Showing posts with label Moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moon. Show all posts

Thursday, April 12, 2018

A Tour of the Moon

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/David Ladd

This video is public domain and along with other supporting visualizations can be downloaded from the Scientific Visualization Studio at: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4619

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The Naming of Mars Craters: Concerns and Considerations


Recently initiatives that capitalise on the public’s interest in space and astronomy have proliferated, some putting a price tag on naming space objects and their features, such as Mars craters. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) would like to emphasise that such initiatives go against the spirit of free and equal access to space, as well as against internationally recognised standards. Hence no purchased names can ever be used on official maps and globes. The IAU encourages the public to become involved in the naming process of space objects and their features by following the officially recognised (and free) methods. SeeConcerns and Considerations with the Naming of Mars Craters
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I am re-posting this article for further considerations to possible attempts to change the way we look at property in space.

To advance perceptions outside of the link provided and site that goes beyond the science of, I would ask that you consider the movement in Ladee. My early research on the moon's matters are of importance when colonization of the moon takes place because resources have to be used there to support the community. So the use of measure to ascertain elements is an important function of how we can utilize not only our science in the cosmos but of how we can measure those matters.

See:

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Bigelow Report to NASA emphasises the importance of property rights:
The idea of creating property rights to encourage the commercialization of space is not the first time that Bigelow has acted or spoken in favour of creating property rights in space.
 Outer Space Treaty-Article IX
 

In the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the Treaty. States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose. If a State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by it or its nationals in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities of other States Parties in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, it shall undertake appropriate international consultations before proceeding with any such activity or experiment. A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, may request consultation concerning the activity or experiment. 

Space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow (left) discusses layout plans of the company's lunar base with Eric Haakonstad, one of the Bigelow Aerospace lead engineers.

One might want to examine Bigelow's self interest in terms of cost of mining in relation too, societal push for colonization of space(is there such a thing......consider the international treaty and what changes he wished to make.) I know I can't own a plot of land on the moon for mining

(It is) nearly impossible at this time to identify exactly what activities will sustain commercial industry on the Moon, mining of resources such as Helium-3, mining rare earth elements, or leveraging fields of solar arrays for power generation are all possibilities.”
Why property rights?

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Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: 2014Fifty-seventh session(11-20 June 2014)

 The fifty-seven session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will be held from 11-20 June 2014 at the United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna International Center, Vienna, Austria.


  • A/RES/68/75: General Assembly resolution on "International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space" (available in all official languages of the United Nations)
  • A/68/20: Report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Fifty-sixth session (available in all official languages of the United Nations)
  • A/AC.105/1065: Report of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee on its fifty-first session, held in Vienna from 10 to 21 February 2014 (available in all official languages of the United Nations)
  • A/AC.105/1067: Report of the Legal Subcommittee on its fifty-third session, held in Vienna from 24 March to 4 April 2014 (available in all official languages of the United Nations)
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See Also:

Monday, February 17, 2014

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer spacecraft


See:
NASA Ames LADEE Mission: NASA Briefing Previews Lunar Mission 
 


NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, spacecraft has completed the check-out phase of its mission and has begun science operations around the moon. All the science instruments on-board have been examined by the LADEE team and have been cleared to begin collecting and analyzing the dust in the exosphere, or very thin atmosphere, that surrounds the moon.

NASA's Ames Research Center designed, developed, built, and tested the spacecraft and manages mission operations.

For more information about the LADEE mission, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/ladee
For more information about NASA Ames, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/ames
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Communications Demonstration.
This is NASA's first high-data-rate laser communications system used on a deep space mission. It will enable communications similar to the capabilities found in high-speed fiber optic networks.
Take note of communications technique.
 Free-space optical communication (FSO) is an optical communication technology that uses light propagating in free space to wirelessly transmit data for telecommunications or computer networking. "Free space" means air, outer space, vacuum, or something similar. This contrasts with using solids such as optical fiber cable or an optical transmission line. The technology is useful where the physical connections are impractical due to high costs or other considerations.

