Scientists have analyzed data from the Mini-SAR radar on India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to discover nearly 600 million tons of water ice locked in permanently shadowed craters near the moon's north pole.
Lunar water is a resource of inestimable value. Reserves of this volume would be enough to support a permanent colony on the moon and could even be used as fuel for missions to Mars, the asteroids, and beyond. Water is the key to the exploration and exploitation of natural resources in space. Finding this much water on the moon is unbelievably great!
So, I can only assume everyone has noticed the big news, that President Obama has not funded the return to the moon program in his current proposed NASA budget. What the new budget does is:
- Actually adds $5.9 billion to NASA's budget
- Extends the support of ISS through 2020
- Funds commercially developed launches to support ISS (ie Falcon 9)
- Does not leave enough money to support development of the Ares launch vehicle
In general, these are all good things, except the idea of giving up on returning to the moon, which is moronic.
In fact NASA has already spent more than $9 billion on the return to the moon program, which includes $3.5 billion on Ares I and $3.7 billion on Orion. This shows what NASA is really good at - wasting money!
Of course I do not mean the space program is a waste of money, or returning to the moon would eb a waste of money. What IS a waste of money is the actual programs NASA intends to use to accomplish this goal.
Some engineers at NASA have proposed an alternative program, Direct 2.0. Direct 2.0 is essentially a shutte without the orbiter/re-entry vehicle component. Instead you bolt a shuttle main engine directly on the bottom of the external tank. According to the engineers, this would overcome several of the cost and risk problems of Ares, would not require developing 2 new launch platforms, and would be a more capable vehicle. Another alternative to Ares is to use existing heavy launch vehicles, like Delta or Atlas, which actually have a better safety record than the space shuttle, even though they are not officially "man rated" launch systems. And of course the obvious other possibility is to use commercially developed transportation, which is exactly what Obama did fund.
So, why are NASA engineers working on this project essentially in their spare time, while the "official" plan is to pursue ARES, which has know technical issues, include significant vibration from the solid rocket booster stage and a tendency to drift into the gantry at launch? Frankly, the aerospace companies that are profiting from this program wield enormous influence in the white house and in congress. They don't care if we get to the moon or not, so long as we spend billions doing it. And frankly the more money we spend, or waste, the better.
My personal opinion? The commercial route is definitely better. How long would it take for Armadillo aerospace to put pixel on the moon? What if we gave Carmack $100 billion dollars to do it? As for cancelling the moon program? It seems like our current administration is serious about that, unfortunately. But china definitely plans to go to the Moon. I think when China starts putting astronauts on the moon, the movers and shakers in DC will get their panties all in a twist and decide, in fact, we need to go there too. So, it's going to happen. The only question is when and what will it cost.
tags: [ idiot | moon | NASA]
Following on the heals of the successful Aires launch on Wednesday, here is a very interesting simulation video of the Constellation program.
The big news this week is the discovery that Theta 1 Orions C, a bright star in the Trapezium in Orion (that is a collection of bright stars in the Orion nebula, just below his belt) is actually a binary star. 
What’s more exciting is the discovery was made by the VLTI in Chile, an optical interferometer with amazing resolving power. Light from the 4 telescopes can be combined in a way to increase the resolving power to be equivalent to a single telescope with a much larger mirror. 
In other space imaging news, an images of exoplanet HR 8799b was found in 10 year old images collected by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) instrument on Hubble. It turns out the image had been collected many years ago, but the existence of the planet was not known at the time. HR 8799b was officially “discovered” at the Gemini North observatory in 2007. Later examination of the NICMOS images revealed the planet actually was imaged much earlier. In astronomy, it’s actually fairly common for some celestial object to be “discovered” and then later found in much earlier images. The star HR 8799 has 3 known planets, each with 7-10 time the mass of Jupiter orbiting far from their sun. HR 8799 is about 1.5 times the size of our sun. The inner planet has a nearly circular orbit, and although the shapes of the orbits of the other planets are not known, they most likely orbit in a roughly 1:2:4 resonance. Although the planets are much larger than the gas giants of our solar system, there are many striking similarities between HR 8799 and our own solar system, including the possibility of undiscovered terrestrial planets in the inner solar system. 
