New Focus On The Moon

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) has taken and received its first images of the Moon, kicking off the year-long mapping mission of Earth's nearest celestial neighbor. The LROC imaging system, under the watchful eyes of Arizona State University professor Mark Robison, the principal investigator, consists of two Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) to provide high-resolution black-and-white images, a Wide Angle Camera (WAC) to provide images in seven color bands over a 60-kilometer (37.28-mile) swath, and a Sequence and Compressor System (SCS) supporting data acquisition for both cameras.

NASA reports that the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which launched June 18, is performing exceptionally well and spacecraft checkout is proceeding smoothly, so smoothly in fact that LROC was given an early, but short (two orbits) opportunity Tuesday evening to measure temperatures and background values while imaging. Since LRO is in a terminator orbit, much of the area photographed was in shadows, which is actually a good situation for performing engineering checks of camera settings, according to Robinson, with ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration. Much to the delight of the LROC team, a few of the images captured dramatic views of the surface.

"Our first images were taken along the Moon's terminator – the dividing line between day and night – making us initially unsure of how they would turn out," says Robinson. "Because of the deep shadowing, subtle topography is exaggerated suggesting a craggy and inhospitable surface. In reality, the area is similar to the region where the Apollo 16 astronauts comfortably explored in 1972. Though these images are magnificent in their own right, the main message is that LROC is nearly ready to begin its mission."

LROC NAC: Two details from one of the first images

LRO was 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) above the lunar surface when the summed mode image was taken, resulting in a resolution of approximately 1.4-meters/pixel (34.4°S, 6.0°W). Incredible levels of detail are visible in these two (1000 pixel-by-1000 pixel) cutouts from the full image (2532 pixels-by-53,248 pixels). The NAC data shown has not been calibrated, and the pixel values were stretched to enhance contrast.

Along the terminator, there simply is not much light – the instrument is "photon-starved," resulting in suboptimal signal-to-noise ratios. Without summing, images taken in this circumstance would be underexposed. To compensate for low light levels, the pixels can effectively be made larger by summing adjacent pixels to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, making the image sharper, though with 2x lower resolution. At this resolution, features as small as three meters (9.8 feet) wide can be discerned.

The NAC image shows a starkly beautiful region a few kilometers east of Hell E crater, which is located on the floor of the ancient Imbrian-aged Deslandres impact structure in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium. Numerous small, secondary craters can be identified, including several small crater chains. Also identifiable are distinctive lineations made readily apparent by the extreme lighting, representing ejecta from a nearby impact. The quality of these early engineering test images gives the LROC science team confidence it can achieve its primary goals, including obtaining the data needed to support future human lunar exploration and utilization.

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NASA Tests Moon Imaging Spacecraft at Goddard

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, also known as LRO, has completed the first round of environmental testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. These tests ensure the spacecraft is prepared for its mission to collect the highest resolution images and most comprehensive geological data set ever returned from the moon, the space agency says. The objective of the mission is to map the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to the moon, which are planned to occur by 2020.

The first two tests for the orbiter were the spin test and vibration test. The spin test determines the spacecraft's center of gravity and measures characteristics of its rotation. During vibration testing, engineers checked the structural integrity of the lunar probe aboard a large, shaking table that simulated the rigorous ride the orbiter will encounter during liftoff aboard an Atlas rocket.

"It is during lift-off the spacecraft will be under the most stress," says Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at Goddard. "We want to ensure the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter can withstand the extreme conditions experienced during launch."

The next hurdle for the orbiter is approximately four days of acoustics testing during which the bagged spacecraft is placed near multistory, wall-sized speakers that simulate the noise-induced vibrations of launch. Following acoustics testing, the spacecraft will undergo a daylong test
that simulates the orbiter's separation from the rocket during launch.

In late August, the spacecraft will begin approximately five weeks of thermal vacuum testing, which duplicates the extreme hot, cold and airless conditions of space. During the test, engineers will operate the orbiter and conduct simulated flight operations while the spacecraft is subjected
to the extreme temperature cycles of the lunar environment.

By the end of 2008, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be transported to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final launch preparations. The orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a mission to impact the moon in search of water ice, are
scheduled to launch atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch window opens Feb. 27, 2009, and continues through the end of March.

