This is the Altair moon lander simulator, the newest, most exciting toy for astronauts planning to go to the Moon and beyond. It's also one of the most difficult arcade games they can play, requiring landings within 10 feet of the target coordinates.

Built on the Vertical Motion Simulator at the NASA Ames Research Center, the sim has an internal layout similar to the real Altair's, which itself is very similar to the old Apollo Lunar Module. As in the LM, astronauts have to stand up looking down small windows. Unlike in the LM, however, most controls seem to be placed in touchscreens. I don't know about the astronauts, but I like the old school buttons and switches in the Lunar Module a lot better. Click. Click. CLICK. [CNET via Hyperbola]

It's an announcement that's been expected for some time.

Are we talking about enough water for astronauts to actually live off? That's what NASA is analyzing now, attempting to scale the results of the small section studied by LCROSS. But "it's water like any other water," NASA said, though it'd need purification to drink. I guess that whole moon bombing didn't turn out so boring after all. [CNN]

The lander as well as the flag, or rather the remaining flag pole, seen in the image above are exactly where they should be based on this shot by the Ascent Module "right after Apollo 17 lifted off the Moon":

Going a step further, the location can be compared to more recent images of the landing site and everything still jibes up. So, can we now finally quiet down with the moon landing conspiracies and focus on figuring out how to colonize the tubes up there? Pretty please? [SESE via Discover]

Scientists are hoping for clearer shots from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, but the impression so far is that such a tunnel network could provide shelter for astronauts or potential future Moon colonists. I just plain wonder if they could combine it with the recent discovery of water for one kickass underground waterpark. [New Scientist via Pop Sci]

The committee outlines eight options. Three of those involve a "flexible path" to explore someplace other than the moon, eventually heading to a Mars landing far in the future. The flexible path suggests no-landing flights around the moon and Mars.

Landing on the moon and then launching back to Earth would require a lot of fuel because of the moon's gravity. Hauling fuel from Earth to the moon and then back costs money.

It would take less fuel to land and return from asteroids or comets that swing by Earth or even the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, Augustine said.

Eventually, Augustine said NASA could return to the moon, but as a training stepping stone, not a major destination, as the Bush plan envisioned.

Really, we've been to the moon. It's old news. We're pretty positive there are no aliens there. Any possibility of life in our solar system exists further out, possibly on liquidy moons of the gaseous giants. So why waste time and money on the moon? Let's go to where the real action is. [USA Today via Dvice]

Indeed, Earth and space-based telescopes couldn't see it at the time, but there was, in fact, a dusty plume that got kicked up by the kamikaze LCROSS probe. Success!

That said, there's still no word on whether or not water or aliens or cheese were present in the plume. Perhaps it was a combination of all three, and that's the reason for NASA's silence thus far (more seriously, NASA says results by "mid-November").

Next time, just to be sure, I think NASA should shoot something a bit bigger into the Moon for better results. Something like, say, Richard Heene's ego. [New Scientist]

And they should be, because Charles Moss Duke was the lunar module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972. He landed with mission commander John W. Young at the Descartes Highlands, which is what makes this photo so special: It's still there, untouched, unperturbed, exactly in the same position as he left it before taking this snapshot with his Hasselblad 70mm film camera.

I didn't know about this fantastic photo until a couple of days ago, ignorant that I am. Following the advice of my friend Adán—who is a space exploration fanboy like me—I bought an amazing book called Full Moon. It shows the trip to the moon through 128 brunch-bacon-crispy photographs, many of them giant four-page spreads containing fascinating panoramas. All clean, pitch black background, no text. Like the silence of space.

Full Moon is not a new book: It was curated and published in 1999 by Michael Light. It contains the first and only digital scans of the Apollo missions' original camera film. See, when these images returned from space, NASA copied each of the photos, then stored the original film right away for future scanning. Every lunar photo you have seen out there are copies made from copies of the originals.

The vaults were opened for Light and this book for the first time. He went through all of the original transparencies, selected what he thought were the best, scanned them using the best digital equipment available, created the spread panoramas when needed, and printed this book. The quality is so perfect, and the selection so good, that I can't recommend it highly enough.

So there I was, sitting in amazement, slowly flipping through the amazing views, and then I found this. It instantly caught my attention. The idea of leaving such a happy photo in the surface of such a inhospitable place filled me with a mix of happiness, sadness, and much, much nostalgia. I instantly remembered another image like that. Surely, that image must have been inspired by Duke's original shot:

You can buy Full Moon here. Actually, you must.

Those big oval-shaped tanks store fuel for the test bed's thrusters, one set of which guide its altitude/landing. For the tests here on Earth, an additional thruster offsets gravity so the others function as they would on the moon.

NASA is developing a flight mission to travel to the lunar poles, but also designing the landers to set down on the moon's mid-regions. To build-out the program, Marshall partnered with John Hopkins University's Applied Physics Lab, and the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation.