Meanwhile, on Mars, Spirit set a new driving record (for 5 wheel driving) and Opportunity is using the RAT, MI, Mossbauer Spectrometer, and X-Ray spectrometer on a new target found on Meridiani. Some of these instruments have not been used in years. As usual, HortonHeardaWho has posted some terrific images on his flickr photo stream, it is definitely worth taking a look.  In other news, LISA, an spacecraft designed to detect gravity waves scheduled for launch in 2018, should also be able to detect and measure the mass of near earth asteroids as they pass by. They are predicting they will be able to measure 1 or 2 NEAs per year. Also, Paragon Space Development Corporation plans to grow plants on the moon DSR 2.7
The Moon NASA has assembled a panel of 4 experts to examine our national vision for space exploration, including the current plans to establish a permanent base on the moon, and then go on to Mars. Mars Opportunity has gotten the first glimpse of the rim of endeavor crater, still 12 km and just about 2 years away: 
Also, NASA is hosting a contest to name the new Mars rover (ie MSL) Deep space New Horizons is now 1/3 of the way to Pluto (by distance) DSR 2.5
Online Fun NASA is promoting a tournament to nominate the greatest NASA mission of all time. My vote will be for the Mars rovers, of course. The Moon China has announced plans to land on the moon by 2013, and Obama has declared his support for a a return to the moon with a manned mission. Mars Images from MRO’s HiRISE imaging system have provided more clues of recent water activity in some gullies on mars. Deep Space Kepler has launched! Hooray! It’s just a matter of months (well maybe years) until we start finding M class planets around other stars. And, speaking of M class planets, astronomers have discovered a binary black hole system. Great place to work on your tan. Some people prefer to tan with good old UV, but I like x-rays or even the occasional soft gamma ray when you can get’em. There is also a fascinating new theory that, not only may there be life on the asteroid Ceres, but life may even have evolved on Ceres first and been transferred to the earth (during the late heavy bombardment) Deep Space Report 2.3
Deep Space I’m putting this first because this is the coolest news. COROT has discovered the smallest exoplanet yet, COROT-Exo-7b. The planet is just 2x earth’s diameter, orbiting very close to a sun like star once every 20 hours. The surface temperature is predicted to reach 1000-1500 C. Also, the Kepler mission, which is designed to search for earth like planets around other stars, is more or less ready for launch on 3/6/09 Near Earth Space You’ve probably already heard about the spectacular collision of two satellites last week. But you might not have heard about the 35 m asteroid 2009 DD45 which passed within 72,000 km of the earth on 3/2/09. That's less than twice the distance of a geosynchronous communication satellite. And finally, Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft, an asteroid sample return mission, has managed to restart engines after 16 months. It is now expected to return to earth with a sample of the surface of asteroid Itokawa some time in 2010, after traveling 4.5 billion kilometers. The Moon A quick summary of the news form our nearest neighbor: Mars Spirit has recovered recovered from it’s fault . Most likely explanation of earlier fault was a cosmic ray hit. Also, it seems another cleaning event has occurred, increasing total output of the solar panels by 15%. However, this increases the discretionary power budget from from 30 to 60 watt hours per day. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has entered safe mode. And, Phoneix data finds possibility of thin films of liquid water on Mars. In similar environments on earth, in particular the dry valleys in Antarctica, microorganisms survive using these thin films of water, sometimes only nanometers thick. The possibility of life on Mars surviving under these conditions is tantalizing.
Deep space Report 2.2
In the spirit of the new year, I have compiled a list of the 10 coolest topics covered last year in the Deep Space Report - 3 planets orbiting other stars were imaged, Fomalhaut, HR8799, and beta pictoris, in that order.
- The discovery of an ancient shoreline provided proof that Mars once had an ocean of liquid water in the northern hemisphere.
- Phoenix detected actual snow falling from the sky on Mars.