Saturday, December 08, 2012

GRAIL's Gravity Tour of the Moon


Embedded video from
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology
This movie shows the variations in the lunar gravity field as measured by NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) during the primary mapping mission from March to May 2012.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Space policy of the Barack Obama administration


The space policy of the Barack Obama administration was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama on April 15, 2010, at a major space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center.[1] He committed to increasing NASA funding by $6 billion over five years and completing the design of a new heavy-lift launch vehicle by 2015 and to begin construction thereafter. He also predicted a U.S. crewed orbital Mars mission by the mid-2030s, preceded by an asteroid mission by 2025. In response to concerns over job losses, Obama promised a $40 million effort to help Space Coast workers affected by the cancellation of the Space Shuttle program and Constellation program.
Any Problem with this type of video player  player have a look here

Saturday, September 22, 2012

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:

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Moon Pictures

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/

LPOD Photo Gallery


Motivation

During the late 1800s and well into the 1900s it seemed that every book that described the craters, mountains and other features of Earth's moon was titled The Moon. In my mind this came to stand for an encyclopedia-like series of descriptions of features on the lunar surface. In general, more recent books, especially those by professional scientists, describe the processes that formed and modified the Moon, and the surface features themselves are no longer described systematically. But for many lunar observers and others thinking about the Moon as a place, knowledge of individual features is important. See: The Moon Wiki
Labeled Moon-Click Here for Larger Image

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

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

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Mechanical Converted Sounds of Operation

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

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Sphere and Sound Waves


Don demonstrates water oscillations on a speaker in microgravity, and ZZ Top rocks the boat 250 miles above Earth.Science off the Sphere: Space Soundwaves
So of course I might wonder about cymatics in space. It 's more the idea that you could further experiment with the environment with which life on the space station may provide in opportunity. That's all.:)



There is a reason why I am presenting this blog entry.




It has to do with a comparison that came to mind about our earth and the relationship we might see to a sphere of water. Most will know from my blog the relevant topic used in terms of Isostatic adjustment in terms of planet design and formation. It is also about gravity and elemental consideration in terms of the shape of the planet.

Now sure we can expect certain things from the space environment in terms of molecular arrangement but of course my views are going much deeper in terms of the makeup of that space given the constituents of early universe formations.  So here given to states for examination I had an insight in terms of how one may arrange modularization in terms of using the space environment to capitalize.

So there is something forming in mind here about the inherent nature of the matter constituents that I may say deeper then the design itself such arrangements are predestined to become perfectly arranged according to the type of element associated with it?

 I want to be in control of that given a cloud of all constituents so that I may choose how to arrange the mattered state of existence. A planet maker perhaps?:) Design the gravity field. There are reasons for this.




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.




See Also:

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Space Geodesy



 Project manager Stephen Merkowitz talks about his work with NASA's Space Geodesy Project, including a brief overview of the four fundamental techniques of space geodesy: GPS, VLBI, SLR, and DORIS.

Learn more about space geodesy at: http://space-geodesy.nasa.gov/

This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?11031


Space Geodesy provides positioning, navigation, and timing reference systems and Earth system observations
Geodesy is the science of the Earth’s shape, gravity and rotation, including their evolution in time. A number of different techniques are used to observe the geodetic properties of the Earth including the space-geodetic techniques of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) like the US Global Positioning System (GPS), and the French Doppler Orbitography and Radio-Positioning by Integrated Satellite (DORIS) system. These space-geodetic observations also provide the basis for the reference frame that is needed in order to assign coordinates to points and objects and thereby determine how those points and objects move over time. See SGP Science






See Also:


Sunday, January 01, 2012

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.