The seven science instruments aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will develop highly detailed maps of the lunar surface that provide data about lunar topography, surface temperature, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition, and abundance of natural resources. Information from the robotic spacecraft will be used to select safe landing sites and
assess potential outpost locations for future human missions to the moon. The spacecraft also will provide valuable information about the lunar radiation environment, enabling the development of effective mitigation strategies for human explorers.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be in a polar orbit, unlike the Apollo missions that focused on gaining science from the area around the moon's equator. The spacecraft will spend at least a year in a low, polar orbit approximately 30 miles above the lunar surface, while the instruments work together to collect detailed information about the lunar environment.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is building and managing the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

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Moon-Bound NASA Spacecraft Passes Major Preflight Tests

Engineering teams are conducting final checkouts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, that will take a significant step forward in the search for water on the moon.

The mission's main objective is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region. A major milestone, thermal vacuum testing of the LCROSS spacecraft, was completed June 5 at the Northrop Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, Calif.

To simulate the harsh conditions of space, technicians subjected the spacecraft to 13.5 days of heating and cooling cycles during which temperatures reached as high as 230 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus 40 degrees. Previous testing for the LCROSS spacecraft included acoustic vibration tests. Those tests simulated launch conditions and checked mating
of connection points to the Atlas V rocket's Centaur upper stage and the adapter ring for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, known as LRO.

The satellite currently is undergoing final checkout tests. After all tests are complete, the LCROSS spacecraft will be prepared for delivery to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch processing and integration onto the Atlas V as a secondary payload to LRO. Both spacecraft are scheduled to launch from Kennedy late this year.

"The spacecraft steadily has taken shape since Ames delivered the science payload in January," says Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "It is a testament to the hard work, perseverance and expertise of the NASA and Northrop Grumman teams that the spacecraft has completed these critical tests ahead of
schedule."

After launch, the LCROSS spacecraft and the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage rocket will execute a fly-by of the moon and enter into an elongated Earth orbit to position the satellite for impact on a lunar pole. On final approach, the spacecraft and the Centaur will separate. The Centaur will
strike the surface of the moon, creating a debris plume that will rise above the surface. Four minutes later, LCROSS will fly through the debris plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface and creating a second debris plume. Scientists will observe both impacts from Earth to gather additional information.

LCROSS is a fast-paced, low-cost mission that is leveraging existing NASA systems, commercial-off-the-shelf components and the spacecraft design and development expertise of integration partner Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. The LCROSS and LRO missions are components of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. The program manages pathfinding robotic missions to the moon for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

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NASA Tests Lunar Robots and Spacesuits on Earthly Moonscape

Conditions on the moon will be harsher, but prototype NASA robotic vehicles braved sand storms and unprecedented temperature swings this month on sand dunes near Moses Lake,
Wash., to prepare for future lunar expeditions. Teams from seven NASA centers and several universities conducted the tests from June 2-13.

"The goal was to gain hands-on experience with specific technical challenges anticipated when humans return to the moon by 2020, begin to explore the lunar surface, and set up outposts," says Test Director Bill Bluethmann of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA's Human Robotic Systems Project, part of the agency's Exploration Technology Development Program, focused on human and robotic mobility systems for the moon, but also looked at communication and command and control systems that will connect the explorers with Earth and each other. The Moses Lake dunes provided a wide variety of soil consistencies and
terrain that allowed the team to put prototype scout robots, rovers, cargo carriers, cranes and spacesuits through tests in a harsh and changing environment.

The prototype tests will be used to inform developers of specific requirements needed in lunar surface support systems for the Constellation Program. The program is building the launch vehicles and spacecraft that will take a new generation of explorers to the moon, as well as lunar landers, habitats, life support systems, vehicles and robots to support them. A ground control team located thousands of miles away at Johnson operated the robots and coordinated the movements of the suited explorers.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., tested two K10 rovers that surveyed simulated lunar landing sites and built topographic and panoramic 3-D terrain models. One rover used a ground-penetrating radar to assess subsurface structures. The other used a 3-D scanning laser system known as LIDAR to create topographic maps. The scout robots are designed to perform highly repetitive and long-duration tasks, such as site mapping and
science reconnaissance.

"It's as close as we can get in a terrestrial environment to the lunar environment," says Brian Wilcox, principle investigator for the All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer robot, known as ATHLETE, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

JPL tested two ATHLETE cargo-moving rovers. Each rover has six legs capable of rolling or walking over extremely rough or steep terrain. This will allow robotic or human missions on the surface of the moon to load, manipulate, deposit and transport payloads to desired sites. The team includes members from Johnson, Ames, Stanford University and The Boeing Co.
of Chicago.

NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh tested an autonomous drilling rover that could be used to search for valuable resources under the lunar surface in the moon's polar regions. The team also includes members from Ames, Johnson, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the Canadian Space Agency and the Centre for Advanced Technology Inc. in Sudbury, Ontario.

Engineers from Johnson tested a crew mobility chassis prototype, or lunar truck, and advanced spacesuit designs that could be used to greatly expand the exploration range of human explorers. NASA's new concept for a lunar truck was built in less than a year with unique features that allow each of its six wheels to move independently, giving the vehicle the
ability to drive in any direction. Human drivers stood in turrets on the trucks that can pivot 360 degrees, contributing to easy steering.

To practice soil-moving techniques for the moon, Kennedy developed a bulldozing blade for the lunar truck, named the Lunar Attachment Node for Construction Excavation, or LANCE. A lightweight, composite technology such as LANCE will be used on the moon to clear landing pads and protect outposts from dust and debris generated by arriving spacecraft. The tests will help NASA evaluate the feasibility of excavating lunar soil, or regolith, for landing pads, blast protection berms, pathways, foundations and lunar operations areas.

NASA's Langley Research Center of Hampton, Va., demonstrated a lunar surface crane that could be used to lift and reposition heavy cargo, including modules used for crew quarters. The Lunar Surface Manipulator System is a lightweight lifting and precision positioning device that could give astronauts a helping hand during early outpost construction and follow-on operations. The crane can be operated autonomously, remotely or manually in backup mode, and can be reconfigured to perform different tasks. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center of Greenbelt, Md., provided lunar payload mockups that were used with the lunar crane to demonstrate payload
handling operations.

Participants in the June tests will evaluate their data and prepare for additional tests in October at another site, yet to be announced, with moon-like conditions.

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Scientists Pioneer Method for Making Giant Lunar Telescopes

Scientists working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., have concocted an
innovative recipe for giant telescope mirrors on the Moon. To make a mirror that dwarfs anything on Earth, just take a little bit of carbon, throw in some epoxy, and add lots of lunar dust.

"We could make huge telescopes on the moon relatively easily, and avoid the large expense of transporting a large mirror from Earth," says Peter Chen of NASA Goddard and the Catholic University of America, which is located in Washington, D.C. "Since most of the materials are already there in the form of dust, you don't have to bring very much stuff with you, and
that saves a ton of money."

Chen and his Goddard colleagues Douglas Rabin, Michael Van Steenberg, and Ron Oliversen are presenting their mirror-making technique in a poster at the 212th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in St. Louis, Mo.

For years, Chen had been working with carbon-fiber composite materials to produce high-quality telescope mirrors. But Chen and his colleagues decided to try an experiment. They substituted carbon nanotubes (tiny tubular structures made of pure carbon) for the carbon-fiber composites. When they mixed small amounts of carbon nanotubes and epoxies (glue-like materials) with crushed rock that has the same composition and grain size as lunar dust, they discovered to their surprise that they had created a very strong material with the consistency of concrete. This material can be used instead of glass to make mirrors.

They next applied additional layers of epoxy and spun the material at room temperature. The result was a 12-inch-wide mirror blank with the parabolic shape of a telescope mirror. All of this was achieved with minimal effort and cost.

"After that, all we needed to do was coat the mirror blank with a small amount of aluminum, and voila, we had a highly reflective telescope mirror," says Rabin. "Our method could be scaled-up on the moon, using the ubiquitous lunar dust, to create giant telescope mirrors up to 50 meters in diameter." Such an observatory would dwarf the largest optical telescope in the world right now: the 10.4-meter Gran Telescopio Canarias in the Canary Islands.

The capabilities of a 50-meter telescope on the Moon boggle the imagination, according to NASA. With a stable platform, and no atmosphere to absorb or blur starlight, the monster scope could record the spectra of extra solar terrestrial planets and detect atmospheric biomarkers such as
ozone and methane. Two or more such telescopes spanning the surface of the Moon can work together to take direct images of Earth-like planets around nearby stars and look for brightness variations that come from oceans and continents. Among many other projects, it could make detailed observations of galaxies at various distances, to see how the universe evolved.

"Constructing giant telescopes provides a strong rationale for doing astronomy from the moon," says Chen. "We could also use this on-site composite material to build habitats for the astronauts, and mirrors to collect sunlight for solar-power farms."