- Armadillo Aerospace wins Lunar Lander Challenge level 1, and also announces partnerships with the Rocket Racing League to provide rocket motors for their racers, and also work on a joint venture to provide commercial space tourism flights.
- India successfully sends Chandrayaan-1 to the moon.
- China send's it's first moon probe too, Chang'e-1
- Catalina Sky Survey program detected a meteorite before impact.
- A spectacular fireball meteorite was seen over Alberta, Canada.
- Cassinni makes 2 flybys of Encleadus, the first passing within just 16 miles of the tiny moon.
- NASA tests out several new lunar rover designs, including ATHLETE and PILOT
I apologize for the missing reports over the holidays, but not much has been happening anyway Luna The US DoD has proposed the idea of using Atlas and Delta rockets as a platform for launching manned missions to the moon. Both rockets have been in service for decades and have a proven flight record, but neither is "man rated". They have never been used to launch astronauts that is. however, the safety record has been proven by hundreds of successful launches, and they are probably as safe as or safer than the space shuttle. the big advantage would be cost. With such a long program history, NASA could save as much as $3.4 billion over the proposed Ares program. Also, a NASA instrument on Chandrayaan-1 has detected the signature of iron bearing minerals on the moon. This is mildly exciting. lunar materials containing aluminum and titanium are already known, this discovery may add iron as a potential material available from resources on the moon. Mars Lets give it up for the little rovers that could as they celebrate their 5th anniversary on Mars. As I'm sure everyone remembers like it was just yesterday, Spirit landed on 1/3/04, and Opportunity landed 1/24/04. Those little robots have surely exceeded all expectations of success by a wider margin than any other program in NASA history. Of course there is Voyager, still going, but voyager was DESIGNED to last decades, not mere months. The MER program is a shining example of success that should be used as a model for future NASA programs. Jupiter University of Arizona Professor Richard Greenberg has published a new book on his thin ice theory for Europa, and the implications this has for the possibility of life there. The more conventional theory is that, if Europa has an ocean at all, it is covered by a thick mantle of ice, tens of kilometers thick. Greenberg's thin ice theory, which is supported by his analysis of surface features on the moon, is the ice is no more than a few kilometers thick. This would allow more flexing and cracks which reach the surface, allowing material to be exchange more easily between the surface and the deep ocean. The theory also supports periodic melt troughs, where the liquid ocean would be exposed directly to the surface. Saturn According to Dr. Rosaly Lopes, new data collected from Titan supports the theory that the moon may have active cryovolcanoes. Human Space Flight MIT has released a comprehensive independent review of NASA's future plans for manned space exploration. MIT's review actually calls for a much more aggressive program of exploration, with more international cooperation, clearer stated goals, and less pressure on NASA to do more with less. Deep Space Report 1.12
Luna China's Chang'e-1 space probe has adjusted its orbit to just 200 km above the surface of the moon. Mars After last week's discussion of the possibility of long term climate cycles, and maybe even life on Mars, this week researchers at Cal Tech published a new study indicating that Mars' axial tilt could produce climate cycles on the order of 100,000 years in length, that's just under 50,000 mars years, by the way. Glad to see great minds think alike. Asteroids Bulgarian astronomers have discovered a new asteroid this week, 2008 WN96. The asteroid is estimated to be 2 km diameter, which is pretty large for an asteroid discovered so recently, with an orbital period of 3.2 years. Jupiter In a new report, University of Washington oceanographer Robert Tyler has calculated the heat required to maintain a liquid ocean on Europa could come from waves generated from the ocean itself. An axial tilt of less than one degree would be sufficient to produce enough heat to keep the ocean liquid. Deep Space CO2 has been discovered for the first time in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, HD 189733b, 63 light years away. Deep Space Report 1.11
Luna Britain is now planning it's own moon mission, MoonLITE, focusing on studying moon quakes. Water on Mars There were two exciting discoveries this week related to water on mars. First, they have identified what seems to be an ancient shoreline, indicating an ocean once existed that would have been as large as the Mediterranean, and possibly even larger. The other, perhaps more exciting, discovery is buried glacial ice in Hellas basin, between 35 and 60 degrees latitude. The ice is buried by less than a meter of rock and debris, which acts as an insulating blanket, otherwise the ice would have sublimated long ago. The ice containing deposits, which appear as gently sloping aprons at the bases of taller features, have puzzled NASA scientists since they were first observed in the early 70s. Conclusive evidence from the ground penetrating radar from MRO show these aprons are in fact made of ice. Opportunity Continues on to Endeavour Hortonheardawho has posted some awesome new color panoramas from Oppy's journey to Endeavour. They've set several new daily records, But what's amazing is the consistent distance they are putting on. Sol 1704 
Sol 1707 
JPL has also published an updated an updated traverse map from sol 1713. Be sure to check it out at full res. This is a terrific example or MRO's MOC capabilities. Image resolution could easily pick out even smaller boulders or ejecta debris, although I haven't spotted any. I think the JPL page links to the source image from MRO. 