Monday, April 25, 2011

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






 ***
 

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

Sunday, March 20, 2011

SuperMoon

A supermoon image of March 19, 2011


In astrology, a supermoon is a full or new moon that coincides with a close approach by the Moon to the Earth. The Moon's distance varies each month between approximately 354,000 km (220,000 mi) and 410,000 km (254,000 mi) due to its elliptical orbit around Earth.[1]

Contents


Definition

The name SuperMoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, defined as:
...a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit (perigee). In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.[3]
(The phrasing "within 90% of its closest approach" is unclear, but an example on Nolle's website shows that he means that the Earth-Moon distance is in the lowest tenth of its range.)
The term supermoon is not widely accepted or used within the astronomy or scientific community, who prefer the term perigee-syzygy.[4] Perigee is the point at which the moon is closest in its orbit to the Earth, and syzygy is full or new moon, when the Earth, the moon and the sun are aligned. Hence, supermoon can be regarded as a combination of the two, although they do not perfectly coincide each time. [3]

Effect on tides

The combined effect of the Sun and Moon on the Earth's oceans, the tide,[5] is greatest when the Moon is new or full (see Tide#Range variation: springs and neaps). At lunar perigee the tidal force is even stronger,[6] resulting in more extreme high and low tides, but even at its most powerful this force is still weak.[1]

Link to natural disasters

Some studies have reported a weak correlation between lunar activity and shallow, very low intensity earthquakes. However, no evidence has been found of any correlation with major earthquakes.[7][8][9]
It has been speculated that the Indian Ocean tsunami and earthquake on December 26, 2004, was influenced by a supermoon which occurred 2 weeks later on January 10, 2005.[10] Similar speculation was made with the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which occured 8 days prior to the the closest supermoon since 1992.[11] In both cases the Moon was closest to the apogee (greatest distance). [1][12] However, the three closest supermoons in the twentieth century did not coincide with any earthquakes above 6.0 MW. [13]

Dates of supermoons between 1950 and 2050

There are approximately four to six supermoons annually.[3] The following is a list of past and predicted extreme supermoons.[14][15]
  • November 10, 1954
  • November 20, 1972
  • January 8, 1974
  • February 26, 1975
  • December 2, 1990
  • January 19, 1992
  • March 8, 1993
  • January 10, 2005
  • December 12, 2008
  • January 30, 2010
  • March 19, 2011[16]
  • November 14, 2016
  • January 2, 2018
  • January 21, 2023
  • November 25, 2034
  • January 13, 2036

