Blogs

Moon mission beams laser data to ESA station

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 1. November 2013 - 19:49
LADEE transmitting laser signal. Credits: NASA

[ESA Press Release - 01.11.2013]
ESA’s ground station on the island of Tenerife has received laser signals over a distance of 400 000 km from NASA’s latest Moon orbiter. The data were delivered many times faster than possible with traditional radio waves, marking a significant breakthrough in space communications.

NASA Laser Communication System Sets Record with Data Transmissions to and from Moon

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 27. October 2013 - 11:35
LADEE LLCD Operations. Credits: NASA

[NASA Press Release - 22.10.2013]
NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) has made history using a pulsed laser beam to transmit data over the 239,000 miles between the moon and Earth at a record-breaking download rate of 622 megabits per second (Mbps).

Astrobotic Unveils Lower Lunar Delivery Pricing

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 31. August 2013 - 11:52
Astrobotic's Griffin Lunar lander hardware. Credits: Astrobotic

[Astrobotic Press Release - 08.07.2013]
Astrobotic Technology Inc. has unveiled lower pricing for its lunar delivery services in its updated Payload User’s Guide released today. Now scientists, advertisers, engineers, artists, and other lunar visionaries can secure space aboard Astrobotic’s 2015 lunar mission for 30% less than previously published rates.

NASA Selects Astrobotic to Demonstrate Asteroid and Moon Landing Technology

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 31. August 2013 - 10:37
Astrobotic's Griffin Lunar lander. Credits: Astrobotic

[Astrobotic Press Release - 04.04.2013]
Last week Astrobotic successfully flew a sensor package designed to guide spacecraft safely to the surface of asteroids, moons, planets, and beyond. The flight occurred on an unmanned helicopter operated by a pilot on the ground.

NASA-Funded Scientists Detect Water on Moon's Surface that Hints at Water Below

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 27. August 2013 - 18:56
Chandrayaan-1 image of water on the Moon surface. Credits: ISRO/NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS/Brown Univ

NASA-funded lunar research has yielded evidence of water locked in mineral grains on the surface of the moon from an unknown source deep beneath the surface.

NASA Prepares for First Virginia Coast Launch to Moon

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 24. August 2013 - 23:14
LADEE approaches lunar orbit. Credits: NASA

[NASA Press Release - 22.08.2013]
In an attempt to answer prevailing questions about our moon, NASA is making final preparations to launch a probe at 11:27 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

Laser communications set for Moon mission

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 6. August 2013 - 17:58
LADEE approaches lunar orbit. Credits: NASA

[ESA Press Release - 30.07.2013]
An advanced laser system offering vastly faster data speeds is now ready for linking with spacecraft beyond our planet following a series of crucial ground tests. Later this year, ESA’s observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with a NASA Moon orbiter.

ILOA and Moon Express Unveil Worlds’ First Privately Sponsored Lunar Telescope

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 6. August 2013 - 17:16
The ILO-X Lunar Telescope. Credits: Moon Express

[ILOA Press Release - 29.05.2013]
The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), based in Hawai`i and led by American businessman and educator Steve Durst, today unveiled flight test hardware for the first private telescope that will be launched to the Moon in 2015. Designed and built under contract from ILOA by Silicon Valley-based Moon Express, Inc., the International Lunar Observatory precursor (ILO-X) will capture never before seen images of the Galaxies, Stars, Planets, Moon and Earth and be accessible to educators, researchers and the general public in a pioneering experiment to democratize access to space exploration.

NASA's Grail Mission Solves Mystery of Moon's Surface Gravity

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 30. May 2013 - 23:41
Variations in the lunar gravity field as measured by GRAIL. Credits: NASA

[NASA Press Release - 30.05.2013]
NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has uncovered the origin of massive invisible regions that make the moon's gravity uneven, a phenomenon that affects the operations of lunar-orbiting spacecraft.

Because of GRAIL's findings, spacecraft on missions to other celestial bodies can navigate with greater precision in the future.

Teams Prepare For NASA $1.5 Million Robot Challenge

Submitted by Trond Krovel on 30. May 2013 - 11:21
Artist impression of a regolith exavator. Credits: NASA

[NASA Press Release - 29.05.2013]
Eleven teams from across the country and around the globe are preparing to compete for $1.5 million during NASA's 2013 Sample Return Robot Challenge, June 5-7 at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Mass.

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