MSL site list narrowed NASA has narrowed down the list of candidates for the MSL landing site to 4: 
- Holden Crater - another crater, similar to Gusev Crater, with and outflow channel, containing alluvial fans, flood deposits, possible lake beds and clay-rich deposits.
- Mawrth Vallis - contains exposed layers containing at least two types of clay.
Deep space The Dawn spacecraft has shut down its ion motor and will cruise unpowered until February next year, when it will have an encounter with Mars. Dawn is on schedule for an encounter with Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. French astronomers have used the ESO' Very Large Telescope to image yet another extra solar planet, beta pictoris. Beta Pictoris is a very young star, about 12 million years old, about 70 light years away. The planet has approximately 8 times the mass of Jupiter and orbits at the distance Saturn orbits our sun. I think this is perhaps the most earth like solar system yet imaged. A recent study has detected cosmic rays which appear to be originating from a nearby source, perhaps 300 light years away or less. The high energy electrons are encountering the earth at such high velocity that they could not have traveled much further than that without losing more velocity. However, the detector is not capable of accurately determining what direction the electrons are coming from, so we really have no idea where the source is, just that it must be relatively nearby. China as a space threat The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission issued a report to congress which, among other things, warns of China's space program as a potential military threat. What does this have to do with deep space? Well, the biggest space program in US history, Apollo, was a military program. It was a response to a perceived threat by the USSR, and a demonstration of the US space capability. In particular it was a demonstration of the US ICBM capability. What, Saturn V was just a giant ICBM? Yes it was, why do you think NASA built a disposable launch vehicle? You don't reuse ICBMs. And, China has stated that there long term goal is to establish a permanent base on the moon. Now, if this is seen as a potential military threat, we must follow suit and build our own moon base with equal or greater capability. Of course we also have plans for a permanent moon base, but the plans of NASA can shift from year to year. With out a "guns and butter" justification for the expense of such a program, it would be likely to lose support eventually, especially when the enormous cost of a moon base turns into a line item on this year's congressional budget talks. Whether or not there is a real military threat isn't really the point. The point is there is a congressional report which at least mentions this as a possibility, and that should be all the support we need. Deep Space Report 1.8
Cool Stuff Check out this interactive map of nearby stars: 
Luna Chandrayaan-1 has begun remote sensing of the moon, and has also landed a remote probe, although apparently the probe had a "hard landing" that "terminated it's functioning." But, let's focus on the success, they DID land the probe on the moon! NASA has also tested some more lunar rover designs, and more importantly two separate ISRU methods to extract oxygen from lunar material. This is a really big deal, not only can lunar oxygen be used to breath, it also makes up the bulk of most rocket propellants. Future missions to the moon might use lunar oxygen as propellant for a return trip. Mars Spirit has been caught in a dust storm which has drastically reduced the amount of solar power generated by its solar panels. NASA has commanded the rover to take some severe power saving measures, including shutting down the heater to the thermal imager. The thermal imager is susceptible to cold, so shutting down the heater may cause permanent damage to the imager. As of last Friday, Spirit was low on power but still communicating with NASA. Deep Space ESA's Ulysses spacecraft is about to end it's 14 year mission to study the sun. Its RTG power generator is beginning to wane, and soon it will lose the ability to operate. Launched in 1990, Ulysses first traveled to Jupiter and used a gravitational assist to launch into an orbit which took it over the poles of the sun. It has orbited the sun 3 times since then, it was originally designed for a 5 year mission. Beyond Amazing images of 2 extrasolar planetary systems were published last week. A Jupiter size planet orbiting the star Fomalhaut, 25 light years away,
and an amazing 3 planet system around HR8799, some 140 light years away. 