References

  1. ^ a b c Plait, Phil. "No, the “supermoon” didn’t cause the Japanese earthquake". Discover Magazine. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/11/no-the-supermoon-didnt-cause-the-japanese-earthquake/. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published March 11, 2011. 
  2. ^ Hawley, John. "Appearance of the Moon Size". Ask a Scientist. Newton. http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy99/phy99371.htm. Retrieved 14 March 2011; no publication date. 
  3. ^ a b c Nolle, Richard. "Supermoon". Astropro. http://www.astropro.com/features/articles/supermoon/. Retrieved 14 March 2011; no publication date; modified March 10, 2011. 
  4. ^ Ledermann, Tug. "'Perigee-syzygy' caused full moon to look bigger, brighter in October". University Wire. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-146006378.html. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published November 13, 2007. 
  5. ^ Plait, Phil. "Tides, the Earth, the Moon, and why our days are getting longer". Bad Astronomy. http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/tides.html. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published 2008; modified March 5, 2011. 
  6. ^ "Apogee and Perigee of the Moon". Moon Connection. http://www.moonconnection.com/apogee_perigee.phtml. Retrieved 14 March 2011; no publication date. 
  7. ^ "Can the position of the moon affect seismicity?". The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. http://seismo.berkeley.edu/faq/planets.html. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published 1999. 
  8. ^ Fuis, Gary. "Can the position of the moon or the planets affect seismicity?". U.S. Geological Survey: Earthquake Hazards Program. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?faqID=109. Retrieved 14 March 2011; no publication date. 
  9. ^ Wolchover, Natalie. "Will the March 19 'Supermoon' Trigger Natural Disasters?". Life's Little Mysteries. http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/will-supermoon-cause-earthquake-storm-natural-disasters-1442/. Retrieved 15 March 2011; published March 9, 2011. 
  10. ^ Paquette, Mark. "Extreme Super (Full) Moon to Cause Chaos?". Astronomy Weather Blog. AccuWeather. http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/astronomy/story/46417/extreme-super-full-moon-to-cause-chaos.asp. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published March 1, 2011. 
  11. ^ "Is the Japanese earthquake the latest natural disaster to have been caused by a 'supermoon'?". The Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1365225/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-Did-supermoon-cause-todays-natural-disaster.html. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published March 11, 2011. 
  12. ^ Byrd, Deborah. "Debunking the "Supermoon" Theory of Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami". Fast Company. http://www.fastcompany.com/1737710/the-supermoon-and-japans-89-magnitude-earthquake. Retrieved 14 March 2011; published March 11, 2011. 
  13. ^ Yesterday's supermoon did not cause any disasters, Asia One, 2011-03-20
  14. ^ Nolle, Richard. "20th Century SuperMoon Alignments". Astropro. http://www.astropro.com/features/tables/cen20ce/suprmoon.html. Retrieved 14 March 2011; no publication date. 
  15. ^ Nolle, Richard. "21st Century SuperMoon Alignments". Astropro. http://www.astropro.com/features/tables/cen21ce/suprmoon.html. Retrieved 14 March 2011; no publication date. 
  16. ^ Fazekas, Andrew. ""Supermoon": Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Saturday". National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110318-supermoon-earth-japan-earthquake-tsunami-science-space-biggest-full-moon/. Retrieved 20 March 2011; published March 17, 2011.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Moon Base Alpha

This treaty became effective on January 27, 1967. As its name implies, the Outer Space Treaty prohibits placing into orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, the installation of such weapons on celestial bodies, or their stationing in outer space in any other manner. Also forbidden are the establishment of military bases, installations, and fortifications; the testing of any type of weapons; and the conduct .

Glass?

NASA has once again landed on the lunar surface with the goal of colonization, research, and further exploration. Shortly after the return to the Moon, NASA has established a small outpost on the south pole of the moon called Moonbase Alpha. Utilizing solar energy and regolith processing, the moonbase has become self-sufficient and plans for further expansion are underway.

Moonbase Alpha Game ScreenShot -- Repairing the Life Support System
Moonbase Alpha Game ScreenShot -- Repairing the Life Support System
In Moonbase Alpha, you assume the exciting role of an astronaut working to further human expansion and research. Returning from a research expedition, you witness a meteorite impact that cripples the life support capability of the settlement. With precious minutes ticking away, you and your team must repair and replace equipment in order to restore the oxygen production to the settlement.

Team coordination along with the proper use and allocation of your available resources (player controlled robots, rovers, repair tools, etc.) are key to your overall success. There are several ways in which you can successfully restore the life support system of the lunar base, but since you are scored on the time spent to complete the task, you have to work effectively as a team, learn from decisions made in previous gaming sessions, and make intelligence decisions in order to top the leaderboards.

  "In Our Hands: The Moon"






Blogger Plato said...








Well Steven we know we need water if we are ever to establish a base. The support system for establishment of that base, require elements that can be found there, as they will be necessary for the foundation and support of "creating the place" in which to live. The property has to have some value. Who is to determine it's owner ship? So how one looks at the planets is to think about it's structure and what benefits can be gained from establishing locations for ventures further out into space. What it's gravity field looks like may aid in the determination of the mass and density of that planet n aiding the elemental determination of that structure? Colonization. I just thought if I was to gain from mining profits it would have to be for a reason in order to get my capital expenses out of such an investment. Then, what mining and values understood in terms of those elements is to be able to look at the moon in such a way that such support for that colonization for the moon base is established. Is it a international mining company, then a private one? Who shall have the say over where such mining can or can't occur, if property rights are or are not given? Just some of the thoughts that have occurred for me. Best,
January 13,
NASA's Mini-SAR instrument, which flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, found more than 40 small craters with water ice. The craters range in size from 1 to 9 miles (2 to 15 km) in diameter. Although the total amount of ice depends on its thickness in each crater, it's estimated there could be at least 600 million metric tons of water ice. The red circles denote fresh craters; the green circle mark anomalous craters.  NASA
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Blogger Steven Colyer said...








