NASA talks about lunar exploration: related news

NASA's New Lunar Rover, Now Testing in Arizona

MarkWhittington writes "NASA has unveiled a new prototype lunar rover, called the Chariot, a production version of which is hoped to be operational on the lunar surface by 2019. NASA is now testing the Chariot lunar rover in Arizona, on terrain that resembles the lunar surface." Perhaps Arizona's an even closer match to the moon's surface than is Texas, or Moses Lake, WA where NASA was testing the last time we mentioned Chariot. (Here's a bit of video from the Texas round.)

NASA Eyes Nuclear Power for Moon BaseBuyers Bemoan Launcher Prices, AvailabilityPrivate Suborbital Spaceships Could Aid NASA ScienceExperiment Boosts Hopes for Space Solar PowerNASA Helping U.S. Air Force Gear Up for 2009 X-51 FlightsHow to Build Lunar Ho

A concept of a nuclear reactor buried below the lunar surface to make use of lunar soil as additional radiation shielding. The engines that convert heat energy to electricity are in the tower above the reactor, and radiators extend out from the tower to radiate into space any leftover heat energy. The power system would transmit 40 kilowatts of electric power, enough for about eight houses on Earth, to the lunar outpost. Credit: NASA

Lunar Spacecraft Compete For $2 Million NASA Prize

coondoggie writes "Nine rocket-powered vehicles will compete for NASA's $2 million, 2008 Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge, Oct. 24-25. The goal is to accelerate development of commercial Lunar Landers capable of bringing payloads or humans back and forth between lunar orbit and the lunar surface. NASA of course would expect to use some of the technology developed at the Challenge. To win the prize, teams must demonstrate a rocket-propelled vehicle and payload that takes off vertically, climbs to a defined altitude, flies for a pre-determined amount of time, and then land vertically on a target that is a fixed distance from the launch pad. After landing, the vehicle must take off again within a pre-determined time, fly for a certain amount of time and then land back on its original launch pad.

NASA $350,000 Prize Goes to Armadillo Aerospace in Lunar Challenge

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Armadillo Aerospace of Rockwall, Texas, earned $350,000 in NASA prize money during the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge in Las Cruces, N.M. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO ) The challenge is a two-level, $2 million competition designed to accelerate commercial space technology and is sponsored by NASA's Centennial Challenges program. After Armadillo's $350,000 first place win for level one this year, $1.65 million remains as available prize money for future competitions. Armadillo's winning vehicle successfully demonstrated some of the technologies needed for a lunar lander capable of ferrying payloads or humans back and forth between lunar orbit and the lunar surface.

NASA talks about lunar exploration

The U.S. space agency has revealed initial plans for the Ares V heavy-lift rocket and Altair lunar lander.

NASA Talks About Lunar Exploration

The U.S. space agency has revealed initial plans for the Ares V heavy-lift rocket and Altair lunar lander.

eBooks About Science â" Great Discoveries

eBooks About Science – Great Discoveries - Pasadena, CA June 4, 2007 – eBooks About Science announces the opening of a new store offering the best books about science available anywhere. The store has practical information about the environment and other applied science. This store is, however, an “egghead’s” delight with information about nuclear physics, molecular biology and quantum theory. This is trualy a bookstore for the curious because eBooks About Science covers everything form Acoustics to Zoology. This store is packed full of information about how the world works from Chaos Theory to Evolution there is something for everyone.

NASA Restores Historic Lunar Orbiter Image

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA released a newly restored 42-year-old image of Earth on Thursday. The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the iconic photograph of Earth rising above the lunar surface in 1966. Using refurbished machinery and modern digital technology, NASA produced the image at a much higher resolution than was possible when it was originally taken. The data may help the next generation of explorers as NASA prepares to return to the moon.

NASA Restores Historic Lunar Orbiter Image

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA released a newly restored 42-year-old image of Earth on Thursday. The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the iconic photograph of Earth rising above the lunar surface in 1966. Using refurbished machinery and modern digital technology, NASA produced the image at a much higher resolution than was possible when it was originally taken. The data may help the next generation of explorers as NASA prepares to return to the moon.

NASA Restores Historic Lunar Orbiter Image

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA released a newly restored 42-year-old image of Earth on Thursday. The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the iconic photograph of Earth rising above the lunar surface in 1966. Using refurbished machinery and modern digital technology, NASA produced the image at a much higher resolution than was possible when it was originally taken. The data may help the next generation of explorers as NASA prepares to return to the moon.

New Issue of Space Lifestyle Magazine Now Online

Have you heard about Space Lifestyle Magazine? Its a digital magazine, with a full color layout just like a print magazine, but its all online. It's also free. SLM has feature articles about all aspects of space — NewSpace, NASA, military, science and astronomy — but mostly it's about the people that make the space sector tick. The latest issue was just released yesterday, and it includes a bang-up article written by UT's Ian O'Neill about SpaceX. Ian actually toured the SpaceX facility and took some great pictures and wrote a very comprehensive article about SpaceX's recent successful launch to orbit. There's also an article about DIRECT 2.0, the alternative launch system that some NASA engineers think is better than Ares, a feature on possible weddings in space, and much more.

