"We started working together at the end of June to track down any Apollo-era heat shields that they had in storage," said Elizabeth (Betsy) Pugel of the Detector Systems Branch at NASA Goddard. "We located one and opened it. It was like a nerd Christmas for us!"

Specifically, the team is hoping to gather information on how to build next gen shields by examining the design of the carrier structure that connected the shield to an Apollo capsule that flew in Low Earth Orbit. They are also interested in the shields thermal response.

Honestly, every time I watch a documentary, read an article or visit a museum dealing with early spaceflight I am reminded of how brilliant the engineers behind these accomplishments really were. This is yet another example. [NASA and Science Daily]

NASA Developing Fission Surface Power Technology

CLEVELAND — NASA astronauts will need power sources when they return to the moon and establish a lunar outpost. NASA engineers are exploring the possibility of nuclear fission to provide the necessary power and taking initial steps toward a non-nuclear technology demonstration of this type of system.

A fission surface power system on the moon has the potential to generate a steady 40 kilowatts of electric power, enough for about eight houses on Earth. It works by splitting uranium atoms in a reactor to generate heat that then is converted into electric power. The fission surface power system can produce large amounts of power in harsh environments, like those on the surface of the moon or Mars, because it does not rely on sunlight. The primary components of fission surface power systems are a heat source, power conversion, heat rejection and power conditioning, and distribution.

"Our goal is to build a technology demonstration unit with all the major components of a fission surface power system and conduct non-nuclear, integrated system testing in a ground-based space simulation facility," said Lee Mason, principal investigator for the test at NASA's Glenn Center in Cleveland. "Our long-term goal is to demonstrate technical readiness early in the next decade, when NASA is expected to decide on the type of power system to be used on the lunar surface."

Glenn recently contracted for the design and analysis of two different types of advanced power conversion units as an early step in the development of a full system-level technology demonstration. These power conversion units are necessary to process the heat produced by the nuclear reactor and efficiently convert it to electrical power.

The first design concept by Sunpower Inc., of Athens, Ohio, uses two opposed piston engines coupled to alternators that produce 6 kilowatts each, or a total of 12 kilowatts of power. The second contract with Barber Nichols Inc. of Arvada, Colo., is for development of a closed Brayton cycle engine that uses a high speed turbine and compressor coupled to a rotary alternator that also generates 12 kilowatts of power.

"Development and testing of the power conversion unit will be a key factor in demonstrating the readiness of fission surface power technology and provide NASA with viable and cost-effective options for nuclear power on the moon and Mars," said Don Palac, manager of Glenn's Fission Surface Power Project.

After a one year design and analysis phase, a single contractor will be selected to build and test a prototype power conversion unit. When complete, the power conversion unit will be integrated with the other technology demonstration unit's major components. Glenn will develop the heat rejection system and provide the space simulation facility. Glenn also will work in conjunction with the Department of Energy and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Marshall will develop and provide a non-nuclear reactor simulator with liquid metal coolant as the heat source unit for the technology demonstration.

A nuclear reactor used in space is much different than Earth-based systems. There are no large concrete cooling towers, and the reactor is about the size of an office trash can. The energy produced from a space reactor also is much smaller but more than adequate for the projected power needs of a lunar outpost.

Testing of the non-nuclear system is expected to take place at Glenn in 2012 or 2013. These tests will help verify system performance projections, develop safe and reliable control methods, gain valuable operating experience, and reduce technology and programmatic risks. This technology demonstration is being conducted as part of NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program.

[NASA via Engadget]

Li explained how the system will work: images taken from orbit will combine with images from the surface to create maps of lunar terrain; motion sensors on lunar vehicles and on the astronauts themselves will allow computers to calculate their locations; signals from lunar beacons, the lunar lander, and base stations will give astronauts a picture of their surroundings similar to what drivers see when using a GPS device on Earth. The researchers have named the entire system the Lunar Astronaut Spatial Orientation and Information System (LASOIS)

NASA has awarded Li a $1.2 million grant to develop the LASOIS system over the next three years. He hopes that it will help the astronauts explore the lunar surface with a greater degree of confidence and avoid the stress that comes with getting lost. After all, losing your bearings on the moon is a far cry from taking the wrong exit on the highway. [Physorg]

The quality isn't the best, but it doesn't need to be; it's still absolutely breathtaking. This is an alien's-eye view, my friends, seen for the very first time. Amazing. [Bad Astronomy via Neatorama]

Daniel Fabricant, an astrophysicist for the Harvard-Smithsonian center thinks that the precision (a fraction of a wavelength of light) required for a telescope of that stature would pose a sizable challenge in making one that large. He also thinks it would be really, really, really expensive. But the leader of NASA's team, Peter Chen, claims that without Moon dust and on-site manufacturing, it would be impossible to get telescopes to the moon.

