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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Good evening (hot hot here in Tracy, CA)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>(Laptop hot too. The price you pay for WiFi, but lets you watch the ball</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>game and type too.)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Ross W Sargent and Rick Fischer have pointed to more information about our</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>proposed mission to the Moon in 2008.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>----------------</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/136/1">http://www.thespacereview.com/article/136/1</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the cornerstone of the vision</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>by Taylor Dinerman</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Monday, April 26, 2004</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>----------------</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>And if you back up to home for "The Space Review"</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.thespacereview.com/index.html">http://www.thespacereview.com/index.html</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>You will find many more interesting articles. - LRK -</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>----------------</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>What is The Space Review?</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>The Space Review is a new online publication devoted to in-depth articles,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>commentary, and reviews regarding all aspects of space exploration: science,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>technology, policy, business, and more. more info</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.thespacereview.com/about.html">http://www.thespacereview.com/about.html</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>----------------</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>So better not fill your in-basket, just let you read the work of others. -</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>LRK -</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Larry Kellogg</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/index.html">http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/index.html</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/links.html">http://www.larryrussellkellogg.net/links.html</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.kelloggserialreports.net/LarryKelloggReports.htm">http://www.kelloggserialreports.net/LarryKelloggReports.htm</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>=============================================================</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Hi Larry</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>you may have seen this already <A HREF="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/136/1">http://www.thespacereview.com/article/136/1</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Ross</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Ross W Sargent</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>snip</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>=============================================================</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/return_to_the_moon/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/return_to_the_moon/</A></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Discussions regarding America's new projects to return to the moon.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Returning to the moon, and eventual settlement driven by the National</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Aeronautics and Space Administration's new mandate.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Reminder: New members are initially moderated.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Part of the InsideKSC.com yahoo discussion groups:</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Inside KSC: <A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inside_ksc">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inside_ksc</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Missions To Mars: <A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/missions_to_mars">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/missions_to_mars</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Project Constellation: <A HREF="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Project_Constellation">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Project_Constellation</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>=============================================================</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>[Return To The Moon] Digest Number 65</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>---------------------------------------------------------------------~-></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>There is 1 message in this issue.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Topics in this digest:</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2> 1. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the cornerstone of the vision</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2> From: "Rick Fischer" <rick.fischer@insideksc.com></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>________________________________________________________________________</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>________________________________________________________________________</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Message: 1</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2> Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 17:15:15 -0400</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2> From: "Rick Fischer" <rick.fischer@insideksc.com></FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Subject: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: the cornerstone of the vision</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>The Space Review :</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>by Taylor Dinerman</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Monday, April 26, 2004</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Scheduled to be launched sometime in 2008, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>(LRO) project is quickly approaching the point where some basic decisions</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>have to be made. Given the time it takes for missions such as the LRO to be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>designed, built, tested, and certified, the need to get the requirements</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>right, and to do so fast, is an early test of Code T and Admiral Steidle's</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>ability to change the way things get done at NASA.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>The first requirement is to decide the goals of the LRO mission. Based on</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the vision paper, it can be assumed that the primary goal of this project is</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>to map the Moon's usable resources so that Code T can begin to develop the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>technologies needed for in situ resource utilization (ISRU). Aside from the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>samples brought back from Apollo, there is still relatively little we know</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>about the potential minerals-above all the water-that might exist on the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Moon.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>The meaning of the data from the 1994 Clementine and 1998 Lunar Prospector</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>missions is still being debated. We know, for example, that there is plenty</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>of hydrogen on the Moon, but we do not know what form it is in or what it is</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>chemically bonded with. It would be nice if the LRO can confirm or deny the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>presence of water ice in the dark craters of the south polar region.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Choosing the right instruments to do this should be at the top of any list</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>of priorities.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Water is the second most valuable substance in the solar system (the most</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>valuable, of course, being human brainpower.) In his April 1st testimony</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>before the House Science Committee, Paul Spudis said that, "We estimate that</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>over 10 billion tons of water exist at the lunar poles." If he's right, then</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the vision to build the Moonbase, to perfect ISRU technology and then go on</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the Mars, will be possible within roughly the time frame laid out by</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>President Bush. If the water is not there, or if it is there in forms that</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>make it difficult to extract, then the whole project will need to be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>rethought.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>There are a number of other imperatives for the LRO instrument package. It</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>must include instruments to produce a detailed topographic map of the whole</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>lunar surface. This means that a state-of-the-art laser altimeter much be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>included. There must also be a pan- chromatic one-meter resolution or less</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>imager, and a multi- or hyperspectral sensor. Magnetometers and some sort of</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>ground penetrating radars are also desirable.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>It is not likely that a suitable instrument suite can be made to fit inside</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the 40 or 50 kilo payload capability of a Delta 2. In order to put a probe</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>into lunar orbit, enough propellant must be included so that the spacecraft</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>can slow itself down. Unlike Mars, where the thin Martian atmosphere allows</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>for aerobraking maneuvers, all of the energy needed to move into a capture</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>orbit must be brought along from Earth in the form of hydrazine or another</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>type of fuel.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>If NASA plans to launch LRO on a Delta 2, as most observers assume, the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>payload limits will probably ensure that the limited data that will be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>transmitted back to Earth will not be enough to accomplish the mission's</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>most important goals. If, on the other hand, they decide to upgrade to an</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Atlas V or Delta IV EELV class vehicle, the mission design team will be able</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>to put together an instrument package that will weigh in at 120 kilos, or</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>more. This, along with enough fuel to maintain a low altitude orbit around</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>the moon, will produce a spacecraft that will accomplish all the main</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>objectives.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Upgrading from a Delta 2 to an EELV will probably not cost more than 10 or</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>15 million dollars. Since the people who handle space budgets inside the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Pentagon are desperate to see more EELVs fly, it is likely that they will be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>willing to look for innovative ways to help the LRO onto a more powerful</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>rocket. In the case of the LRO, the more fuel it can carry the better.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>ESA's SMART-1 mission is on its way to the Moon, and Japan has two missions</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>planned: Lunar A, to be launched in September of this year and Selene, whose</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>launch date is planned for August 2005. The data from these missions will be</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>helpful, but they are not geared towards gathering resource inventory data</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>for ISRU. Only the LRO is specifically designed for this mission.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>This is critically important to the vision, since the Moon is only the first</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>place that such an inventory will be taken. If LRO is done right, we will</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>have a model for the future. If it is done wrong, not only will this be a</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>waste of time and money but it will put the whole vision plan into jeopardy.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Getting this right the first time will require proper funding and superb</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>mission management. This will be a test that NASA, Code T, as well as the</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Administration and Congress, dare not fail.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Rick Fischer</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>rick.fischer@insideksc.com</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>Inside KSC.com</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://www.insideksc.com">http://www.insideksc.com</A></FONT>
</P>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>==============================================================</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Larry</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2><A HREF="http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/">http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/</A></FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>-</FONT>
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