Next NASA Moon Mission Completes Major Milestone

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing, which simulates the extreme hot, cold and airless conditions of space LRO will experience after launch. This milestone concludes the orbiter's environmental test program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with detailed maps of the lunar surface and increase our understanding of the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition and natural resources. Data returned to Earth from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be used to select safe landing sites, determine locations for future outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. 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 moon's environment.

The thermal vacuum testing on the spacecraft took about two months. The orbiter, which was built at Goddard, was subjected to the extreme temperature cycles of the lunar environment as engineers conducted simulated flight operations.

"We have cooked LRO, frozen it, shaken it, and blasted it with electromagnetic waves, and still it operates," says Dave Everett, LRO mission system engineer at Goddard. "We have performed more than 2,500 hours of powered testing since January, more than 600 of that in vacuum."

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

Next, the orbiter was subjected to acoustics testing. The bagged spacecraft was placed near wall-sized speakers that simulate the noise-induced vibrations of launch. Following acoustics testing, LRO underwent tests that simulated the orbiter's separation from the rocket during launch. The spacecraft also underwent electromagnetic compatibility testing to ensure internal and external electrical signals do not interfere with its critical functions.

"It was less than one year ago that LRO was a myriad collection of parts not yet delivered to our clean room," says Craig Tooley, LRO project manager at Goddard. "This truly is a significant accomplishment -- a hard earned milestone. It is a humbling and awe-inspiring experience to work with the LRO team."

LRO will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in early 2009 to be prepared for its April 24 launch aboard an Atlas V rocket. Accompanying the spacecraft will be the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, a mission that will impact the moon's surface in its search for water ice.

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

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Robotic Moon Excavation Teams Compete For NASA Prize

NASA's Regolith Excavation Challenge is scheduled for Aug. 2-3, 2008, on the campus of the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. The competition requires teams to build a roving excavator that can autonomously navigate, excavate, and transfer approximately 330 pounds of simulated lunar regolith, or lunar soil, into a collector bin within 30 minutes. The total prize purse is $750,000 with a first prize of $500,000.

NASA is looking for new ideas for excavation techniques that do not require excessively heavy machines or large amounts of power. Excavating lunar regolith will be an important part of any construction projects or processing of natural resources on the moon. The California Space Education and Workforce Institute in Santa Maria, Calif., manages the challenge.

Twenty-five teams have registered for the 2008 event. Most of the teams are from the private sector, including some from the toy and information technology industries. Four of the teams are affiliated with universities.

The prize program, known as Centennial Challenges, began in 2005 in recognition of the centennial of powered flight. In keeping with the spirit of the Wright brothers and other American innovators, the Centennial Challenge prizes are offered to independent inventors who work without government support, including small businesses, student groups and
individuals.

The Regolith Excavation Challenge is one of seven current NASA technology prize competitions. NASA provides the prize money for the competitions, while each is managed by an independent organization. The competitions are targeted at a range of technical challenges that support
NASA's missions in aeronautics and space. The goal is to encourage novel solutions from non-traditional sources. NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program Office in Washington manages the program.

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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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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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NASA Unveils New High Volume Antenna Network

Engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. showcased the new operational 18 meter near Earth Ka band Antenna Network, the first in NASA history,
during a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 8 at White Sands Complex, N.M.

The three antenna network was developed by engineers at Goddard to meet the growing demand for ground stations to handle the high volume of science data that is being generated by today's new satellites. The new 18 meter antennas can handle 45 terabytes of data over a 30 day period. Missions such as the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be the first missions to use these antennas. Future missions are expected to take advantage of the Ka band antennas as well.

Two of the three antennas will be used to accommodate the continuous high volume data stream of SDO. The third antenna will be used for LRO and will have the highest data volume stream ever received from a lunar spacecraft.

"The design, development, and delivery of three 18 meter Ka band antenna systems in just over two years is a major accomplishment for Goddard and NASA," says Raymond Pages, chief, Ground System Development Office at Goddard.

White Sands was chosen as the location for the new antennas because of the existing infrastructure available there, making it a cost effective option, NASA says. Site location selection was also dependent on climate and weather because data must be able to reach the antennas with minimal weather interference for optimum data reception and distribution.

The three antenna network represents the start of the operational near Earth Ka band network. LRO and SDO are NASA's first Ka band dedicated missions. As a result, Goddard built a new data distribution system to get the high volume of SDO science data from the antennas to the mission and science operations control centers. The two SDO antennas and the data distribution system are controlled by engineers at Goddard, and they will have the capability to flow ground system software upgrades and install software patches directly from the center. This is the first time all of these technologies have been implemented together to serve a single mission, specifically SDO. LRO has a separate data distribution system that will distribute science data from six instruments.

The goal of SDO is to understand, driving toward a predictive capability, the solar variations that influence life on Earth and humanity's technological systems. SDO is scheduled to launch in December 2008.

LRO focuses on the selection of safe landing sites, identification of lunar resources and studies how the lunar environment will affect humans. Launch is scheduled for late 2008.

Datron Advanced Technologies in Simi Valley, Calif. built the antennas. Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. in Columbia, Md. built and assembled the ground station. The Cospal Composites Srl in Ambivere, Italy manufactured the primary reflectors. Honeywell, Datron and Goddard helped to design the antennas. Goddard manages the White Sands Complex for NASA.

The total development cost of the new antenna system is $20 million, NASA says.

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NASA Completes Key Review of Orion Spacecraft

NASA has established arequirements baseline for its planned new Orion crew exploration vehicle, bringing America's next human spacecraft a step closer to construction, the space agency says.

The Orion project completed its system requirements review in cooperation with its prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, March 1, NASA says. The review marked the first major milestone in the Orion engineering process and provided the foundation for design, development, construction and safe operation of the spacecraft that will carry explorers to Earth orbit, tothe moon, and eventually to Mars, the space agency says. The detailed requirements established in this review will serve as the basis for ongoing design analysis work and systems testing.

"This is a significant step in the development of a space transportation system that will expand our horizons to include other worlds," says Skip Hatfield, Orion Project manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Orion review followed an overall review of requirements for the Constellation program that was completed in November. Similar reviews are planned later this spring for ground and mission operations systems that will support Constellation launch systems and space flight operations ground infrastructure.

"We have now completed program-wide launch vehicle and human spacecraft system requirements reviews," says Constellation Program Manager Jeff Hanley. "These are important pieces of a management and engineering puzzle that will allow us to accomplish the goal of putting humans back on the moon."

The Orion requirements data set was reviewed by agency and contractor scientists and engineers from across the country. More than 1,700 topicscovering all aspects of vehicle performance, design and qualification werediscussed during the course of the formal review.

Once all project-level reviews are complete, the Constellation Program will hold another full review to update baseline requirements. A lunar architecture systems review of equipment associated with surface exploration and science activities on the moon is expected in the spring of 2009.

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