Deep space Report 1.7
Luna
NASA tests new rover designs
NASA tested a bunch of new lunar rover designs last week in Black Point, Arizona, including ATHLETE, a 6 leg rover design, and the Small Pressurized Rover Concept vehicle. This video sort of rambles a bit but watch the whole thing, there are so many rovers being tested at times it looks like a scene from Star Wars.
Chandrayaan-1
Chandrayaan-1 has sent back pictures and also adjusted it's orbit for the 4th time. The orbit now takes the spacecraft 267,000 km from the earth. The next maneuver should take the spacecraft all the way to the moon.
Google Lunar X-Prize
In a bizarre twist, NASA has announced it will collaberate with Odyssey Moon Ventures LLC to compete for the Google Lunar X Prize.
Shakleton Crater may be xenobiotic deep freezeIn an interesting article last week,
Joop Houtkooper presented an interesting paper at Europlanet's latest Planetary Science Congress last week. He presented the idea that permanently shadowed parts of Shackleton Crater near the moon's south pole should in theory act as an interplanetary deep freeze. In particular, ancient meteor impacts on earth and even mars could have expelled debris into interplanetary space. Some of this debris almost certainly would have been collected on preserved deep inside Shackleton Crater. In fact, over the billions of years of history of life on earth, it is very likely that, at the very least, some samples of very early life on earth would have been preserved on the moon in this way. It is interesting to note that the same thing is true for Mars. If at any point in the past microbial life existed on Mars, those microbes would also have been expelled and transported to the moon in the same way. Although Mars is obviously much further way from the moon, it is also nearer the main asteroid belt and would have experienced more frequent large impacts.
What is unique about the moon is it is not geologically active. We do not have samples on the surface of the earth which would preserve evidence of life on earth from the time when we believe the origin of life occurred, because the earth is a very active place. that geologic record has been erased billions of years ago. However, this record may still be preserved hidden in the shadows of Shackleton Crater.
Mercury
Moving at the speed of interplanetary science, the MESSENGER team has finally released some amazing new images and science results from the recent flyby. Among other things, they have discovered a mysterious blue material on the surface of Mercury.
Mars
Once again, MER-B Opportunity is roving across the seemingly endless sands of Meridiani, on its way to Endeavor Crater (image credit hortonheardawho)
On a sadder note, the sun is setting on the Phoenix lander. It has already entered safe mode at least once due to low power, and NASA has begun the shutting down systems to try to squeeze the last remaining watts out of the spacecraft.
Deep space Report 1.5
There is not much to report form Luna and beyond this week. The big news was really Chandayaan-1. Other than that, the ESA announced they are delaying ExoMars again, Iowa State Research Center sponsored a symposium for asteroid deflection, and there was some interesting news on using a form of waterless concrete (made largely from lunar regolith) for construction on the moon. And, of course, Armadillo Aerospace won the LLC level 1.
There was also a NY times article on the possibility of ice on the moon. In a new study published in Science, infrared images of permanently shaded areas inside Shakleton crater taken by the Japanese SELENE spacecraft were analyzed. Although the temperature of these areas were found to be cold enough for water ice to be stable, infrared spectra of surface material in these areas did not include any ice. However, this does not preclude subsurface ice, even if it is only covered by a few centimeters of dust. In fact, if ice were present, one would expect to find at least a thin covering of moon dust, the moon being an extraordinarily dusty place. So, although ice was not detected directly, I would say the confirmation of the temperature being cold enough for ice to be stable is more of a positive sign than the lack of direct evidence for ice on the surface, which would not be expected anyway.
