Misplaced Pages

#944055

49-560: On February 6, 2020, NASA issued a request, seeking industry feedback on relevant state-of-the-art commercial technologies and acquisition strategies for a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle. NASA also stated in the request that they want the new LTV to draw on recent innovations in electric vehicle energy storage and management, autonomous driving, and extreme environment resistance.” On August 31, 2021, NASA released another request to private companies for additional input on approaches and solutions for

98-566: A magnetic anomaly due to the remnants of metal iron that was emplaced by the impactor that formed the South Pole–Aitken basin (SPA basin). However, the concentration of iron that is thought to be in the basin was not present in the mappings, as they could be too deep in the Moon's crust for the mappings to detect. Or the magnetic anomaly is caused by another factor that does not involve metallic properties. The findings were proven inadequate due to

147-409: A primary mission of proving the landing technology. The mission was carrying 30 kg (66 lb) of scientific instruments, including a robotic arm for soil samples and possible drilling hardware. The launch took place on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket with Fregat upper stage, from Vostochny Cosmodrome . On August 23, 2023 12:34 UTC , India 's Chandrayaan-3 became the first lunar mission to achieve

196-567: A proposals due date approximately 30 days later, and an anticipated contract award date of on or about July 19. On January 27, 2023, NASA published an update stating that it anticipated that the LTVS final RFP release will be delayed until no later than May 26.On May 26, NASA released its services request for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, with proposals due on July 10 and a contract award scheduled for November. On October 30, NASA delayed

245-564: A region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium ( Sea of Clouds ). The total cost of the mission is reported as US$ 583 million, of which $ 504 million pertains to the main LRO probe and $ 79 million to the LCROSS satellite. LRO has enough fuel to continue operations until at least 2026. Developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , LRO is a large (1,916 kg/4,224 lb ) and sophisticated spacecraft. Its mission duration

294-473: A soft landing near the lunar south pole. The mission consisted of a lander and a rover for carrying out scientific experiments. The IM-1 Odysseus lander has taken about six days to travel from the Earth to the Moon. Once in the vicinity of the Moon, the lander spent approximately one more Earth-day orbiting the Moon. This set February 22, 2024 at 11:24 PM UTC as the lander's lunar landing date. The initial aim

343-490: A vehicle to transport Artemis astronauts around the lunar south pole . NASA also asked if American companies are interested in providing the LTV as a commercial service, or as a product NASA would purchase and own. On November 2, 2022, NASA issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the LTV as a service (LTVS). The draft was open for feedback until December 1, with a planned final RFP release date of on or about February 8, 2023,

392-510: Is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit . Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies. Launched on June 18, 2009, in conjunction with

441-474: Is deemed to be a compelling place for future exploration missions and suitable for a lunar outpost. The permanently shadowed places on the Moon could contain ice and other minerals, which would be vital resources for future explorers. The mountain peaks near the pole are illuminated for large periods of time and could be used to provide solar energy to an outpost. With an outpost on the Moon, scientists will be able to analyze water and other volatile samples dating to

490-438: Is the southernmost point on the Moon . It is of interest to scientists because of the occurrence of water ice in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lunar south pole region features craters that are unique in that the near-constant sunlight does not reach their interior. Such craters are cold traps that contain fossil records of hydrogen, water ice, and other volatiles dating from the early Solar System . In contrast,

539-703: The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), as the vanguard of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program , LRO was the first United States mission to the Moon in over ten years. LRO and LCROSS were launched as part of the United States's Vision for Space Exploration program. The probe has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow), including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites. The first images from LRO were published on July 2, 2009, showing

SECTION 10

#1732780927945

588-501: The formation of the Solar System . Scientists used LOLA (Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter), which was a device used by NASA to provide an accurate topographic model of the Moon. With this data, locations near the south pole at Connecting Ridge, which connects Shackleton to the crater de Gerlache , were found that yielded sunlight for 92.27–95.65% of the time based on altitude ranging from 2 m above ground to 10 m above ground. At

637-465: The lunar north pole region exhibits a much lower quantity of similarly sheltered craters. The lunar south pole is located on the center of the polar Antarctic Circle (80°S to 90°S). (The axis spin is 88.5 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic.) The lunar south pole has shifted 5.5 degrees from its original position billions of years ago. This shift has changed the rotational axis of the Moon, allowing sunlight to reach previously shadowed areas, but

