Astronaut Sunita L. Wiliams, STS-116 mission specialist, smiles for the camera while in the hatch which connects the flight deck and middeck of Space Shuttle Discovery. Highlights This Issue Welcome to Moon Miners’ Manifesto Chandrayaan-1 and other Lunar Mission News India Quarterly Edition #2 Pages 3- 9 Our first edition released last November was well The Sunita Williams Story received and we are grateful for the many gracious comments Page 11 we have received. It is a delight to see and feel all the new enthusiasm for space exploration in India. But we were not What will India name its “Astronauts?” surprised. India’s leap into the 21st Century has been Page 12 confident and well-grounded. What’s more, it has a powerful SEDS-India, SINC 09, & Rover Competition momentum of its own. World take notice! Page18 We have has as much fun putting this issue together An International Lunar Research Park as we did with our first. And this time we take on the first, we Pages 20-25 hope of many, Indian contributors, Jayashree Sridhar. Complete article & feature index on last page. Nothing could please us more than to see space enthusiasts in India take over this publication in time. The Editors 1 About The Moon Society About MMM-India Quarterly http://www,moonsociety.org http://india.moonsociety.org/india/mmm-india/ Our Vision says Who We Are This publication is being launched with this Fall We envision a future in which the free enterprise human 2008 issue. The Moon Society was founded as an Inter- economy has expanded to include settlements on the national organization, but in fact has few members Moon and elsewhere, contributing products and services outside the United States, and these are for the most part that will foster a better life for all humanity on Earth and solitary and unorganized. beyond, inspiring our youth, and fostering hope in an Background open-ended positive future for humankind. The Moon Society and The Planetary Society of Moon Society Mission Youth (TPSY) in India, http://www.youthplanetary.org/ Our Mission is to inspire and involve people everywhere, in December 2003, put together a "Design a Mission to and from all walks of life, in the effort to create an the Moon" category in TPSY's student design contest -- expanded Earth-Moon economy that will contribute "A Mission to the Moon and Beyond." solutions to the major problems that continue to challenge The contest was designed to help students learn our home world. about various objects in the solar system as they compete Moon Society Strategy in the design of a mission. We seek to address these goals through education, http://www.youthplanetary.org/moon_mission_contest.html outreach to young people and to people in general, Why an MMM-India Quarterly? contests & competitions, workshops, ground level India is a very populous country, and one in research and technology experiments, private which, through the heritage of the British Raj, English is entrepreneurial ventures, moonbase simulation exercises, the almost universal medium of higher education. It is tourist centers, and other legitimate means. likely that English-fluent Indians outnumber English About Moon Miners’ Manifesto speakers in the United States. More books are published in English in India than in any other country. http://www.MoonMinersManifesto.com And – India is going to the Moon! MMM is published 10 times a year (except January and July. The December 2008 issue will begin its 23rd year of In short, we’d like to share with space-interested continuous publication. and space-enthused people in India, our vision of the possibilities for Exploration and Utilization of the Moon, Most issues deal with the opening of the Lunar frontier, development of lunar resources, not just to support a suggesting how pioneers can make best use of local permanent population on the Moon, but to help better resources and learn to make themselves at home. This address chronic clean energy supply problems on Earth will involve psychological, social, and physiological and to help slow and reverse our home planet’s environ- adjustment. mental degradation in the process. In short, we would like Some of the points made will relate specifically to to share our glimpse of an emerging greater Earth-Moon pioneer life in the lunar environment. But much of what Economy. will hold for the Moon, will also hold true for Mars and This vision was well-expressed by the former for space in general. We have one Mars theme issue each President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in a speech year, and occasionally other space destinations are at The Symposium on “The Future of Space Exploration: discussed: the asteroids, Europa (Jupiter), Titan (Saturn), Solutions to Earthly Problems” to mark the occasion of even the cloud tops of Venus. the 50th Anniversary of the dawn of Space Age, Boston Issues #145 (May 2001) forward through current are as University, Boston, MA, April 12, 2007. pdf file downloads with a Moon Society username and In this speech, Dr. Kalam made the point that to password. Moon Society International memberships are fully industrialize and become an equal partner in the $35 US; $20 students, seniors – join online at: future of our planet, India needs to access the unlimited http://www.moonsociety.org/register/ clean undiluted solar energy available in space. We agree MMM Classics: All the “non-time-sensitive editorials with his assertions and want to share that bold vision with and articles from past issues of MMM have been re-edited the forward-looking people of India. and republished in pdf files, one per publication year. A Free Access: 3-year plus lag is kept between the MMM Classic MMM-India Quarterly issues will be available as a volumes and the current issue. These issues are freely free access pdf file, downloadable from the Internet. We accessible to all, no username or password needed, at: encourage readers to share these files with others freely, http://www.moonsocietyorg/publications/mmm_classics/ and to use this publication to grow and cultivate wide- spread interest in the open-ended possibilities of space Editors of MMM-India Quarterly: among the people of India, and to encourage the rise of Peter Kokh [email protected] additional citizen support space organizations within the Madhu Thangavelu [email protected] country. David A. Dunlop [email protected] 2 The Orientale Basin is lon the moon's western limb. The data for this composite was captured during the commis- Chandrayaan-1 sioning phase of Chandrayaan-1 as the spacecraft orbited the moon at an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles). Science Mission Progress Report Sources: http://www.isro.org/chandrayaan1.htm Jan 24, 2009 http://www.spaceref.com/news/mission.html?mid=277 C1XS catches 1st glimpse of X-ray from the Moon Dec 18, 2008 http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=27420 NASA Instrument starts 3-D Moon Imaging The C1XS X-ray camera was jointly developed by http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=27222 the UK’s STFC Rutherford Appleton Labor-atory and ISRO. PASADENA, Calif. - Different wavelengths of light provide It has now successfully detected its first X-ray signature from new information about the Orientale Basin region of the the Moon - a first step in its mission to reveal the origin and moon in a new composite image taken by NASA's Moon evolution of our Moon by mapping its surface composition. Mineralogy Mapper, a guest instrument aboard the Indian The signal is from a region near the Apollo landing,. Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. The solar flare that caused the X-ray fluorescence was very TheMoon Mineralogy Mapper is the first instrument weak, approximately 20 times smaller than the minimum to provide highly uniform imaging of the lunar surface. C1XS was designed to detect. This means that the camera has Along with the length and width dimensions across a typical exceeded sensitivity expectations and is the most sensitive X- image, the instrument analyzes a third dimension - color. ray spectrometer of its kind in history," said Ms. Shyama This two-image figure, and other data from NASA's Narendranath, Instrument Operations Scientist at ISRO. Moon Mineralogy Mapper Instrument can be found at: The camera collected 3 minutes of data just as the flare started, revealing the X-ray fingerprint of part of the http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11727 lunar surface. As the mission continues, C1XS will build up a detailed picture of the ingredients that make up the Moon’s surface, identifying its chemistry . Chandrayaan-1 Radar Provides First Look Inside Moon's Shadowed Craters http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=27389
Full Size image: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/tiff/PIA11727.tif The composite image is a subset of Moon Mineralogy Mapper data for the Orientale region. The image strip on the http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/301602main_2009_010 left is a color emission, providing a new level of detail on the 8_south_polar.jpg form and structure of the surface. The Moon Mineralogy January 19, 2009 - Scientists got their first look inside the Mapper provides scientists their first opportunity to examine moon's coldest, darkest craters. The Mini-SAR instrument, a lunar mineralogy at high spatial and spectral resolution. lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, passed initial in-flight tests and sent back its first data. The image shows a portion "The Moon Mineralogy Mapper provides us with of Haworth crater that is permanently. Over the coming year compositional information across the moon that we have of Chandrayaan-1 operations, Mini-RF (Mini-SAR) will map never had access to before," said Carle Pieters, the both polar regions to look for water ice from a 100-kim (62- instrument's principal investigator, from Brown University in m) polar orbit, revealing features as small as 150 m (490 ft) Providence, R.I. "Our ability to now identify and map the across. Bright areas represent surface roughness or slopes composition of the surface in geologic context provides a new level of detail needed to understand the moon." pointing toward the spacecraft. The area shown is about 50 km (31 mi) by 18 km (11 mi) ### 3 Looking Forward Chandrayaan-2 From Various Sources [1] ISRO & Roskosmos Agreement on joint lunar efforts http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Nov14_2007.htm [2] India, Russia giving final shape to Chandrayaan-2 http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.asp x?sectionName=&id=7d024b18-bd9c-4011-96ba- 111c19bebd24&MatchID1=4815&TeamID1=6&TeamID 2=1&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1212&PrimaryID=481 5&Headline=Final+shape+given+to+Chandrayaan-2 [3] Chandrayaan-2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-2 Artist concept of lunar lander-rover on board Chandrayaan-2 [4] Blogs about: Chandrayaan 2 www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2501/stories/20080118509510900.htm http://en.wordpress.com/tag/chandrayaan-2/ The rover, designed to move on wheels on the [5] Indo-Us Coooperation in Civil Space – Slide 13 moon’s surface, will pick up samples of soil or rocks, do in http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/164274main_2nd_exp_conf_14 situ analyses of them, and send the data to the spacecraft _InternationalExplorationPerspective_MrVKumar.pdf orbiting overhead, which, in turn, will beam the information [6] India starts work on Chandrayaan-2 news-29 Oct. 08 to the ground station at Byalalu, 40 km from Bangalore. The www.domain-b.com/aero/space/spacemissions/ huge dish antenna there will receive the information. 