Hi, Plato, Water, and air! In the long run I don't see that being as much of a problem as shelter from cosmic rays and solar radiation, which we can also solve. Air and water will have to be imported from Earth for the first century, maybe less. There's titanium oxide on the moon, right? That means oxygen. I'll make a deal with you. You can keep the titanium, I'll take the O2. With the O2 we'll get our air, and if we can locate some hydrogen we can combine that with the O2 to make water. And once someone gets off their duff and repeats Biosphere, except this time with less mistakes both managerial and engineering-wise of the first one, we'll recycle that stuff. For food: plants, and the small furry animals that love them. For shelter, the best news of late is that there are Caves on the moon! That's where we'll settle first. It'll sure save on excavation costs. Now, I know this will be pricey, but that hasn't stopped exploration before. We know who the Ferdinands and Isabellas of our day are, all that remains is to find the Columbuses, and I suspect there are no shortage of them either. And in any event, as Kennedy said, we won't go to the moon because it is easy, we will go to the moon because it is hard! A challenge! A goal. Goals are good. As a fringe benefit, we can solve the massive poverty problem here on Earth in doing this. Full employment for all humans is possible, provided we have a goal and people want to help. I have a cousin who worked at Grumman in the 60's - he was pretty darn proud to be one of the hundreds of thousands that allowed Neil and Buzz to step on our sister planet and return safely to the Earth. The Moon with it's 1/4th gravity will provide a saner place to build and launch a Mars mission one day. Also, in about 2 months we'll have a probe in orbit around planet Mercury. It's quite possible Mercury has more rich minerals and precious metals than any other planet, and if so, our successes on establishing a lunar base will be priceless in terms of experience to go after the Gold planet. Both seem equally hostile. So did North America back in the day, given the technology of those days, but, our ancestors conquered that eventually, eh? Yes they did, and we're the living proof. :-)
January 14, 2011 6:38 AM




Blogger Plato said...








Steven:There's titanium oxide on the moon, right? That means oxygen. You get my point well then that, "the elements" are factors that we have to take into consideration if the future of colonization has a step off point. 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) So one must first plan for the expansion based on a blueprint for future generations. So you develop a research scenario based on the development and support of building such a base. As you have shown we are part way to the moon "so structure of habitation is and has already shown it can "withstand" through how such a design must be built on the moon. Of course first habitations is going to be the capsules in which it got us there. Metallurgic and refinement processes are developed for specific kinds of materials needed in the development of. Politics is an interesting question when it comes to how we want to move out toward space colonization, beyond the boundaries earth has to this date incorporated so as to benefit investment, while developing for all humankind? So is it a "public company" or "a private Corporation" through future developmental designs that shall lead the way? Best,
January 14, 2011 7:09 AM
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Blogger Plato said...








Extracting Oxygen from Moon Rocks If you have obtained a long term supply of elements specific, then how shall they be combined to support such a long stay? "A supply" for sure then. Best,
January 14, 2011 7:18 AM
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Blogger Steven Colyer said...








So is it a "public company" or "a private Corporation" through future developmental designs that shall lead the way? You handle the Legal end and I'll handle the Sales end. :-) As a tip though, what did it take to start up the Dutch East India Trading Company? It's in the History books, a not-small dose of which I believe you lawyers had to study in your undergraduate days. :-) Also, regarding Columbus. Was he really Italiano, or was he the Portuguese double-spy Salvador Fernandes Zarco, who played King John against Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and vice versa, until he got the 3 ships he couldn't afford himself? And who then, on the high seas, ran into, got info from, then killed: John Cabot, the alleged REAL discoverer of the New World? Well, I don't know, sounds like conspiracy crackpottery to me, but however he did it, he sure got it done.




