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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA MSFC HERC is the annual engineering competition – one of NASA’s longest standing challenges – held its concluding event April 19 and April 20, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.NASA NASA has selected 75 student teams to begin an engineering design challenge to build rovers that will compete next spring at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The competition is one of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges, encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Recognized as NASA’s leading international student challenge, the 31st annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) aims to put competitors in the mindset of NASA’s Artemis campaign as they pitch an engineering design for a lunar terrain vehicle which simulates astronauts piloting a vehicle, exploring the lunar surface while overcoming various obstacles.
Participating teams represent 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools, and two middle schools from 20 states, Puerto Rico, and 16 other nations from around the world. The 31st annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) is scheduled to begin on April 11, 2025. The challenge is managed by NASA’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Marshall.
Following a 2024 competition that garnered international attention, NASA expanded the challenge to include a remote-control division, Remote-Operated Vehicular Research, and invited middle school students to participate. The 2025 HERC Handbook includes guidelines for the new remote-control division and updates for the human-powered division.
NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges reflects the goals of the Artemis campaign, which seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon while establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration.
More than 1,000 students with 72 teams from around the world participated in the 2024 challenge as HERC celebrated its 30th anniversary as a NASA competition. Since its inception in 1994, more than 15,000 students have participated in HERC – with many former students now working at NASA, or within the aerospace industry.
To learn more about HERC, please visit:
HERC Website Taylor Goodwin
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 04, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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NASA Student Launch Challenge
Middle/high school and college-level student teams design, build, test, and launch a high-powered rocket carrying a scientific or engineering payload.
NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge
Teams of high school and college students design, develop, build, and test human-powered rovers capable of traversing challenging terrain.
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Marshall Space Flight Center
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By NASA
Concepto artístico de la nave espacial Europa Clipper de la NASA.
Créditos: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Read this release in English here.
La NASA ofrecerá cobertura en directo, en inglés y en español, de las actividades previas al lanzamiento y del lanzamiento de Europa Clipper, la misión de la agencia para explorar Europa, una luna helada de Júpiter. La cobertura del lanzamiento se ofrecerá también en español. La NASA prevé que el lanzamiento se dé a las 12:31 p.m. EDT (hora del este) del jueves, 10 de octubre, a bordo de un cohete SpaceX Falcon Heavy desde el Complejo de Lanzamiento 39A en el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida.
Más allá de la Tierra, Europa, una luna de Júpiter, es considerada uno de los entornos con más potencial para la habitabilidad del sistema solar. Tras un viaje de aproximadamente 1.800 millones de millas (unos 2.900 millones de kilómetros), Europa Clipper entrará en órbita alrededor de Júpiter en abril de 2030. Desde ahí, la nave espacial llevará a cabo un estudio detallado de Europa para determinar si este mundo helado podría presentar condiciones adecuadas para la vida. Europa Clipper es la mayor nave espacial que la NASA ha desarrollado para una misión planetaria. Transporta un conjunto de nueve instrumentos y un experimento gravitatorio, los cuales investigarán un océano bajo la superficie de Europa que los científicos creen que contiene el doble de agua líquida que los océanos de la Tierra.
Para consultar el calendario de eventos en directo y las plataformas en las que se retransmitirán, visita:
https://go.nasa.gov/europaclipperlive
El plazo para la acreditación de los medios de comunicación para la cobertura presencial de este lanzamiento ya finalizó. La política de acreditación de medios de la NASA está disponible en línea (en inglés). Si tienes preguntas sobre la acreditación de los medios de comunicación, envía un correo electrónico a: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
La cobertura de la misión de la NASA es la siguiente (todas las horas son del este y están sujetas a cambios en función de las operaciones a tiempo real):
Martes, 8 de octubre
1 p.m. – Entrevistas presenciales, abiertas a los medios de comunicación acreditados para este lanzamiento.