NASA Selects Mission to Study Mars Atmosphere

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before. Called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, the $485 million mission is scheduled for launch in late 2013. The selection was evaluated to have the best science value and lowest implementation risk from 20 mission investigation proposals submitted in response to a NASA Announcement of Opportunity in August 2006. "This mission will provide the first direct measurements ever taken to address key scientific questions about Mars' evolution," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Lunar Oxygen and Water Production Tech Tested

savuporo writes "NASA and its industry partners organized a two-week lunar in-situ resource utilization field test in Hawaii. The tested machines included a few different rovers and prototype plants for generating oxygen and water from lunar regolith. Astrotoday has a picture gallery and a video report. This follows on the heels of the recent ESA lunar robotics challenge event held on Tenerife, which tasked student teams to build a lunar robot that would be able to search for water ice in lunar polar craters."

NASA Tests Deep-Space Network Modeled On the Internet

hcg50a writes "NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Working as part of a NASA-wide team, engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 20 million miles from Earth. The store-and-forward protocol was designed by NASA in consultation with Vint Cerf. Here's a discussion from last July before the test began."

NASA Releases Documentary About First 50 Years

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, NASA will premiere the documentary "50 Years of Exploration: The Golden Anniversary of NASA" on NASA Television's Public and Education channels Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 9 p.m. EDT.

Lars Ulrich: Napster Wasnt About Money, It Was About Control

Rarely has there been a rock star as maligned for a single incident as Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. In 2000, he became the poster child for bands lashing out at the online world when the band sued Napster following the leak of “I Disappear” via the peer-to-peer service. Ulrich stands by what he did, but wants fans to know he did it for the right reasons. “Nine out of 10 people go, ‘What was that about? It was about money.’ Fuck you — it wasn’t about money. It was about control,” explains Ulrich. “I’ll give away all my shit for free. But I’ll decide when and where and how.” Click below for more from Ulrich’s conversation with Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, including why he lives his life more openly and how tours have changed since 1983.

NASA-TV Streams HD Film to Celebrate 50 Years in Space

50 years ago this month NASA rocketed into existence, and to celebrate this fact NASA-TV is streaming its special retrospective show "50 Years of Exploration: The Golden Anniversary of NASA" in HD format today at 1pm and 8pm EDT (and again tomorrow at 10am and 2pm). Check it out: it's presented by none other than Neil Armstrong, and it'll remind you how frickin' astonishing the achievements of the Agency are, despite its recent rockety woes. [NASA-TV]

NASA Updates Time for Space Shuttle Atlantis' Roll from Launch Pad

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA managers have adjusted the time for space shuttle Atlantis' rollback from Launch Pad 39A to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 20, to 7 a.m. EDT. Atlantis is expected to be in the Vehicle Assembly Building by about 2 p.m. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO ) NASA Television will provide live coverage of Atlantis' move off the pad beginning Monday at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the rollback will air on NASA TV Video File. Media are invited to a photo opportunity of the shuttle's move from the pad at 7 a.m. Monday, and must arrive at Kennedy's News Center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area.

NASA Exploring 8 New Space Expeditions

coondoggie writes "NASA is trying to decide between eight space exploration missions that include further exploring Venus and comet composition as well landing on an asteroid or examining the space around Jupiter. The space agency today began accepting solicitations for these space exploration opportunities and will ultimately pick one of them to begin perusing in 2009 with a launch date targeted at 2018. The solicitations and ultimate expedition are part of NASA's New Frontiers program, which has as its main objective to explore the solar system with medium-class spacecraft missions that will conduct high-quality, focused scientific investigations, NASA said. The first New Frontiers mission was selected in 2003 and will result in the launch of Juno, a Jupiter polar orbiter mission set to blast off in 2011.

NASA tests deep space Internet' successfully

New York, Nov 19 (PTI) The US space agency NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Working as part of a NASA-wide team, engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN) to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 20 million miles from Earth.

50 Consumer Technologies Developed by NASA in the Last 50 Years

Every year NASA publishes a new edition of their Spinoff magazine, a periodical that outlines NASA-based technologies that have disseminated into everyday devices, improving our lives beyond giving us some nifty new desktop wallpapers. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Spinoff, and to celebrate, NASA has created a "best of" list (that we pasted after the jump). From the aerodynamic principles applied to tractor trailers to advanced imaging techniques that allow 360-degree Real Estate photo tours, NASA demonstrates that their technological breakthroughs are about more than just sticking an American flag on the moon.

NASA unveils lunar image recovery project

NASA has released a fully restored 42-year-old image of Earth taken from the moon. The image was released as part of a project that will allow scientists at NASA and beyond to compare historical images of the moon with new images that will be captured when NASA sends new missions to the moon in the coming years.

Lockheed Martin Delivers Mars Science Laboratory Backshell to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

recently delivered the backshell for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The backshell is half of the large and sophisticated two-part aeroshell that will encapsulate and protect the MSL rover during its deep space cruise to Mars, and from the intense heat and friction that will be generated as the system descends through the Martian atmosphere. Lockheed Martin has designed and built nearly every capsule flown by NASA for space exploration since Apollo, but none as large as the MSL aeroshell at about 15 feet in diameter. For comparison, the heatshields of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers measured 8.5 feet and Apollo capsule heatshields measured just under 13 feet. In addition to protecting the rover, the backshell provides the structural support for the parachute and

NASA unveils new lunar rover built for endurance

BLACK POINT, Arizona (Reuters) - NASA unveiled a new lunar rover on Friday which aims to transform space exploration by allowing astronauts to roam large distances without cumbersome spacesuits when they return to the moon by 2020.

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