Lunar explorers will walk at higher speeds

This is a composite image of the lunar nearside taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in June 2009, note the presence of dark areas of maria on this side of the moon. 

Credit: NASA

Anyone who has seen the movies of Neil Armstrong's first bounding steps on the moon couldn't fail to be intrigued by his unusual walking style, but, contrary to popular belief, the astronaut's peculiar walk was not the result of low gravity.

John De Witt

Wyle Science, Engineering and Technology scientist John De Witt explains that the early space suits were not designed for walking, so the astronauts adapted their movements to the restrictions of the suit.

Michael Gernhardt, the head of NASA's Extravehicular Activity Physiology, Systems and Performance Project, wants to learn more about how humans move in low gravity, including the speed at which we break from a walk into a run, to design a modern space suit that permits freer movement.

However, the only way to test the effects of true lunar gravity on our movements while based on earth is to hop aboard NASA's adapted DC-9 aircraft, which reduces the gravity on board by performing swooping parabolic flights, and get running.

EVA Physiology, Systems, & Performance (EPSP) Project 

Credit: NASA HACD

De Witt and his colleagues publish their discovery that astronauts will remain walking at higher speeds on the moon than had been previously thought in The Journal of Experimental Biology.

To make this discovery, De Witt and colleagues Brent Edwards, Melissa Scott-Pandorf and Jason Norcross recruited three astronauts and five other registered test subjects that could tolerate the discomfort of the aircraft's bucking flight to test their running.

'There is some unpleasantness,' recalls De Witt, adding, 'if you get sick you're done…. We wanted to be sure we had people that were used to flying.'

An astronaut performs a 10 km "Walk back" to test his ability to return to a habitat in the event of a rover vehicle failure on the Moon.

Credit: NASA HACD

Once the subjects were airborne, the team only had 20s during each roller-coaster cycle, when the gravity on-board fell to one-sixth of that on Earth, when they could test the runner's walking and running styles on a treadmill as the volunteers shifted over a range of speeds from 0.67 to 2m/s.

However, De Witt recalls that the experiments ran smoothly once the team had settled into a routine after the first few parabolas.

Back on the ground, De Witt and colleagues analysed the speed at which the walkers gently transitioned into a run.

'Running is defined as a period of time with both feet off the ground', explains De Witt, adding that the walk to run transition was expected to occur at 0.8m/s in lunar gravity, based on theoretical calculations.

However, when the team calculated the transition speed from their experiments, they were in for a surprise: 'The average was 1.4m/s', recalls De Witt.

A NEEMO crewmember wearing a mock-up of the EVA portable life support system (PLSS) walks up and down a ladder outside the underwater Aquarius habitat. 

The PLSS mock-up was placed in different configurations to test astronauts' ability to perform EVA tasks when their center of gravity is moved up, down, forward, and/or backward. 

Credit: NASA HACD

'This difference is, to me, the most interesting part of the experiment; to try to figure out why we got these numbers', says De Witt, who suggests that the acceleration forces generated by the counter-swinging arms and legs could account for the shift in transition speed.

'What I think ends up happening is that even though the atmosphere is lunar gravity, the effective gravity on our system is lunar gravity plus the forces generated by our swinging arms and legs', says De Witt.

He explains that this arm-and-leg swinging effect probably happens here on Earth too, but the forces generated by the swinging limbs are negligible relative to our gravity.

However, he suspects that they are more significant in weaker lunar gravity, saying, 'They contribute more to the gravity keeping you attached to the ground.'

De Witt also adds that the higher transition value is not without precedent. He explains that scientists on Earth have simulated lunar gravity by supporting five-sixths of a runner's weight in a sling, and the athletes also transitioned from a walk to a run at speeds of around 1.4m/s1.

'This tells researchers [that] what they have in the lab, which is a fraction of the cost of the airplane, is probably adequate at giving you the information you need', he says.

More information: De Witt, J. K. , Edwards, W. B. , Scott-Pandorf, M. M., Norcross, J. R. and Gernhardt, M. L. (2014). The preferred walk to run transition speed in actual lunar gravity. J. Exp. Biol. 217, 3200-3203. jeb.biologists.org/content/217/18/3200.abstract

Lunar rock samples reveal variations in water concentrations

Optical micrograph of pyroclastic glass beads in Apollo sample 74220, 383, the famous "orange soil". 

Water was first detected by Saal et al., 2008 in glass beads similar to these. 

