That was quick. NASA just released some data last week recorded by the LRO that indicated water might be present and suddenly an Indian probe actually found some. India’s first Moon probe , Chandrayaan-1, is equipped with sensors to detect the electromagnetic signature of water. Furthermore, these sensors cannot penetrate very deep and the data indicates that the water is actually on ore near the Moon’s surface. How exciting. NASA is expected to release more data later today at a press conference so be sure to check back for more info.
The LRO has already provided us with a lot of fascinating high-res photos of the Moon’s surface. But photos are just the start.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter also has more instruments aboard and one of them, the Diviner Lunar Radiometer developed and operated by the California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is sending back some wild info about the Moon’s surface temperature.
NASA already has major budget issues so it’s a damn good thing the agency didn’t turn to AT&T to provide the wireless data coverage for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Because AT&T charges $0.0195 per kilobyte over a 5GB cap, it would cost roughly $231,883 for the daily data transmission of the 461GB. That’s $83,709,763 per year assuming AT&T didn’t come up with some charge for interplanetary roaming. All joking aside, this Moon satellite has an impressive data transmitter.
As soon as the new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter sent back the first high-res photos of the moon a few days ago, I was eager to see the Apollo landing sites. It’s not that I didn’t believe that man walked on the moon 40 years ago, but rather out of simple nerd curiosity. Well, NASA made good on its promise and just released images showing the landing sites of Apollo 11, 14, 15, 16, and 17. Read More
NASA is gearing up for a trip back to the moon and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is one of the first steps. This satellite will orbit the moon at only 50 km and send back high resolution, 3D images of the lunar surface to map out potential landing sites . And yes, it will be able to get clear photos of the Apollo gear left behind, which will no doubt send conspiracy idiots scrambling for more excuses.
The first pics the LRO sent back are after the jump.