686-554: The vertical landing technology used in Blue Origin's New Shepard sub-orbital rocket. This would lead to a series of missions landing equipment for a crewed base in a south polar region crater using their Blue Moon lander . NASA's Artemis program has proposed to land several robotic landers and rovers ( CLPS ) in preparation for the 2025 Artemis III crewed landing at the south polar region. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ( LRO )

735-513: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter entered into orbit around the Moon after a four-and-a-half-day journey from the Earth. When launched, the spacecraft was aimed at a point ahead of the Moon's position. A mid-course correction was required during the trip in order for the spacecraft to correctly enter Lunar orbit. Once the spacecraft reached the far side of the Moon , its rocket motor was fired in order for it to be captured by

784-640: The Moon is so close, LRO has its own dedicated ground station, and it doesn't have to share time on the Deep Space Network . Among the latest products is a global map with a resolution of 100 m/pixel (330 ft/pixel) from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC). In March 2015, the LROC team reported having imaged the location of an impact whose flash was observed from Earth on March 17, 2013. The team found

833-491: The Moon to date. It will continue to be updated as more data is acquired. On March 15, 2011, the final set of data from the exploration phase of the mission was released to the NASA Planetary Data System . The spacecraft's seven instruments delivered more than 192 terabytes of data. LRO has already collected as much data as all other planetary missions combined. This volume of data is possible because

882-479: The Moon's gravity into an elliptical lunar orbit. A series of four rocket burns over the next four days put the satellite into its commissioning phase orbit where each instrument was brought online and tested. On September 15, 2009, the spacecraft started its primary mission by orbiting the Moon at about 50 km (31 mi) for one year. After completing its one-year exploration phase, in September 2010, LRO

931-413: The Moon, then was circling the natural satellite for another five to seven days. The spacecraft then was planned to be set down in the Moon's south polar region, near the crater Boguslawsky . Luna developed an "emergency situation" that occurred during the reduction of the probe to a pre-landing orbit. The lunar lander abruptly lost communication at 2:57 p.m. (11:57 GMT). Luna 25 was a lander only, with

980-603: The Moon. They also reveal the line boundary and the magnetic dynamics within the regions of these neutral atoms on the Moon' surface. Cold traps are some of the important places on the lunar south pole region in terms of possible water ice and other volatile deposits. Cold traps can contain water and ice that were originally from comets , meteorites and solar wind -induced iron reduction. From experiments and sample readings, scientists were able to confirm that cold traps do contain ice. Hydroxyl has also been found in these cold traps. The discovery of these two compounds has led to

1029-645: The Next Generation Satellite Laser Ranging (NGSLR) station at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. In May 2015, LRO's orbit was altered to fly 20 km (12 mi) above the Moon's south pole, allowing higher resolution data to be obtained from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and Diviner instruments over the permanently shadowed craters there. In 2019, LRO found

SECTION 20

#1732780927945

1078-428: The award of the contract to March 31, 2024, to allow additional time to evaluate proposals. On April 3, 2024, NASA announced that Intuitive Machines , Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab are the three companies developing the LTV as part of a 12-month feasibility and demo phase.A source selection statement by NASA provided further details on cost and overall feasibility on 9 April, 2024. The Intuitive Machines proposal

1127-679: The crash site of Indian moon lander Vikram . In 2020, software was tested to use star trackers instead of the Miniature Inertial Measurement Unit that had been turned off in 2018 (as it was degrading). LRO and the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter were expected to come dangerously close to each other on 20 October 2021 at 05:45 UTC over the Lunar North pole. Chandrayaan-2 orbiter performed a collision avoidance manoeuvre at 14:52 UTC on 18 October 2021 to avert

1176-523: The crater by going back to images taken in the first year or two and comparing them to images taken after the impact, called temporal pairs. The images revealed splotches, small areas whose reflectance is markedly different from that of the surrounding terrain, presumably from disruption of the surface by recent impacts. By September 2015, LROC had imaged nearly three-fourths of the lunar surface at high resolution, revealing more than 3,000 lobate scarps . Their global distribution and orientation suggests that