According to Chen, making a telescope equivalent in size to the Hubble (2.4 meters) on the Moon would require 1300 pounds of Moon dust, 130 pounds of epoxy, 13 pounds of carbon nanotubes and under a gram of aluminum. Now if we could turn those telescopes into lasers and get a little pew pew, we'd be set. [New Scientist]

And all without having to use your nipples as telescopic antennas to transmit data back to Earth. [NASA]

Send Your Name to the Moon With New Lunar Mission WASHINGTON — NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft.

The Send Your Name to the Moon Web site enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the moon for years to come. Participants can submit their information at http://www.nasa.gov/lro, print a certificate and have their name entered into a database. The database will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.

"Everyone who sends their name to the moon, like I'm doing, becomes part of the next wave of lunar explorers," said Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "The LRO mission is the first step in NASA's plans to return humans to the moon by 2020, and your name can reach there first. How cool is that?"

The orbiter, comprised of six instruments and one technology demonstration, will provide the most comprehensive data set ever returned from the moon. The mission will focus on the selection of safe landing sites and identification of lunar resources. It also will study how the lunar radiation environment could affect humans.

LRO will also create a comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources that will be needed as NASA designs and builds a planned lunar outpost. The mission will support future human exploration while providing a foundation for upcoming science missions. LRO is scheduled for launch in late 2008.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is being built at Goddard. The mission also will be managed at the center for NASA's Explorations Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

Send Your Name to the Moon is a collaborative effort among NASA, the Planetary Society in Pasadena, Calif., and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.

Properly angled and lined up to reflect light from the sun, the mirrors could be used to increase the amount of light reflected by the Earth-Moon system by up to 20%. Any alien eye scanning the heavens—or, more likely, an automated system like SETI set up by aliens—should be able to easily spot the modulations. A set of prime numbers in flashes would be a good choice, since these are easily distinguishable from natural variations. Furthermore, pop photovoltaic cells on the other side of the mirrors, beam the energy to Earth by microwaves and you'd have enough power to seriously impact the climate crisis. Not a bad idea, eh? [New Scientist via KurzweilAI]

While growing plants in what is essentially rock do not make for optimal green-nurturing conditions, scientists realized that by adding various bacteria to the anorthosite, the plants were able to draw essential nutrients they needed from the rock. Better still, these bacteria are a tough breed of microbe, ready for the tough conditions of the moon.

Obviously the plants still need atmospheric enclosure, planned to include algae.

And though scientists are confident that they can grow a variety of other plants on the moon (like cabbage), they may or may not get to participate in moon visits scheduled for 2015 and after. [telegraph via digg]

So far Selene has collected six million data points, and it keeps going on. These 3D data points are all being processed now to further enhance what already is the most detailed topographic map in the history of space exploration.

JAXA—Japan's space agency—also announced that the Selene mission has gathered detailed information regarding the mineral composition of parts of the Moon's surface, including thorium, potassium, and uranium sites.

This topographical and mineral information will be crucial for the planning for future manned lunar missions, including the foundation of permanent lunar posts. And they can always include them in the next edition of Rand McNally's Moon Road Atlas, so astronauts can keep it in the glove compartment. [JAXA]

• It navigated seemingly challenging terrain with relative ease, even if the ride was not so smooth for the passenger.
• The motion of the vehicle was a little disconcerting, as it didn't move in a conventional manner; climbing, sliding and dropping in an apparent erratic manner.
• The six wheels could be controlled independently to navigate really, really challenging space spots.
• The suspension is souped up to the galactic brim; the chassis can be raised a whopping, 28-inches in height.
• It's freaking mahoosive, weighing in at 4,500 pounds it is far too large to make it to the moon in its current state.
• The Lunar Chariot is using commercial parts—a cheap webcam and Earth-car grade tires that would never make the final draft, and neither would they survive out in the big old vacuum.

