Fwd: The Moon and SMART-1 at EGS Millennium Assembly
tony...@myinternetuk.com
05 May 2000 16:26:06
sci.astro
From: ay...@nova.astro.utoronto.ca
Subject: The Moon and SMART-1 at EGS Millennium Assembly (Forwarded)
To: sci.astro
ESA Science News
http://sci.esa.int
05 May 2000
The Moon and SMART-1 at EGS Millennium Assembly
With ESA's SMART-1 leading the way in 2002, the first half of this
decade
will be seeing a small flotilla of spacecraft exploring the Moon.
These
projects and their lunar science objectives were evoked with
enthousiasm
at the Annual General Assembly of the European Geophysical Society
held
in Nice, France between 24-29 April.
The Lunar Exploration Open Session was convened by Bernard Foing, and
sponsored by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group
(ILEWG),
the European Space Agency and space agencies from France, Italy,
Britain
and Germany. It brought together some of the world's leading lunar
scientists, engineers and project managers and was also the occasion
to
present the latest findings from past missions.
Forty papers were presented orally, and there was a very lively poster
session. Science papers by Dunkin, Heather, Hiesinger, Koehler,
Chevrel
and collaborators covered last results from the analysis of integrated
datasets from the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions, in such
fields
of research as the nature and creation of the Moon's basaltic maria,
and
highlands, with emergence of "New views of the Moon". In this context,
Apollo sample analysis provides local ground truth and seismic
investigations allow a more precise measurement of the thickness of
the
lunar crust. The eventual presence of ice or water-ice in the
permanently
shadowed craters of the lunar South and North poles was evoked,
notably
by Stuart Nozette, Project Manager for the Clementine orbiter mission
(1994) which provided initial radar data suggesting this possibility.
Vladimir Zharkov of Moscow Institute of Earth Physics presented his
theory
on how the study of the lunar orbit provides important information
about
the history of the Moon and the formation of our planet's continents.
Evidence for and against a possible "dynamo effect" of the Moon's core
in
its past (which could shed light on lunar volcanism and the origin of
the
magnetism of certain lunar rocks) was also discussed by Pierre
Rochette
of the University of Aix-Marseille.
Several soil spectroscopy calibration facilities have been developed
in Europe and in the world for the interpretation of remote sensing
measurements (from X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infarred and radio).
Patrick Pinet presented the Toulouse's Wide Field Spectral Imaging
Facility. This optical testbench, detector and light-source system
will use soil and mineral samples to evaluate data obtained with the
increasingly precise science cameras now equipping space missions.
Fifteen papers were presented in relation to the preparation of the
instruments and the science of SMART-1. The SMART-1 project manager
Giuseppe Racca, gave a status report on the spacecraft development.
The
SMART-1 payload principal investigators presented to the community,
the
goals and status of development of the AMIE, SIR, D-CIXS, SPEDE/EPDP
instruments. Upcoming lunar missions were described in great detail.
SMART-1 will probably be the first to leave for the Moon, as from the
end of 2002. Japan should follow in early 2003 with Lunar-A and its
ambitious scheme to fire penetrators, incorporating sensors, into the
Moon surface. Project Manager Hitoshi Mizutani (ISAS) explained that
"the objective is to measure 'moonquakes', providing additional
seismic
constraints on the lunar core and deep internal structure". As the
Lunar-A
orbiter will not be able to see the actual penetrator impacts, SMART-1
project scientist Bernard Foing suggested that the AMIE camera on
ESA's
spacecraft could try to observe and locate them. The following
Japanese
mission of ISAS/NASDA, Selene, is now scheduled for a 2004 launch
according
to its Project Scientist Susumu Sasaki (ISAS). The mission includes an
orbiter and two sub-satellites carrying in all 10 different
experiments,
including a high-power radar that will be able to sound the lunar
crust to
a depth of 5km. More than 200 scientists are working on Selene and
Bernard
Foing congratulated his Japanese colleagues: "The SMART-1 spacecraft
may
have a "CAN" bus as used on the Mercedes-S, but Selene is surely the
Rolls
Royce of lunar exploration".
The open session confirmed the general consensus that our knowledge of
the Moon will inevitably require in-situ robotic exploration. If only
to
confirm the existence of ice as Stuart Nozette explained. "Before
working
in the space field, I used to drill oil wells. On the basis of the
Clementine shadow and radar data, and Lunar Prospector neutron data, I
would say: 'Right, let's go-ahead and drill some test wells'.
SMART-1's
instruments will certainly help map the shadows, but we still need
something active to actually look in and see whether the patch on the
wall of the Shackleton crater actually is ice. Ultimately, nobody is
going to believe you until you actually dig some out!"
New concepts for the wheels of lunar micro-rovers and a remotely
operated
chemical and mineralogical analyser were presented during the lunar
session.
Jean Heidmann (Observatoire de Paris) restated his proposal to
establish a
radio-frequency observatory in a crater on the farside of the Moon,
given
the increasing interfence from ground and Earth satellite systems.
Participants also learnt of the latest proposals on how oxygen, vital
for
eventual human exploration, can be extracted from lunar materials,
notably
from lunar glass.
At the end of the day, one could not but share the conviction that
lunar
scientific and technical exploration is fully justified and must be
pursued.
Earth's natural satellite is so close to us but in itself still holds
so
many mysteries . "Furthermore, says ILEWG chairman Bernard Foing, "the
Moon
and lunar missions are increasingly usefull as testbeds for other
planetary
destinations (such as Mars and Mercury). The EGS 2000 lunar session,
with
its wide variety of reaffirmed the importance of European and
international
cooperation. The next steps for action and coordination will be
discussed
during the 4th International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation
of
the Moon (ICEUM4) to be held at ESTEC, Noordwijk, NL on 10-15 July
2000".
Contact:
B.H. Foing, SMART-1 Project scientist, chair ILEWG
Bfo...@estec.esa.nl
Phone/fax: (31) 71 565 5647 / (31) 71 565 4697
USEFUL LINKS FOR THIS STORY
* SMART-1 homepage
http://sci.esa.int/smart-1/
* EGS2000 Lunar session programme
http://134.76.234.216/ScientificProgramme/ps3..oral.htm
* ILEWG FORUM (International Lunar Exploration Working Group)
http://www.estec.esa.nl/ilewg/home.htm
* ICEUM4 conference
http://solarsystem.estec.esa.nl/Moon2000/ilewg.4_frame.htm
IMAGE CAPTIONS:
[Image 1:
http://sci.esa.int/content/image/index.cfm?aid=10&cid=33&oid=18650&objecttypename=news&ooid=18645]
Short lunch break for (left to right) Manuel Grande SMART-1 D-CIXS
Principal
Investigator), Stuart Nozette (Clementine Project manager), Bernard
Foing
(SMART-1 Project scientist) and Jean-Luc Josset, SMART-1 Principal
investigator for the AMIE camera.
[Image 2:
http://sci.esa.int/content/image/index.cfm?aid=10&cid=33&oid=18655&objecttypename=news&ooid=18645]
Lunar-A project manager Hitoshi Mizutani and SMART-1's Bernard Foing
envisage
more joint operations for their missions.
--
Andrew Yee
ay...@nova.astro.utoronto.ca
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