The Search Begins for the Next Great Lunar Landing Site

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) kicks off NASA's search for the next lunar landing site and manned mission to the moon and then to travel to Mars and beyond, supporting the extension of human presence in the solar system.

LRO will launch November 2008 with the objectives to finding safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and shake down new technology. LRO will create the most accurate and comprehensive topographic maps of the lunar surface to date, vital for pinpointing landing sites for future manned missions.

The spacecraft will be placed in low lunar polar orbit (50 km) for a 1-year mission gathering global data, such as day-night temperature maps, a global geodetic grid, high resolution color imaging and the moon's UV albedo. However there is particular emphasis on the polar regions of the moon where continuous access to solar illumination may be possible and the prospect of water in the permanently shadowed regions at the poles may exist.

LRO is scheduled for launch in 2008 on an Atlas V 401 rocket. Transfer to the Moon will take approximately four days. LRO will then enter an elliptical orbit (called the commissioning orbit) from which it will move into its final orbit. LRO's final orbit will be a circular polar orbit approximately 50 km above the Moon's surface (a little over 30 miles).LRO will spend at least one year in low polar orbit around the Moon.

LRO will carry a suite of six instruments outlined below and will scan for resources and create accurate temperature maps necessary for designing structures that can endure the extreme temperature swings caused by the lunar day/night cycle.

Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation

The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) will characterize the lunar radiation environment and determine its potential biological impacts. CRaTER will also test models of radiation effects and shielding, which may enable the development of protective technologies.

Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment

The Diviner Lunar Radiometer (DLRE) will provide orbital thermal mapping measurements, giving detailed information about surface and subsurface temperatures (identifying cold traps and potential ice deposits), as well as landing hazards such as rough terrain or rocks.

Lyman Alpha Mapping Project

The Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) will map the entire lunar surface in the far ultraviolet. LAMP will search for surface ice and frost in the polar regions and provide images of permanently shadowed regions illuminated only by starlight.

Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector

The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) will create high resolution hydrogen distribution maps and provide information about the lunar radiation environment. LEND can be used to search for evidence of water ice on the Moon's surface, and will provide space radiation environment measurements useful for future human exploration.

Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter

The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) will measure landing site slopes, lunar surface roughness, and generate a high resolution 3D map of the Moon. LOLA will also identify the Moon's permanently illuminated and permanently shadowed areas by analyzing Lunar surface elevations.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) will retrieve high resolution black and white images of the lunar surface, capturing images of the lunar poles with resolutions down to 1m, and will image the lunar surface in color and ultraviolet. These images will provide knowledge of polar illumination conditions, identify potential resources & hazards, and enable safe landing site selection.

The moon offers radio-quiet sites that do not look through a thick ionosphere, allowing the use of low-frequency radio astronomy to access a new window into the early universe. It also allows the closest location where we can begin to learn how to extract, process, and use extra-terrestrial materials, significant to sustain a human presence in space.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

Related Galaxy posts:

 

Lunar Outposts Moving Closer to Reality
Our Lunar Moon -A Rarity in the Cosmos
Japan's SELENE Captures Earth Rise at the Lunar North Pole
Moon-Base Architects Plan 1st Step in Exploring the Cosmos –A Daily Galaxy Interview
The Theia Hypothesis: New Evidence Emerges that Earth and Moon Were Once the Same
Fragments of Ancient Earth to be found on Moon

Source: http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Simulated Lunar South Pole Manned Landing

Comments

[jer35mx]

Well, the other devices are ok, but, according to the articles writed three countries are going to do maps of the moon in three years. A race has started.