3:30 p.m. – Sesión informativa científica de Europa Clipper de la NASA con los siguientes participantes:
Gina DiBraccio, directora en funciones, División de Ciencias Planetarias, Sede de la NASA Robert Pappalardo, científico de proyecto, Europa Clipper, Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro de la NASA (NASA JPL) Haje Korth, científico adjunto de proyecto, Europa Clipper, Laboratorio de Física Aplicada de la Universidad Johns Hopkins Cynthia Phillips, científica de proyecto, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL La cobertura de la conferencia de prensa científica se retransmitirá en directo en NASA+ y en el sitio web de la agencia, Aprende cómo ver contenidos de la NASA a través de diversas plataformas, incluidas las redes sociales.
Los representantes de los medios de comunicación podrán formular preguntas tanto presencialmente como por teléfono. El espacio disponible en el auditorio para la participación en persona será limitado. Para obtener el número de teléfono y el código de acceso a la conferencia, los medios de comunicación deberán ponerse en contacto con la sala de prensa de la NASA en Kennedy a más tardar una hora antes del comienzo del acto: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Miércoles, 9 de octubre
2 p.m. – Panel social del NASA Social en el centro Kennedy, con los siguientes participantes:
Kate Calvin, científica jefe y asesora principal sobre el clima, sede de la NASA Caley Burke, analista de diseño de vuelos, Programa de Servicios de Lanzamiento de la NASA Erin Leonard, científica del proyecto Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Juan Pablo León, ingeniero de banco de pruebas de sistemas, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL (León es hispanohablante) Elizabeth Turtle, investigadora principal, instrumento de sistema de imágenes de Europa, Europa Clipper, APL Esta mesa redonda se transmitirá en directo a través de las cuentas de la NASA en YouTube, X y Facebook. Los miembros del público pueden hacer preguntas en línea publicando en las transmisiones en vivo de YouTube, X y Facebook o usando el hashtag #AskNASA.
3:30 p.m. – Conferencia de prensa de la NASA previa al lanzamiento de Europa Clipper (tras la finalización de la revisión del estado de preparación para el lanzamiento), con los siguientes participantes:
Administrador asociado de la NASA Jim Free Sandra Connelly, administradora adjunta, Dirección de Misiones Científicas, Sede de la NASA Tim Dunn, director de lanzamiento, Programa de Servicios de Lanzamiento de la NASA Julianna Scheiman, directora para misiones científicas de la NASA, SpaceX Jordan Evans, gerente de proyecto, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Mike McAleenan, meteorólogo de lanzamiento, 45º Escuadrón Meteorológico, Fuerza Espacial de EE.UU. La conferencia de prensa previa al lanzamiento se retransmitirá en directo en NASA+, el sitio web de la agencia, la aplicación de la NASA, y YouTube.
Los representantes de los medios de comunicación podrán formular preguntas tanto presencialmente como por teléfono. El espacio disponible en el auditorio para la participación en persona será limitado. Para obtener el número de teléfono y el código de acceso a la conferencia, los medios de comunicación deberán ponerse en contacto con la sala de prensa de la NASA en Kennedy a más tardar una hora antes del comienzo del acto: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
5:30 p.m. – Transmisión del despliegue de Europa Clipper de la NASA a la plataforma de lanzamiento. La retransmisión en vivo (en inglés) estará disponible en NASA+, el sitio web de la agencia, la aplicación de la NASA, y YouTube.
Jueves, 10 de octubre
11:30 a.m. – La cobertura en inglés del lanzamiento empezará en NASA+ y el el sitio web de la agencia.
11:30 a.m. – La cobertura en español del lanzamiento empezará en NASA+ y el canal de YouTube en español de la NASA.
12:31 p.m. – Lanzamiento.
Cobertura de audio
El audio de las conferencias de prensa y de la cobertura del lanzamiento, ambos en inglés, se transmitirá por los circuitos «V» de la NASA, a los que se puede acceder marcando 321-867-1220, -1240 o -7135. El día del lanzamiento, el «audio de la misión», es decir, las actividades de la cuenta atrás sin los comentarios de los medios de NASA+ sobre el lanzamiento, se retransmitirá por el 321-867-7135.