Chen notes that his group achieved this breakthrough with only the support of small NASA internal seed funds. The carbon nanotubes were contributed by Dan Powell, lead nanotechnologist for NASA Goddard. Several amateur astronomers made key contributions by advising and making special epoxy formulations, helping with polishing experiments, and vacuum coating the 12-inch mirror.

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NASA, India Sign Agreement For Future Cooperation

At a ceremony Friday at the Kennedy Space Center's visitor complex, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Indian Space Research Organization Chairman G. Madhavan Nair signed a framework agreement establishing the terms for future cooperation between the two agencies in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

"I am honored to sign this agreement with the India Space Research Organization," Griffin says. "This agreement will allow us to cooperate effectively on a wide range of programs of mutual interest. India has extensive space-related experience, capabilities and infrastructure, and
will continue to be a welcome partner in NASA's future space exploration activities."

According to the framework agreement, the two agencies will identify areas of mutual interest and seek to develop cooperative programs or projects in Earth and space science, exploration, human space flight and other activities. The agreement replaces a soon-to-expire agreement signed on Dec. 16, 1997, which fostered bilateral cooperation in the areas of Earth and atmospheric sciences.

In addition to a long history of cooperation in Earth science, NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization also are cooperating on India's first, mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, which will be launched later this year. NASA is providing two of the 11 instruments on the spacecraft: the moon mineralogy mapper instrument and the miniature synthetic aperture radar instrument.

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NASA's Quest to Find Water on the Moon Moves Closer to Launch

Cameras and sensors that will look for the presence of water on the moon have completed validation tests and been shipped to the manufacturer of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.

The science instruments for the satellite, which is known as LCROSS, departed NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field Calif., for the Northrop Grumman Corporation's facility in Redondo Beach, Calif. to be integrated with the spacecraft. LCROSS is scheduled to launch with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., by the end of 2008.

"The goal of the mission is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole," says Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS principal investigator at Ames. "The dentification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the moon."

In 2009, LCROSS will separate into two parts and create a pair of impacts on the permanently dark floor of one of the moon's polar craters. The spent Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V rocket will hit the moon, causing an explosion of material from the crater's surface. The instruments aboard the satellite will analyze the plume for the presence of water ice or water vapor, hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. The satellite then will fly through the plume on a collision course with the lunar surface. Both impacts will be visible to Earth and lunar-orbiting instruments.

Northrop Grumman is designing and building the spacecraft. After installing the instruments on the satellite, Northrop Grumman will test the entire spacecraft system to ensure it is flight worthy.

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Data-Driven Workforce Management Needed to Ensure NASA's Institutional Health

NASA is undergoing a fundamental mission shift that will require the agency to adopt aknowledge-based, data-driven strategy to better align its workforce, according to a National Academy of Public Administration report.

NASA is working to refocus many aeronautics and scientific programs, phase-out the Space Shuttle by 2010, and develop new vehicles to go to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This fundamental mission shift requires significant workforce changes. But, Congress has banned permanent workforce cuts at the space agency. And, NASA has sought to ensure that every field center has a place in the new programs with funding to cover existing civil servants. This has resulted in workforce misalignments.

With its heavy reliance on a multisector workforce of civil servants and contractors, NASA has an opportunity to be at the forefront of the public sector, proving that federal agencies can respond effectively to changing mission requirements, says Academy Fellow Sallyanne Harper, who chaired the panel overseeing the study. The panel has developed a package of practical tools to help NASA ensure it has the right people, in theright place, at the right time.

In its report, the panel urged NASA to realign its workforce by making maximum use of its existing human capital flexibilities and pursuing a package of new ones. It also recommended that NASA adopt a workforce management strategy to ensure a flexible, optimally sized, and appropriately skilled workforce.

Specifically, the panel called on NASA to:

• Assess field centers annually and take corrective action based on a comprehensive framework and metrics.
• Integrate acquisition and workforce planning at the highest levels of the agency.
• Use a formal decision process and metrics to determine the appropriate distribution of work between civil servants and contractors.
• Use a similar approach to determine the most appropriate type of appointment for civil service hires.
• Maximize existing authorities for recruiting and retaining the best and brightest employees, and sharing talent with other federal agencies and levels of government.
• Seek statutory and regulatory authorization for modified reduction-in-force rules, buyout changes, and limited emergency retirement reform to remedy skill imbalances.

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