Here are some gratuitous video links 
Great video here from the NASA EPOXI spacecraft. This is a re-purposed mission that originally was the one that impacted a comet with a projectile so we could see what was inside said comet. After that it has been out doing other things. In this video it was looking back at earth and caught the moon transiting the Earth over a period of about one full day with the pertinent pass in front of the Earth taking approximately 5-6 hours. Lot's more information over here: HOLY FRAK! Moon transits Earth!
All the news that's fit to print from Luna and beyond!
Luna
Carnegie Mellon University has decided to pursue the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize. http://www.space.com/spacenews/071001_businessmonday_lunarprize.html
The UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has developed a sophisticated x-ray camera for lunar observation. The camera is scheduled to be launched 10/22/08 on the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft - India's first mission to the Moon.
http://www.moondaily.com/reports/X_Ray_Specs_Ready_To_Eye_The_Moon_999.html
Mercury
MESSENGER's second pass by Mercury, a gravitational boost maneuver, is scheduled for 1/14/09. MESSENGER sill pass within 125 miles of the surface, snapping pictures as it goes. Although they are planning to eventually orbit Mercury, the planned trajectory uses many gravitational boost maneuvers to save fuel. They should achieve capture by Mercury in March 2011
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/081001-mercury-flyby-preview.html
Mars
Phoenix
The Phoenix science team held a press conference last Monday. They have discovered calcium carbonate and sheet silicates. These two minerals don't usually form without the presence of liquid water. Calcium carbonate was detected by both TEGA and MECA at 7% or more. In general, evidence of phyllosilicate clays are abundant. MECA lead scientist Michael Hecht commented, "We are seeing smooth-surfaced, platy particles with the atomic-force microscope, not inconsistent with the appearance of clay particles." Extreme dryness of soil might be related to perchlorate prevalence. So far the science team has not detected organics.
Perhaps more exciting, a laser instrument designed to measure the atmosphere has detected actual snow falling on Mars. The snow was detected high in the atmosphere. Similar to dry deserts on earth, This was a "ghost" snow since it evaporated before it reached the ground.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080930/ts_alt_afp/usscienceastronomyspacemars;_ylt=Aq1nxcED8qVFptS5WZdCAfwPLBIF
http://astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2890&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Other Mars news
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has discovered hundreds of small fractures on the surface of Mars which may have served to direct the flow of water through Martian sandstone billions of years ago.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080926-fracture-mars.html
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/MRO_Reveals_Rock_Fracture_Plumbing_On_Mars_999.html
A new study based on information collected by the ESA's Mars Express Planetary Fourier Spectrometer has come up with an explanation for why Mars' ice caps are slightly offset. Detailed, accurate measurements of wind flow patterns have revealed that the Hellas Basin reroute high altitude winds and force weather systems towards the south pole. This creates a strong low-pressure system in the western hemisphere of Mars, which is responsible for the asymmetry of the southern polar cap.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080929-mm-mars-ice.html
Researchers at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin have analyzed images of the Xanthe Terra region of Mars. "For years scientists have been suspecting that the current appearance of the landscape has, in part, been shaped by rivers that cut into the surface," comments Ernst Hauber of the German Aerospace Center. They have concluded that fan shaped sedimentary deposits are the result of flowing and standing water in Mars' ancient past.
http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/The_Ancient_Rains_Of_Mars_999.html
Deep Space
The Dawn mission to Ceres and other minor planets has reached it's first anniversary. Using an advanced ion propulsion system, Dawn has used 67 kg of propellant to produce 1.68 km/s delta V. It is difficult to put this amount of thrust in perspective, but it is a huge improvement over less efficient chemical rockets, and is only the beginning of Dawn's mission.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Dawn_Reaches_It_First_Anniversary_999.html
F. Marchis, PI, at the SETI Institute and at UC-Berkeley, and P. Descamps from Paris Observatory announced recently the discovery of two moons around the M-type asteroid 216 Kleopatra, the so called "dog bone" asteroid.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081002/sc_space/twocompanionsfoundneardogboneasteroid;_ylt=AokvI8HNSM.FpcO.QTvy4KqHgsgF
The Kepler planet hunting telescope mission has managed to cut costs and avoid cancellation. The nearly 1 meter Schmidt telescope was designed to scan a large field of stars, searching for earth size planets in potential habitable orbits. The new plan would launch the mission in 2009.