Credit: G.J. Taylor, HIGP

A team of researchers studying rocks returned from the moon by Apollo 17 astronauts has found that rocks found in different locations have different amounts of water in them.

In their paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the team describes their findings and offer possible explanations for the concentration differences.

It was just six years ago that scientists learned that there was water on the moon, prior to that, conventional wisdom suggested the moon was not only barren, but completely dry.

That discovery led to more research which revealed that not only is there water on the moon, but it's actually widespread, sealed inside of rocks, but present nonetheless.

In this new effort, the research team reports that in studying the findings of several other teams analyzing the rocks since water was first found in them, they've discovered that some of the rocks have more water sealed inside of them than others, the difference appears to be related to where on the moon the rocks were found.

This suggests, the team reports, that some parts of the moon are wetter than others. The new research team also found that the chemical composition of the water was different depending on the rock source as well.

The findings have led the researchers to consider how differing water concentrations relate to theories regarding the origin of the moon.

Most scientists believe the moon came to exist approximately four and half billion years ago when a collision occurred between Earth and another planet.

The general consensus is that some of the moon came from Earth, some from the other planet and the rest from other bodies such as comets and asteroids that subsequently struck the moon.

Water on the moon could therefore have come from the Earth, the other planet or comets. Intriguingly, the researchers have found that the chemical makeup of water samples in some of the rocks (volcanic glass) is similar to magma samples that once resided in Earth's mantle.

Others, on the other hand, were found to be much drier. The researchers conclude that the formation of the moon appears to have been a far more complex series of events than theories have suggested.

Secondary electron image of pits left by ion microprobe analyses of a heterogeneous apatite grain in Apollo sample 14321, 1047. 

Water has now been detected in apatite in many different lunar rock types. 

Credit: K.L. Robinson, HIGP.

More information: Heterogeneous distribution of water in the Moon, Nature Geoscience (2014) DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2173

Oppressive China Readying 1st Moon Rover for Lunar Domination and Exploitation

China’s next phase of its moon exploration program, the Chang’e-3 would soft land on the lunar surface and deploy instrument-laden rover.

CREDIT: Courtesy: Dragon in Space

As three Chinese astronauts zip around the Earth aboard a prototype space station, the country is gearing up to launch its first moon rover in the coming months.

China's robotic Chang'e 3 mission, reportedly slated to blast off toward the end of 2013, marks a big step forward in the nation's lunar exploration program. Chang'e 3 will become China's first craft to attempt a soft landing and rover deployment on the surface of the moon.

China’s multi-phase moon venture began with the orbiters Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2, which launched in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Now Chinese space program officials are ready to shift to phase two.

CREDIT: Courtesy: Dragon in Space

Chang’e-3 mission to the moon is designed to unleash six-wheel rover to scour the lunar surface.

NASA GRAIL Mission: LRO's LAMP Captures Lunar Impact

These models show the time evolution for hydrogen (left) and mercury (right) as plumes of gas rapidly expand into the vacuum of space following the planned impact of the GRAIL twins onto the lunar surface. 

Data from the Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter accurately constrain such models used to understand the impact event. 

Credit: JHUAPL/SwRI/NASA

When NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft made their final descent for impact onto the Moon's surface last December, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's sophisticated payload was in position to observe the effects.

As plumes of gas rose from the impacts, the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) aboard LRO detected the presence of mercury and hydrogen and measured their time evolution as the gas rapidly expanded into the vacuum of space at near-escape velocities.

NASA intentionally crashed the GRAIL twins onto the Moon on Dec. 17, 2012, following successful prime and extended science missions.

Both spacecraft hit a mountain near the lunar north pole, which was shrouded in shadow at the time.

Developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), LAMP uses a novel method to peer into the darkness of the Moon's permanently shadowed regions, making it ideal for observations of the Moon's night-side and its tenuous atmospheric constituents.

Dr. Kurt Retherford

"While our results are still very new, our thinking is that the hydrogen detected from the GRAIL site might be related to an enhancement at the poles caused by hydrogen species migrating toward the colder polar regions," says Dr. Kurt Retherford, LAMP principal investigator and a principal scientist at SwRI.

"Combining GRAIL results with LCROSS results could tell us more about hydrogen and water near the poles," says Dr. Thomas Greathouse, a LAMP team member and SwRI senior research scientist.

“We have begun to understand that the amount of water ice near the polar regions is higher than was previously thought, but we don't fully understand how it gets there."

LAMP usually observes the night-side lunar surface using light from nearby space (and stars), which bathes all bodies in space in a soft glow.

