of the Moon;
• Near-real time videos showing the craft’s journey along the lunar surface;
• High Definition (HD) video;
• Transmission of a cached set of data, loaded on the craft before launch (e.g. first email from the Moon).
Teams will be required to send a Mooncast detailing their arrival on the lunar surface, and a second Mooncast that provides imagery and video of their journey roaming the lunar surface. All told, the Mooncasts will represent approximately a Gigabyte of stunning content returned to the Earth.”

I note that they actually require a self-portrait of the rover in all of that. So, little things like that GIF above are going to be big things for many folks in the coming years :)

Picture of the Week: Rock Bottom May 17, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Apollo, Mare Tranquillitatis, NASA, Picture of the Week , add a comment


The above is a small crater near the Apollo 11 landing site on Mare Tranquilitatis. I find this picture to be, I guess ironically, Earth-y in an interesting way: more than many moon surface pictures I’ve seen, I can almost feel like what it’d be to scramble around on that incline. That sky is beautiful; I’m wondering what that little faded streak of blue at the top is…

You can find more pictures from Apollo 11 here, straight from NASA.

Picture of the Week: луна основа May 9, 2008

Posted by Nick Azer in : Picture of the Week, Russia , add a comment

‘луна основа’ (or is it основа луна? My current knowledge of Russian grammar and diction is nonexistent, despite my ethnic roots) translates roughly to “moon base”, and not so roughly to a goal of modern Russia.

The above is a picture of the Moon above St. Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург). Yesterday, Russia (in theory) swore a new President into office, Dmitry Medvedev ( Дмитрий Медведев; that’s straight off Wikipedia, so that’s gotta be correct, right? :) ); a quick search turned up nothing on his record in relation to Russia’s moon base aspirations, but considering his relationship with Putin and the relatively recent announcement (August 31st, 2007) of the country’s official plans for a base by ~2032, things probably won’t change much. Though, dramatic moon missions always make for good PR, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Medvedev follow in Bush’s footsteps and have a large step forward in Russia’s moon efforts as an early kickstart to his term.