Lunar Spacecraft
Lunar landers and rovers
Red and The Robots
Red Whittaker’s rovers have already gone where no robot has gone before. Will one of them make it to the moon?
January 2009 |
By Geoffrey Little
Moon water – again
The question, “Is there water on the Moon?” is still with us. Although water is not stable on the lunar surface in vacuum, the poles of the Moon contain deep craters whose floors are in permanent shadow. These dark areas are extremely cold – only about 50º above absolute zero. If a water molecul...
December 23, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Forty years ago, three men left for the Moon
Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 8 mission, America's first human mission to the Moon and by any measure, still a remarkable achievement. It’s difficult from our position so many years later to appreciate what a bold, giant leap this mission was, in some ways even gr...
December 20, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) and Project Constellation
There’s a huge hubbub in the press revolving around alleged “obstructionism” at NASA toward the Presidential Transition team. As this rather overwrought piece at the Orlando Sentinel has been posted and commented upon endlessly at several web sites, I do not propose to rehash it. Instead, I want ...
December 12, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Another “Roadmap”
Considerable buzz was generated in space circles last week when The Planetary Society, the keepers of Carl Sagan’s flame, released a report that recommended a re-orientation of the Vision for Space Exploration. This report was based in part on the results of an invitation-only workshop held at Sta...
November 18, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Hitting a bull’s-eye on the Moon
I am in Bangalore, sitting awake in my hotel room at 4 am. Last night was a memorable and exciting experience. Chandrayaan-1, in lunar orbit since last Saturday, released its Moon Impact Probe (MIP), designed to descend and hit the Moon at high velocity, sending images and other data as it went. ...
November 15, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
The Moon, space and other things
The editors of Air & Space magazine have asked me to continue blogging on lunar exploration, the space program in general, and the relationship of both to broader society. I am happy to do so. This is my first post on the new blog, “The Once and Future Moon.”A brief word about that name. Peo...
November 09, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Fly Us to the Moon
The next lunar explorers will soon report to Houston. Are some already there?
November 2008 |
By Michael Cassutt
India Aims for the Moon
A U.S. scientist reports from the scene of India's first lunar launch.
October 21, 2008 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Finding Apollo
Forty years later, we’re about to see what the moonwalkers left behind.
September 2008 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Back to Hadley Rille
A Japanese camera spies a moonscape last explored by astronauts a generation ago.
June 16, 2008 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Google the Moon
Famed roboticist Red Whittaker may have the inside track to win the next moon race.
January 01, 2008 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Lunar Landers That Never Were
The road to the moon was paved with good intentions.
January 01, 2008 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Before the Fire
Veteran space reporter Jay Barbree recalls Apollo's darkest day.
November 01, 2007 |
By Jay Barbree
Lunar Clipper
With rich tourists traveling to Earth orbit, can a cruise around the moon be
far behind?
September 2007 |
By Anatoly Zak
It All Started with Sputnik
An eminent space historian looks back on the first 50 years of space exploration.
July 2007 |
By Roger D. Launius
How did the Apollo astronauts toss their spacesuits overboard?
Hint: They kept the most important part.
January 01, 2007 |
By Joe Pappalardo
Stronger Than Dirt
Lunar explorers will have to battle an insidious enemy—dust.
September 2006 |
By Trudy E. Bell
Norman Rockwell's Ghost
The most artistic collaboration of the entire Apollo program.
September 2006 |
By Pierre Mion
