That is that first Chinese photo of the Moon, taken by their Chang'e-1 (嫦娥一号) Lunar orbiter craft last year, as part of an imaging/exploration mission (including for concentrations of helium-3).
Check out this really interesting look from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) at the Chang'e-1 program and its goals, from the Chang'e project leader, Luan Enjie. He's exceptionally well-spoken-- here's a great interview where he talks about his take on the differences from this space race (that I refer to as the "Base Race") and the space rae of the 1950's and 60's.
The Chang'e program is named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, who (notably) only lives on the moon.
The way the Chinese space program has been rolling along in the past year, I think we could be seeing a 'chang'e' to that fact in the very near future ;)
Their Falcon 1 craft successfully made it into orbit on what is actually the fourth attempt by SpaceX (kudos to their perserverance and pioneering spirit). Here's a video (with raw sound, but incredible visuals) of the launch, including images from the Falcon 1 itself:
With SpaceX's goal to "reduce the cost and increase the reliability of space access by a factor of ten", this (combined with other recent efforts) is a huge sign that a private space boom really is coming, and coming fast. This is a historic step, amazingly coming right on the heels of events like the Chinese spacewalk. It's been an incredible couple of weeks.
Of course, orbit is just the beginning. Once we've got a private space boom in full swing (or even before), there'll be more than just a few private efforts with their eyes fixed on the Moon.
It's time for another session of MoonPop (my ongoing series of features on Moon colonization and integration in pop culture), and while this one has a few asterisks, often the interpretation of pop culture is just as signicant as the pop culture itself.
Check out the end of this post for a neat, rare 1969 video of the B-side version of the song.
The song, while inspiring to anyone thinking about space and (as noted) generally thought to be inspired by space's place in the pop culture of the 1960's, is also concurrently about something else entirely. The song was featured by the BBC during their coverage of the 1969 moon landing, despite the drug-trip symbolism, which itself is confirmed in Bowie's follow-up to "Space Oddity", "Ashes to Ashes":
"Do you remember a guy thats been In such an early song Ive heard a rumour from ground control Oh no, dont say its true (...) Ashes to ashes, funk to funky We know major toms a junkie Strung out in heavens high Hitting an all-time low" -"Ashes to Ashes", David Bowie, 1980
The BBC's usage of "Space Oddity" was surprising, given the rather negative tone of the song. In fact, this song outright gave me the creeps when I was a kid growing up (though technically, at 24, some older segments of the population may still consider someone my age to be a 'kid').
"Space Oddity" is deeply rooted in both the events (the moon landing) and the pop culture ("2001: a Space Odyssey") of that time, and as we enter into two decades (2010-2020; 2020-2030) that are going to have both a likely private space boom, and then the full swing of the 'base race', we should expect to see more pop culture creations like "Space Oddity" come around in vivid form. Hell, Bowie himself is still kickin' (as Tesla, no less), so maybe we can lobby him for a tune to fit this new era (perhaps about an internet junkie this time?).
As promised, as a wrap-up for this edition of MoonPop, here's that rare B-side version video of the song. Enjoy:
That is a full video of the first-ever Chinese spacewalk, conducted by the CNSA on September 27th (technically yesterday in the U.S., given the international date line).
Clearly, this is an enormous (and particularly visible) step forward for the Chinese space program, and perhaps something of a wake-up call to the fact that the official language of the Moon could end up being Chinese. ;)
Below is a video with a translation of Zhigang's comments, and a narration:
"I believe the private sector has an important role to play in a permanent lunar program and Odyssey Moon has put together some pretty impressive people and plans to help make this happen. We look forward to working with NASA and other space agencies as both partners and customers in this effort.” -Jay Honeycutt
That quote from the media release reminds me of what Barack Obamasuggested in his space plan-- 'amplifying NASA's reach' with the private sector. Mr. Honeycutt there is speaking along much the same lines.
Other lunar enterprise companies, such as Astrobotic (also a Google Lunar X Prize contestant), express serving as a partner for government (as opposed to, say, strictly commercial) as part of their goals and general gameplan. It should be interesting to watch as NASA and the private sector mix and mingle further, and to see to what extent NASA ends up partnering with the private sector (and what positive impacts that could have, especially in an era of a lagging economy and potentially squeezed government budgets).
Up until now, the space elevator (a high-concept, low-cost alternative way of moving goods from the Earth and other planetary surfaces out of gravity fields and into space) was something that 'could' be done, that some were 'thinking' of doing, a project for 'someone, someplace' to take on 'someday'.