1225-470: The faults are created as the Moon shrinks, with influence by gravitational tidal forces from Earth. In March 2016, the LROC team reported the use of 14,092 NAC temporal pairs to discover over 47,000 new splotches on the Moon. In July 2024, the analysis of the radar data obtained by LRO confirmed the presence of an underground cave on the moon accessible from the surface. The cave is said to be about 45 metres wide and at least 80 metres long, and present in

1274-401: The funding of missions focusing primarily on the lunar poles using global-scale infrared detection. The ice stays in these traps because of the thermal behavior of the Moon that are controlled by thermophysical properties such as scattered sunlight, thermal re-radiation , internal heat and light given off by the Earth. There are areas of the Moon where the crust is magnetized. This is known as

1323-432: The highly accurate landing site of the first successful Japanese SLIM soft landing. The orbiter carries a complement of six instruments and one technology demonstration: Prior to the LRO's launch, NASA gave members of the public the opportunity to have their names placed in a microchip on the LRO. The deadline for this opportunity was July 31, 2008. About 1.6 million names were submitted. On June 23, 2009,

1372-483: The inconsistencies between the maps that were used, and also, they were not able to detect the magnitude of the magnetic fluctuations at the Moon's surface. Orbiters from several countries have explored the region around the lunar south pole. Extensive studies were conducted by the Lunar Orbiters , Clementine , Lunar Prospector , Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter , Kaguya , and Chandrayaan-1 , that discovered

1421-491: The instrument is being used to collect bistatic radar observations using radar transmissions from the Earth. The Mini-RF instrument has already met its science mission success criteria by collecting more than 400 strips of radar data since September 2010. In January 2013, NASA tested one-way laser communication with LRO by sending an image of the Mona Lisa to the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on LRO from

1470-485: The lighting environment; characterization of deep space radiation in lunar orbit; and high-resolution mapping, at a maximum resolution of 50 cm/pixel (20 in/pixel), to assist in the selection and characterization of future landing sites. In addition, LRO has provided images and precise locations of landers and equipment from previous and current lunar missions, including the Apollo sites. In 2024, it confirmed

1519-563: The lunar south pole region has enough sustainable resources to sustain a permanent crewed station. The LRO carries the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, which investigates the radiation and thermophysical properties of the south pole surface. It can detect reflected solar radiation and internal infrared emissions. The LRO Diviner is able to detect where water ice could be trapped on the surface. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite ( LCROSS )

Lunar Terrain Vehicle - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-415: The lunar surface include, among others, hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), silicon (Si), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), aluminium (Al), manganese (Mn) and titanium (Ti). Among the more abundant are oxygen, iron and silicon. The oxygen content is estimated at 45% (by weight). Blue Origin is planning a mission to the south polar region in about 2024. The Blue Moon lander derives from

1617-422: The lunar surface near the lander, with an impact velocity of about 10 m/s (22 mph). However, due to complications arising from a software patch, it was decided that EagleCam would not be ejected upon landing. It was later ejected on 28 February but was partially a failure as it returned all types of data, except post IM-1 landing images that were the main aim of its mission. The lunar south pole region

1666-540: The possible conjunction event. On August 21, 2009, the spacecraft, along with the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter, attempted to perform a bistatic radar experiment to detect the presence of water ice on the lunar surface, but the test was unsuccessful. On December 17, 2010, a topographic map of the Moon based on data gathered by the LOLA instrument was released to the public. This is the most accurate topographic map of

1715-453: The presence of lunar water . NASA's LCROSS mission found a significant amount of water in Cabeus . The LCROSS mission deliberately crashed into the floor of Cabeus and from samples found that it contained nearly 5% water. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was launched by NASA on 18 June 2009 and is still mapping the lunar south pole region. This mission will help scientists see if

1764-473: The rotational axis of the Moon lies within Shackleton Crater . Notable craters nearest to the lunar south pole include de Gerlache , Sverdrup , Shoemaker , Faustini , Haworth , Nobile , and Cabeus . The lunar south pole features a region with crater rims exposed to near-constant solar illumination, yet the interior of the craters are permanently shaded from sunlight. The area's illumination

1813-671: The same spots it was discovered that the longest continuous periods of darkness were only 3 to 5 days. The lunar south pole is a place where scientists may be able to perform unique astronomical observations of radio waves under 30 MHz. The Chinese Longjiang microsatellites were launched in May 2018 to orbit the Moon, and Longjiang-2 operated in this frequency until 31 July 2019. Before Longjiang-2 , no space observatory had been able to observe astronomical radio waves in this frequency because of interference waves from equipment on Earth. The lunar south pole has mountains and basins, such as