This Lyman-alpha glow is invisible to human eyes but visible to LAMP as it reflects off the Moon.

However, the new detection of Lyman-alpha emissions from native lunar atomic hydrogen gas released by the impact is a first for LAMP, and for any previous instrument.

NASA Grail Mission: Twin Probes' Lunar Crash

Two NASA moon probes are slated to slam into the rim of a lunar crater today (Dec. 17), and the space agency will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the dramatic action.

The twin Grail spacecraft, known as Ebb and Flow, will crash intentionally near the moon's north pole at 5:28 p.m. EST (2228 GMT) today, bringing their gravity-mapping mission to a spectacular close.

The event will be broadcast on NASA TV and streamed live on the agency's website, beginning at 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT).

The coverage should last about 35 minutes and will include interviews with Grail team members. The impact site will be in shadow at the time of the crash, so no video of Ebb and Flow's violent demise is expected, NASA officials said.

This graphic highlights locations on the moon NASA considers "lunar heritage sites" and the path NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft will take on their final flight. Image released Dec. 13, 2012.

CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

You can follow along at NASA TV's website www.nasa.gov

NASA ScienceCasts: A Wonderful Night in April - YouTube

If you have to chose just one night in April to go out and look at the stars, NASA scientists say it should be April 21st. This week's ScienceCast explains what makes that one night so special.

Lunar IBS: Fart in a Spacesuit

The worst case of Lunar IBS recorded was never caught on film but has been re-animated in this graphic representation. In Space no-one can hear you fart!

In early expeditions, pressurised suit had to be vented at regular intervals to prevent a catastrophic build up of gases.

NASA Grail: First Lunar Probe enters orbit

The first of two NASA spacecraft to study the moon in unprecedented detail has entered lunar orbit.

NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-A spacecraft successfully completed its planned main engine burn at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) today.

As of 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST), GRAIL-A is in an orbit of 56 miles by 5,197 miles (90 kilometers by 8,363 kilometers) around the moon that takes approximately 11.5 hours to complete.

"My resolution for the new year is to unlock lunar mysteries and understand how the moon, Earth and other rocky planets evolved," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "Now, with GRAIL-A successfully placed in orbit around the moon, we are one step closer to achieving that goal."

The next mission milestone occurs tomorrow when GRAIL-A's mirror twin, GRAIL-B, performs its own main engine burn to place it in lunar orbit. At 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST) today, GRAIL-B was 30,018 miles (48,309 kilometers) from the moon and closing at a rate of 896 mph (1,442 kilometers per hour). GRAIL-B's insertion burn is scheduled to begin tomorrow, Jan. 1, at 2:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. EST) and will last about 39 minutes.

"With GRAIL-A in lunar orbit we are halfway home," said David Lehman, GRAIL project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Tomorrow may be New Year's everywhere else, but it's another work day around the moon and here at JPL for the GRAIL team."

Once both spacecraft are confirmed in orbit and operating, science work will begin in March. The spacecraft will transmit radio signals precisely defining the distance between them as they orbit the moon in formation.

As they fly over areas of greater and lesser gravity caused by both visible features, such as mountains and craters, and masses hidden beneath the lunar surface, the distance between the two spacecraft will change slightly.

Scientists will translate this information into a high-resolution map of the moon's gravitational field. The data will allow scientists to understand what goes on below the lunar surface.

NASA: The Moon's North Pole

The Earth's moon has been an endless source of fascination for humanity for thousands of years.

When at last Apollo 11 landed on the moon's surface in 1969, the crew found a desolate, lifeless orb, but one which still fascinates scientist and non-scientist alike.

This image of the moon's north polar region was taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC.

One of the primary scientific objectives of LROC is to identify regions of permanent shadow and near-permanent illumination.

Since the start of the mission, LROC has acquired thousands of Wide Angle Camera images approaching the north pole.

From these images, scientists produced this mosaic, which is composed of 983 images taken over a one month period during northern summer.

This mosaic shows the pole when it is best illuminated, regions that are in shadow are candidates for permanent shadow.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

NASA LRO Images Offer Sharper Views of Apollo Landing Sites

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites.

Images show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface.

At the Apollo 17 site, the tracks laid down by the lunar rover are clearly visible, along with the last foot trails left on the moon. The images also show where the astronauts placed some of the scientific instruments that provided the first insight into the moon's environment and interior.

"We can retrace the astronauts' steps with greater clarity to see where they took lunar samples," said Noah Petro, a lunar geologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who is a member of the LRO project science team.

