International Malapert Mountain ILOA Landing Site Data Set to Pioneer 21st Century Permanent Human Moon Development

The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) is now preparing a composite data set of the Malapert Mountain region of the South Pole of the Moon. The data includes exclusive, customized contributions from the lunar orbiters of China (Chang'e-1) and India (Chandrayaan-1), as well as USA (Prospector and Clementine), Japan (Kaguya / SELENE) and Europe (SMART-1) and other ground-based data, including Arecibo. Presently, the data is being verified and reconciled on Hawaii Island, USA by a Science Team consisting of ILOA, Canada France Hawaii Telescope and the University of Hawaii at Hilo Physics and Astronomy Department. The purpose of the data set is to identify promising areas for an ideal landing site for the polar mission of the International Lunar Observatory (ILO) (TL), a multi-function instrument providing observation and communication services. The ILO will be the one of the first instruments performing astrophysical observations from another world, and will feature a Galaxy First Light Imaging Program and the Earth-based Galaxy Forum "Galaxy Education in the 21st Century" initiative. ILOA affiliate organization Space Age Publishing Company plans to utilize the ILO for commercial broadcast communications of Space Calendar, Lunar Enterprise Daily and other sponsors. The advancement of the Malapert Mountain data set represents a new frontier in international cooperation. (Credit: ILOA, UHH, CFHT)

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission To Enable Future Human Expansion To Moon / Solar System

After an 11 year absence, NASA / USA is finally set to return to the Moon with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) (TR), the first mission in NASA's plan to extend human presence through the solar system. LRO is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket NET 15:51 EDT on June 17 from Cape Canaveral, FL. Transfer to the Moon will take approximately 4 days, after which time the spacecraft will be placed in a circular polar orbit approximately 50 km above the Moon's surface. The LRO payload, comprised of 6 instruments (BR) and 1 technology demonstration will spend at least one year providing key data sets to help identify sites close to potential resources with high scientific value, favorable terrain and the environment necessary for safe future robotic and human lunar missions. One of the instruments will aid the selection of safe landing sites by retrieving images with resolutions down to 1m. Particular importance will be placed on gathering data on the poles where continuous access to sunlight, continuous line of sight to Earth and the possible presence of water could bode well for human settlement. Launching along with LRO is the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) (CL), a partner mission that will search for water ice in the permanent shadows of a polar crater. LRO also carries a microchip with nearly 1.6 million names submitted by the public in LRO's 'Send Your Name to the Moon' campaign. (Credit: NASA)