20081029_chandrayaan_2.html [4] ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters that the [1] “Mr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, and Mr A composition of the instruments for Chandrayaan-2 would be Perminov, Director, Roskosmos, sign Agreement in Moscow decided after studying data received from the first mission. on November 12, 2007 during the visit of the Prime Minister [5] Lander includes robotics, rovers, penetrators. Preferred of India to Russia. This cooperation envisages Chandrayaan- landing sites, specific scientific problems and instruments 2, a joint lunar mission involving a lunar orbiting spacecraft need to be finalised. Possible instruments on the orbiter: and a Lander/Rover on the Moon’s surface. ISRO will have Terrain mapping camera, 400-4000nm hyper spectral Imager, the prime responsibility for the Orbiter and Roskosmos will Low energy X-ray spectrometer (CCD-array), Gamma ray, be responsible for the Lander/ Rover. A few scientific neutron, alpha spectrometer instruments from other space agencies may also be accommodated on these systems. Chandrayaan-2 will be [6] The Chandrayaan-2 launch vehicle provided by ISRO launched on India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch will be a three-stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) around 2011-12 time frame.” Vehicle (GSLV), with a cryogenic upper stage. The Russian rover will deploy a robotic arm to collect samples and [2] Unlike Chandrayaan-1, which orbits the moon at an conduct an in situ analysis of the moon's soil. altitude of 100 km mapping topography and the mineralo- gical content of the lunar soil, the Chandrayaan-2 mission involves a lunar orbiting spacecraft and both a lander and a rover on the moon's surface. The Government has approved a Rs 425 crore budget for the Chandrayaan-2 venture, with seed money of Rs 50 crore already in place. Conceptual studies are in place. Overall configura- tion may take through April 2009 to finalise. The rover will be a joint Russian-Indian develop- ment but with the contribution of Indian expertise. Many of the scientific instruments on board Chandrayaan-2 will be from India. Work-sharing discussions on the mission (who will do what) are in progress with the Russian space agency. [3] The wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface, to pick up soil or rock samples for on site chemical analysis. The 1. launch - 2. Injection into (3) Earth Parking Orbit - 4. Injection team headed by Mylswamy Annadurai that was behind the into (5) Lunar Transfer Trajectory - 6 Orbiter Separation - 7 Mid- success of the first mission would work on Chandrayaan-2 Course Corrections - 8 Injection into (9) Lunar Orbit - 10 Injection into (11) Pre-Landing Orbit - 12 Braking and Landing ### 4 Design for India’s 3-Person Space Capsule M3IQ Special Report Shillong January 3, 2009 – At the Indian Science Congress, Indian Space Research Organization chairman G. Madhavan Nair broke the news that by 2015, there will be a 2-man test flight of a manned capsule built for 3, in a 400 km high orbit The launch rocket would be a variant of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark 2 which will feature India’s home-developed cryogenic fuelled second stage, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The first test flight of this vehicle is expected later this year.
The design above is not dissimilar to the 3-man Apollo craft Credit for illustrations on this page: Space News Graphic This craft would provide India with its own access to the Space Station as well as to any other similar facilities constructed in Earth orbit. If India were to become a full ISS partner, having such access would give India priority status. Currently, only the US and Russia are able to ferry personnel to the International Space Station. Manned spacecraft capacity is under development in both Europe and Japan, among ISS partners. This is a goal already realized by China, which, however, is not at this time involved in the ISS program. Manned access would also allow India to contribute to the manned exploration of the Moon and potential deve- lopment of its resources for building solar power satellites or other large-scale facilities in Earth orbit. India already has produced two astronauts. Rakesh Sharma was trained in Russia’s Cosmonaut program and served on Mir. Kalpana Chawla was trained in the NASA I Preliminary work has begun. Several needed tech- astronaut program and served on several shuttle missions nologies remain to be developed. These include life-support before her death on the disintegrating shuttle Columbia on its systems, rescue and recovery systems, and a robotic remote return to Earth in early 2003. Sunita Williams, of Indian maniupulator arm. parentage, was born in the United States. These three are more than enough to have already The overall program cost spread over a period from begun a proud tradition for the future Indian Astronaut Corp 2007-2015 is an estimated 100 billion Rs or about $2 billion and they are sure to be regarded as India’s first pioneers in US. That India should develop its own manned-space space. However, the launching of the first two Indian test capacity was proposed to the government in 2006, An initial pilots in an Indian built capsule aboard an Indian built rocket 950 million RS, about 2.3% of ISRO’s 40.7 billion Rs budget from an Indian launch pad will truly mark India’s coming of for 2007-08 has been allotted for the start of this program. age as a full partner in manned space exploration, joining the In addition to the hardware itself, the program will US, Russia, and China. require a new launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre These developments are made possible by the co- in Sriharikota as well as an astronaut training center to be operative agreement signed December 15, 2008 by ISRO and located in Bangalore. s releasing the first conceptual sketches the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roskosmos during a state of the manned capsule it hopes to build with Russian help. visit to India by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. ### 5 ISRO Mission Director M. Annadurai surface composition and thereby help to reveal the origin and evolution of he Moon. Addresses Indian Students In orbit on December 12, 2008 the CIXS detected an By Jayashree Sridhar - February 2009 X-ray signal from a region near the Apollo landing sites just (About Jayashree Sridhar – see page 10. bottom column 2) as a solar flare began. A weak solar flare, approximately 20 times smaller than the instrument was designed to detect, Mr. Annaduprai is produced 3 minutes of data from the X-ray camera. The the older gentleman CIXS camera depends on radiation from the sun and the level on the left, the of solar radiation was expected to increase from the solar young man on the minimum phase of the solar cycle in early 2008 but has yet to right with a increase (toward the maximum phase of the solar cycle). notebook of some ISRO Administrator Madhavan Nair said the operation of the sort must be a highly sensitive instrument was a major achievement and reporter or student. highly encouraging. Award! One of India's highest award, the prestigious Jayashree Sridhar, Padma Vibhushan award was announced to Dr. G. Madhavan new M3IQ reporter, Nair. He dedicated this award to all the members of the is the young woman Chandrayaan-I team on the occasion of the 60th Republic Day in between the two. of India. A special ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan for the One can only see her presentation of the award will be made at a later date. face. Chandrayaan-2 A major result of the first mission is to zero in on selecting the landing zone for the next joint Indo/Russian mission Chandrayan II. This mission is Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, Project Director of the scheduled to launch in 2012 from Sriharikota on the PSLV. Chandrayaan-I, India's Rs 386 crore unmanned lunar mission The Head Admini-strator of ISRO has indicated that India's spoke to students in Chennai about the mission at the 100 day second lunar mission would consist of a Lander and a Rover. mark, and also gave them a glimpse of forthcoming lunar (Editor's note India will also design and build the lunar lander missions. Chandryaan –1 India's first lunar orbiter had a while Russian will contribute the rover. This will be India's spectacular launch October 22, of 2008 and was brought into first landing on the lunar surface and the first Russian surface a lunar orbit several days later. It has been functioning mission since the Lunakhod mission in 1976.) flawlessly in the subsequent 100 days ( and counting) since. Chandrayaan-3 The Chandrayaan-I orbiter carries aboard a suite of Director Annadurai also said yet another new 11 payloads. Five of these were developed by India's ISRO, mission Chandrayaan-3. was in the cards. This lunar sample and six by international partners on the mission. Two are return mission is also expected to launch around 2012. This from the United States- NASA, three are from the European will involve not only a surface landing but returning lunar Space Agency, and 1 is from Bulgaria. samples to Earth for laboratory analysis. This will lead to a Dr. Annadurai is emphasizing an integrated approach deeper understanding of the Moon's characteristics. towards Chandrayaan Lunar Science. He indicated that all the instruments were functioning perfectly and that everyone Student Interaction shares the excitement as something new is discovered. Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, following in the foot- During the beginning of the mission the data beamed from steps of India's former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the Moon has been handled independently by the various interacted with students and scientists. He predicted that an teams but the Director indicated he wanted an integrated Indian would be on the Moon by 2020. He noted, “There was effort and a collective package of results to increase a Pre- Chandrayaan India and subsequent to Chandrayaan-I, beneficial results. He is convening a meeting of all the there is a Post-Chandrayaan India in the change in the atti- scientists of the 11 instrument teams for this purpose. tudes of both parents and children alike. One major benefit expected from Chandrayaan-I Students today are well equipped to handle techno- data is to help scientists and engineers narrow down future logy. The Indian Space Research Organization will consider landing sites on the moon. The Director said that in just the permitting high school students to carry out project work in 100 days since the launch that India's journey to the Moon their laboratories. A good transition is happening. As the had come a long way and thrown new light in its quest to success of the ISRO has come at a time of the slump of the IT trace the origin and evolution of the Moon and quantifying industry, many bright young minds will start to think of a the mineral resources that exist. career in space research. The country could achieve the long One example is the breakthrough made by success- term goals of research in a shorter period if more school sfully detecting the first x-ray signature from the Moon with students came forward to contribute to research in the field.” the Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS, one of the 11 pay- He mentioned the importance of tapping the potential of the loads. This instrument was jointly developed by the Indian Moon in meeting the energy needs of the country. “India is Space Research Organization and the Rutherford-Appleton keen on energy. One of the benefits of sending a man to the Laboratory of the UK. X-Ray images will help to map the Moon would be the possibility of an alternative fuel.” he told the students. ### 6 New observations from Japan’ SELENE (Kaguya) lunar mission are shedding light on the perplexing geological differences between the near and far sides of the moon. Not until the dawn of the Space Age weChang’re humans able to get a glimpse at the moon's far side, perpetu- ally kept from Earth's view by the satellite's synchronous rotation about its axis in the same time it takes it to orbit the Earth. Once spacecraft were launched that could take in the long-hidden view, wes found that the moon was two-faced: the nearside was covered with smooth, dark volcanic maria Findings from Japan’s Kagua (Selene) (solidified pools of ancient lava), while the far side almost And China’s Chang’e-1 completely lacks these features and is instead covered by http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090212-moon-far-side.html more heavily cratered bright material. This difference is highlighted by the uneven distri- bution of iron [left], found in some abundance everywhere. These differences in topography and composition imply that the two sides evolved differently during the more than 4 billion years of the moon's existence. ======Chang’e-1 highlights moonscape ruggedness in 3D
All 3 views above are of the same strip of lunar real estate. Upper Left: colors illustrate the great differences in elevation with orange being the highest and blue the lowest/deepest. This typical highland terrain shows the difficulty we will have in traversing highland territory prevalent around both poles, the southern nearside, and most of the farside. The plus side is there will be no shortage of “scenic highways and byways” for tourists! MMMIQ 7 South Korea to enter Space Club Elsewhere http://spaceports.blogspot.com/2008/10/south-korea-to-enter- space-race.html Korea will build and test a 300 ton Korea Space Launch in Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1) based on the Khrunichev Angara modular booster by 2017. Korea has a new space launch centre at Doheung on the southern tip of the Korean Asia peninsula
China, Japan and S Korea set up world's largest radio telescope array http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/90876/ 6583163.html February 01, 2009 The Radio Telescope array will combine 19 radio telescopes operated by different communities in the three countries. The resulting array will have a diameter of some 6,000 km stretching from Hokkaido to Urumqi and Kunming.
China-Russia Mars mission set for takeoff http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/China- Russia_Mars_mission_set_for_takeoff_999.html Made in Korea: Lunar Lander Unveiled The first joint Chinese-Russian mission to Mars is set to take By Nancy Atkinson off in October and reach the red planet in August 2010. http://www.universetoday.com/2008/12/01/made-in-korea- A Russian Zenit rocket will launch a Chinese lunar-lander-unveiled/ Yinghuo-1 satellite and a Russian Phobos-Grunt unmanned The mini-sized lander, shown above is about 40 cm lander. Phobos-Grunt is expected to study Mars from orbit, tall (15.5 “) and weighs 25 kg (55lbs). Scientists say it carry including its atmosphere and dust storms, plasma and an additional 20 kilograms in payloads to the surface. radiation, before landing on Phobos, one of Mars' two small It was built over a six-year period at the Korea Advanced moons. Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) The Institute Yinghuo-1, which means Firefly-1, will explore the has also developed a rocket engine that could deliver 100-200 Martian environment and carry out research into how surface kg payloads to the Moon for half the $100 M figure estimated water on the planet disappeared. by NASA. The team’s goal is to land a payload on the Moon Meanwhile, China's second unmanned moon probe, by 2013.Early this year, Korea could become the 9th nation to Chang'e-2, is likely to be launched this year, a year ahead of put a satellite in space from its own soil. The nation wants to schedule. Chang'e-2 will collect more detailed images and go to the Moon, however, as part of an International space statistics of the moon's surface. research project, the ILN, a project aiming to gradually place six to eight fixed or mobile science stations on the lunar Iran Launches its 1st Satellite surface. The stations will form a robotic network to replace http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7866357.stm the hardware left by the Apollo program to continue studies of the Moon's surface and interior. Source: Korea Times February 3, 2009 - The satellite, carried on a Safir-2 rocket, is meant for telecommunication and research purposes, state Below: Satellite in preparation TV said. The launch of the Omid (Hope) satellite had been expected and was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Iranian revolution.
Malaysia pins its Space Ambitions on a plan to become a center for Space Tourism http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&ci d=1189959273508&pagename=Zone-English- HealthScience%2FHSELayout
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8 Analysing the impact plume
Watch the Video on this page: LCROSS Heads to Florida for Spring Launch http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/index.htm NASA AMES is the project Center, and Northrup http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/feb/HQ_09032_ Grumman is the lead contractor for LCROSS. LCROSS.html ----- February 17, 2009 Background (by editor) LCROSS - Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite The first such attempt was made on July 31, 1999 as The primary Mission Objective of LCROSS is to confirm the Lunar Prospector, the first polar orbiter equipped with presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed instru-ments to detect the signature of hydrogen and map its crater in the Moon’s polar regions. LCROSS will excavate findings, impacted within a permanently shaded crater near the permanently dark floor of one of the Moon’s polar craters the lunar south pole. Analysis of the plume was inconclusive. with two heavy impactors in 2009 to test the theory that On December 13, 1999 NASA released a statement ancient ice lies buried there. The Centaur upper stage of our That “The controlled crash of NASA's Lunar Prospector Moon rocket will be used as a 2200-kilogram kinetic spacecraft into a crater near the south pole of the Moon on impactor, excavating a crater approximately 20 meters wide July 31 produced no observable signature of water, according and almost 3 meters deep. More than 250 metric tons of lunar to scientists digging through data from Earth-based observa- dust will be lofted above the surface of the Moon. The tories and spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope.” specialized instruments aboard the LCROSS probe itself will Scientists were determined to try again. Of course it analyze this plume for the presence of water (ice and vapor), would be ideal to send a lander that could probe the soil in hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. Then LCROSS itself such a crater directly and report back its “ground truth” will impact the area to create a second plume. It is hoped that findings. But that would be a much more expensive under- both plumes will be observable from Earth as well. taking than simply designing all future orbiter missions to terminate their missions in a south polar dark crater impact. As part of the Beijing Declaration, signed on July 27, 2006, all participating spacefaring nations agreed to such a plan, and to coordinate their findings. The first nation to follow through was India, which included a specially designed impactor probe aboard Chandrayaan-1, which was successfully launched on October 2, 2008.