This is much sooner than I personally had anticipated; to see such concrete initiative on the concept in 2008 is a big, and really exciting, step. Though it still sounds like they're essentially in the planning stages, to have such large media exposure for their effort/conference is a major event in its own right.
Keep an eye here at Luna C/I for updates on the JSEA's progress as they continue to gain steam, and be sure to check out my earlier features on Space Elevators for the full skinny on the concept :)
The event pictured is the announcement of the financial rescue package being put into place to stabilize the struggling American economy.
This package could potentially become extremely relevant (and rather ominous) to NASA, as this rescue could end up costing the government upwards of a trillion dollars, which in turn could then end up limiting government spending for some time. This crisis, as a result, could then become an eventual bane to NASA's rather large amount of funding (and the particularly pricey Constellation program).
Luckily, there's still other nations and plenty of private enterprise rolling along towards the Moon, so even if NASA takes a hit, the lunar surface should be plenty busy for some time to come. And as a matter of fact, Barack Obama's space plansuggests he may attempt to utilize the private space sector as a way to spur the economy back out of this slump, and so in the end, the American space focus may simply shift, rather than slump; as any slack lost by a NASA spending decline could be readily picked right back up by American private enterprise.
It will be interesting to see how the unfolding of this rescue package ends up shifting America's impact on the base race and the future of development on the Moon.
The above is a video I came across featuring a great look at space elevators from Michio Kaku , a technology that could greatly amplify the speed and efficiency of moon colonization efforts, both through moving supplies off the Earth and for actually building these on the Moon itself for exports.
Check out the video for an excellent explanation of the whole concept, as well as my original look at space elevators and this example of a space elevator company (Black Line Ascension).
Helium-3 is a resource that is rare on Earth, but plentiful on the moon. It's drawn a lot of interest, including officially from China and Russia, as the primary fuel for fusion power, which is something of the ultimate power source: clean and efficient, one shuttle's load of Helium-3 from the Moon would be roughly enough to power the United States for one year. And that's just one load!
While fusion probably won't turn up until around 2050, that's about the time we're expected to be running out of fossil fuels and potentially in need of a new energy source. So, the idea among Russia, China, the U.S., and potential commercial efforts would be to get a headstart on collecting the fuel by stockpiling it early, and developing some kind of dominance over the resource in order to gain leverage (and massive profits).
So, as a result, even though we might not be seeing fusion power itself for a while, we'll be seeing (and hearing about) miners like the one above much sooner.
I was never personally a fan of the old "Moon 2.0" shirts (with Moon 2.0 being the slogan of sorts for the Lunar X Prize), and I believe a strongbrand could significantly amplify interest in the subject.
The new, winning design by Julian F. Bennett of Merritt Island, FL:
That meters diagram is awesome. And the second prize runner-up, by Claire A. Schaeffer of Clearwater, FL:
Expect me to me modeling that winning design on the streets of Portland (OR) in the near future... :)
If you're wondering more about Moon 2.0 and that brand, here's an informative (if mildly cheesy)video all about it (the bit about silicon and solar power is interesting...I was totally expecting that to be a helium-3 lead-up):
I, your beloved blogger, am a recent graduate with my Bachelor's in Urban Planning, and part of why I started this blog (despite having a rather different background than your typical space enthusiast) is that I maintain that lunar colonization is, in fact, urban planning. My argument being, that the Moon's surface is now land for all intents and purposes, and therefore any colony/mine, infrastructure, or other utilization of its surface is land use; and land use planning is the core of urban planning. NASA, Roscosmos, the CNSA, etc. are all well into programs to complete substantial built environments on the Moon by 2030, and so this has become a timelysubject.
Once in a while, I find that I am (in fact) not the only one who thinks about these things, and here's a case in point I came across today.
"In the future, these questions will likely be posed for cities that exist on the moon or Mars... You might think that such a city is unrealistic, but NASA has been planning a "city in the sky" for years." -"HowStuffWorks" article on Urban Planning by William Harris
A Wired.com article chronicles NASA's 'recurring dream', with the first substantial and 'modern' looks (that included thoughts on industrialization of the moon, a key to current efforts) coming in 1972 and 1975.
