The next missions to the moon

I would like to take a look at what has been scheduled and share opinions
Are also included the present Chinese and Japanese missions.
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U.S.A. :

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)

Lunar orbiter designed for precise mapping of lunar surface topography, will obtain high-resolution images of the lunar surface and investigate lunar resources.
It also will seek evidence of water ice in the lunar polar region.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is scheduled for launch in the fall of 2008.
lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov...
Mission overview:
lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov...
New NASA Ames Spacecraft to Look for Ice at One of Moon's Poles
www.nasa.gov...
LRO Mission: NASA's First Step Back to the Moon
www.youtube.com...
NASA - Return to the Moon - the Global Exploration Strategy
video.google.it...
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Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)

This satellite will search for water in the permanent shadow of craters at the lunar South Pole. It is designed to be steered into a crater, where it will analyze material scattered by its own impact.
LCROSS is to be launched at the same time as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, in the fall of 2008.
lcross.arc.nasa.gov...
The LCROSS Mission
spacescience.arc.nasa.gov...
Mission overview:
lcross.arc.nasa.gov...
Crashing into the Moon (ABC NEWS)
blogs.abcnews.com...
The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) Mission
www.nasa.gov...
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Human lunar exploration

NASA is aiming to launch the next-generation crew exploration vehicle Orion by 2020. Orion accommodates four crewmembers, and will travel to the surface of the Moon after docking in lunar orbit with a lunar landing craft, which will be launched on the Ares V cargo launch vehicle.
NASA plans to carry out a manned test flight by 2014.
Roadmap:
www.spaceref.com...
Crew Exploration Vehicle Destination for Human Lunar Exploration [.PDF file]
pdf.aiaa.org...
Human Lunar Exploration
Mission Architectures
LPI Lunar Knowledge Requirements Workshop [.PDF file]
www.lpi.usra.edu...
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International Lunar Base

An international project, planned for completion by around 2024. A base is to be built at the lunar polar region, which will accommodate astronauts for six months at a time. The facility will also be used as a base for future missions to Mars.
(Courtesy of NASA)
Download
FINAL REPORT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DEVELOPMENT FOR A SELF-SUSTAINING LUNAR COLONY [.PDF file]
www.nss.org...
Download
A ROAD MAP FOR THE ACQUISITION OF THE FIRST LUNAR BASE [.PDF file]
www.ilr.tu-berlin.de...
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Japan:

Selene (SELenological and ENgineering Explorer)

Lunar orbiter designed to study the origin and evolution of the Moon, SELENE consists of a main satellite and two sub-satellites.
The lunar explorer KAGUYA (SELENE) has been launched by the H-IIA F13 on Sep. 14 from the Tanegashima Space Center
www.jaxa.jp...
SELENE Launch
www.youtube.com...

Mission overview:
www.jaxa.jp...
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India:

Chandrayaan

This lunar orbiter is designed to map lunar topographic features and mineral distributions; it will search for water at the lunar South Pole, and conduct precise observation of the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-1, is scheduled for launch in early 2008
www.isro.org...
www.isro.org...
Mission overview (video)
chandrayaan.wordpress.com...
7002442057576914659
ESA Council give go-ahead to Europe's co-operation with India in Moon mission
www.esa.int...
Chandrayaan-1 Lunar Orbiter
nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov...
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China

Chang’e-1

This lunar orbiter will observe lunar topography and element distribution.
Chang’e-1 blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan, atop a Long March 3A rocket on October 24, 2007
/2g2d8s
/ypq7qg
www.cnsa.gov.cn...
www.sciencedaily.com...
Successful launch for Chang'e 1!
www.planetary.org...
China Moon Mission Chang'e-1 In Good Condition
www.spacedaily.com...
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Chang’e-2

Soft lunar lander. China is also considering sending a rover for further study of the lunar

surface.
This spacecraft is scheduled to be launched around 2010.
Planning of Chang'e Program
/yu3eg5
Very low frequency interferometry for the Chang’E-2 Project [.PDF file]
www.cosis.net...
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Chang’e-3

A lunar sample return probe is planned for launch around 2012.
Future human lunar exploration is also under consideration.
Planning of Chang'e Program
/yu3eg5
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Russia

LUNA-GLOB

This lunar orbiter surveys the lunar surface and inner structure by placing four penetrators on the lunar surface. Russia is aiming for a launch around 2012.
Luna-Glob project in the context of the past and present lunar exploration in Russia [.PDF file]
www.ias.ac.in...
FEDERAL SPACE AGENCY OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION
LAVOCHKIN ASSOCIATION
ROBOTIC LUNAR EXPLORATION PROGRAM [.PDF file]
preview.tinyurl.com...
www.esa.int...
Russia Plans Ambitious Robotic Lunar Mission
/2ghssa
... just a recap
I apologize in advance for possible mistakes

[edit on 20/11/2007 by internos]

reply to post by internos


You have to be the hardest working poster on ATS! Good job.