Given the recent discovery of water molecules on the moon, I'm thinking they're gonna keep getting funding. Very cool. [NASA via The Huntsville Times]

The Chinese said the resolution of their 3D map—made with their Chang'e-1 probe, sent in October 2007—is 500 meters. Obviously, there has to be an error somewhere, because JAXA's own 3D map's resolution is 10 meters. Not to talk about NASA's LRO, which is 3 meters. In all fairness, the NASA map is not completed yet, but the Japanese one is.

I think that maybe the Chinese are hitting the rice liquor too hard again, either their space agency or their news agency. Still, the map they claim they have completed is a step towards their objective to land people in the Moon in a decade. If they ever get to launch anyone to space, that's it.

[Xinhuanet]

Photo by [Mizuno]

It's the Travelling Wave Tube Amplifier, the first high data rate K-band transmitter on a NASA spacecraft. It's on board the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is sending massive amounts of data, from images of its surface—like the first photos of the Apollo sites in 40 years—to 3D data points which are being processed into the most detailed topographical map of our satellite. [NASA]

Which is precisely what Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins did 40 years ago today, splashing in the Pacific Ocean after their historic trip to the Moon. Here you have them going into quarantine:

[Life and Flight Global]

That Sunday, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins completed President Kennedy's plan to put a man on the Moon before the decade was over. 400,000 people and 20,000 companies and institutions worked in the project, putting together insanely great talent, knowledge, and ingenuity to achieve what most thought was impossible.

Today we celebrate three men's prodigious, almost miraculous trip across the void of space. We celebrate their courage and prowess, as well as the qualities of every single person who made it possible.

It was a small step for a man, but also for mankind. A giant leap, yes, but still a tiny step toward our destiny in the stars... if we could survive ourselves, that is. Here's hoping that we do. Here's hoping that we could make it again, and find our place in the Universe.

Or in the words of the Onion:

Critics believe that going back to the moon is, as Aldrin put it "a glorified rehash of what we did 40 years ago"—something that would waste time and money that we could be spending on a trip to Mars. NASA argues that going back to the moon and establishing a permanent base is an essential stepping stone to a successful Mars mission—a feat that would take at least 20 years to accomplish according to their estimates.

The issue here, it seems, is not that we should ever step foot on the moon again, it's that NASA and the Obama administration should grow a set of balls by prioritizing Mars and fully committing to a program right now. After all, we went from nearly zero to the moon in the sixties with primitive technology. What do you think? Should we skip the moon and head for Mars?

[CNN and Yahoo/ Image via Starts With a Bang]

[Events shown in reverse chronological order. Timestamps indicate expected time for landing—obviously in July 20 1969]

Well, the landing liveblog is over, people. Houston has given the stay signal, so everything is good. Buzz says it looks beautiful outside. I believe him. Head to We Choose the Moon to hear the chatter between Houston and Tranquility Base.

Three minutes on the surface
They are now in the stay/no stay control phase. Mission controllers are making sure all data is ok. Everything seems fine. Neil and Buzz will be taking off their helmets and gloves after they complete the stay/no stay. Houston says all looks perfect.

Seems like everything has worked out perfectly. Eagle is at Tranquility base now. All systems nominal. Neil has burned almost all the fuel reserved for the descent looking for a good landing spot. The one that the computer picked was full of huge boulders. The guy has saved the day, but people at control were freaking out just a minute ago.

Houston: Roger, Twank...Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue here. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot!

Neil: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

Touchdown

Neil: Out of detent.
Aldrin: Mode control - both auto. Descent engine command override off. Engine arm - off. 413 is in.

2 seconds
Buzz: Contact light! Okay, engine stop. ACA - out of detent.

13 seconds
160, 6 and half down.

49 seconds
1 and half down.

1m
This is it. Last minute people. All looking good, Neil on manual control looking for a good spot. Fuel going low fast. Holy fuck this guy.

2m
Everything looking good. 3200 feet. All go for landing.

4m
Eagle is flying good. Data is good down at Houston control.

5m
It's looking good now, but Neil is looking for a spot for landing. Feels better than the simulator, he says.

5m
33,000 feet now. They have land on their window.

6m
They got a data dropout but still looking good. How the hell you get data dropout and "still look good"?

7m
Everything seems ok. Capcom says is ok. They are go to continue powered descent.

10m
They have passed the mark. Their position is off.

11m
Ignition. 46,000 feet continuing descent. Holy frack that engine is loud.

12m
1 minute to ignition. High gain signal is clear.

13m
Buzz Aldrin is now reading the descent checklist to Neil.

15m
All system go for descent. 3 30 until ignition. OK, I'm not up there and I'm about to smash the keyboard out of pure nervousness.

16m
Five minutes from ignition and Houston keeps losing them on the high gain antenna. No time to send a repairman up there.

17m
There are problems now. Problems with the computer programs. Some errors popping up. This doesn't feel good at all. They have overridden the errors.

18m
10.7 nautical miles from ignition for final descent, says capcom. This is it, people. It's now or never.

19m
They are experience some communication problems now.

24m
Guidance says we are go for landing. All data is ok. We are off to a good start. Mission controllers are "keeping it cool" but you can tell everyone knows this the time to be heroes. No room for errors.