Check out that HowStuffWorks article linked above, and keep an eye here for more and more content regarding just what the planning topics are for moon colonization in the next 10 years (the early phase) and beyond. :)
That is the result of a recent NASA test of its Orion craft's (Orion being the replacement for the Space Shuttle) recovery-landing parachutes.
According to NASA's report on the failed test, the parachutes on the actual craft worked fine, but the parachutes used to set up the test (e.g., the simulation) failed, causing the craft to fall faster than desired and resulting in what I'm sure was a lovely and distinctive "thump".
Apparently this is a pretty common type of failure, and doesn't represent a serious setback (though it did succeed in producing entertaining photos and video...and not to mention a lot of coverage).
While McCain's plan is only about a third of the length of Obama's (989 words to 3,486), there's still enough information and context that can be discerned from it to give an idea of what a McCain administration's space policy could shape up to be like.
Batting leadoff is this first-sentence statement : "For the past 50 years, space activities have contributed greatly to US scientific discovery, national security, economic development, and national innovation, pride and power." The placement of "national security" second on that list is notable, and not a surprise given McCain's military background.
The plan goes on to briefly discuss Sputnik, the reaction to it, and how that led to a dominance in American science and technology, noting: "The end of the Cold War and the space race has greatly reduced the profile of space exploration as a point of national pride...", creating a "degree of 'mission-rut'" for NASA.
After noting "Much of our communications infrastructure is dependent upon space based assets that are essential to the quality of our everyday lives and the economy", the report goes on to detail how China, Russia, India, Japan and Europe are all "active players" in space exploration.
McCain then writes briefly about the increasing activity in the commerical sector and mentions the Google Lunar X Prize and space tourism, specifically noting the "importance of investments in key industries such as space to the future of our national security, environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and national pride as a technological leader"; again, a distinct foreign policy lean with national security being first on the list and "competitiveness" and "pride" being in there also.
An entire paragraph is devoted to discussion of the following quote regarding the Nixon administration's mulling of the cancellation of Apollo and non-approval of the Space Shuttle:
"[That policy] ...would be confirming in some respects a belief that I fear is gaining credence at home and abroad: That our best years are behind us, that we are turning inward, reducing our defense commitments, and voluntarily starting to give up our super-power status and our desire to maintain world superiority."
McCain then states, rather significantly, that "Three and a half decades later this seems equally valid, if not more so given the increased number of countries that are making significant investments in space."
The report then concludes with a little on McCain's contributions to the space program as a Senator and on NASA's current policies and projects.
McCain's last statement about Weinberger's quote, combined with the foreign policy leaning of the plan, clearly illustrates that McCain sees Constellation and the rest of NASA's programs as key to American international standing, prestige, and competitiveness.
This is somewhat of a contrast to Obama's plan, which has a focus that is notably more domestic, primarily discussing the private sector. A perhaps even more notable contrast is that while Obama's plan discusses international cooperation quite a bit, it is something that is not mentioned a single time in McCain's plan.
The differences in the two plans are fascinating, and more than I would have expected, illustrating that this is definitely a subject that both candidates take very seriously, and that they both have their own distinctive styles towards handling.
That is an official JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) rendering of their lunar orbiter Kaguya (formerly SELENE; the new name is derived from the name of a lunar princess in the oldest surviving piece of Japanese fiction, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), which completed much of its operations (namely visual documentation, including amazing HD video of Luna's surface, which can be viewed here) in 2007.
A main facet of the Google Lunar X Prize's award conditions is the completion of a 'Mooncast', including HD video, from the surface of the moon, representing something of a next step forward from what JAXA's Kaguya carried forward from Apollo.
For a remarkably thorough and neat examination of the Kaguya craft itself, see this Discovery Channel profile on it.
Today, presidential candidate Barack Obama has released a new, extensive plan for the future of American space exploration. (John McCain's plan; I'll put up a full analysis of McCain's corresponding plan in the coming days.)
Obama's plan is a big one: a total of 3,486 words and six pages as a PDF (versus McCain's, which has 989 words), with plenty of details and specifics. Some moon colonization-specific highlights:
This statement, in particular, stuck out to me, in reference to his plan: "...achieving this vision, Obama will reach out to include international partners and to engage the private sector to amplify NASA's reach." That sounds a lot like what companies such as Astrobotic (see bottom of that page) are suggesting is a better system (and are positioning themselves to be the deliverers of): have government agencies utilize private sector companies for services such as data collection, in order to save on costs and spur private sector development. It's very interesting to see such particular wording in Obama's plan: 'amplify NASA's reach'.