1862-509: The south pole still features some completely shadowed areas. Conversely, the pole also contains areas with permanent exposure to sunlight. The south pole region features many craters and basins such as the South Pole–Aitken basin , which appears to be one of the most fundamental features of the Moon, and mountains, such as Epsilon Peak at 9.050 km, taller than any mountain found on Earth. The south pole temperature averages approximately 260 K (−13 °C; 8 °F). The pole defined by

1911-429: The south side of Malapert Mountain , that do not face Earth and would be an ideal place to receive such astronomical radio signals from a ground radio observatory. Solar power, oxygen, and metals are abundant resources in the south polar region. By locating a lunar resource processing facility near the south pole, solar-generated electrical power will allow for nearly constant operation. Elements known to be present on

1960-417: Was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA . The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the Moon . Launched immediately after discovery of lunar water by Chandrayaan-1 , the main LCROSS mission objective was to further explore the presence of water in the form of ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region. It

2009-412: Was for $ 1.692 billion, Lunar Outpost for $ 1.727 billion and Astrolab for $ 1.928 billion to develop the vehicle. Five proposals for a Lunar Terrain Vehicle have been publicly unveiled since NASA's initial request. As of March 2023 NASA plans to launch the Lunar Terrain Vehicle on Artemis V , which is expected to launch no earlier than March 2030. Lunar south pole The lunar south pole

Lunar Terrain Vehicle - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-404: Was handed over to NASA's Science Mission Directorate to continue the science phase of the mission. It would continue in its 50 km circular orbit, but eventually would be transitioned into a fuel-conserving "quasi-frozen" elliptical orbit for the remainder of the mission. NASA's LCROSS mission culminated with two lunar impacts at 11:31 and 11:36 UTC on October 9. The goal of the impact

2107-579: Was launched together with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and it's Centaur Upper stage. It was successful in confirming water in the southern lunar crater Cabeus . The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India's national space agency, was a lunar probe that was released by ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lunar remote sensing orbiter which in turn

2156-502: Was launched, on 22 October 2008. The Moon Impact Probe separated from the Moon-orbiting Chandrayaan-1 on 14 November 2008, 20:06 IST and after nearly 25 minutes crashed as planned, near the rim of the crater Shackleton . With this mission India became the first to hard land or impact on the lunar South Pole. Russia launched its Luna 25 lunar lander on August 10, 2023. Luna-25 spent five days journeying to

2205-542: Was planned for one year, but has since been extended numerous times after review by NASA. After completing a preliminary design review in February 2006 and a critical design review in November 2006, the LRO was shipped from Goddard to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on February 11, 2009. Launch was planned for October 2008, but this slid to April as the spacecraft underwent testing in a thermal vacuum chamber. Launch

2254-520: Was rescheduled for June 17, 2009, because of the delay in a priority military launch, and happened one day later, on June 18. The one-day delay was to allow the Space Shuttle Endeavour a chance to lift off for mission STS-127 following a hydrogen fuel leak that canceled an earlier planned launch. Areas of investigation include selenodetic global topography ; the lunar polar regions , including possible water ice deposits and

2303-407: Was studied using high-resolution digital models produced from data by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter . The lunar surface can also reflect solar wind as energetic neutral atoms. On average, 16% of these atoms have been protons that vary based on location. These atoms have created an integral flux of backscattered hydrogen atoms due to the reflected amount of plasma that exists on the surface of

2352-526: Was the search for water in the Cabeus crater near the Moon's south pole, and preliminary results indicated the presence of both water and hydroxyl , an ion related to water. On January 4, 2011, the Mini-RF instrument team for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) found that the Mini-RF radar transmitter had suffered an anomaly. Mini-RF has suspended normal operations. Despite being unable to transmit,

2401-614: Was to land within the Malapert-A crater, which is about 300 km (190 mi) from the lunar south pole. Later, the exact time of landing was announced as 11:24 PM UTC. Odysseus became the first US moon landing in the 21st century. Just before landing, at approximately 30 m (98 ft) above the lunar surface, the Odysseus lander was planned to eject the EagleCam camera-equipped CubeSat, which would have been dropped onto

#944055