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Lunar Exploration: The Next Frontier

Lunar Exploration: The Next Frontier. 500 BC Naked eye observations; Size, Orbital characteristics, Composition. 1800 AD Photographic maps; Origin of craters & maria . 1990-2006 AD Chemical composition, Magnetic characteristics, Presence of water. 1600 AD Telescopic

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Lunar Exploration: The Next Frontier

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  1. Lunar Exploration:The Next Frontier

  2. 500 BC Naked eye observations; Size, Orbital characteristics, Composition 1800 AD Photographic maps; Origin of craters & maria 1990-2006 AD Chemical composition, Magnetic characteristics, Presence of water 1600 AD Telescopic observations; Physical characteristics 1957 – 1976 AD US & USSR Landings Composition of lunar surface   • 2007 AD • Multinational • effort to • return to the • moon   Lunar exploration timeline

  3. Greeks • Anaxagorus, c. 450 BC - Moon reflects Sun’s light • Democritus, c. 400 BC - Markings were mountains • Aristarchus and Hipparchus, c. 200 BC - Measurements for size and distance

  4. Early Understanding • Distance to Moon • Greeks: 375,000 – 460,000 km • Present: 384,400 km • Circumference: • Greeks: 14,000 km • Present: 10,916 km • Orbital Period: 27.3 days • Nature • Stone sphere with an irregular surface

  5. The 17th Century • Galileo Galilei – Started telescopic observation of the sky in 1610 • Robert Hooke - Experimentally modeled lunar craters • Cassini - Best map of moon at the time

  6. Pre-Space Program • Grove Karl Gilbert – In 1893 correctly stated origin of craters and nature of maria, later proved by Ralph Belknap Baldwin • Better maps thanks to photographry, culminating in 1935, with Fred E Wright’s lunar globes

  7. Telescopic Discoveries • Lunar surface marked by craters and maria. • No water and no discernable atmosphere. • Impact origin of craters. • Basalt composition of maria. • Photographic plates increase accuracy of maps.

  8. Space Age Begins • Sputnik 1, launched October 4, 1957, was the first artificial satellite • Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin • On April 12, 1961 became the first man in space aboard the Vostok 1 • Spent 1 hour, 48 minutes in space

  9. America’s First Steps • Project Mercury • Ran from 1959 to 1963 • On May 5, 1961, put Alan Shepard into space for 15 minutes and 28 seconds, the first American in space • Later John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth • On Sept 12, 1962, President Kennedy rallied the American public behind the “space race”

  10. Soviet Lunar Contact • January of 1959, the Soviet Union sent their first mission to the moon - Luna 1 did not impact as intended, and was instead the first lunar flyby • Luna 2 crashed as planned near Archimedes in Sept. • Luna 3 returned the first photos (very poor) of the far side in October.

  11. American Lunar Contact • Ranger 4, launched in April,1962, is the first and still only contact with far side (intended to hit nearside!) • Ranger 7 successfully crash landed in July, 1964; sent real-time high resolution photos of Mare Cognitum

  12. Soft Contacts • Luna 9 • Feb, 1966 • First soft landing • Surveyor I • June, 1966 • First study of lunar rocks and soils from a US soft lander.

  13. New Perspectives • Lunar Orbiter 4 • May, 1967 • Most widely used lunar images ever obtained • Surveyor 6 • Nov, 1967 • First spacecraft to take off from Moon (hopped 8 ft for stereo views)

  14. The Apollo Program • Apollo 1 • Jan 27, 1967 • Fire kills three astronauts Program continues cautiously, using first unmanned and later manned missions from 1967-69 to test all the moon landing technology.

  15. Apollo 11 • Apollo 11 • July 20, 1969 • Neil Armstong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins • "One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

  16. The End of an Era • Apollo missions continued landing men on the moon, closing with Apollo 17 in 1972. The Soviets never sent a manned mission to the moon. • Luna 24 • USSR • 1976 • last lunar probe for 25 years. Brought back samples of lunar soil.

  17. New Insights • Astronauts experienced no atmosphere and low gravity • Seismic stations installed – crust about 10% volume • 382 kg of rock and soil from Apollo and Luna missions • Regolith consists of mineral dust and rock fragments; the marias are basalt • Old rocks allow study of Solar System history

  18. Current Programs • Hiten • Jan, 1990 • Japanese Lunar Orbiter • Failed to send back data. • Clementine • US Lunar Orbiter • 1994 • Multi-spectral imaging of the entire lunar surface.

  19. Current Programs • Lunar Prospector • US, 1998 • Global mapping of radioactivity and elemental composition • Discovered polar water ice • Smart 1 • Europe, 2003 • Tested the solar-powered ion thruster

  20. Future: 2007 and beyond • Chang‘e 1 - Chinese lunar orbiter • Chandrayaan 1 - Indian lunar orbiter and impactor • SELENE, LUNAR-A – Japanese projects to study the Moon’s origin, evolution and tectonics.

  21. The Vision for Space Exploration • The US plans to return to the moon. • The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, developed at Goddard Space Flight Center, is to be launched in 2008. • A new Crew Exploration Vehicle is being designed, with new boosters to get it and additional payloads to the moon.

  22. Future for the US • In the next year: • Orbital research using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite • Develop Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) • Carry out robotic exploration of lunar surface • Complete ISS by 2010 • First crewed flights by 2014 • Extended human missions as early as 2015 • Human exploration no later than 2020

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