Catalyzing A New Industry Of Lunar Commercial Communications

When humanity returns to the Moon in coming years to establish a permanent human settlement, communications will be high on the list of outpost first needs, in addition to power and water. NASA recently released a request for information from industry to solicit ideas for communications and navigation technologies to support lunar exploration. NASA intends to co-develop a communications network with industry partners, beginning with robotic science stations on the Moon by 2013. Space Age Publishing Company (SPC) and the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) are hosting a series of workshops to deal with this communications need, and to help catalyze a new lunar communication industry that will expand the sphere of commercial communications by more than 1,000 times into the cislunar environment. The 'Lunar Commercial Communications Workshop 3' is set for Sep 5 at the Santa Clara Hilton in the Bay Area CA. Featured speakers at the event include Mike Daly of the MDA Corporation in Canada, Robert Kelso of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston TX, Fred Bourgeois of Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) Team FredNet, financial and marketing consultants Bret O'Connor and William Lindstrom of Imbibo in Los Angeles CA, and Steve Durst – Editor of SPC and Director of ILOA. The workshop will cover launch and mission providers, participants in the GLXP, advertising professionals, and a panel on new opportunities in the commercialization of communications and navigation services at the Moon. While SPC has a fundamental publication and communication role within a new Lunar Commercial Communications industry, the ILOA envisions participating via the ILO – expected to be operational at the lunar south pole within 4 years. (Credit: NASA, SPC)

The European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft (B) is set for its first asteroid encounter during its 10-year journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta was launched on 2 March 2004 via Ariane-5 from Kourou, French Guiana, and has since performed 2 of 3 gravity assist maneuvers by Earth and 1 by Mars. On September 5, the spacecraft will conduct a close flyby within about 800 km of Asteroid 2867 Steins, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The study of asteroids is extremely important, as they represent a sample of Solar System material at different stages of evolution, which is key to understanding the origin of our own planet and of our planetary neighbors. The encounter is the first of 3 for Rosetta, which will also flyby Asteroid 21 Lutetia in 2010 before arriving at Comet 67P in May 2014. Between May 2011 and January 2014, Rosetta will go into a deep-space hibernation to conserve power. During this hibernation period, Rosetta will record its maximum distances from the Sun (about 800 million km) and Earth (about 1000 million km). Upon arriving at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (T), Rosetta will edge closer to the black, dormant nucleus until it is only a few dozen kilometers away. The way will then be clear for the exciting transition to global mapping, lander deployment and the comet chase towards the Sun. (Credit: ESA)