Obama goes on to state that he would reinstate the National Aeronautics and Space Council, originally in operation from 1958 to 1973 and last seen briefly from 1989 to 1992. It would report directly to the president, and "coordinate civilian, military, commercial and national security space activities". This is a very significant idea, that could go a long way in spurring our heels in the Base Race.
The plan states support for international cooperation, noting NASA's current efforts and that Obama will "not only continue but intensify this effort".
Specific support is put forward for the prevention of armed conflict in space, with Obama stating he would "work with other nations to develop 'rules of the road'" for "acceptable behavior"; oppose "the stationing of weapons in space"; and work to protect assets from attack and enable rapid recovery from them, specifically noting the Operationally Responsive Space program as a method of this.
Regarding commercial access to space, Obama says we must "unleash the genius of private enterprise to secure the United States' leadership in space". Now that's a statement.
To summarize, the most significant info one can take from this plan is probably the rather specific nature of his commerical sector statements: "Unleash the genius...", "amplify NASA's reach"... Mr. Obama sounds very serious about spurring the private sector, and his related points in the plan are some of the least generic of report.
Often time, big economic booms in America are spurred by the rise of new industry (the World War II build-up, the 90's internet boom), and with the economy in the stateit's in, perhaps Obama sees the potentially explosive commercial space industry as one of the ways out.
Yesterday, it was announced that NASA was abandoning its idea for an ambitious, accelerated launch of its next-gen Orion spacecraft, pushing back the date a year. While the announced launch date is March of 2015, they were hoping to get the craft up and launched as soon as 2013; now they are looking an an internal date of 2014 (with the 'announced' launch date still sitting pretty on 2015).
This song has been stalking me as of late (today it was the song on the music player of my favorite--and totally not moon-related--coffeehouse's website...my first time at the website, and it's that song of all the possible choices for me, moon blogger/frequent patron...weird), and so without further adieu, here's a little spotlight onto the lunar entry into pop culture made famous by Frank Sinatra: "Fly Me to the Moon".
The song, written as a pop standard by Bart Howard in 1954, was actually orginally titled "In Other Words", but that oh-so-catchy first line eventually became the title. It was first recorded by Kaye Ballard, and after numerous others had recorded versions, Sinatra recorded his own iconic whirl on it in 1964.
I've got a whole playlist of moon tunes that I swing to while blogging away here, that I'll share as soon as I figure out a practical way for it to be more interactive (e.g. listenable) right here at the blog...:) But, for now, enjoy that video above and the litany of links I've provided for ya as per usual :)
That is a picture of a Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mockup, with the Narrow Angle Camera being looked at by a team member identified as 'Cathy' (which, looking at the team's members, is probably the Deputy Project Manager Catherine Peddie).
The LRO is the first major mission of the Vision for Space Exploration era of NASA, with an expected launch of February 27, 2009. It's mission is largely one of documentation, with a more in-depth look at the selenology and selenodesy of the moon in preparation for the set-up of colonies there before 2030 or so. In addition to what will assuredly be lots of neat, pretty pictures, the LRO will send back valuable information about radiation, water, and other key environmental elements that may or may not be present on the moon.
All three pieces give an interesting (and more intimate than is typical) view into the commercial venture aspect of colonization, which falls under what one could call the integration of the moon into our societies. The private sector reaching the moon may well become more significant that the actual governmental colonization efforts, as far as the Moon's presence and influence in our daily lives; and it's happening a lot sooner.
"In 2020 the moon is going to be part of our human society, of our economic sphere. Human beings will be there. I think the private sector will outpace governments for a while, but the governments will be working in concert and we will be establishing a moon base, prospecting for resources, we'll be trying to understand how we can utilize the moon for the benefit of life on Earth." -Bob Richards, from a CNN interview
Check out all three pieces as linked above, especially the three-and-a-half minute "The Reality of Space" feature. It's some of the highest-quality material I've come across, and is a great preview of what I'm sure will be a flood of constant coverage over the next twenty years and beyond, as well as an interesting (albieit brief) portrait of an important figure in the integration process.
That is that first Chinese photo of the Moon, taken by their Chang'e-1 (嫦娥一号) Lunar orbiter craft last year, as part of an imaging/exploration mission (including for concentrations of helium-3).
From the 
Expect me to me modeling that winning design on the streets of Portland (OR) in the near future... :)
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