Originally posted by NGC2736
reply to post by internos

---

Wonderful images! Great detail. But in your opinion, just how "true" are these 3D images? How much are they "manipulated'?

Another good job. (You're so routine at doing an outstanding job that to save typing time I may have to shorten "great job" to just "GJ" )

I was wondering how long does it take to JAXA to release all the data to the public:
in their F.A.Q. page, we read:

What is the data release plan for KAGUYA?
One year after the end of the nominal operation phase (about two years after the launch), all KAGUYA products will be opened for public access online. During this one year data study period for instrument teams’ data research and validation / verification, sample data will be posted on the homepage for public outreach.

My email in box

from Shin-ichi Sobue obue.shinichi@jaxa.jp>
to Internos >
date 30-nov-2007 5.15 (GMT+ 1)
Subject Re: [SEL_HP:00688] Concerning the KAGUYA Mission

Dear [],
Thank you for your message. About KAGUYA product, we plan to open all KAGUYA
products one year after the end of nominal operation (two year after the
launch). Before that,
we only posted sample images visualized from KAGUYA products on the Web
because
we have to protect our mission instrument teams right to study in prior
to other scientists (first author right).

Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
Shin-ichi Sobue

Outline of instrument
A germanium semiconductor crystal cooled to below -180 degrees centigrade by a Stirling cryocooler is employed as a main detector of GRS. GRS has an excellent energy resolution 20 times superior to those used in past lunar missions. Thus, GRS can discriminate the incident gamma-ray energies with high precision and can determine abundances of more than 10 elements in the lunar surface.

• Neutrons are produced in the lunar subsurface by irradiation of Galactic Cosmic Ray.
  
• Gamma rays with the energy characteristic to each element on the Moon are produced by interactions of those neutrons with surface elements. Natural radioisotopes also emit gamma rays.
  
• Elemental composition is determined by measuring the gamma-ray energies from the lunar orbit.
  

• GRS will observe chemical abundances of materials (K, U, Th, O, Mg, Al, Si, Ti, Fe, Ca, H, etc.) on lunar surface globally. The results will be highly accurate and will provide clues leading to advancement in research of the origin and evolution of the moon.
  
  
• The observations will contribute to lunar resource exploration, especially for water existence. Water is very essential for human activity in a lunar platform in the future and local supply of water is necessary for the sake of cost performance. GRS can identify gamma rays from hydrogen and can map hydrogen.
  

Originally posted by NGC2736
It's a good picture. High quality it seems. Let's just hope that there are many more to come.

I thought it would take them longer to put anything out, but I guess they were in a hurry to show that they could do it.

Originally posted by cobain
Some more stuff from China's Chang'e today, including a 3D image:

news.sina.com.cn...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has dismissed Internet gossip that its first photo of the moon taken from a lunar orbiter might have been plagiarised from NASA, local media said on Monday.
The country launched its first lunar probe, the Chang'e 1, in October and released a photo featuring a patch of grey moon surface splotched with craters last week, hailing the mission as a "complete success".
But some Chinese Internet users have questioned its originality after comparing it with an almost identical lunar image from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2005.
"There is absolutely no forgery," Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist for the lunar probe, told the Beijing News.
The Chinese and U.S. lunar images looked similar only because they had aimed at the same area of the moon's southern hemisphere, Ouyang was quoted as saying.
"But a careful examination will tell some small differences," Ouyang said.
There were two craters on a certain spot of the Chinese photo, but there was only one on that same spot of the American picture, the Beijing News quoted him as saying.

LRO: a brief overview

LRO will give us the first submeter resolution images of the Moon, but this is only one of the many facets of the project:

LRO will:

• Supply information on Lunar radiation environment
  
• Evaluating the biological impacts and allowing development of protective technologies
  
• Provide the first highly accurate 3D lunar maps
  
• Map mineralogy across the whole moon
  
• Search for polar volatiles (especially water ice)
  
• Provide sub-meter resolution imaging (including permanently shadowed regions)
  
• Provide an assessment of features for landing sites
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  LRO will spend at least one year in low polar orbit around the Moon, collecting detailed information about the Lunar environment. The LRO payload, comprised of six instruments and one technology demonstration, will provide key data sets to enable a human return to the Moon.
  
  
  
  
  • Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation
  
  
  
  
  The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) will characterize the lunar radiation environment and determine its potential biological impacts. CRaTER will also test models of radiation effects and shielding, which may enable the development of protective technologies.
  
  Overview:
  crater.bu.edu...
  
  Description:
  nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
  
  Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation
  CRaTER Instrument Thermal Model Report | 32-04017.02 | Rev 01 [.PDF file]
  snebulos.mit.edu...
  