So, the Chariot is a long way off being the cruiser of choice for space travelers. Nevertheless, the test proves it is bad-ass; we're thinking we could use one right here on Earth. Now, to raise that $2 million purchase fee, as well as a ten-man design crew. Hmm, it's back to our crapmobile, me thinks. [NYT]

This capsule won't leave Earth's atmosphere: it will be used in a 90-second flight to demonstrate the features of the new ship, built using the same concept as the Apollo capsule but on a much larger scale. The Orion is 16.5 feet in diameter, with a mass of 22.7 metric tons, which gives it "two and a half times the volume" inside the Apollo capsule.

Knowing how small Apollo was, it's not going to be the Enterprise flight deck, but it will be able to fit four crew members comfortably starting in 2014, the year in which it will travel to the International Space Station. Six years later, it will go to the moon. [NASA]

Regardless of whether or not NASA is now taking cues from my favorite sketch comedy show, they're hoping that the lunar explosions will reveal frozen water that could possibly be tapped as a resource for future moon missions or bases as well as revealing much about the history of our solar system. The mission is planned for February 2009, and here's how it'll go down:

LCROSS will piggyback on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission for an Oct. 28 launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket equipped with a Centaur upper stage. While the launch will ferry LRO to the moon in about four days, LCROSS is in for a three-month journey to reach its proper moon-smashing position. Once within range, the Centaur upper stage doubles as the main 4,400 pound (2,000 kg) impactor spacecraft for LCROSS.

The smaller Shepherding Spacecraft will guide Centaur towards its target crater, before dropping back to watch—and later fly through—the plume of moon dust and debris kicked up by Centaur's impact. The shepherding vehicle is packed with a light photometer, a visible light camera and four infrared cameras to study the Centaur's lunar plume before it turns itself into a second impactor and strikes a different crater about four minutes later.

Hopefully this will ensure there's no repeat of Neil Armstrong's last minute search for a landing site for Eagle. More videos of the new maps are available via New Scientist. [New Scientist]

The deadline for the galactic telecommunication antics is January 7, 2015. The call must utilize a commercially available cell phone and the caller must be available at the time to answer a few yes/no questions. So, if you plan on calling from the moon whilst you are dropping the kids to school, doing the shopping for your partner and arranging a dental appointment, forget it—you have to be free to chat before you can claim your useless earthly cash.

If that seems too tall an order, the first SMS received to one of YouNeverCall's corporate mobiles via the moon will attract $500 in reward money. Yes, the first caller to receive a call on the moon will also be gifted, but only a paltry $100 shall they be rewarded with. The ringer shall have to be set to that lovable Crazy Frog ringtone, as per the rules. Finally, it is clear why that bastard E.T. was really here; he was sent from the future to prep our cellular networks so he could go halves on the prize with his wrinkly girlfriend. What a tosser. [SMS Text News]

Our current experience with the experimental He3 reactor here on Earth requires 1 kilowatt of power to generate 1 milliwatt of electricity. Which, if anyone is counting, is not at all worth it. So, aside from it taking a few decades before we figure out how exactly to use He3, and then taking a few more decades to actually build an He3 mining facility on the moon, and then having us, the Human Race, survive that long — well, chances are slim, is what we're saying. Still, science is cool, huh? [Treehugger via SciFi]

The Healing Moon has 12 phases, all lit up by LEDs so you can have various degrees of moonage. Unfortunately, it's $99, so unless you really into moons, it's probably not worth it. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Audiocubes via Oh Gizmo via Uber Gizmo]

Too bad it requires four AA batteries to light the thing up and two AAAs for the remote, preventing it from being used as a nightlight. In spite of that, now your kid can truthfully say that you hung the moon. Of course, that will all be null and void by the time the little monster gets to be a teenage werewolf. – Charlie White

Product Page [Discovery Channel store, via Gizmodiva]

NASA to crash space probe into moon [CNN Via We-Make-Money]