Between all these impactors, we hope to get some LCROSS will travel to the Moon as a “hitchhiker” payload aboard the launch vehicle of the Lunar Reconnaissance definitive answers, at least about the water content of the sites Orbiter (LRO) which is designed to map the lunar surface sampled by the various impactors. Whether we set up shop at and characterize landing sites for future missions. the south pole or elsewhere may hang in the balance. ### 9 MMM-India Quarterly Editors: Guidelines for Submissions Peter Kokh This publication is intended for wide public distribution [email protected] to encourage support for space research and exploration and development. http://www.lunarpedia.org/in It is not intended to be a scholarly review or a technical dex.php?title=Peter_Kokh journal for professional distribution. Submissions should be short, no more than a few Moon Society President thousand words. Ed: Moon Miners’ Manifesto Editorials and Commentary, reports on actual developments and proposals, glimpses of life on the future space frontier, etc. Articles about launch vehicles, launch facilities, space destinations such as Earth Orbit, The Moon, Mars, the Madhu Thangavelu asteroids, and beyond, challenges such as dealing with [email protected] moondust, radiation, reduced gravity, and more Mother from Kerala, father from Tamil Nadu, grew up in Help Circulate MMM-India Quarterly New Delhi. Now teaching at U. of Southern California. Readers are encouraged to share and to distribute this first Conductor, Graduate Space edition widely, either as an email attachment, or via the Exploration Concept Synth- direct download address: esis Studio USC Schools of http://www.moonsociety.org/publications/mmm- Engg and Architecture india/m3india1_fall08.pdf MMM-India Quarterly will remain a free publication. David A. Dunlop We will set up an online subscription service so that each [email protected] issue is emailed to your email box directly, if you wish. Printing this publication in the US would not be costly, Moon Society Board, but mailing it overseas to addresses in India would be. Director of Project If anyone in India wishes to become a Moon Society Development agent and publish and mail hardcopies of MMM-India to addresses on a paid-subscription basis, Please contact us at [email protected] Introducing a New Reporter for MMM and MMM-India Quarterly - Jayashree Sridhar From David A. Dunlop – January 19, 2009 I am very pleased to announce that Jayashree Sridhar is a new reporter for the Moon Miner's Manifesto and MMM- Help Wanted ! India Quarterly publications of the Moon Society. Her MMM-India Quarterly Advisors, Liaisons, affiliation is Chettinad Vidyashram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Contributors, Correspondents, Illustrators Although in only her last of secondary education she has an amazing resume. She has won recognition for her If this publication is going to help spread the academic work within Tamil Nadu and has received both word about Space in India, among the public at large, and national and international recognition. In addition to her especially among the students and younger generation, it academic accomplishments she has participated as the head must become a truly Indian publication. We need people of the student government in her school of over 10,000 from many fields in India to join our team. students. She is a tennis player and has musical interests as If you think that you can add to the usefulness well. and vitality of this publication, in any of the ways listed We are pleased that someone who has demonstrated above, or in fields we had not thought of, write us at: early both her academic and leadership talents is also very [email protected] interested in space and science and is a member of the Moon [This email address goes to the whole editorial team] Society. Tell us about yourself; your interest in space, and I was fortunate to hear her speak and meet her at the how you think you can make this publication of real International Conference on the Exploration and Utilization service in the education of the public in India, and in the of the Moon in Orlando, Florida last October education of young people on whom the future of India She is anticipating an interview with the head of and the world will rest. India's Chandrayaan program at the end of January. ### 10 and the follow on Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. The Sunita Williams Story As a NEEMO2 crewmember she lived underwater in the By Peter Kokh Aquarius habitat for 9 days. Suni Williams currently serves Sunita Williams was born September 19, 1965 in as Deputy Chief, Astronaut Office. Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Her parents are Dr. Deepak Pandya and Bonnie Pandya, who live in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Deepak Pandya is a famous neuroanatomist. Williams' roots on her father's side go back to Gujarat in India and she has been to India to visit her father's family. She is of Slovene descent from her mother's side. Her ancestral village is Jhulasan, about 50 km from Ahmedabad, a major city of 8 million, and the home of ISRO’s Space Applications Center (SAC.)
Suni was a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station, launching with the crew of STS-116 on December 9, 2006, docking with the station on December 11, 2006. As a member of the Expedition-14 crew Suni Williams established a world record for females with four spacewalks totaling 29 hours and 17 minutes of EVA. (That record has After High School in Needham, Massachussets subsequently been broken). Her tour of duty as a member of which she considers her “home town”, She went on to receive the Expedition-15 crew ended when she returned to Earth a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical science from the with the STS-117 on June 22, 2007. During her increment in U.S. Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Science degree space, Suni Williams broke the existing record by Shannon in Engineering Management from Florida Institute of Lucid, setting a new record for females of 195 days in space. Technology in 1995. She became a Naval Aviator in 1989, Sources: and went through the Naval Test Pilot School in 1993. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/williams-s.html Suni and her husband of 16 years are both helicopter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunita_Williams pilots. She loves outdoor sports and her recreational interests http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/india/news/article_ include running, swimming, biking, triathlons, windsurfing, 1360270.php/Sunita_Williams_is_Gujarats_most_admired_p snowboarding and bow hunting. She is now a United States ersonality Naval officer and a NASA astronaut. http://www.freshnews.in/sunita-williams-a-source-of- Sunita’s accomplishments as an astronaut inspiration-for-indian-women-manmohan-singh-15614 Sunita joined the NASA Astronaut Corp in 1998. http://www.freshnews.in/heros-welcome-awaits-sunita-after- Williams worked in Moscow with the Russian Space Agency 195-day-record-space-odyssey-11344 on the Russian contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) and with the first Expedition Crew to the ISS. She has http://www.freshnews.in/sunita-returns-home-after-195-day- worked within the Robotics branch on the ISS Robotic Arm space-odyssey-1133 ### 11 Now these vimanas may have been no more than a “Astronaut” “Cosmonaut” figment of ancient imaginations. But the point is, “Spacionaut” “Taikonaut” here is a established word for a space vehicle, from the What will India call its Space Explorers? epic literature of India, a word with a three thousand year old Sanskrit pedigree. By Peter Kokh So why would anyone want to turn to “antariksh-onaut” or We came across this article in The London Times: “gaganaut” when the obvious, historically rooted word www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article623487.ece should be “vimannaut”? November 3, 2006 A Google image search for “vimana” turns up a Antarikshyatri is the closest Sanskrit translation of surprising number of illustrations. Below is a characteristic astronaut, according to Chaudury Upender Rao, a Sanskrit quartet: the upper two are more classical interpretations as expert at Jawaharlal Nehru University. But “antariksh- “vehicles of war.” The lower two are newer interpretations in onaut” does not exactly roll off the tongue. So scholars the inspiration of the UFO/flying saucer craze of fifty-some say that “gaganaut” — from gagan, the Sanskrit word for years ago. sky, is the more likely choice. Well, we art not especially gaga over gaganaut. It sounds too much like baby talk. We have another suggestion.
