What is LROC?

[NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
LROC Northern Polar Mosaic (LNPM)

The LROC team assembled 10,581 NAC images, collected over 4 years, into a spectacular northern polar mosaic. The LROC Northern Polar Mosaic (LNPM) is likely one of the world’s largest image mosaics in existence, or at least publicly available on the web, with over 680 gigapixels of valid image data covering a region (2.54 million km², 0.98 million miles²) slightly larger than the combined area of Alaska (1.72 million km²) and Texas (0.70 million km²) -- at a resolution of 2 meters per pixel! To create the mosaic, each LROC NAC image was map projected on a 30 m/pixel Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) derived Digital Terrain Model (DTM) using a software package called the Integrated Software for Imagers and Spectrometers (ISIS). SEE: What is LROC

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See Also:

• LUNASERV

Mining Helium 3 On the Moon

Helium-3 (He-3, sometimes called tralphium^[1]) is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. It is rare on the Earth, and it is sought for use in nuclear fusion research. The abundance of helium-3 is thought to be greater on the Moon (embedded in the upper layer of regolith by the solar wind over billions of years)^{[citation needed]}, though still low in quantity (28 ppm of lunar regolith is helium-4 and from one ppb to 50 ppb is helium-3)^[2][3], and the solar system's gas giants (left over from the original solar nebula).

 Materials on the Moon's surface contain helium-3 at concentrations on the order of between 1.4 and 15 ppb in sunlit areas,^[41][42] and may contain concentrations as much as 50 ppb in permanently shadowed regions.^[3] A number of people, starting with Gerald Kulcinski in 1986,^[43] have proposed to explore the moon, mine lunar regolith and use the helium-3 for fusion. Recently, companies as Planetary_Resources have also stated to be interested in mining helium-3 on the moon. Because of the low concentrations of helium-3, any mining equipment would need to process extremely large amounts of regolith (over 150 million tonnes of regolith to obtain one ton of helium 3),^[44] and some proposals have suggested that helium-3 extraction be piggybacked onto a larger mining and development operation

As Plato's Nightlight  mining company it is always of interest of what proposals are put forward that such ventures become of interest to providing for life being lived on the moon.  Materials for construction there and delivery to earth.

It is always of interest too, that the long range livability of the conditions for human life would have a longer goal term of mining for Helium 3 through a longer approach for sustenance as a by product of that venture.




Clementine color ratio composite image of Aristarchus Crater on the Moon. This 42 km diameter crater is located on the corner of the Aristarchus plateau, at 24 N, 47 W. Ejecta from the plateau is visible as the blue material at the upper left (northwest), while material excavated from the Oceanus Procellarum area is the reddish color to the lower right (southeast). The colors in this image can be used to ascertain compositional properties of the materials making up the deep strata of these two regions. (Clementine, USGS slide 11)

Precursors to research and development are a historical basis to the point where research development is now and part of that is elemental assessment of what we can gain from the environment of the moon.

 The orbiter, known as LRO, separated from the Atlas V rocket carrying it and a companion mission, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. The LCROSS handoff is expected to occur in about two hours and 10 minutes.

 The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) is one of two instruments that NASA contributed to India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, launched October 22, 2008. The instrument is led by principal investigator Carle Pieters of Brown University, and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

So in any adventure we must be able to build with the materials there to make it feasible for life so there are some things that need to be done in terms of that construction.

Moon is a 2009 British science fiction drama film directed by Duncan Jones.^[3] The film is about a man who experiences a personal crisis as he nears the end of a three-year solitary stint mining helium-3 on the far side of the Earth's moon.^[4]

 There would need to be significant infrastructure in place before industrial scale production of lunarcrete could be possible.^[2]

One of the products of that construction if I may so skip ahead is to see that the fiction productions of movies help us to see what needs to be done in NASA research to make it a viable project in determination for the long run.  A certain prediction and thought process to engage the future possibilities.

Lunarcrete, also known as "Mooncrete", an idea first proposed by Larry A. Beyer of the University of Pittsburgh in 1985, is a hypothetical aggregate building material, similar to concrete, formed from lunar regolith, that would cut the construction costs of building on the Moon.^[3]

What we need to take with us to the moon in terms of epoxies that will help shield and seal  the Mooncrete that we will be able to produce to provide for that building construction.

