More details on the LRO 24

UPI Summary of the new Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter science team's 24 members, with a link to NASA's BIOs. Will we be studying LCROSS and LRO data before Japan releases embargo on Kaguya (Selene)?

UPI

WASHINGTON- The U.S. space agency has named 24 scientists to be involved in Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, research.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said the selected researchers will initiate new investigations and assist with planned measurements to be conducted by the LRO when it is launched later this year.

The LRO -- which NASA says is its first step toward returning humans to the moon -- is to conduct a one-year primary mission exploring the moon and taking measurements to identify future robotic and human landing sites. In addition, it will study lunar resources and how the moon's environment will affect humans.

The mission also will involve a spacecraft called the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, which will impact the lunar south pole to search for evidence of polar water frost. "LRO is a phenomenal mission for NASA," said Alan Stern, associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate. "With the selection of these new investigators, the LRO science team is bulked up and ready for flight, and interest in lunar science is building again at a rapid pace."

NASA Details on Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter's Science Team (Adobe reader file)

Rebecca Ghent among the LRO 24

University of Toronto scientist Rebecca Ghent is among 24 named by NASA to help determine the work that will be done by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that is set for launch later this year. Ghent, an assistant professor in geology, will work with orbiter instrument teams to define goals. - SOURCE: THE VANCOUVER PROVINCE

NASA selects scientists and investigations for Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Space Spin
NASA has selected 24 scientists to initiate new investigations and assist with planned measurements to be conducted by the agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

Scheduled for launch later this year, LRO represents NASA's first step toward returning humans to the moon.The orbiter will conduct a one-year primary mission exploring the moon, taking measurements to identify future robotic and human landing sites. In addition, it will study lunar resources and how the moon's environment will affect humans. The mission also will involve a spacecraft called the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which will impact the lunar south pole to search for evidence of polar water frost.

"LRO is a phenomenal mission for NASA. It has dual use, both for exploration and for science," said Alan Stern, associate administrator, NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. "With the selection of these new investigators the LRO science team is bulked up and ready for flight, and interest in lunar science is building again at a rapid pace."

A German and a Canadian researcher are among the newly selected scientists that will work with orbiter instrument teams to define the science goals for the extended science phase of the mission, during its second year. In addition to achieving its exploration objectives, the spacecraft is expected to return high quality scientific data, such as day-night temperature maps, a global geodetic grid, high resolution color imaging and detailed global topography that will greatly expand our understanding of the moon.

NASA received a total of 55 proposals in response to a NASA Research Announcement released in 2007. A peer review panel and NASA Planetary Science Division Research and Analysis Program scientists evaluated the proposals. Selection criteria included intrinsic merit, relevance, responsiveness to planetary science goals and objectives, as well as cost.

Scientists will be fully or partially funded depending on their research work and scope of activities. NASA will provide funding to U.S. scientists for up to three years depending on satisfactory progress, continued relevance to NASA objectives and availability of funds. Funding levels are being evaluated.

The orbiter and the sensing satellite will launch together aboard an Atlas V rocket in late 2008. The orbiter's trip to the moon will take approximately four days. Once in its final orbit, a circular polar orbit approximately 31 miles above the moon, spacecraft instruments will map the moon's surface at high resolution, study its radiation field and map its gravity field.

The LCROSS will take several months to reach the moon. That mission will search for water astronauts could use at a future lunar outpost. The sensing spacecraft will impact the moon near its south pole early in 2009. NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., manages the mission.

In a study published in 2007, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that the science conducted on the moon is of high value. NASA's Science Mission Directorate will help coordinate and expand a number of in-depth research efforts in lunar science and other fields that can benefit from human and robotic missions to the moon. The lunar orbiter's science mission phase is one of the science directorate's many activities that support moon exploration activities.

Northrop Grumman Integrating LCROSS Instruments; Mission to Seek Water Ice On Moon's South Pole - "on the fast track"

REDONDO BEACH Northrop Grumman Corporation is integrating the cameras, spectrometers and photometer comprising the nine instrument payload for the NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) onto the spacecraft. LCROSS will impact the moon to determine the presence of water ice in one of its permanently shadowed craters at the lunar South Pole.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://media.primezone.com/noc

The LCROSS payload is shown undergoing checkout following its arrival at Northrop Grumman's manufacturing facility in Redondo Beach, Calif. Built by NASA Ames, the payload consists of nine science instruments, weighs only 27.3 pounds (12.4 kilograms) and was designed to provide multiple complementary measurements. Eight of LCROSS' nine sensors are surrounded by a sunshade. The ninth LCROSS sensor views a perpendicular plane during the final impact and is located to the lower right outside the sunshade.

NASA Ames Research Center delivered all nine payload instruments to Northrop Grumman in mid-January, already assembled on a single, 30-by-40 inch spacecraft panel. The first step in integration, attaching electrical harnesses for power, telemetry and thermal control functions, has been completed, and the remaining steps will be completed over the next several weeks.

"Our entire approach to building, testing and integrating LCROSS was designed for speed," said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts for Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. "We're using innovative techniques to manage the LCROSS schedule, and this latest milestone is an outstanding example of the transparency between the government and industry teams that will be critical to our success. It's coming together very well, so we're already seeing the payoff in terms of schedule."

LCROSS is a fast track spacecraft development project. The Northrop Grumman-NASA team is utilizing streamlined acquisition and production processes to meet the mission's accelerated development schedule and cost constraints. Northrop Grumman expects to deliver the spacecraft about 26 months after the program start, less than half the time of a traditional spacecraft development program.

LCROSS and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled to launch at the end of the year aboard an Atlas V rocket, are the first American missions to return to the moon since the Lunar Prospector mission in 1999. LCROSS is the only current mission to the lunar surface. NASA scientists expect the impact plume will be visible from Earth with a medium-size (10-12 inch) amateur telescope.

LCROSS' nine science instruments, some of which were obtained commercially and qualified at NASA Ames, will analyze the plume from the impact for the presence of water ice or water vapor, hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. They consist of five cameras, operating in the visible, near infrared and mid-infrared light regimes; three spectrometers, operating in the ultraviolet, visible and near infrared; and one photometer operating in the visible light regime.

The LCROSS Spacecraft will ship to Florida late this summer for integration aboard the Atlas V launch vehicle. LCROSS will be launched as a secondary payload to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter from the NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Northrop Grumman is working under a $56 million contract to NASA Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

CONTACT: Sally Koris
        Northrop Grumman Space Technology
        310.812.4721
        sally.koris@ngc.com