Blogger Plato said...








 








Steven: You handle the Legal end and I'll handle the Sales end. You have to lead first by example? At 9:11 AM, November 05, 2009, Steven:How can Quantum Gravity help? Transmutation. Once we know how matter and energy work on the smallest scales, Engineers should shortly thereafter learn how to turn Lunar titanium into any other form of matter we desire, and Newton's dream of Alchemy will finally be realized. Unfortunately I am embroiled in United States sovereignty claim because of the flag planted on the moon and various mirrors for measure as claims to land. Setting up the infrastructure like Christine said is first and foremost. An elementary consideration as to how we can support that community on the Moon and provide for manufacture and production is why my companies move to land claims of the Aristarchus Crater and Surrounding Region. If different countries can challenge Canada's sovereignty of it's north, then I should have no problem contesting any rights to United States sovereignty on the moon.:) If we as a global community dispense with such borders then as a community it then belongs to all people, not just "capitalistic control." I as a mining company will bequeath all my lands to such an endeavor. Best,
January 14, 2011 7:43 AM
***

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967


Treaty on principles governing the activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies.


Opened for signature at Moscow, London, and Washington on 27 January, 1967


THE STATES PARTIES. TO THIS TREATY,


INSPIRED by the great prospects opening up before mankind as a result of man's entry into outer space,

RECOGNIZING the common interest of all mankind in the progress of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,


BELIEVING that the exploration and use of outer space should be carried on for the benefit of all peoples irrespective of the degree of their economic or scientific development,


DESIRING to contribute to broad international co-operation in the scientific as well as the legal aspects of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes,

BELIEVING that such co-operation will contribute to the development of mutual understanding and to the strengthening of friendly relations between States and peoples,


RECALLING resolution 1962 (XVIII), entitled "Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space", which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on 13 December 1963,


RECALLING resolution 1884 (XVIII), calling upon States to refrain from placing in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction or from installing such weapons on celestial bodies, which was adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly on 17 October 1963,


TAKING account of United Nations General Assembly resolution 110 (II) of 3 November 1947, which condemned propaganda designed or likely to provoke or encourage any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression, and considering that the aforementioned resolution is applicable to outer space,


CONVINCED that a Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, will further the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations,


HAVE AGREED ON THE FOLLOWING:


Article I


The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.


Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.


There shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and States shall facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation.


Article II


Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.


Article III

States Parties to the Treaty shall carry on activities in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international co- operation and understanding.

Article IV


States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, instal such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.


The moon and other celestial bodies shall be used by all States Parties to the Treaty exclusively for peaceful purposes. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies shall be forbidden. The use of military personnel for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes shall not be prohibited. The use of any equipment or facility necessary for peaceful exploration of the moon and other celestial bodies shall also not be prohibited.


Article V

In carrying on activities in outer space and on celestial bodies, the astronauts of one State Party shall render all possible assistance to the astronauts of other States Parties.


Article VI

States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty. The activities of non- governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorization and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. When activities are carried on in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, by an international organization, responsibility for compliance with this Treaty shall be borne both by the international organization and by the States Parties to the Treaty participating in such organization.

Article VII


Each State Party to the Treaty that launches or procures the launching of an object into outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and each State Party from whose territory or facility an object is launched, is internationally liable for damage to another State Party to the Treaty or to its natural or juridical persons by such object or its component parts on the Earth, in air space or in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies.