Vimana (celestial vehicle) - hence, vimananaut or vimannaut http://www.atlantisquest.com/Samar.html http://www.atlantisquest.com/Excerpt.html The Sanskrit term "vimana" is usually translated "airborne chariot," "aerial car," or "celestial car" (or sometimes simply "car") by the Hindu translators. The word is found in the Ramayana, in the Mahabharata, and in the Bhagavata Purana As a boy of fifteen in 1953, already learning the classical European languages of millennia ago, Latin and Greek, I became very curious about Sanskrit, the even older classical language of India. My fascination with Epic Poetry was a part of this interest: The Iliad and the Odyssey, The It will be interesting to see what word for “astro- Aeniad, and the Ramayana. (In my Classical Greek class, we naut” catches on in India. A special word, whatever it is, will had to memorize the first stanzas of the Odyssey, in Greek, to help bring the idea that India may some day field crews of the tune of the Star Spangled Banner! - I can still sing it!) human space explorers, into the mainstream consciousness of the Indian public. At the time, the UFO / Flying Saucer scare in North America was still captivating public attention. I had picked Oh yes! About the first four terms in vogue. I think up a just-published book, “Flying Saucers Have Landed” by that the French have it right. “Astro”nauts (traveling to the Desmond Leslie and George Adamski. Leslie’s contribution stars), and “Cosmo”nauts (traveling throughout the universe) to the book was to talk about similar phenomena recounted in are a bit pretentious, don’t you think? We are in the baby step the histories of various ancient peoples. stage, and while we may dream some day of going out to the When Leslie mentioned that the Mahabharata and stars, that’s much like the earthworm, popping its head out Ramayana spoke of vimanas described in saucer-suggestive above the soil, taking a sniff, and dreaming of becoming an imagery, I went to the Milwaukee Public Library and asked eagle. ### the librarian if the library had a Sanskrit - English Dictionary. With raised eyebrows, she said “just a moment.” and in a few minutes she produced one: Sanskrit to English only. “There are some who question the relevance It took me a couple of hours to master the Sanskrit of space activities in a developing nation. alphabet and the alphabetical order of its characters, so that I could look up the word, (vimana). I found it and To us there is no ambiguity of purpose… to my delight it described it as an aerial vehicle used in war, …we must be second to none in the that looked like “a mound of silvery antimony” (the saucer of the 1951 classic film “The Day The Earth Stood Still” application of advanced technology to the popped into my mind.) real problems of man and society…” I grew out of this early interest in UFOs, of course, and did not have much chance to further explore Sanskrit - Vikram Sarabhai either, and its beautiful alphabet. But i have always remembered the word, Vimana. 12 `India and the US are not racing to go the moon… we can hope to go together.’ Dr. Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA About the Authors: Destination Moon: Pallava Bagla is Science Editor, NDTV (New Delhi India’s Quest for the Moon, Mars and Beyond Television) and Chief Correspondent (South Asia) for the Authors: Pallava Bagla and Subhadra Menon American weekly Science. In 2005 he was honored with the (Forewords by: Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, chairman ISRO National Award for best science journalism in the print media by the Indian government and in 2003 he was awarded for and Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament and ‘outstanding journalism’ by the United Nations. He is also a former chairman ISRO.) skilled photographer and images taken by him have appeared Pages: 224 + 8 color plates in National Geographic, Time, Newsweek, Nature and New Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India Scientist. He has covered the Indian space and nuclear Price: Rupees 195.00 program for the past two decades. Release: August, 2008 [email protected] From: [email protected] Dr Subhadra Menon is an award winning science and health To: [email protected] writer and a former correspondent for India Today. She has Introduction to Destination Moon: also contributed to New Scientist and Scientific American. She is the author of No Place to Go, a book on India’s ailing Fabled in songs and poetry, and romanticized by health sector. She currently works with the Public Health lovers down the ages, the earth's closest neighbor is still an Foundation of India, spearheading its communication efforts. enigma in material terms. Can it sustain life? Does it have water? How did it come into existence? And what is its exact [email protected] relationship with the earth? Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden moon craft, will seek to unravel these and other mysteries in the most ambitious exploratory mission to the moon in decades. Conceptualized by Indian scientists, it is in some ways a global scientific endeavor, with European and American instruments hitching a ride on a lunar satellite and rocket designed and launched by the Indian Space Research Organization. When the mission was first proposed in 1999, it seemed wildly optimistic to most people. Could a developing nation with limited resources afford to invest so much money, time and effort on research into outer space? Yet, almost a decade later, India's science community has proven beyond doubt that it is capable of meeting the most exacting challenges. This book is a celebration of that achievement. It tells the story of the moon mission from conception to launch – the genesis, the plan, the people, the science. Based on reportage, interviews and most important of all, a deep understanding of the processes involved, Destination Moon is a lucidly written and comprehensive guide to India's engagement with outer space – past, present and future. Quotations: ‘It is not a question of whether we can afford to go to the moon. It’s whether we can afford to ignore it.’ Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Member, Rajya Sabha and Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization 'Twenty years from now when space travel is likely to become mundane like airlines travel today, we don't want to be buying travel tickets on other people's space vehicles.' To Order: www.harpercollins.co.in/BookDetail.asp?Book_Code Dr G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO =2029 13 Chandrayaan Wallpapers for your Desktop www.hindu.com/2009/02/02/stories/2009020260181100.htm http://chandrayaan- Chandrayaan-1 Scientist sees use indianmissiontomoon.blogspot.com/2008/08/chandrayaan -wallpapers-for-your-desktop.html of Moon’s Resources in the Future Speaking in Bangalore, Dr. Carly Pieters, Principal Investigator for the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument Good Reads aboard Chandrayaan-1, Dr Pieters remarked; “India on the ISS: it starts with a rack” “Scientists around the world have come to under- by Taylor Dinerman stand that the Moon is clearly the stepping stone for the Monday, November 17, 2008 future of the human species beyond the Earth.” First published in Space Review “And so it is no coincidence that four countries – http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1253/1 India, China, Japan and U.S. – are showing simultaneous interest in the Earth’s celestial neighbour,” Some quotes: Professor Pieters spoke to The Hindu “As the International Space Station (ISS) nears about the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an completion, the partnership that built it needs to expand.” imaging spectrometer developed by her team at “India, ..., has opened itself to international cooperation Brown Univeristy in Providence, Rhode and has proven itself a reliable and talented partner.” Island, USA, that will provide the first map of “India has earned the right to be considered a full- minerals on the entire lunar surface. fledged spacefaring nation. Inviting them to be a full It will study the Moon as the “corner- partner on the ISS will simply make clear what everyone stone” to unraveling the history of the solar in the space industry already knows.” system and Earth and also as a “very long term “What makes sense for the ISS partnership in the short investment.” term is to offer India full control of an experimental [Editor: In general, we have a good gross picture of the rack.” composition of the Moon’s crust and it differs somewhat Editor’s Comment: in the highlands and in the dark lava-flooded mare plains. India shouldn’t wait to be invited! It should ask! The Moon is rich in oxygen, silicon, aluminum, calcium, magnesium, iron, and titanium. Chandrayaan-1 Clubs & Groups on the Internet On Yahoo.com http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/chandrayaan/
On Orkut.com • Chandrayaan: India on Moon (9,765 members) www.orkut.com/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=44662288 • Chandrayaan – ISRO (409 members) www.orkut.com/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=7964902 • ISRO (6,389 members) www.orkut.com/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=746653
On Google.com But it is concentrations of key lesser elements that will be critical to tapping moon dust to make building materials. • Moon Vehicle (3 members) MMM will map many elements at unprecedented resolu- http://groups.google.com/group/moon- tion, so we can pinpoint useful concentrations.] vehicle?lnk=srg&hl=en Dr. Pieters adds “perhaps in the next 50 years,” we • Moon Rover (12 members) will be looking at using resources on the Moon. “But we still http://groups.google.com/group/moon- do not know what [precisely] those resources will be.” rover?lnk=srg&hl=en As for scientific investigation, studying the Moon should teach us much about– records that have disappeared "The human race shouldn't have all its eggs in one basket, or from the Earth” [d the Earth. “The Moon contains records for on one planet. Let's hope we can avoid dropping the basket over four billion years ue to active geological processes and until we have spread the load." -- Stephen Hawkin weathering.] ### [ From The Hindu Monday, Feb 02, 2009 ] 14 N2 to kill hitchhiking pests; Unpatented non- Return to the Moon hybrid cultivars only; and pregnant female animals only. Written by HARRISON J. SCHMITT 4-VOLATILES: Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen: The import Apollo 17 Astronaut-Geologist burden can be softened by some careful measures faithfully Thursday, 05 February pursued: Expanding the Earth’s Economic Sphere (a) Harvesting, by heating, of the significant quantities of H, C, N, and other gases adsorbed to the fine regolith It has been suggested by President' Obama’s Science particles, thanks to eons of bombardment by the Solar Advisor and the Administrator of NASA that it is time to Wind, during all those construction processes involving include the Moon in the "economic sphere of the Earth." soil moving; Both history and comparative analysis indicate that a (b) Out-sourcing to gravity wells shallower than Earth's e.g. privately financed and managed initiative would be the most Phobos and Deimos, Earth-approaching asteroids and efficient and productive approach to returning to the Moon in comets; the foreseeable future and to accomplishing this long-term economic goal. (c) Conservation of volatile-rich organic materials by Any large scale private initiative focused on a religiously thorough recycling efforts. In support of this Return to the Moon will have as its ultimate aim a return on goal the Settlement will need "kosher" (organics not investment from production and sale of lunar resources, in bonded to inorganics) knock-down- friendly ("KD") particular helium-3 for fusion electric power plants on Earth. assembly methods; systematically thorough and foolproof In addition to helium-3 for fusion power, sales of by-products sorting clues and handy routing managements; and above from its production, such as hydrogen, water and oxygen to all the help of ingrained second-nature good habits and customers in space, will add to bottom line income as well as expected chore assignments. to investor return. (d) 'Pre-co-designing' of all single-use containers for volume- The same can be said of ancillary services based on matched secondary more durable uses. (An example the existence of an investor-financed lunar settlement and the already attempted was the elusive "World Bottle" design new space transportation systems required to establish and i.e. a bottle that could be reused as a brick; Effort not yet service that settlement.