David Bennett, of the British Cement Association, argues that Lunarcrete has the following advantages as a construction material for lunar bases:^[8]

• Lunarcrete production would require less energy than lunar production of steel, aluminium, or brick.^[8]
• It is unaffected by temperature variations of +120°C to −150°C.^[8]
• It will absorb gamma rays.^[8]
• Material integrity is not affected by prolonged exposure to vacuum. Although free water will evaporate from the material, the water that is chemically bound as a result of the curing process will not.^[8]

He observes, however, that Lunarcrete is not an airtight material, and to make it airtight would require the application of an epoxy coating to the interior of any Lunarcrete structure.^[8]

Liquid scintillation counting is a standard laboratory method in the life-sciences for measuring radiation from beta-emitting nuclides. Scintillating materials are also used in differently constructed "counters" in many other fields.

See Also:

• Hubble Reveals Potential Titanium Oxide Deposits at Aristarchus and Schroter's Valley Rille 

• Plato's Nightlight Mining Company is claiming Aristarchus Crater and Surrounding Region

Grail At the Moon

 Grail Recovery and Interior Labratory

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 a 56-mile (90-kilometer) by 5,197-mile (8,363-kilometer) orbit around the moon that takes approximately 11.5 hours to complete.

Visualisation of the “Geoid” of the Moon

Mechanical Converted Sounds of Operation

MSL Curiosity's Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer, with a ruler

• ChemCam: ChemCam is a suite of remote sensing instruments, including the first laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system to be used for planetary science and a remote micro-imager (RMI).
  See also: Curiosity rover#Chemistry and Camera complex (ChemCam)

• Alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS): This device can irradiate samples with alpha particles and map the spectra of X-rays that are re-emitted for determining the elemental composition of samples.
  See also: APXS)

• CheMin: CheMin is the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence instrument.
  See also: CheMin)
  
  

  
  
  See Also:
  
  Spectrometers
  
  

  • Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES)
  • Mössbauer Spectrometer (MB)
  • Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)

Grail: Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

GRAIL Spacecraft Logo

NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL, spacecraft logo is emblazoned on the first stage of a United Launch Alliance Delta II launch vehicle, now secured in the gantry at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 17B.

Image credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Mission Overview

The GRAIL mission will place two spacecraft into the same orbit around the Moon. As they fly over areas of greater and lesser gravity, caused both by visible features such as mountains and craters and by masses hidden beneath the lunar surface, they will move slightly toward and away from each other. An instrument aboard each spacecraft will measure the changes in their relative velocity very precisely, and scientists will translate this information into a high-resolution map of the Moon's gravitational field. 


This gravity-measuring technique is essentially the same as that of the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE), which has been mapping Earth's gravity since 2002. See: Grail: Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory

See Also: Time-Variable Gravity Measurements





Mean Gravity Field

Who of us could forget what the earth looks like after it has been mapped.

 On planet Earth, we tend to think of the gravitational effect as being the same no matter where we are on the planet. We certainly don't see variations anywhere near as dramatic as those between the Earth and the Moon. But the truth is, the Earth's topography is highly variable with mountains, valleys, plains, and deep ocean trenches. As a consequence of this variable topography, the density of Earth's surface varies. These fluctuations in density cause slight variations in the gravity field, which, remarkably, GRACE can detect from space.

Our views in terms of the gravity field becomes part and parcel of our assessment as we venture out into space. So why not the Moon.

Image Credit: NASA/Goddard

Early assessment of Clementine along with LCROSS paints a interesting feature of our Moon as we look to understand the matter constituent makeup of the moon,  along with what it's gravity field.

Here at Dialogos of Eide I am concerned about this relationship. Such mapping not only becomes useful in the determination of the gravity field but it also heightens the understanding of relating to the elemental.

Future moon missions will need to understand the elemental makeup (while quantum gravity and relativity have not been joined experimentally) in order to use the elements to assist the colony in providing the tools necessary for it's survival there. With a Treaty established,  such claims to the moon become a societal move beyond earth's domain and truly moves us to civilization that will habitat the stars.

Part of this move into the cosmos will be the need to understand "something spiritual about ourselves and while ethereal in it's assessment this relationship to gravity."  It is also necessary to go "even deeper" to understand our ability to manipulate the force of gravity as a product of the mechanism of the Higg's field as we move through our own psychological underpinnings with the way in which we choose to live. (I know we have yet to proof this connection).