Cobertura de vídeo en directo previa al lanzamiento
La NASA proporcionará una conexión de vídeo en directo del Complejo de Lanzamiento 39A aproximadamente 18 horas antes del despegue previsto de la misión en el canal de YouTube de la sala de prensa de la NASA en Kennedy. La transmisión será ininterrumpida hasta que comience la emisión del lanzamiento en NASA+.
Cobertura del lanzamiento en el sitio web de la NASA
La cobertura de la misión el día del lanzamiento estará disponible en el sitio web de la agencia. La cobertura incluirá enlaces a retransmisiones en directo (en español e inglés) y actualizaciones del blog que comenzarán no antes de las 10 a.m. del 10 de octubre, a medida que se cumplan los hitos de la cuenta regresiva. Poco después del despegue se podrá acceder a vídeos y fotos del lanzamiento en streaming a demanda.
Siga la cobertura de la cuenta regresiva en el blog de Europa Clipper (en inglés). Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre la cobertura de la cuenta atrás, póngase en contacto con la sala de prensa Kennedy llamando al 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con María José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov, Antonia Jaramillo: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o Messod Bendayan: messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov
Asistencia virtual al lanzamiento
Los miembros del público pueden registrarse para asistir virtualmente a este lanzamiento. El programa de invitados virtuales (en inglés) de la NASA para esta misión también incluye recursos curados de lanzamiento, notificaciones sobre oportunidades o cambios relacionados, y un sello para el pasaporte de invitado virtual de la NASA después del lanzamiento.
Observación y participación en redes sociales
Haz que la gente sepa que estás siguiendo la misión en X, Facebook e Instagram utilizando los hashtags #EuropaClipper y #NASASocial. También puedes mantenerte conectado siguiendo y etiquetando estas cuentas:
X: @NASA, @EuropaClipper, @NASASolarSystem, @NASAJPL, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP, @NASA_ES (en español)
Facebook: NASA, NASA’s Europa Clipper, NASA’s JPL, NASA’s Launch Services Program, NASA en español
Instagram: @NASA, @nasasolarsystem, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASA_ES (en español)
Para más información en español sobre la misión:
https://ciencia.nasa.gov/europaclipper
-fin-
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser/ María José Viñas
Sede, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser.nasa.gov / maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Centro Espacial Kennedy, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 LocationKennedy Space Center Related Terms
Missions Europa Europa Clipper Jupiter Jupiter Moons View the full article
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By NASA
An artist’s concept of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí.
NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for Europa Clipper, the agency’s mission to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. NASA is targeting launch at 12:31 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 10, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Beyond Earth, Jupiter’s moon Europa is considered one of the solar system’s most promising potentially habitable environments. After an approximately 1.8-billion-mile journey, Europa Clipper will enter orbit around Jupiter in April 2030, where the spacecraft will conduct a detailed survey of Europa to determine whether the icy world could have conditions suitable for life. Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission. It carries a suite of nine instruments along with a gravity experiment that will investigate an ocean beneath Europa’s surface, which scientists believe contains twice as much liquid water as Earth’s oceans.
For a schedule of live events and the platforms they’ll stream on, visit:
https://go.nasa.gov/europaclipperlive
The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Tuesday, Oct. 8
1 p.m. – In-person, one-on-one interviews, open to media credentialed for this launch.
3:30 p.m. – NASA’s Europa Clipper science briefing with the following participants:
Gina DiBraccio, acting director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters Robert Pappalardo, project scientist, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Haje Korth, deputy project scientist, Europa Clipper, Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Cynthia Phillips, project staff scientist, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Coverage of the science news conference will stream live on NASA+ and the agency’s website, Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Wednesday, Oct. 9
2 p.m. – NASA Social panel at NASA Kennedy with the following participants:
Kate Calvin, chief scientist and senior climate advisor, NASA Headquarters Caley Burke, Flight Design Analyst, NASA’s Launch Services Program Erin Leonard, project staff scientist, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Juan Pablo León, systems testbed engineer, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Elizabeth Turtle, principal investigator, Europa Imaging System instrument, Europa Clipper, APL The panel will stream live on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube, X, and Facebook accounts. Members of the public may ask questions online by posting to the YouTube, X, and Facebook live streams or using #AskNASA.
3:30 p.m. – NASA’s Europa Clipper prelaunch news conference (following completion of the Launch Readiness Review), with the following participants:
NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Tim Dunn, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX Jordan Evans, project manager, Europa Clipper, NASA JPL Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force Coverage of the prelaunch news conference will stream live on NASA+, the agency’s website, the NASA app, and YouTube.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
5:30 p.m. – NASA’s Europa Clipper rollout show. Coverage will stream live on NASA+, the agency’s website, the NASA app, and YouTube.
Thursday, Oct. 10
11:30 a.m. – NASA launch coverage in English begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.
11:30 a.m. – NASA launch coverage in Spanish begins on NASA+, the agency’s website and NASA’s Spanish YouTube channel.
12:31 p.m. – Launch
Audio Only Coverage
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA+ media launch commentary, is carried on 321-867-7135.
Live Video Coverage Prior to Launch
NASA will provide a live video feed of Launch Complex 39A approximately 18 hours prior to the planned liftoff of the mission on the NASA Kennedy newsroom YouTube channel. The feed will be uninterrupted until the launch broadcast begins on NASA+.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 10 a.m., Oct. 10, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff.
Follow countdown coverage on the Europa Clipper blog. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o Messod Bendayan: messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov
Attend the Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #EuropaClipper and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @EuropaClipper, @NASASolarSystem, @NASAJPL, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP
Facebook: NASA, NASA’s Europa Clipper, NASA’s JPL, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Instagram: @NASA, @nasasolarsystem, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL
For more information about the mission, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper
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Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser.nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 LocationKennedy Space Center Related Terms
Europa Clipper Europa Jupiter Jupiter Moons Missions View the full article
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is depicted receiving a laser signal from the Deep Space Optical Communications uplink ground station at JPL’s Table Mountain Facility in this artist’s concept. The DSOC experiment consists of an uplink and downlink station, plus a flight laser transceiver flying with Psyche.NASA/JPL-Caltech The Deep Space Optical Communications tech demo has completed several key milestones, culminating in sending a signal to Mars’ farthest distance from Earth.
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration broke yet another record for laser communications this summer by sending a laser signal from Earth to NASA’s Psyche spacecraft about 290 million miles (460 million kilometers) away. That’s the same distance between our planet and Mars when the two planets are farthest apart.
Soon after reaching that milestone on July 29, the technology demonstration concluded the first phase of its operations since launching aboard Psyche on Oct. 13, 2023.
“The milestone is significant. Laser communication requires a very high level of precision, and before we launched with Psyche, we didn’t know how much performance degradation we would see at our farthest distances,” said Meera Srinivasan, the project’s operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Now the techniques we use to track and point have been verified, confirming that optical communications can be a robust and transformative way to explore the solar system.”
Managed by JPL, the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment consists of a flight laser transceiver and two ground stations. Caltech’s historic 200-inch (5-meter) aperture Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, acts as the downlink station to which the laser transceiver sends its data from deep space. The Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL’s Table Mountain facility near Wrightwood, California, acts as the uplink station, capable of transmitting 7 kilowatts of laser power to send data to the transceiver.
This visualization shows Psyche’s position on July 29 when the uplink station for NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications sent a laser signal about 290 million miles to the spacecraft. See an interactive version of the Psyche spacecraft in NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System.NASA/JPL-Caltech By transporting data at rates up to 100 times higher than radio frequencies, lasers can enable the transmission of complex scientific information as well as high-definition imagery and video, which are needed to support humanity’s next giant leap when astronauts travel to Mars and beyond.