25m
Sound is great now. Neil is giving data on residuals.

26m
Lots of noise now. Houston is asking Columbia about LEM status, as they have lost signal right now. Switching to the big antenna.

27m
LEM signal acquisition. Waiting for Neil to say something. You Apollo 11 commander you!

28m
"Columbia reading loud and clear!" Capcom is asking how everything went. Collins says THE EAGLE IS OK! He says everything went on beautifully: "Babe, everything's going just swimmingly. Beautiful".

29m
We have acquisition of signal from the Command Module. Capcom is trying to communicate with Columbia right now.

31m
One minute and 31 seconds from Command Module signal acquisition. 2 minutes from LEM signal acquisition. Houston control is getting ready for final descent.

35m
Trusted sources inside the White House are telling us that President Nixon is walking nervously up and down the Oval Office, mumbling something about "that damn Kennedy." He has two speeches on his desk. One is only to be read in case of disaster:

"Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

"These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

"In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man. In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

"Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

"For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind."

38m
Nothing yet from Columbia or Eagle.

44m
Hey, check out Buzz Aldrin in the LEM. He's happy.

49m
Capcom is babbling again about how many people are in the control room, watching the operation. John Glenn is there, by the way. So is Alan Shepard, who later landed on the Moon with Apollo 14. Pete Conrad—commander or Apollo 12—and Jim Lowell—commander of Apollo XIII—are there too.

50m
Did you know that one million people gathered in Florida to see the launch of the Apollo 11 mission? Neither did I. An estimated 500 million people watched the landing live.

54m
Did I say you can listen to all this live at We Choose the Moon?

55m
This is when Phil Schiller makes a joke about how everything worked fine at rehearsal. No signal re-acquisition yet.

59m
Less than one hour from landing and nothing from Columbia or Eagle yet. Are these guys partying with Pink Floyd up there or what?

1h02m
Static noise getting stronger. I guess they will reappear any time now. I'm sure the engine should be ok. Unless the Nazis shot them now. I'm sure people at capcom keep looking at their watches nervously.

1h04m
Time for some chocolate as we wait for the signal to come back. I'm actually getting nervous here.

1h06m
Columbia will come first inline. Hopefully LEM will also reappear in one piece.

1h07m
The ignition should be over now. We are two minutes from LEM signal acquisition.

1h09m
One minute from the LEM ignition for descent orbit insertion. This is happening on the dark side of the Moon, so capcom doesn't have a clue about what would happen. For all we know, the engine may explode right now.

1h14m
What would you do if you were on the dark side of the Moon, 1h14m from being the protagonist of the biggest event in the history of mankind? Go through the landing flight plan once again or check out some porn?

See, this is why I'll never be an astronaut.

1h15m
Signal is lost. Seven minutes for descent orbit insertion. Mission control says all system look good.

1h19m
Three minutes now for Eagle's loss of signal. And they said that things move slow in space.

1h20m
Twelve minutes to Eagle's engine ignition.

1h23m
Everything looks good according to capcom. Columbia going over the hill in seven minutes.

1h25m
Why do we bitch about cellphone reception here on Earth? It's a miracle these guys can understand each other. Columbia has to repeat everything as they move away from the clear communications signal.

1h29m
Eagle is now behind the Moon. No they are not. They are getting ready for loss of signal now.

1h30m
Houston capcom says they are a few minutes from losing signal from the spacecrafts. Control is going through all the data to give a go/no go on landing.

1h32m
No bald guys so far.

1h35m
I wonder how Neil and Buzz are doing on board Eagle. If I were in their boots, I would be pissing my astronaut diapers at the prospect of being the first guys to set foot in land outside planet Earth.

1h39m
Apparently NASA doesn't play Coldplay while waiting for the big events. Steve Jobs is not happy.

1h41m
Houston Capcom and Columbia are now exchanging a lot of technical jibba jabba. Something about turning off directional rotate power #2 and asking Collins to put his pants on before the other two guys land.

1h43m from landing
Eagle has undocked from the command module. Talking about Columbia, here's a nice view of the craters Sabine and Ritter from lunar orbit. Collins is not wasting his time up there:

The suits shown here are part of a collection of Apollo-era artifacts on display right now at the National Air and Space Museum.

The exhibit is part of a 40th anniversary celebration for the event that attention-seeking idiots say never happened so that they can get a few extra clicks and adSense dollars on their crock conspiracy theory web site. Tons more pics over at io9. Can we go back now, please? [io9]

This is the first time that images of the lunar landing sites have been taken by any camera after the Apollo missions. This photo is the Apollo 17 landing site. It was the sixth and final mission to the Moon, manned by Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmitt.

Apollo 16 was launched on April 16, 1972. It was a J-class mission, so it used a Lunar Rover. The astronauts brought back back 94.7 kg of lunar material with them. It was manned by Commander John W. Young, Command Module Pilot T. Kenneth Mattingly Jr., and Lunar Module Pilot Charles M. Duke Jr.

This is Apollo 11. You know. Those guys who got there FIRST. If it was 1969, they would be travelling there right now. It was manned by Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr.