LRO (Lunar Recon Orbiter) Strikes Back!

Yes, I was too lazy to type reconnaissance, my bad.  And ok, it’s not “striking back” really as much as it is just doing its job.  The point is LRO has been busy! One objective is to thoroughly map the surface of the Moon.  A nifty side item is to photos of certain areas of interest.  What could be more interesting than the old Apollo sites?  Not a whole lot!  This is important to people like myself who try to combat the small, yet persistently stupid, sect of the population who believe man never went there in the first place.

A few months ago some preliminary photos were released of some of the Apollo sites.  I’ll admit, the resolution was small but it was there.  Also, the Sun has a way of either hindering or helping in bringing out certain details.  In an Apollo XII photo you can see the descent stage and the trails made by Al Bean and Pete Conrad.

See the little squiggly lines emanating out from the descent stage.  Yes, those are trails from the footprints!

Well, the photos were amazing in their own right but what was more amazing is that the spacecraft was still in it’s elliptical (commissioning) orbit.  It wasn’t until the middle of September that the final orbit of 31 miles altitude was reached.  And so with that, the resolution of the pictures beamed back have increased.

Take a look at this pic below.  It’s from Google Earth/Moon.  It’s about as clear as mud.  You can kind of make out some blobs that are craters and it’s all grey and mushy.  Very uninteresting from a detail point of view.

Now, here is roughly the same area (ok it’s not spot on but it’s close enough, I was multitasking a few things).  Now, that is some fine detail.  The blobbiness is gone.  The grey mush gives way to a textured surface.  Right there in the middle is the Apollo XVII descent stage.  The resolution on this photos is about twice that of the previous Apollo sites.

Feast upon the fine detail below:

This is more important than trying to rub Hoax Believers (or HBs as they’re known) face in it.  It shows that the camera works, and works well.  I do have to admit though that it’s nice to see this stuff and take to a HB and ask them to explain it.  The typical response is that it was doctored.  I digress, for some, there is no changing their minds.

The more important thing is to keep the people that really believe it was faked from poisoning the minds of others who are genuinely just looking for answers to questions.

Ultimately, it shows that as a human race we can continue to do truly inspiring things when we put our minds to it.  There is a lot more to LRO/LCROSS than fancy photos.  To learn more about the mission, you can read up on it here: http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov

Ares I-X is history

The first flight of a new space flight system is in the books.  The first in nearly thirty years.  I say it’s history because no matter what, it is.

If this is the only Ares that ever flies, then it’s something to remember and cherish.  Every time we, as humans, attempt to push the outer limit, it’s something to remember.  A lot of hard dedicated work went into this machine.

If this does end up being the new flight system for our American Astronauts then we were there to witness the birth of a new era.

I read off color and idiotic comments left and right on the test flight.  It really makes me sad.  I can crack a joke as well as the next guy.  The thing looks like a giant toothpick or even a Qtip.  I can laugh at that, it’s comical.

I’m not really sure what people were expecting from a “test” of an “experimental” flight system but it seems that we expect too much.  The common person sees a two minute powered flight that costs him 400 million tax dollars.  Cry me a river.

The savvy person sees beyond that.  We, yes I’m savvy, see the future of mankind.  We see the hopes and dreams of our children.  Putting man into space almost defies definition.  It’s something that invokes a sense of wonder in some people.  Sure, I’m a little biased (ok a LOT).

We, as a culture, only seem to care when a rocket blows up and kills people.   We care little about the titanic effort that gets our men and women into space in the first place.

So, with Ares we will have to sit and wait.  The current White House Administration is going to play a large role in what happens.  I only hope that petty politics do not cloud anything.  Bush put forth the mandate to get to the Moon and retire the shuttle.  So, if something gets canceled out of spite, I’ll be one ill space cadet!

Let me end with a paraphrase from Carl Sagan.

The Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean.  We’ve waded a ways out and the water seems inviting.

So what are we waiting for?