http://www.space.com/spacenews/070716_businessmonday_kepler.html
ESA's Stone-6 artificial meteorite tests if a Martian meteorite could transport living organisms to Earth.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Stone_6_Artificial_Meteorite_Shows_Martian_Impactors_Could_Carry_Traces_Of_Life_999.html
Deep Space Report 1.1
 I bet you didn't even know it had one did you.
...well to be honest it isn't much of a moon. In fact, technically, it isn't a moon of Earth at all (that was just a catchy title to GRAB your attention), but instead it is what is called a a periodic inclusion planetoid. (sounds like something you treat with antibiotics) Essentially it orbits the sun with a orbital frequency that is 1:1 with the Earth's. It passes within 12 million kilometers of Earth which is only 30 times the distance to the moon. Wikipedia entry: 3753 Cruithne ...but wait, there really is a Second Moon On another note there is another type of "moonlet" that might fit the description of the Earth's second moon a bit better. Apparently there is a set of asteroids that are co-orbital satellites. Meaning they share (or virtually share) the Earth's orbit but not with the same exact frequency. Therefore they occasionally get captured by the Earth's gravity. This is the case with asteroid YN107. It is just now exiting a corkscrew orbit around Earth. It has been circling the Earth for 9 years now and will soon go on about its solitary orbit of the Sun only to get recaptured by the Earth in approximately 60 years. Nasa article: Corkscrew Asteroid So once again I lied it isn't a second moon either, but it's still cool.
Space Tourism is really here. Get out your checkbook and let's go!
Now Space Adventures has upped the ante by buying not just one seat aboard one of the expendable Soyuz spacecraft that have been the mainstay of the Russian space program since the 1960s, but an entire flight. A professional Russian cosmonaut will command the flight for two ticket-paying passengers some time in late 2011. - Popular Science Article
That's cool.
But if you go visit the Space Adventures website you will see that their ambitions are much higher than a simple "lob" up to the ISS. They have on their agenda a launch to the MOON! Lunar Mission
Price - $100 million
By joining the Space Adventures Lunar Mission you will contribute to the dawning of a new era in space exploration and enter the history books alongside the great explorers of our time.
Awesome!
I haven't been following the Lunar X-Prize much except as part of the remarkable private space program genesis we are seeing right now. But it appears from this discussion that the X-Prize Foundation (XPF) is doing a poor job in managing the contest. But I hadn't counted on the X Prize Foundation, which has done an extremely effective job of administering the contest to make it harder and harder to win. The XPF has apparently driven out one of the most innovative teams. And one that had a good chance of winning. Team Cringely is so confident of its mission plan and technology design that it is continuing full-speed ahead without the carrot of a $20MM prize for winning. Bureaucracy is as bureaucracy does. pity.
I don't see the benefits in this plan: Space leaders work to replace lunar base with manned asteroid missions Well let me re-phrase that, I see the benefits, but I don't think they're compelling enough to make a political argument. Which is the battle the space program needs to always fight. And in general they suck at it. They're engineers, not politicians. What they need to realize is the the whole man-in-space thing is a tough sell to congress. And the only things that spark the political will when it comes to the whole man-in-space thing is big mountaintops to summit. Asteroids are small and pointless. Small foothills in the landscape of space. The MOON! MARS! Those are marketing messages a politician can sell. So my space program engineer side says, "duh, the moon doesn't help us get to Mars much." But my congressional lobbyist side says, "Gimme something I can sell to joe sixpack, 'cause the asteroid belt ain't it." If it was MY space program I'd be spending way more money than 15 Billion, but it isn't mine, and that is the budget and you can't do everything you want and you HAVE to sell the program. Sell the moon, sell Mars! Don't try and sell small rocks with names like numbers...it won't work.
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