I will bookmark this so I can check back and see what I nees to check up on from time to time.

When you list them like this, all at once, it shows how much more deeply we humans have become involved in space. I'm sure a lot of this still has to do with national politics, but even so, it is impressive.

And as private enterprise grows in space, this list could double.

It's about time.

Just think; about 100/200 years from now people will be looking back on these historical moments of space exploration while eating at the moon cafe or the Lunar Hotel. Or watching a movie at the Sea Of Tranquility Theater.

Nice job once again internos Can't wait to watch the dicovery channel and see a documentary of all this stuff and pictures in the near future.

Oh yeah Almost forgot

Star & Flag for ya!!

[edit on 11/20/2007 by Solarskye]

INTERNOS!

Its great to have these listed in one place as you've done here. I've been taking a great interest in these missions since I've been reading books and hitting websites talking about moon and mars anomalies. I wonder just exactly WHAT it is that has brought about this renewed interest in the moon since NASA.....um......lost?....interest in the moon after Apollo (at least in the public eye of things).

Does anyone at ATS have several million dollars? If so, lets get away from all these governments and launch a probe where everyone on the internet can receive the data as it comes back instead of having that data "scrutinized" by these government agencies before they decide what is to be released to us lowly citizens!

Thanks again for the gathered information internos. Star'd and bookmarked!

Does anyone else find it amusing that the artists impression of the Indian probe is very colourful compared to the others? Just like everything in else in their culture

Anyway, I guess I should add this link here as well:

S. Korea outlines space program

However that's still quite a long way into the future, in the year 2020.

Oh by the way, Internos, nicely done -- well laid out and info-packed. My compliments

Thanks to everyone
yes, i think that is really impressive to look at this list, after so many years in which the Moon has basically been ignored, (at least by the space exploration point of view):
and my question is why has been taken this sudden interest in the moon?
I frankly don't think that this is all propaganda, IMHO almost all these programs seems to be pragmatic, no sci-fi here at all (i just have some doubts about the India's mission, but i have not particular reasons, it's only because the lack of informations i could gather about it ).
I don't want to suggest esotic theories, IMHO there's a rational explanation behind every single step of these programs; anyway, i'd call this renewed interest an actual mystery.
Thanks again

[edit on 21/11/2007 by internos]

reply to post by Beachcoma

Thank you Beachcoma,
and thank you for the link too: i'll try to gather some more infos (frankly i wasn't aware of it)

reply to post by internos


I have thought exactly the same thing. This sudden renewed interest is so unexpected that it begs the question "Why now?" What has really changed to lead so many to spend money to go into exploration, when for so long, no one bothered?

You seldom find such spending by so many without some expectation of a return worth the investment. So what is the expected return? That is the question.

reply to post by internos


WOW!
Starred, flagged and for the effort in compilation of and links, It’s going to take me a while to go through them!!

I, like you, wonder why so much interest is suddenly be attached to Moon exploration, and why (for example) are 2 missions from 2 separate countries concentrating on exactly the same thing!
The US LRO and the very clourful Indian Chandrayaan both scheduled for 2008 both looking at the South pole for evidence of water.

If the costs of all these missions by all these countries were added up, (plus all the earth resources used in the missions, ie, fuel, metals, manhours etc!) then surely it would less expensive to put them all together (Internationally) and do a really thorough job of it combining all the requirements and needs of each country.

I know the answer to that is fairly obvious, but it does go to show (at this point) that the countries of the earth are still in competition. Albeit a very expensive one, to claim a stake in space.

Brilliant work Internos! You never fail to amaze!

Great work, a lot of time and effort went into that I'm sure.
Many thanks.

I too was thinking about how weird it was for all the countries to suddenly take interest in the moon again after so much time.

I then remembered reading about how in 1969 when Apollo 11 first went to the moon, they saw aliens on the other side of the crater they landed next to...they were warned off the moon and were told not to come back for 35 years....has anyone else heard or read about this? I can't remember where I read about this but it was very interesting...and now that 35 years is up.... all is clear. coincedence?

Maybe NASA was just playing it cool about this timeframe and was slowly getting their stuff all together and planning their next mission....then other countries starting beating them to it....so they had to act right away?

