* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Blobrana · L

LRO's LAMP ultraviolet spectrograph observes LCROSS blast, detects surprising gases in impact plume

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and its sophisticated suite of instruments have determined that hydrogen, mercury and other volatile substances are present in permanently shaded soils on the Moon, according to a paper published today in Science.
The Lunar Crater Remote Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which launched with LRO, was intentionally crashed onto the Moon's surface Oct. 9, 2009, while LRO instruments watched. About 90 seconds after LCROSS hit the Moon, LRO flew past the debris plume raised by the impact, while the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) and other instruments collected data. Using these data, LAMP team members eventually confirmed the presence of the gases molecular hydrogen, carbon monoxide and atomic mercury, along with smaller amounts of calcium and magnesium, also in gas form.
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Blobrana · L

NASA Missions Uncover The Moon's Buried Treasures

Nearly a year after announcing the discovery of water molecules on the moon, scientists Thursday revealed new data uncovered by NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO.
The missions found evidence that the lunar soil within shadowy craters is rich in useful materials, and the moon is chemically active and has a water cycle. Scientists also confirmed the water was in the form of mostly pure ice crystals in some places. The results are featured in six papers published in the Oct. 22 issue of Science.
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Blobrana · L

Scientists who last year bombed a long-shadowed crater at the moon's south pole to examine the debris kicked up have made an unexpected discovery -- silver.
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Blobrana · L

An ambitious attempt to discover the contents of a lunar crater by crash landing a spent rocket has revealed a "treasure chest" of elements on the Moon.
Nasa last night said that its mission last year to fire a rocket into the dark shadows of the Cabeus crater near the lunar South Pole produced a plume of debris containing an astonishing array of volatile substances, including silver and enough water to fill a paddling pool.
An analysis of the chemical constituents of the plume, published in the journal Science, shows that 155kg of water ice were blown out of the crater when the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) hurled its spent rocket section into centre of Cabeus, which is in permanent shadow.
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Blobrana · L

NASA will host a media teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 21, to discuss additional findings from NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, missions.
The results will be featured in six papers published in the Oct. 22 issue of the journal Science. The journal's embargo on these results will be lifted at the start of the telecon.
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Blobrana · L

The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water.
Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.
NASA today opened a new chapter in our understanding of the moon. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moons south pole.

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Blobrana · L

"significant amounts of water"

Blobrana · L

LCROSS mission to make major announcement
When NASA's Lunar Crater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission crashed into Cabeus Crater on the moon's south pole, October 9th, the team did find water in the form of, "Ice as we know it," according to multiple sources within the agency. "It will change the way we think about the moon. It is something we want to share with the world."

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Blobrana · L

LCROSS mission conference