16 4-MAXIMIZING TOURIST INCOME. MMM-INDIA GALLERY The lure to well-heeled sightseers can be intensified in several ways. A "Seven Wonders" list, carefully drawn up and publicized, and a variety of enticing itineraries will encourage repeat trips or at least longer stays. Special ways to taste the settler way of life can be offered to visitors. • Stays in lunar homes • working tours • Art & Craft classes • special tours e.g. of factories and recycling systems, and • the opportunity to actually participate in unique Lunan sports. Customs regulations can entice tourists to trade all Above: artist conception of Japan’s Hayabusa Probe their Earth garb (for Lunar Stage/Theater Use) in exchange hovering over asteroid Itokawa. Below: Hayabusa did for souvenir Made-on-Luna apparel. capture its own shadow cast on the asteroid’s surface Shopping Spree Tours for unique arts, craft, and clothing pieces at the Settlements cottage industry flea markets should be marketed. 5-TELEVISION & FILM MEDIA SALES: Advertising Revenues could be appreciable enough to wholly finance: • Development of Unique Lunan Spectator Sports, which in turn could be televised to Earth audiences hungry for something new and exotic. • Construction of any facilities such sports may require • The same goes for the "ethereal" Settlement Ballet Company, probably awaiting the coming of age of the first native-born generation. • Documentaries about the Settlement and Lunar activities at large will vie with space adventure films for the use of the Hayabusa, after a remarkable journey and effort, is Out Of This World film studio in the Settlement. now limping home, but whether it succeeded in capturing an asteroid surface sample is in doubt. 6-EXPORTING KNOW-HOW: Technology transfer is a potential money-maker for The Settlement. Hopefully much of the technology needed to make The Settlement a thriving reality will have been predeveloped for profitable terrestrial applications and thus served to keep Settlement up front costs far lower than they otherwise could be. But enterprising young pioneers will develop new products and processes salable Greenside.
Lockheed-Martin, EADS, Antrim, and other names associ- • TV/Radio Facilities ated with the Aerospace industry, but also other major • Instruction<<< contractors. To pick a few: Bechtel, Halliburton, Mitsubishi, • Financial services and on and on. • hotel facilities for visitors, tourists, overflow between crew changes Additional Players: Enterprise, University Consortia • cabbotage (outfitting) services If we collectively choose to establish not a • vehicle maintenance collecgtion of national outposts, collocated or not, but an • space suit services “International Lunar Research Park” the possibilities for • tools, equipment future expansion, elaboration, and outgrowth – even into the • tour coaches & excursion services first human lunar settlement – will increase enormously. • marketplace Facility Lists • green (horticultural) sevices • waste treatment The lists below are meant to show how great are he • recycling services possibilities for diversification and outgrowth. The items in • reassignment services (new roles for scavenged bold will come first. Plain type next, italics last. Note, that parts of landers etc.) this subclassification is just one person’s first attempt, and 20 • agricultural production is ready for the next act. Only humans as a species, not horse- • customization services blindered agency managers, have the vision to grasp what is • event management needed – and it is not a collection of agency outposts! • surface recreation vehicles What Comes First? • archiving services Frankly, national agency planning puts the cart University Consortia before the horse. Why? because two things come first, and no • Medical Center one is giving either one more than trivial attention. • Continuing education Part I: Technologies for using lunar resources • research facilities We are not going to anything of lasting significance • astronomy installations on the Moon unless we learn how to process useful building Joint Civic materials out of the elements in moondust. Known by the • road planning local uppity Latin term “In Situ” Resource Utilization (“on • road planning regional location” works just fine!) various processes have been • Environment protection proposed to isolate oxygen and other elements, but few have • environment enhancement been tested either in laboratory scale or (more importantly) in • (parkways, gardens) mass production scale. How do we advance the “readiness” • outstation planning state” of these technologies? It is important to have them ready to go when we land on the Moon. Getting there, and Discussion – where you come in! then having to scratch our heads for additional time-wasting It would be miraculous if the list above did not have decades makes no sense. But that is the path we are on. many holes, even if nothing was mis-classified. Your input is This topic will be the subject of the next article, most welcome! “Improving the Moon Starts on Earth” - reprinted from The effort above is an attempt to start a discussion and to MMM #s 132,133, February and March 2000. keep us, nationals of the various countries contemplating lunar surface activities, from being blind-sighted to the Part 2 – Site Development enormous advantages to be gained not only by collaboration No site on the Moon, no matter what advantages are between the various national agencies, but by restraining touted on its behalf, is anything more than “unimproved” agency hybris and taking the plunge to invite corporate, land, what in America might be called “Florida swampland.” enterprise, and university consortia as equal partners in a joint “human” effort. Before the first national agency manned lander sets down on a chosen site, it makes sense for a corporate The idea is for the national outpost agencies to buy contractor to have already “improved the site” – conferring or lease or tent equipment and services from the contractors on it various advantages that will make outpost deployment, and enterprises as their needs change and expand. This construction, and operation so much easier. should provide not only substantial cost savings but a greater variety and supply of equipment and services. This is the subject of the second paper below, “The Developer’s Role” – reprinted from Moon Miners’ Manifesto Agencies need not provide quality and other #131, December 1999. specifications, because corporate and enterprise personnel would be just as much as risk from improperly designed and manufactured equipment as would national agency crews. [We have seen many a proposal of how to jump-start a Toss out the mind-boggling bureaucratic paperwork, and frontier with land grants and land sales. Maybe I don't down comes the costs. understand them. To me, they seem like so many pyramid Corporation employees would need housing, and all schemes based on nothing. Yes, the Moon is more than the other life support services as needed by the agency crews nothing. The ingredients for "stone soup" are all there. But it so it is natural, that as they begin to construct pressurized takes more than the right chemical elements in sufficient modules and other equipment from lunar building materials quantity to make a land valuable. They have to be present in a that they could provide for expansion of national outposts as form we know how to mine and produce. And on the Moon well at considerable savings. that is not the case. The land has theoretical value only. What The national outposts would be “anchor tenants” so can we do with it when the tools to do anything do not exist?] to speak, but as in shopping malls, in time their share of the "Improving" the Moon Starts on Earth economic value of total activities and facilities at the site By Peter Kokh might become, even though essential. Some sort of Civic Council representing all of these A. Poor Ore Mining Technologies Parites would be needed to make decisions that affect every- The considerable "bricks & mortar" portion of one, decisions about growth directions, environmental safe- Earth's economy, which will never disappear or become guards, and so on. As this unfolds, the International Lunar irrelevant, has been built entirely upon the tapping of Research Park will have become the first lunar settlement! "enriched" resources. It is obvious that it will be cheaper to It is time for humanity to open the next continent, mine rich veins of ore than more homogenized concentrations one across a different kind of sea. The “out of Africa” effort of the elements vital to industry. It is obvious, too, that if we 21 are to have self-reliant settlements on space, that they must or elsewhere. But even where this is not the case, we will be also be able to "produce" economically, the elements needed building up a pool of people with a "can do" attitude to for their own industries. supplant the present unhelpful crowd of "can't do" mining The hitch is that concentrated ore bodies are a experts. terrestrial asset which we are unlikely to find elsewhere in the Molecular technologies under exploration by people solar system. No where else has there been billions of year of like Steve Gillette of the University of Nevada-Reno offer geological processing of a world's crust and mantel in the some real revolutionary promise of an end run around present presence of water. Not even on Mars, where such processing mineral-cracking hurdles. When it comes to producing may have started only to be nipped in the bud much too early. strategic elements that are much less abundant, like copper, For accessing necessary resources on the Moon, on zinc, silver, platinum, gold, etc. where a 1% ore is considered Mars, and even on the asteroids (where there is an unsubstan- rich, bio-extraction technologies need to be pushed. Without tiated widely held belief that concentrated ores may indeed be concentrated ore bodies, such elements are often present in found), we need to develop mining, beneficiation, and only parts per million [ppm], or even parts per billion [ppb]. processsing technologies that are economical in unenriched Bioengineered bacterial cultures may be able to greatly deposits. Talk to a mining engineer, and it is likely that if you beneficiate or enrich these ambient concentrations. Here on bring up the subject of "mining the Moon" or Mars, you will Earth, such technologies would make many nations less be greeted with a contemptuous, condescending put down. dependent on others, less subject to political blackmail. No one knows with confidence, how to "produce" metals or B. Novel Building Materials other elements from such "poor" ores economically on Indus- On the Moon, there are neither forests to supply us trial production scales. To point to lab-verified pathways of with wood, nor petroleum reserves to supply us with chem.- getting oxygen, for example, is neither helpful or useful. ical feedstocks for the host of synthetic materials to which we We will see no self-reliant resource-using lunar or are addicted. Even on Mars, with a carbon and nitrogen rich Martian settlements until we have such technologies. Give us atmosphere and plenty of hydrogen at least in polar ice, CATS (“Cheap Access To Space”) and we will still have bringing such traditional building materials and manufac- nothing! Nor would continued political and public taxpayer turing stuffs on line will be a trick. But is the situation any support make a lunar or Martian "outpost" a confirmed different for scores of countries on Earth that do not have agenda item change this situation. appreciable forests, or who cannot afford to make further "Local Industry" beyond a few relatively easy and inroads into those they still have, and without native oil simple symbolic things, “will not be needed” for the token reserves? outposts such a political project might put on the agenda. We Glass-glass composites have been proposed, and must not assume that if NASA (i.e. Congress) did indeed lab-researched, as a promising option for lunar settlement commit itself to lunar resource utilization, the agency would industry. But if we learned to produce a versatile array of undertake crash programs to develop such technologies. glass composite building products and manufacturing stuffs, There is another way, a very mundane way to get the that could be an immense aid to the economies of countries job done. Sadly, space-enthusiasts in general are too much that must presently import vast quantities of lumber and other too impatient to sidetrack their efforts to indirect methods products. There would seem to be ample economic incentive that may in fact be much more powerful. These very same for taking this exotic stuff out of the labs, make fortunes in "Poor Ore Mining Technologies" would be very useful on doing so right here on Earth, and in the process develop, Earth, whether we ever do go on to open up the space frontier debug, and put "on the shelf" a ready-to-go industrial or not. technology that could be a backbone of early lunar and Consider Earth's economic geography. The distribu- Martian industrial settlements. We developed this idea in tion of iron ore, copper, bauxite (aluminum), uranium, and more detail in MMM # 16, June 1988. But while glass fibers other elements vital to industry has in large measure predeter- are finding their way into new concrete formulations, no one mined which nations have thrived and which have not. Of has bothered to try to earn a buck by taking glass composites course, other factors play vital roles: arable fertile soil, access themselves beyond the laboratory curiosity stage. to the sea, forests, and the enterprise quotient of the people. Metal alloys also deserve more research. Most pure Poor Ore Mining Technologies would usher a metals have poor performance characteristics and benefit substantial equalizing force into the world economy. Soils greatly from inclusion of varying amounts of "alloying" everywhere contain abundant aluminum and iron, but not ingredients. Yet it does not seem to dawn on most space necessarily in the concentrations and in the mineral forms we supporters that the Moon's considerable "on Paper" wealth in "know how to" work with cost-effectively. iron, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium - the four "engi- Chemical engineers must blaze new pathways that neering metals" - does not guarantee the easy and economic balance favorably energy inputs, secondary marketable production of the various alloying elements we are used to byproducts, and environmental impacts. Concrete specific using to improve the performance characteristics of each. proposals tailored to the mineralogical circumstances of the Steel needs carbon, in poor supply on the Moon. Aluminum various candidate locations need to be made to local or non- alloys generally are rich in copper, a ppb trace on the Moon. local investors and partners that stand to profit. Some of these Metallurgists who step in to research more "frontier-feasible" poor ore mining technologies may have direct or indirect alloys which are still "serviceable" may end up producing application to the situation we will find on the Moon or Mars alloys with considerable marketability here on Earth. 22 C. "Biospheric" Technologies "Spin-up" is a more economical and efficient way to Biosphere II was an attempt to come up with a get the research done in a timely fashion. It is the only path centralized solution for biological life support. Though the not dependent on uncontrollably fickle political tides. And in specific experiment "succeeded" only by "cheating", in fact so far as it is consumer-user financed rather than tax-payer- we learned much. The only thing that can be dismissed as a forced, it is a more moral way to achieve "minority goals" failure, is an effort from which we learn nothing. It is much such as ours. easier to dismiss than to criticize constructively, and when But above all, the "spin-up" route is the only sure reading such negative reports, one should always discount for way to get the job done. To rely on the traditional route the temperament of the reporter. means putting all our eggs under a hen that is not motivated Beyond Earth, settlements must reencradle them- by instinct or any other reliable force to hatch them. We have selves in mini-biospheres that each settlement must establish, complained before that those who want to open space by grow, and maintain. This will entail the unprecedented chal- political coercion are abdicating the responsibility for the lenge of "living immediately downstream and downwind" of fulfillment of our dreams to those who do not share them, oneself. - are centralized methods of growing and controlling and cannot be made to share them. economies. Modular "market" techniques must be the basis of Appeal to the reader: any effort to establish, grow, and maintain space frontier If you are blessed with the talent to be an entrepre- biospheres. Systems that treat human wastes at the origin and neur, consider that getting involved in pioneering some of the greatly reduce any residual problem that must be handled on terrestrially useful technologies needed also in space may do a larger scale, are much better suited for non-ivory tower more to guarantee the timely opening of the real space fron- communities of non-static size. tier than any amount of seemingly more direct involvement in In fact, many people are experimenting with "living micro-satellites and micro-launchers. machines" and other techniques to integrate plants, air quality We do not expect those with electronics and propul- maintenance, and waste treatment in unit-sized systems. Such sion expertise to get into totally different fields. Each of us an approach will not only make city-size biospheres a more must do our thing. Rather, we want to encourage and set practical prospect, but will also enable appropriate-size life loose the untapped talents of others who have not realized support systems for spacecraft on long deep-space journeys. that they have a potentially powerful role to play, however We need technologies that are "scalable." In contrast, indirect. The important thing in opening space is not instant solutions addressing fixed, static size situations are not gratification. It is well-targeted patient hard work. helpful at all. If you are a young person not yet established in a = The terrestrial profit prospectus of modular bios- career, consider chemical engineering, poor ore mining pheric technologies is immense. In the last few decades we technologies, new materials science, "from scratch" synthe- have seen the emergence of gargantuan urban complexes in tics production, bioextraction technologies, molecular mining the third world. For the most part, such cities have grown and technologies, experimental agriculture, and modular environ- continue to grow faster than urban utilities can add capacity mental systems as rewarding fields in which you can make a to keep up with them. The pressure on centralized water difference, both down here and out there. treatment facilities is unreal, and the loser is public health. Rocket science can take us to other worlds. It cannot Inexpensive ways to tackle human wastes home by home, enable us to do anything useful once we get there. Iridium unit by unit, that freshen interior air, and provide additional may have failed. It was a detour. There are other, ultimately sources of food, would do much to make such monster "blob" more powerful and profitable ways to build up to a space cities more livable. There is a market! Let's make money frontier economy. Do not waste a moment wallowing in now, and learn how to do space right in the process. discouragement at recent setbacks. In the end, they won't The Gospel of "Spin-up" matter. The traditional fare of the space faithful is what has Rocket science can take us to other worlds. long been known as "spin-off." NASA spends hundreds of It cannot enable us to do anything useful once we millions or even billions of dollars developing new materials get there. and technologies that the agency needs for use in space, all at Entrepreneurs could make a tidy bundle here and taxpayer expense. Then these technologies are made avail- now by developing technologies needed on the space frontier able to industry at large, providing the usual mantra of "bene- that also would have a real market on Earth. Poor Ore Mining fits for the public" of space research. Technologies, for one. Not only could one make money "Spin-up" would take the opposite path. Enterprise selling such technologies to "resource poor" nations on Earth, would brainstorm technologies deemed vital down the road in not only would you end up putting "on the shelf' technologies space for their potential Earth-market applications, so as to needed on the frontier, but even more important, just by make money now. The frosting on the cake is that technolo- doing so, you would make that land on the Moon much more gies also needed on the space frontier, would be predeve- valuable. For the R&D being done, the resources on this loped now at the expense of the consumer, rather than the world will become more than "theoretical" - they will become taxpayer (yes, there is a world of difference in this distinc- real. They will become something we know how to work ion), and would be ready in time "ready to go" and at rela- with. Then, only then, is any talk of land grants and land tively low cost to those who will in due course attempt to purchases something more than wild-eyed pie-in-the-sky. open the space frontier to genuine self-reliant local resource-
25 Stories of Interest Lunar Libraries & Book Shelves New Delhi Office Building Experiment Picks Apogee History of Spaceflight Books Three Best House Plants for Lunar Outposts 70 + Individual Paperback Volumes - Titles http://greenspaces.in/blog/ted09/ http://www.cgpublishing.com/Space_Series.html These three houseplants do the best job of cleaning interior Gallery of Apogee Book Covers air of various common indoor pollutants and irritants, and keeping the air fresh, greatly increasing productivity. http://www.cgpublishing.com/Books/SPACE_SPLASH.html Pocket Space Guides www.cgpublishing.com/Books/POCKETS_SPLASH.html Assorted DVDs http://www.cgpublishing.com/Books/SER_SPLASH.html
Moon Society list of Books on the Moon (with covers) http://www.moonsociety.org/info/moonbooks.html
Ken Murphy’s Extensive Lunar Library http://www.outofthecradle.net/categories/lunar-library/ Key: 1. “The Living Room Plant” - “Areca Palm” Books for Children (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) http://www.moonsociety.org/info/moonbooks.html#childrens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dypsis_lutescens Home on the Moon by Marianne Dyson 2. “The Bedroom Plant” - “Mother in Laws Tongue” http://www.mariannedyson.com/hotmreviews.htm (Sansevieria trifasciata) Moon (National Geographic Children’s Books) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevieria_trifasciata http://www.educationoasis.com/ch_book_reviews/reviews2/ 3. “The Specialist Plant” - “Money Plant” moon.htm (Epipremnum aureum) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epipremnum_aureum Science Fiction involving the Moon – Book Lists http://www.biblioinfo.com/moon/sf_moon.html Moon Trivia Lunar Study & Observing Certificates http://www.moonsociety.org/certificate/ http://www.amlunsoc.org/lunar_certificate.htm http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/lunar/lunar1.html http://www.rasc.ca/williamson/index.shtml Lunar Calendars http://www.moonsociety.org/info/moon_calendars.html The first footprint on the Moon was 33 cm long and http://www.lunar- 15 cm wide (the size of Neil Armstrong's space boot). reclamation.org/papers/mooncalendar_paper.htm
Miscelaneous USC ASTE Course Participants – see page 18. LPOD – Lunar Photo of the Day http://www.lpod.org/ Directory of Lunar Place Names* http://www.lunarrepublic.com/gazetteer/index.shtml Lunar Glossary & Dictionary* http://www.lunarrepublic.com/info/glossary.shtml The Full Moon Atlas* http://www.lunarrepublic.com/atlas/index.shtml Our listing of these pages does not imply endorsement of the Lunar Republic’s land/property sales program.
26 Student Space Organizations in India Pro-Space Organizations in India
The Planetary Society of Youth (TPSY) Astronautical Society of India http://www.youthplanetary.org/ (website lost) http://www.asindia.org/default.aspx Shri: R.V.Burli, President [email protected] The Planetary Society of Youth Opp. VRL Office - Bagalkot - 587101 National Space Society Kolkata chapter Karnataka - India http://chapters.nss.org/a/lists/International/ChapList_IN.s Tele: (R) +91-8354-222725 html (M) +91-9343110567 Dr. Satadal Das E-mail: [email protected] drsatdas @ hotmail.com 91-33-24683336 Mr. Amrut Yalagi, Secretary 76 Satyen Roy Road, Kolkata, , 700 034 India The Planetary Society of Youth Planetary Society of India 21st, Main Road, VIjay Nagar, Near Engg.College Bagalkot - 587 102, Karnataka - India [Organisation for promotion of astronomy] Tele: (R) +91-8354-233911 http://planetarysocietyindia.blogspot.com/2008/08/space- (M) +91- 9880071339 camp-india-astrounaut-training.html E-mail: [email protected] http://planetarysocietyindia.blogspot.com/ [email protected] http://planetarysocietyindia.org/ Astronautical Society of India Student Space India - ISRO Newsletter - twice a year Chapter (ASISC) http://isro.gov.in/newsletters/newsletters.htm http://www.indianspace.in/ Aeronautics & Aerospace Journals & Astronautical Society of India Student Chapter 175 Bussy St, Pondicherry 605 001 175, India. Magazines Published in India Phone: +91 0413 3246999, (Stress on AEROspace) email: [email protected] International Aerospace Magazine India Fax: +91 0413 3000222. http://www.internationalaerospaceindia.com/default.htm Head Office: ISRO Satellite centre, Airport Road, Vayu Aerospace Review – India Vimanapura, Bangalore - 560 017. India. http://www.vayuaerospace.in/ Phone: +91 080 25205257. Fax: +91 080 25082122. 30 ISRO Facilities SEDS-India A complete list of; (Students for the Exploration & Development of Space) • Research Facilities (5) http://india.seds.org/ • Test Facilities (1) • Construction & Launch Faciliites (4) SEDS India, • Tracking & Control Facilities (4) National Headquarter - SEDS VIT, • Human Resource Development Centers (3) C/O , Dr. Geetha Manivasagam, • Commercial Centers (1) Room No. 403 , CDMM Building , VIT University, • Other (12) VELLORE-632014, Tamil Nadu Can be found on Wikipedia Phone No. : +91-9952281231 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Org Anmol Sharma anisation#Research_facilities (Director, Chapter Affairs) The Chapters Under SEDS INDIA: A 1. SEDS VIT - Vellore Institute Of Technology View University (Vellore) http://www.vit.ac.in/seds_vit/index.html From 2. National Institute Of Technology (Suratkal) Space 3. National Institute Of Technology (Trichy) 4. Jawahar Lal Nehru Technical University India (Hyderabad) At the Kumaraguru College Of Technology (Coimbatore) Center
27 MMM-India Quarterly #2 - Feb 2009 Index - Table of Contents p 2 About The Moon Society, MMM, M3IQ p 3 Chandrayaan-1 Progress Report p 4 Chandrayaan-2 Looking Forward p 5 India’s 2-man Capsule Design p 6 ISRO Director Addresses Students p 7 The Moon Revealed p 8 Elsewhere in Asia p 9 NASA’s LCROSS Lunar Impactor p 10 Editor’s Page p 11 The Sunita Williams Story p 12 What will India call its “Astronauts?” p 13 Book Review: Destination Moon p 14. Lunar Resources in our future p 15 Return to the Moon; Import/Export Equation p 17 M3IQ Photo Gallery p 18 SEDS-India and SINC 09, Rover Competition p 19 USC Return to the Moon Design Exercise p 20 An International Lunar Research Park p 21 Improving the Moon Starts on Earth p 24 The Developer’s Role p 26 Stories of Interest; The Lunar Bookshelf p 27 Space Organizations in India
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Moon Society Chapters in India? The Moon Society is interested in helping to establish local chapters within India. For information on how to proceed, write: [email protected] Put “India Chapter” in the subject line of your email Note: We are also interested in partnering with existing local organizations, be they campus-based or community-based. And we are interested in collaborating with various space-interest national organizations in India as well. Together, we can do more! www.moonsociety.org 28