  
  
  • Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment
  
  
  
  
  The Diviner Lunar Radiometer (DLRE) will provide orbital thermal mapping measurements, giving detailed information about surface and subsurface temperatures (identifying cold traps and potential ice deposits), as well as landing hazards such as rough terrain or rocks.
  
  Experiment Goals, Team, Status and schedule, The Lunar Thermal Environment, Instrument Overview, Spectral Channels, Mapping Configuration, Data Products
  www.moon.ucla.edu...
  
  
  
  • Lyman Alpha Mapping Project
  
  
  
  
  The Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) will map the entire lunar surface in the far ultraviolet. LAMP will search for surface ice and frost in the polar regions and provide images of permanently shadowed regions illuminated only by starlight.
  
  Overview
  www.boulder.swri.edu...
  
  
  
  • Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector
  
  
  
  
  The Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) will create high resolution hydrogen distribution maps and provide information about the lunar radiation environment. LEND can be used to search for evidence of water ice on the Moon's surface, and will provide space radiation environment measurements useful for future human exploration.
  Overview
  nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
  
  LUNAR EXPLORATION NEUTRON DETECTOR EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL LCROSS IMPACT SITES [.PDF file]
  www.lpi.usra.edu...
  
  
  
  • Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter
  
  
  
  
  The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) will measure landing site slopes, lunar surface roughness, and generate a high resolution 3D map of the Moon. LOLA will also identify the Moon's permanently illuminated and permanently shadowed areas by analyzing Lunar surface elevations.
  
  Overview
  lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov...
  
  LUNAR ORBITER LASER ALTIMETER (LOLA): FUTURE LUNAR EXPLORATION AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIGH-RESOLUTION TOPOGRAPHY
  gsa.confex.com...
  
  LUNAR ORBITER LASER ALTIMETER ON LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER [.PDF file]
  www.dlr.de...
  
  
  
  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
  
  
  
  
  The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) will retrieve high resolution black and white images of the lunar surface, capturing images of the lunar poles with resolutions down to 1m, and will image the lunar surface in color and ultraviolet. These images will provide knowledge of polar illumination conditions, identify potential resources & hazards, and enable safe landing site selection.
  Overview
  lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov...
  
  Website
  lroc.sese.asu.edu...
  
  Specifications
  lroc.sese.asu.edu...
  
  
  
  • Mini-RF Technology Demonstration
  
  
  
  
  The Mini-RF technology demonstration's primary goal will be to search for subsurface water ice deposits. In addition, Mini-RF will take high-resolution imagery of permanently-shadowed regions.
  The mini-RF is a technology demonstration of an advanced single aperture radar (SAR) capable of measurements in X-band and S-band.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov...
  
  All LRO initial data sets will be deposited in the Planetary Data System (PDS), a publicly accessible repository of planetary science information, within six months of primary mission completion. Thereafter, the data sets will be deposited in the PDS every three months.
  See groundtrack prediction animation here
  lro.gsfc.nasa.gov...
  
  
  [edit on 6/12/2007 by internos]
  

UPDATE from Jaxa


KAGUYA (SELENE)
Observations using the Spectral Profiler (SP)
December 14, 2007 (JST)
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) verified the Spectral Profiler (SP) onboard the lunar explorer "KAGUYA" (SELENE) orbiting approximately 100 km above the lunar surface, through initial observations on November 3, 2007, and subsequent data analysis. The obtained data is the world's first continuous reflectance spectra of the far side of the Moon in the visible and near infrared region.

The satellite was confirmed to be in good health through telemetry data received at the Usuda Deep Space Center.

Fig. 1 SP Observation Specification
*To determine the precise SP observation area, SP observation operations always follow the observation operation of MI or TC
Image source:

These two figures are visualized images produced from SP data normalized at 600 nm with a simple correction to the variation of the overall reflectance of the lunar surface and SP detectors response.

The horizontal X axis of the right figure shows wavelength (600nm-1680nm) and vertical Y axis shows longitude (S19-53 degree - 1000km).

The red part shows relative strong reflectance, while yellow, green and blue show weaker reflectance than the red area, respectively. The color change from green to yellow at around 950nm is expected to correspond with iron-bearing mineral distribution.

The pink part on the right figure of the MI data shows the line profiling with SP observation area. SP data is expected to show that fresh rock and soil exist in a small crater or on the slope of a large crater since the color of the profile is longer than 600nm and has changed from yellow-green to blue or black (reflectance of the location is weak in longer wavelengths). However, the other area is experiencing space weathering since the color changed from yellow-green to yellow or red (reflectance of the location is strong).