All three images show distinct trails left in the moon's thin soil when the astronauts exited the lunar modules and explored on foot. In the Apollo 17 image, the foot trails, including the last path made on the moon by humans, are easily distinguished from the dual tracks left by the lunar rover, which remains parked east of the lander.

"The new low-altitude Narrow Angle Camera images sharpen our view of the moon's surface," said Arizona State University researcher Mark Robinson, principal investigator for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). "A great example is the sharpness of the rover tracks at the Apollo 17 site. In previous images the rover tracks were visible, but now they are sharp parallel lines on the surface."

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/apollo-sites.html

Moon Express Gets Thumbs-Up from NASA for Developing New Lunar Landing Technology

Moon Express, a Google Lunar X PRIZE contender, announced that it has successfully demonstrated a critical component of its lunar landing technology to NASA under its Innovative Lunar Demonstration Data (ILDD) Program contract.

The Moon Express Mini-Radar System promises to radically reduce the cost and mass of the company's commercial lunar landing system.

NASA has reviewed and accepted the Moon Express Mini-Radar data package, satisfying the requirements of the $500K First Task Order under the company's $10M commercial lunar data contract.

Silicon Valley-based Moon Express was one of only three U.S. companies awarded the first Task Order under NASA's ILDD program. Under the task order, NASA agreed to purchase data resulting from the successful test and demonstration of the company's state-of-the-art Mini-Radar sensor, a critical component of its lunar landing system.

Radar provides autonomous landing spacecraft with crucial ranging information to the surface and has been one of the most challenging and high risk elements of all lander systems.

Radar systems have also been historically very expensive in terms of dollars, mass and energy. As part of its risk reduction engineering activities, Moon Express initiated a program to continue the development, test and space qualification of an innovative, low cost, low mass, low energy radar concept invented by Stellar Exploration that showed great promise through progressive developments under NASA Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) programs.

The Moon Express investment significantly advanced the radar technology toward spaceflight readiness.

The testing and space validation of the Mini-Radar involved multiple units subjected to a series of laboratory and field testing.

These included multiple dynamic tests on the Lunar Lander Test Vehicle, developed in partnership with NASA, and long range tests on the Zeppelin 'Eureka', owned and operated by Airship Ventures, which took the Mini-Radar on flight tests down the California coast and at the Oshkosh Airshow.

Additional environmental testing in thermal-vacuum and vibration chambers proved the ruggedness of the Mini-Radar design for spaceflight.

LRO Images Lunar Farside In Stunning Detail

Because the moon is tidally locked (meaning the same side always faces Earth), it was not until 1959 that the farside was first imaged by the Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft (hence the Russian names for prominent farside features, such as Mare Moscoviense).

And what a surprise - unlike the widespread maria on the nearside, basaltic volcanism was restricted to a relatively few, smaller regions on the farside, and the battered highlands crust dominated. A different world from what we saw from Earth.

Of course, the cause of the farside/nearside asymmetry is an interesting scientific question. Past studies have shown that the crust on the farside is thicker, likely making it more difficult for magmas to erupt on the surface, limiting the amount of farside mare basalts.

Why is the farside crust thicker? That is still up for debate, and in fact several presentations at this week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference attempt to answer this question.

The Clementine mission obtained beautiful mosaics with the sun high in the sky (low phase angles), but did not have the opportunity to observe the farside at sun angles favorable for seeing surface topography.

This WAC mosaic provides the most complete look at the morphology of the farside to date, and will provide a valuable resource for the scientific community. And it's simply a spectacular sight!

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) is a push-frame camera that captures seven color bands (321, 360, 415, 566, 604, 643, and 689 nm) with a 57-km swath (105-km swath in monochrome mode) from a 50 km orbit.

One of the primary objectives of LROC is to provide a global 100 m/pixel monochrome (643 nm) base map with incidence angles between 55 degrees -70 degrees at the equator, lighting that is favorable for morphological interpretations.

Each month, the WAC provides nearly complete coverage of the Moon under unique lighting. As an added bonus, the orbit-to-orbit image overlap provides stereo coverage.

Reducing all these stereo images into a global topographic map is a big job, and is being led by LROC Team Members from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).

Astrocamp Observatory Services (AOS) Image: The lunar occultation of the planet Venus

This image by Dr Armando Lee of the Astrocamp Observatory Services shows the planet Venus visible above the Moon as photographed from Pasay City, south of Manila, Philippines.

The occurrence is called the lunar occultation of the planet Venus

Picture: EPA