I give some inkling with the four links below. This is my assessment of the relationship toward "my gravity"  as I choose to live in the world of reality.

• Colour of Gravity 4 
• Colour of Gravity 3
• Colour of Gravity 2
• Colour of Gravity 1

LRO's Crater Science Investigations

If you want to learn more about the history of Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system, craters are a great place to look. Now, thanks to LRO's LROC instrument, we can take a much closer look at Linné Crater on the moon--a pristine crater that's great to use to compare with other craters! See: LRO's Crater Science Investigations

The life cycle of a lunar impact and associated time and special scales. The LCROSS measurement methods are “layered” in response to the rapidly evolving impact environment. See: Impact:Lunar CRater Observation Satellite (LCROSS)

Data from the ultraviolet/visible spectrometer taken shortly after impact showing emission lines (indicated by arrows). These emission lines are diagnostic of compounds in the vapor/debris cloud.
Credit: NASA

LCROSS Impact Data Indicates Water on Moon11.13.09

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It is important that we establish an outpost on the moon in order to progress further out into the universe. A lot of work has to be done to venture further out, so that we may explore.

Click on Image

See Also: Plato's Nightlight Mining Company

The Lunar Far Side: The Side Never Seen from Earth

                                                            Mass concentration (astronomy)

This figure shows the topography (top) and corresponding gravity (bottom) signal of Mare Smythii at the Moon. It nicely illustrates the term "mascon". Author Martin Pauer

While article is from Tuesday, June 22, 2010 9:00 PM it still amazes me how we see the moon in context of it's coloring.
Topography when seen in context of landscape, how we measure aspects of the gravitational field supply us with a more realistic interpretation of the globe as a accurate picture of how that sphere(isostatic equilibrium)  looks.

Image Credit: NASA/Goddard

Ten Cool Things Seen in the First Year of LRO

Tidal forces between the moon and the Earth have slowed the moon' rotation so that one side of the moon always faces toward our planet. Though sometimes improperly referred to as the "dark side of the moon," it should correctly be referred to as the "far side of the moon" since it receives just as much sunlight as the side that faces us. The dark side of the moon should refer to whatever hemisphere isn't lit at a given time. Though several spacecraft have imaged the far side of the moon since then, LRO is providing new details about the entire half of the moon that is obscured from Earth. The lunar far side is rougher and has many more craters than the near side, so quite a few of the most fascinating lunar features are located there, including one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The image highlighted here shows the moon's topography from LRO's LOLA instruments with the highest elevations up above 20,000 feet in red and the lowest areas down below -20,000 feet in blue.

Learn More About Far side of the Moon

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 Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown

Figure 4: A lunar topographic map showing the Moon from the vantage point of the eastern limb. On the left side of the Moon seen in this view is part of the familiar part of the Moon observed from Earth (the eastern part of the nearside). In the middle left-most part of the globe is Mare Tranquillitatis (light blue) the site of the Apollo 11 landing, and above this an oval-appearing region (Mare Serenitatis; dark blue) the site of the Apollo 17 landing. Most of the dark blue areas are lunar maria, low lying regions composed of volcanic lava flows that formed after the heavily cratered lunar highlands (and are thus much less cratered). The topography is derived from over 2.4 billion shots made by the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on board the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The large near-circular basins show the effects of the early impacts on early planetary crusts in the inner solar system, including the Earth. 

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 Author and Image Credit: Mark A. Wieczorek

Radial gravitational anomaly at the surface of the Moon as determined from the gravity model LP150Q. The contribution due to the rotational flattening has been removed for clarity, and positive anomalies correspond to an increase in magnitude of the gravitational acceleration. Data are presented in two Lambert azimuthal equal area projections.

The major characteristic of the Moon's gravitational field is the presence of mascons, which are large positive gravity anomalies associated with some of the giant impact basins. These anomalies greatly influence the orbit of spacecraft about the Moon, and an accurate gravitational model is necessary in the planning of both manned and unmanned missions. They were initially discovered by the analysis of Lunar Orbiter tracking data,^[2] since navigation tests prior to the Apollo program experienced positioning errors much larger than mission specifications.