As for the spacecraft, Psyche remains healthy and stable, using ion propulsion to accelerate toward a metal-rich asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Exceeding Goals
The technology demonstration’s data is sent to and from Psyche as bits encoded in near-infrared light, which has a higher frequency than radio waves. That higher frequency enables more data to be packed into a transmission, allowing far higher rates of data transfer.
Even when Psyche was about 33 million miles (53 million kilometers) away — comparable to Mars’ closest approach to Earth — the technology demonstration could transmit data at the system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second. That bit rate is similar to broadband internet download speeds. As the spacecraft travels farther away, the rate at which it can send and receive data is reduced, as expected.
On June 24, when Psyche was about 240 million miles (390 million kilometers) from Earth — more than 2½ times the distance between our planet and the Sun — the project achieved a sustained downlink data rate of 6.25 megabits per second, with a maximum rate of 8.3 megabits per second. While this rate is significantly lower than the experiment’s maximum, it is far higher than what a radio frequency communications system using comparable power can achieve over that distance.
This Is a Test
The goal of Deep Space Optical Communications is to demonstrate technology that can reliably transmit data at higher speeds than other space communication technologies like radio frequency systems. In seeking to achieve this goal, the project had an opportunity to test unique data sets like art and high-definition video along with engineering data from the Psyche spacecraft. For example, one downlink included digital versions of Arizona State University’s “Psyche Inspired” artwork, images of the team’s pets, and a 45-second ultra-high-definition video that spoofs television test patterns from the previous century and depicts scenes from Earth and space.
This 45-second ultra-high-definition video was streamed via laser from deep space by NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration on June 24, when the Psyche spacecraft was 240 million miles from Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech The technology demonstration beamed the first ultra-high-definition video from space, featuring a cat named Taters, from the Psyche spacecraft to Earth on Dec. 11, 2023, from 19 million miles away. (Artwork, images, and videos were uploaded to Psyche and stored in its memory before launch.)
“A key goal for the system was to prove that the data-rate reduction was proportional to the inverse square of distance,” said Abi Biswas, the technology demonstration’s project technologist at JPL. “We met that goal and transferred huge quantities of test data to and from the Psyche spacecraft via laser.” Almost 11 terabits of data have been downlinked during the first phase of the demo.
The flight transceiver is powered down and will be powered back up on Nov. 4. That activity will prove that the flight hardware can operate for at least a year.
“We’ll power on the flight laser transceiver and do a short checkout of its functionality,” said Ken Andrews, project flight operations lead at JPL. “Once that’s achieved, we can look forward to operating the transceiver at its full design capabilities during our post-conjunction phase that starts later in the year.”
More About Deep Space Optical Communications
This demonstration is the latest in a series of optical communication experiments funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the agency’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Development of the flight laser transceiver is supported by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, L3 Harris, CACI, First Mode, and Controlled Dynamics Inc. Fibertek, Coherent, Caltech Optical Observatories, and Dotfast support the ground systems. Some of the technology was developed through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
For more information about the laser communications demo, visit:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/dsoc
NASA’s Optical Comms Demo Transmits Data Over 140 Million Miles The NASA Cat Video Explained 5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications News Media Contacts
Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
2024-130
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
5 min read
NASA’s LRO: Lunar Ice Deposits are Widespread
Deposits of ice in lunar dust and rock (regolith) are more extensive than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission. Ice would be a valuable resource for future lunar expeditions. Water could be used for radiation protection and supporting human explorers, or broken into its hydrogen and oxygen components to make rocket fuel, energy, and breathable air.
Prior studies found signs of ice in the larger permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar South Pole, including areas within Cabeus, Haworth, Shoemaker and Faustini craters. In the new work, “We find that there is widespread evidence of water ice within PSRs outside the South Pole, towards at least 77 degrees south latitude,” said Dr. Timothy P. McClanahan of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a paper on this research published October 2 in the Planetary Science Journal.