This is fantastic news! Considering that its still unclear that we even made it to the moon- I personally think we lied but hey...it would be amazing if we did. It seems as if everyone's dying to get there again before america does. Russia's always working on the space station and I'm sure China's got enough technology to sky rocket themselves there in no time. Great post!

Vandermast, I remember hearing about that- which is exactly why I said that we never landed there....because Neil Armstrong (I think) said "we we're being warned off" and that its a base! Crazy...but it does make sense. How would we land there and put a flag there if aliens we're forcing them away from it?

Yes, And what about all the van allen radiation belt stuff...the astronauts shouls not have even been able to go all the way to the moon without turning into a tv dinner inside their suits.

And the thing about their computers, back then they were about as powerful as a childs play computer or a regular calculator.

great job internos!

two quick updates though:

1) India's Chandrayaan is slated for launch on Apr9 2008.
2)India and Russia have agreed to pool in resources for the lunar rover slated in 2010-2012.

and oh yea.. beachcoma, those colors are mostly false colors that follow a color legend of some sort. I think the probe is pretty much the same old boring silver, gold and metallic routine

Originally posted by Vandermast

And the thing about their computers, back then they were about as powerful as a childs play computer or a regular calculator.

I think the need for computers is over rated. Most of the job could have been plotted out before the flight ever left, so finding the Moon itself wasn't that hard. Tedious, I'm sure, but it was just a matter of following directions.

The actual landing could have been carried out by a rather unsophisticated program, once a spot was picked. Maintaining a "level" approach would have been the hardest part, since the countering of the Moon's gravity could have been established pretty accurately beforehand.

Sure, it was risky, but very much doable. It is a failing of the younger generation to think that computers are the only sure way to arrive at precision. You would be surprised at how good the unaided human mind can be, when it doesn't have that crutch to use all the time.

(Believe it or not, but there was once a time when school children learned the multiplication tables, and used a thing called addition and subtraction, to arrive at accurate answers to math questions. Eight year olds were expected to do *gasp* long division in their heads! These calculators were called Brain Cells. )

I couldn't find something on the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) about the plan of the Mission to the Moon, but the news is confirmed by many reports from many press agencies, and it seems that they're taking the space topic very seriously, IMHO:

Korean astronaut candidates return to Russia to complete launch training
... About 36,000 Koreans applied for the astronaut program in an open nationwide competition. Ko and Yi were picked on Dec. 25, 2006, from a short list of six people who completed rigorous testing for physical fitness, ability to perform in an emergency, general fitness for space flight and ability to interact with foreign astronauts. Korea will pay more than $20 million for the training of the candidates and the flight.

www.korea.net...

Found two interesting documents:

CONSTELLATION PROGRAM OVERVIEW [.PDF file]
ston.jsc.nasa.gov...

♦ Use the Moon to prepare for future human and robotic missions to Mars and other destinations
♦ Pursue scientific activities to address fundamental questions about the solar system, the universe, and our place in them
♦ Extend sustained human presence to the moon to enable eventual settlement
♦ Expand Earth’s economic sphere to encompass the Moon and pursue lunar activities with direct benefits to life on Earth
♦ Strengthen existing and create new global partnerships
♦ Engage, inspire, and educate the public

Extreme Environments Technologies for Future Space Science Missions [.PDF file]
solarsystem.nasa.gov...

This report on technologies for extreme environments is the culmination of a multi-year study.

Interim results from this effort have already been incorporated into NASA strategic planning

through the 2006 Solar System Exploration Roadmap and the 2007 SMD Science Plan. This report is

expected to support the formulation of a NASA technology program, specifically focused on

extreme environment technologies, and to guide the selection of the technologies that comprise

that program.

I've found also a "serious" artist rendering of Chandrayaan


Daedalus3, thank you for the updates

[edit on 22/11/2007 by internos]

reply to post by NGC2736


LOL; brain cells to funny! But correct! Gosh I look at my kids math now days and I'm going

I thought the Apollo 13 mission in the movie by Ron Howard was a good portrayel of the astronauts having to fly the lunar module by lining it up with earth and hoping not to get caught in gimble lock. That was amazing and no computer needed! Just good ol' human enginuity.

[edit on 11/22/2007 by Solarskye]

Internos,Again you have given us so much to digest. And here in America, this is a day for some serious digesting.

Thank you for that post. I'll be here between eating binges.

[edit on 22-11-2007 by NGC2736]

Very interesting work Internos! As usual your information are very usefull and interesting. Now i've only to study your link and hope to see the real "space conquest" during my life.
Flag and star for you!

[edit on 23-11-2007 by ImShrike]