LCROSS Observes Water on Moon

Data from the ultraviolet/visible spectrometer taken shortly after impact showing emission lines (indicated by arrows). These emission lines are diagnostic of compounds in the vapor/debris cloud.
Credit: NASA

LCROSS Impact Data Indicates Water on Moon11.13.09

The argument that the moon is a dry, desolate place no longer holds water.

Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.

NASA today opened a new chapter in our understanding of the moon. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moon’s south pole.

The impact created by the LCROSS Centaur upper stage rocket created a two-part plume of material from the bottom of the crater. The first part was a high angle plume of vapor and fine dust and the second a lower angle ejecta curtain of heavier material. This material has not seen sunlight in billions of years.

See more on link above.



LRO's First Moon Images

07.02.09

1994 Clementine image of the moon with Mare Nubium labeled. LRO's first lunar images show an area near this region. Credit: NASA

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has transmitted its first images since reaching the moon on June 23. The spacecraft's two cameras, collectively known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC, were activated June 30. The cameras are working well and have returned images of a region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds).

As the moon rotates beneath LRO, LROC gradually will build up photographic maps of the lunar surface.

"Our first images were taken along the moon's terminator -- the dividing line between day and night -- making us initially unsure of how they would turn out," said LROC Principal Investigator Mark Robinson of Arizona State University in Tempe. "Because of the deep shadowing, subtle topography is exaggerated, suggesting a craggy and inhospitable surface. In reality, the area is similar to the region where the Apollo 16 astronauts safely explored in 1972. While these are magnificent in their own right, the main message is that LROC is nearly ready to begin its mission."

Universality Can Lead too, Isostatic Adjustment

Pressure and heat melts protons and neutrons into a new state of matter - the quark gluon plasma.

Quark Gluon Plasma

Now you must know that this entry holds philosophical perspective and is the mandate of Night Light Mining Company to explore the potentials of planetary and geological data gained from scientific analysis to help the society of earth to move farther out into space, and to colonize.

Why are Planets Round?

It is always interesting to see water in space.

Image: NASA/JPL-

Planets are round because their gravitational field acts as though it originates from the center of the body and pulls everything toward it. With its large body and internal heating from radioactive elements, a planet behaves like a fluid, and over long periods of time succumbs to the gravitational pull from its center of gravity. The only way to get all the mass as close to planet's center of gravity as possible is to form a sphere. The technical name for this process is "isostatic adjustment."

With much smaller bodies, such as the 20-kilometer asteroids we have seen in recent spacecraft images, the gravitational pull is too weak to overcome the asteroid's mechanical strength. As a result, these bodies do not form spheres. Rather they maintain irregular, fragmentary shapes.

I wanted to explore the philosophical bend first, as it sets the tone for analysis not only of the potentials of planets but of what we can gained from understanding the place of values we can set around ourselves.

Two-dimensional analogy of space–time distortion. Matter changes the geometry of spacetime, this (curved) geometry being interpreted as gravity. White lines do not represent the curvature of space but instead represent the coordinate system imposed on the curved spacetime, which would be rectilinear in a flat spacetime. See: Spacetime

Be it known then, that such universality can exist in principle around this "central core" that such equatorial measures are distinctive and related to the equatorial possibility of Inverse Square Law, that as a mathematical principle, this is brought to bear on how we solidify the substance of the elemental table, that we can say, indeed, that such values can be assigned in "refractive light" to values which are built to become "round in planetary constitution."

The life cycle of a lunar impact and associated time and special scales. The LCROSS measurement methods are “layered” in response to the rapidly evolving impact environment. See: Impact:Lunar CRater Observation Satellite (LCROSS)

It becomes an evolutionary discourse then about what began from universality "in principle" can become such a state as evident in the framework of elemental consideration, that one might say indeed that it is "this constitution" that will signify the relevance to the spacetime fabric and it's settled orbit.

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See Also:

Isostatic Adjustment is Why Planets are Round?

Centroids

Plato's Nightlight Mining Company is claiming Aristarchus Crater and Surrounding Region

So what is the legality of claiming land on the moon?

What regions would you like to claim if you had the opportunity to make such a claim? Imagine  Covered Wagons racing now as spaceships. Racing, to plant their posts too include, so many acres of land.