The study further aids lunar mission planners by providing maps and identifying the surface characteristics that show where ice is likely and less likely to be found, with evidence for why that should be. “Our model and analysis show that greatest ice concentrations are expected to occur near the PSRs’ coldest locations below 75 Kelvin (-198°C or -325°F) and near the base of the PSRs’ poleward-facing slopes,” said McClanahan.
This illustration shows the distribution of permanently shadowed regions (in blue) on the Moon poleward of 80 degrees South latitude. They are superimposed on a digital elevation map of the lunar surface (grey) from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on board NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. NASA/GSFC/Timothy P. McClanahan “We can’t accurately determine the volume of the PSRs’ ice deposits or identify if they might be buried under a dry layer of regolith. However, we expect that for each surface 1.2 square yards (square meter) residing over these deposits there should be at least about five more quarts (five more liters) of ice within the surface top 3.3 feet (meter), as compared to their surrounding areas,” said McClanahan. The study also mapped where fewer, smaller, or lower-concentration ice deposits would be expected, occurring primarily towards warmer, periodically illuminated areas.
Ice could become implanted in lunar regolith through comet and meteor impacts, released as vapor (gas) from the lunar interior, or be formed by chemical reactions between hydrogen in the solar wind and oxygen in the regolith. PSRs typically occur in topographic depressions near the lunar poles. Because of the low Sun angle, these areas haven’t seen sunlight for up to billions of years, so are perpetually in extreme cold. Ice molecules are thought to be repeatedly dislodged from the regolith by meteorites, space radiation, or sunlight and travel across the lunar surface until they land in a PSR where they are entrapped by extreme cold. The PSR’s continuously cold surfaces can preserve ice molecules near the surface for perhaps billions of years, where they may accumulate into a deposit that is rich enough to mine. Ice is thought to be quickly lost on surfaces that are exposed to direct sunlight, which precludes their accumulations.
The team used LRO’s Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) instrument to detect signs of ice deposits by measuring moderate-energy, “epithermal” neutrons. Specifically, the team used LEND’s Collimated Sensor for Epithermal Neutrons (CSETN) that has a fixed 18.6-mile (30-kilometer) diameter field-of-view. Neutrons are created by high-energy galactic cosmic rays that come from powerful deep-space events such as exploding stars, that impact the lunar surface, break up regolith atoms, and scatter subatomic particles called neutrons. The neutrons, which can originate from up to about a 3.3-foot (meter’s) depth, ping-pong their way through the regolith, running into other atoms. Some get directed into space, where they can be detected by LEND. Since hydrogen is about the same mass as a neutron, a collision with hydrogen causes the neutron to lose relatively more energy than a collision with most common regolith elements. So, where hydrogen is present in regolith, its concentration creates a corresponding reduction in the observed number of moderate-energy neutrons.
“We hypothesized that if all PSRs have the same hydrogen concentration, then CSETN should proportionally detect their hydrogen concentrations as a function of their areas. So, more hydrogen should be observed towards the larger-area PSRs,” said McClanahan.
The model was developed from a theoretical study that demonstrated how similarly hydrogen-enhanced PSRs would be detected by CSETNs fixed-area field-of-view. The correlation was demonstrated using the neutron emissions from 502 PSRs with areas ranging from 1.5 square miles (4 km2) to 417 square miles (1079 km2) that contrasted against their surrounding less hydrogen-enhanced areas. The correlation was expectedly weak for the small PSRs but increased towards the larger-area PSRs.
The research was sponsored by the LRO project science team, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group, and NASA grant award number 80GSFC21M0002. The study was conducted using NASA’s LRO Diviner radiometer and Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instruments. The LEND instrument was developed by the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos by its Space Research Institute (IKI). LEND was integrated to the LRO spacecraft at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 Editor wasteigerwald Contact wasteigerwald william.a.steigerwald@nasa.gov Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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