Article VIII


A State Party to the Treaty on whose registry an object launched into outer space is carried shall retain jurisdiction and control over such object, and over any personnel thereof, while in outer space or on a celestial body. Ownership of objects launched into outer space, including objects landed or constructed on a celestial body, and of their component parts, is not affected by their presence in outer space or on a celestial body or by their return to the Earth. Such objects or component parts found beyond the limits of the State Party of the Treaty on whose registry they are carried shall be returned to that State Party, which shall, upon request, furnish identifying data prior to their return.


Article IX


In the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, States Parties to the Treaty shall be guided by the principle of co-operation and mutual assistance and shall conduct all their activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties to the Treaty. States Parties to the Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall adopt appropriate measures for this purpose. If a State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by it or its nationals in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities of other States Parties in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, it shall undertake appropriate international consultations before proceeding with any such activity or experiment. A State Party to the Treaty which has reason to believe that an activity or experiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with activities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, may request consultation concerning the activity or experiment.


Article X

In order to promote international co-operation in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, in conformity with the purposes of this Treaty, the States Parties to the Treaty shall consider on a basis of equality any requests by other States Parties to the Treaty to be afforded an opportunity to observe the flight of space objects launched by those States.


The nature of such an opportunity for observation and the conditions under which it could be afforded shall be determined by agreement between the States concerned.


Article XI


In order to promote international co-operation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, States Parties to the Treaty conducting activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities. On receiving the said information, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should be prepared to disseminate it immediately and effectively.

Article XII


All stations, installations, equipment and space vehicles on the moon and other celestial bodies shall be open to representatives of other States Parties to the Treaty on a basis of reciprocity. Such representatives shall give reasonable advance notice of a projected visit, in order that appropriate consultations may be held and that maximum precautions may be taken to assure safety and to avoid interference with normal operations in the facility to be visited.

Article XIII


The provisions of this Treaty shall apply to the activities of States Parties to the Treaty in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by a single State Party to the Treaty or jointly with other States, including cases where they are carried on within the framework of international inter-governmental organizations.


Any practical questions arising in connexion with activities carried on by international inter-governmental organizations in the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be resolved by the States Parties to the Treaty either with the appropriate international organization or with one or more States members of that international organization, which are Parties to this Treaty.


Article XIV


1. This Treaty shall be open to all States for signature. Any State which does not sign this Treaty before its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article may accede to it at any time.
2. This Treaty shall be subject to ratification by signatory States. Instruments of ratification and instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America, which are hereby designated the Depositary Governments.
3. This Treaty shall enter into force upon the deposit of instruments of ratification by five Governments including the Governments designated as Depositary Governments under this Treaty.
4. For States whose instruments of ratification or accession are deposited subsequent to the entry into force of this Treaty, it shall enter into force on the date of the deposit of their instruments of ratification or accession.
5. The Depositary Governments shall promptly inform all signatory and acceding States of the date of each signature, the date of deposit of each instrument of ratification of and accession to this Treaty, the date of its entry into force and other notices.
6. This Treaty shall be registered by the Depositary Governments pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.


Article XV


Any State Party to the Treaty may propose amendments to this Treaty. Amendments shall enter into force for each State Party to the Treaty accepting the amendments upon their acceptance by a majority of the States Parties to the Treaty and thereafter for each remaining State Party to the Treaty on the date of acceptance by it.


Article XVI


Any State Party to the Treaty may give notice of its withdrawal from the Treaty one year after its entry into force by written notification to the Depositary Governments. Such withdrawal shall take effect one year from the date of receipt of this notification.

Article XVII


This Treaty, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the Depositary Governments. Duly certified copies of this Treaty shall be transmitted by the Depositary Governments to the Governments of the signatory and acceding States.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorised, have signed this Treaty.
DONE in triplicate, at the cities of London, Moscow and Washington, the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven.

Stephen J. Garber, NASA History Web Curator

***

Space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow (left) discusses layout plans of the company's lunar base with Eric Haakonstad, one of the Bigelow Aerospace lead engineers.
PS Update: Back to the Moon, This Time to Stay