When the Bugle Sounded:

Stampede for Oklahoma's Unassigned Lands

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Hubble Reveals Potential Titanium Oxide Deposits at Aristarchus and Schroter's Valley Rille

As a photocatalyst

Titanium dioxide, particularly in the anatase form, is a photocatalyst under ultraviolet light. Recently it has been found that titanium dioxide, when spiked with nitrogen ions, or doped with metal oxide like tungsten trioxide, is also a photocatalyst under visible and UV light. The strong oxidative potential of the positive holes oxidizes water to create hydroxyl radicals. It can also oxidize oxygen or organic materials directly. Titanium dioxide is thus added to paints, cements, windows, tiles, or other products for sterilizing, deodorizing and anti-fouling properties and is also used as a hydrolysis catalyst. It is also used in the Graetzel cell, a type of chemical solar cell.
The photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide were discovered by Akira Fujishima in 1967^[15] and published in 1972.^[16] The process on the surface of the titanium dioxide was called the Honda-Fujishima effect.^[15] Titanium dioxide has potential for use in energy production: as a photocatalyst, it can

• carry out hydrolysis; i.e., break water into hydrogen and oxygen. Were the hydrogen collected, it could be used as a fuel. The efficiency of this process can be greatly improved by doping the oxide with carbon.^[17].
• Titanium dioxide can also produce electricity when in nanoparticle form. Research suggests that by using these nanoparticles to form the pixels of a screen, they generate electricity when transparent and under the influence of light. If subjected to electricity on the other hand, the nanoparticles blacken, forming the basic characteristics of a LCD screen. According to creator Zoran Radivojevic, Nokia has already built a functional 200-by-200-pixel monochromatic screen which is energetically self-sufficient.

In 1995 Fujishima and his group discovered the superhydrophilicity phenomenon for titanium dioxide coated glass exposed to sun light.^[15] This resulted in the development of self-cleaning glass and anti-fogging coatings.
TiO₂ incorporated into outdoor building materials, such as paving stones in noxer blocks or paints, can substantially reduce concentrations of airborne pollutants such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides.^[18]
A photocatalytic cement that uses titanium dioxide as a primary component, produced by Italcementi Group, was included in Time's Top 50 Inventions of 2008.^[19]

[edit] For wastewater remediation

TiO₂ offers great potential as an industrial technology for detoxification or remediation of wastewater due to several factors.

1. 
   
   
   
   

   The process occurs under ambient conditions very slowly, direct UV light exposure increases the rate of reaction.

   
   
   
2. 
   
   
   
   

   The formation of photocyclized intermediate products, unlike direct photolysis

   techniques, is avoided.
   
   
3. 
   
   
   
   

   Oxidation of the substrates to CO₂ is complete.

   
   
   
4. 
   
   
   
   

   The photocatalyst is inexpensive and has a high turnover.

   
   
   
5. 
   
   
   
   

   TiO₂ can be supported on suitable reactor substrates.

   
   
   

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The lunar south pole as it will appear on the night of impact. Photo Credit - NMSU / MSFC Tortugas Observatory

The impact site is crater Cabeus near the Moon's south pole. NASA is guiding the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ("LCROSS" for short) and its Centaur booster rocket into the crater's floor for a spectacular double-impact designed to "unearth" signs of lunar water. See:LCROSS Viewer's Guide

Image Above: The dark blue and purple areas at the moons poles indicate neutron emissions that are consistent with hydrogen-rich deposits covered by desiccated regolith. These hydrogen signatures are possible indications of water in the form of ice or hydrated minerals. Feldman et al., Science, 281, 1496, 1998. Click image to enlarge Credit: NASA

Just like on Earth, water will be a crucial resource on the moon. Transporting water and other goods from Earth to the moon’s surface is expensive. Finding natural resources, such as water ice, on the moon could help expedite lunar exploration. The LCROSS mission will search for water, using information learned from the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions.

By going to the moon for extended periods of time, a new generation of explorers will learn how to work safely in a harsh environment. A lunar outpost is a stepping stone to future exploration of other bodies in our solar system. The moon also offers many clues about when the planets were formed.

See:Backreaction: Free Falling

See Also:

Dialogos of Eide: Hubble Reveals Potential Titanium Oxide Deposits ...

Jun 06, 2009

 

Dialogos of Eide: Universality Can Lead too, Isostatic Adjustment

Oct 12, 2009

 

messenger reveals mercury's geological history

Jan 18, 2008

 

isostatic adjustment is why planets are round?

Mar 12, 2007