Dust may indeedl be a problem and hopefully we will send more robots to the Moon to look into the Lunar environment. I say robots, since at the moment we may have to wait awhile to send humans.
- LRk -
---------------------------------------
http://news.discovery.com/
Lunar Mirror Mystery Solved
Reflectors placed on the moon during Apollo missions practically stop working during a full moon. Now we may know why.
Sun Mar 14, 2010 06:43 AM ET
Content provided by Stuart Gary, ABC Science Online
THE GIST:
* Reflectors were placed on the moon during Apollo missions.
* During a full moon, their reflectivity drops by a factor of 10.
* New research proposes that dust on the reflectors heats up during a full moon, distorting their shape.
snip
------------------------------
Another article on the results of LRO finding the Lunokhod rovers. Nice picture on the web site.
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://news.discovery.com/
Lost and Found: Soviet Lunar Rover
Analysis by Irene Klotz
Tue Apr 27, 2010 03:09 PM ET
In November 1970, a Soviet probe landed on the surface of the moon and released two ramps. A rover, named Lunokhod 1, descended to the surface to take pictures and conduct experiments. It carried with it a French-made light reflector, which could be used by scientists on Earth to compute distances and better understand lunar geology.
Ten months later, Lunokhod 1 fell silent, its location on the moon unknown. Over the years, scientists occasionally beamed a laser around its last known coordinates, hoping for a return beam from the reflector. They got no response and figured the rover had fallen into a crater or parked itself beneath a cliff, blocking its reflector from Earth.
snip
------------------------------
Posted this link before. If you didn't check it out here is a paragraph that shows what can be done with new information by dedicated personnel. What other information will we see from the Moon?
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_
NASA's LRO Team Helps Track Laser Signals to Russian Rover Mirror
snip
“Getting more than a few photons back from an unknown location at the distance of the moon is quite an achievement. The rediscovery of the Lunokhod-1 retroreflector was made possible by the LRO camera team and by the diligence of Tom Murphy,” said Gregory Neumann, Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter team member from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “That we have located it so quickly and ranged to the Lunokhod rover, last heard from Sept. 14, 1971, is a tribute to Tom's team and to the amazing LRO observatory and instrument teams.”
snip
------------------------------
The former Soviet Union had a lot of Lunar firsts. Other nations may well add some to their credit as well. For now we in the USA will have to be satisfied with the results from orbiters. It would be nice to be able to do more with the information from LRO.
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.space.com/
Lost Soviet Reflecting Device Rediscovered on the Moon
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 27 April 2010
09:57 am ET
A long lost light reflector that was left on the surface of the moon by the former Soviet Union has been rediscovered by a team of American physicists after nearly 40 years using lasers beamed from Earth.
snip
------------------------------
Well another reason to look up. :-)
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
==============================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================
Lunar Mirror Mystery Solved
Reflectors placed on the moon during Apollo missions practically stop working during a full moon. Now we may know why.
Sun Mar 14, 2010 06:43 AM ET
Content provided by Stuart Gary, ABC Science Online
THE GIST:
* Reflectors were placed on the moon during Apollo missions.
* During a full moon, their reflectivity drops by a factor of 10.
* New research proposes that dust on the reflectors heats up during a full moon, distorting their shape.
snip
------------------------------
Another article on the results of LRO finding the Lunokhod rovers. Nice picture on the web site.
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://news.discovery.com/
Lost and Found: Soviet Lunar Rover
Analysis by Irene Klotz
Tue Apr 27, 2010 03:09 PM ET
In November 1970, a Soviet probe landed on the surface of the moon and released two ramps. A rover, named Lunokhod 1, descended to the surface to take pictures and conduct experiments. It carried with it a French-made light reflector, which could be used by scientists on Earth to compute distances and better understand lunar geology.
Ten months later, Lunokhod 1 fell silent, its location on the moon unknown. Over the years, scientists occasionally beamed a laser around its last known coordinates, hoping for a return beam from the reflector. They got no response and figured the rover had fallen into a crater or parked itself beneath a cliff, blocking its reflector from Earth.
snip
------------------------------
Posted this link before. If you didn't check it out here is a paragraph that shows what can be done with new information by dedicated personnel. What other information will we see from the Moon?
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_
NASA's LRO Team Helps Track Laser Signals to Russian Rover Mirror
snip
“Getting more than a few photons back from an unknown location at the distance of the moon is quite an achievement. The rediscovery of the Lunokhod-1 retroreflector was made possible by the LRO camera team and by the diligence of Tom Murphy,” said Gregory Neumann, Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter team member from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “That we have located it so quickly and ranged to the Lunokhod rover, last heard from Sept. 14, 1971, is a tribute to Tom's team and to the amazing LRO observatory and instrument teams.”
snip
------------------------------
The former Soviet Union had a lot of Lunar firsts. Other nations may well add some to their credit as well. For now we in the USA will have to be satisfied with the results from orbiters. It would be nice to be able to do more with the information from LRO.
- LRK -
------------------------------
http://www.space.com/
Lost Soviet Reflecting Device Rediscovered on the Moon
By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 27 April 2010
09:57 am ET
A long lost light reflector that was left on the surface of the moon by the former Soviet Union has been rediscovered by a team of American physicists after nearly 40 years using lasers beamed from Earth.
snip
------------------------------
Well another reason to look up. :-)
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
==============================
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK
==============================
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