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Archived Features: July 2009 |
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LCROSS ACHIEVES EARTH-MOON ORBIT | July 1, 2009 |
 The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was
launched from Florida on June 18 as a co-manifested payload with the Lunar
Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). While LRO has already entered a 50km by 200km
orbit, LCROSS is executing the first of three eccentric orbital loops of the
Earth-Moon system, following an initial swingby of the Moon on June 23. The
new 36-day orbits will favorably position the spacecraft and its piggybacked
Centaur upper stage rocket for an impact in a permanently shadowed region of
a lunar crater near the South Pole on October 9. Until then, LRO will
provide valuable data that will inform the selection of the best crater for
the LCROSS impacts. The selection of the impact site will be made about 30
days before the event. You can follow the progress of the mission online at
http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/, or by visiting either Twitter
or Facebook.Full resolution Image credit: NASA. |
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UAV MAPS THE ARCTIC ICE SHEET | July 1, 2009 |
NASA Ames is establishing a new science field campaign in 2009 to study sea ice roughness and break-up in the Arctic and high northern latitudes. This mission, known as CASIE-09 (Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment 2009), is being conducted under the auspices of the International Polar Year (IPY), a major international scientific research effort. This is the first science campaign for the SIERRA Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) built at Ames. The aircraft and its support crew arrived today in far northern Norway, and will operate from Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. This location, at about 75 degrees north latitude, was selected because it provides access to ice with a range of thicknesses, age, and ridging characteristics within acceptable flight range of the UAV. Science flights will continue through the end of July. To follow progress of CASIE-09, visit the website http://www.espo.nasa.gov/casie/. Image Credit: NASA Ames |
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AMES HOSTS LUNAR SCIENCE FORUM | July 1, 2009 |
Ames will host the second annual Lunar Science Forum July 21-23. More than
500 attendees will hear the latest research results and plans for future
exploration of the Moon. The conference consists of invited and contributed
oral and poster presentations, together with breakout sessions to plan for
the future of lunar science. The session summaries, along with the
abstracts, list of organizers, and participants, will be included in a final
report to be posted on the NASA Lunar Science Institute website. The Forum
will be preceded by Moonfest 2009, an event open to the public on Sunday,
July 19 from 12:00 noon to 6:00pm at Ames. For details of the lunar
festival, please visit http://moonfest.arc.nasa.gov/. Note that Monday,
July 20th is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 manned lunar landing. |
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FIRST SCIENCE FLIGHT FOR SIERRA | July 16, 2009 |
 Full resolution The first science flight for the Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) unmanned aerial vehicle built at Ames has been completed over the Arctic ice sheet near the Norwegian island of Svalbard. The inaugural flight of 5.5 hours is the first in a series of flights comprising the Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment (CASIE-2009) expedition this summer. Designed to fill an important data continuity gap between orbital missions, CASIE will study sea ice roughness and break-up in the Arctic and high northern latitudes. The SIERRA aircraft carries an instrument suite consisting of a laser altimeter system, a synthetic aperture radar, three digital imaging cameras, a meteorological measurement system, and a spectrometer. James Maslanak (University of Colorado) is the Principal Investigator, with the campaign managed by the Earth Science Projects Office at Ames. Additional details can be found at http://www.espo.nasa.gov/casie/. Image credit: NASA. |
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LCROSS TAKES UNUSUAL PATH TO MOON | July 16, 2009 |
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is nearing the
completion of the first of its 36-day eccentric loops about the Earth-Moon
system. These orbits are designed to orient LCROSS for an optimal impact
trajectory in the early morning hours of October 9, while permitting the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to obtain high-resolution images that will
allow astronomers to select the impact crater. You can follow the orbital
trajectory of LCROSS by linking to http://www.facebook.com/pages/ LCROSS-Lunar-Impactor-Mission/154478180006. |
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