Ep. 115: The Moon, Part 3: Return to the Moon

Artist impression of the Altair Lander. Image credit: NASA

It's time for a third lunar chapter. We've talked about the physical characteristics of the Moon, and the exploration. Now we're going to talk about the plans to return to the Moon. From the upcoming lunar reconnaissance orbiter to the plans to have humans set foot on the Moon again, for the first time in more than 50 years.

Ep. 115: The Moon, Part 3: Return to the Moon

Link to BAUT Forum post of the Pamela Gay/Chris Lintott meet-up in London

Current Lunar Missions:

Selene or Kaguya

• Selene (Kaguya) — JAXA
• Videos of the moon from Kaguya (go down to HD videos to see the Earthrise videos)
• Kaguya image gallery
• Kaguya science instruments– Planetary Society
• The moon's uneven gravity, "mascons" – Internet Encyclopedia of Science

Chang'e

• Chang'e – CNSA
• Chang'e – Planetary Society
• Images from Chang'e – Planetary Society

Chandrayaan-1

• Chandrayaan-1 – ISRO
• Image Gallery
• Chandrayaan-1 instruments — ISRO

Future Missions

LRO/LCROSS

• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter – NASA
• LRO Instruments
• Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite
• LCROSS Observation Campaign (pdf)

Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)

Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)

Google Lunar X Prize (teams competing for $30 million prize)

Future Human missions:

• New Lunar Prototype Vehicles Tested – Universe Today
• Constellation Program – NASA
• Direct 2.0 (the opposing side prefers this architecture for returning to the moon)
• Mining the moon? – Popular Science

1. Knowmonger Says:
   December 24th, 2008 at 8:50 am

   I was hoping to know more about the Indian Mission to the moon since they're newest kid in the block. But not much mention given. Very bad.

   Rest of the episode was ok.

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