World's First Mission To The Moon's South Pole Announced

The world’s first mission to the South Pole of the Moon was announced Thursday, opening up the possibility that the public will be able to access images from the moon online. The private enterprise mission, announced by the International Lunar Observatory Association and Moon Express, Inc., will be both scientific and commercial, and plans to deliver the International Lunar Observatory (ILO) aboard a Moon Express robotic lander.

Fox News

Rather interesting. First privately owned telescope on the surface of the moon, and being made available to researchers, educators and the public.

Not something from NASA or some other world government.

I believe that all those on here that do not like or do not trust NASA will be rejoicing if this indeed happens.

That or I speculate people will claim this is some sort of "disinfo" campaign by NASA or someone to distract us.....

Personally I don't really buy into the whole NASA/JPL conspiracies, but I do respect other's opinions and ideas, and I do enjoy reading what others think.

So how do you ATS members feel about this?

Here are a few other links that go into more detail (that and I know many members here do not like Fox News):

Wired

Sacramento Business Journal

We're going back, finally

Unless of course we never went in the first place then you bastards

Either way, I'm pretty sure the ISS is real

Private Spacecraft's 1st Space Station Trip Launches in September

A new commercial U.S. spacecraft is set to make its first flight to the International Space Station this September, paving the way for regular cargo deliveries to the orbiting laboratory.

The Dulles, Va.-based spaceflight company Orbital Sciences announced a planned launch window of between Sept. 14 and 19 to send its first cargo ship Cygnus spacecraft on a demonstration flight to the space station from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. The mission will launch on Orbital Sciences' Antares rocket, which made its first test flight in April.

- See more at: www.space.com...

Useless scientifically speaking.
Its more of either a test flight or money raising publicity stunt.

If you go to the actual website of the organisation instead of reading fox news articles, you'll see the listed specs of the camera they plan to put on the moon.
An aperture of 130mm. Thats about 5 inches.

Thats tiny. Millions of backyard astronomers have a telescope better than that. I know I do.
It pales into total useless insignificance compared to any of the larger professional telescopes around the world.

Well you might say that having a telescope in space is better than on earth. Yes... but not a huge amount given the tradoff in cost. For what they'll spend for that tiny thing, they could put a monster telescope here on earth.

And the south pole of the moon is a dumass place to put it. That will limit its observability to only 50 percent of the sky - the southern half. Earth orbit is a better place for a telescope, and if you insist on placing it on the moon then its equator is a better choice.

reply to post by alfa1


Well you sure know how to take the wind out of our sails

Maybe they chose the South Pole for this reason?

Lunar south pole

The lunar south pole craters are unique in that sunlight does not reach the bottom.

or

www.moonexpress.com...

Moon Express will send a series of robotic spacecraft to the Moon for ongoing exploration and commercial development focused on benefits to Earth. Our first missions will land in a southern hemisphere location where hazardous landing risks are minimized. The purpose of these missions is to reduce the risk of the lunar journey and determine proof of concept of a low-cost, routine lunar landing[

Subsequent to our inaugural mission proving the safety and reliability of a lunar landing, our follow-on objective involves landing on a 'peak of eternal light' in the Lunar South Pole where favorable conditions exist for long duration missions as well as deposits of water and other valuable resources awaiting discovery. These missions will involve further perfecting the processes associated with landing on the lunar surface while exploring and evaluating the lunar surface for resources.

Here's the moon telescope.
www.moonexpress.com...

Vancouver, Canada & Silicon Valley, USA (May 28, 2013) – The International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), based in Hawai`i and led by American businessman and educator Steve Durst, today unveiled flight test hardware for the first private telescope that will be launched to the Moon in 2015. Designed and built under contract from ILOA by Silicon Valley-based Moon Express, Inc., the International Lunar Observatory precursor (ILO-X) will capture never before seen images of the Galaxies, Stars, Planets, Moon and Earth and be accessible to educators, researchers and the general public in a pioneering experiment to democratize access to space exploration.

Lunar commerce company Moon Express has designed, built and delivered ILO-X flight hardware to ILOA, and in 2015 will deliver the ILO-X to the Moon as the first private space telescope to operate from the lunar surface, looking out at the Galaxy and heavens beyond and back at the Earth. About the size of a shoe-box with a mass of about 2 kgs, the ILO-X uses innovative optical technology in combination with advanced software and microminiaturized electronics to deliver dramatic inspiring deep space images of objects inside and outside our Milky Way Galaxy. ILO-X technology could also help with the detection of dangerous asteroids and the search for planetary resources.

ILO-X will be at the vanguard of citizen science, available to researchers, educators and the general public through the internet, allowing the world to access astronomical images from the surface of the Moon and creating a new model of public participation and international collaboration.

The ILO-X is a precursor to the permanent installation of a larger and more powerful International Lunar Observatory at the South Pole of the Moon and other interglobal initiatives by ILOA and affiliated Space Age Publishing Company. On September 4, 2012, ILOA signed a historic MOU with the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC). In the first such USA / China collaboration, the parties agreed to establish a cooperative program to conduct Galaxy Astronomical Imaging for Global 21st Century Education using the Lunar Telescope of China's Chang'e-3 Moon Lander (scheduled for launch in 2013). With an exchange in kind, NAOC will receive observing time on the ILO-X and ILO-1 mission instruments (est. 2015). The MOU Signing Ceremony took place in Kamuela, Hawai`i Island, USA.

reply to post by eriktheawful


It's ATS. There are Hamsters and lizards on mars, Gigantic alien cities on the moon, and Apollo 11 was created in a shabby little studio in hollywood.

Back in reality however, I think this just goes to show how the privatization of the space industry is one of the most defining moments of our species and will later be remembered as a major milestone in our advancements. Very cool and I can't wait to see what we come up with next when it comes to companies furthering space exploration. I hope we see a time where the privatized space industry becomes so advanced that it is on par with NASA and other major government space agencies and we end up seeing cooperation between the private and public sector for the greater good. Hey... a guy can dream, can't he?

It does seem more like a PR stunt than anything. But then again, "baby steps" I believe is the correct term.

When I was a kid, I just knew we'd be all over space by now (many decades ago, heh). That we'd have a colony on the moon and Mars. But as a kid, I never thought about the cost of these things, or governments controlling that money.

When I was older I realized that a lot of scifi authors I'd read more than likely have it right: space will be colonized by corporations. We'll go out there to get things they want, or do things they want to make a profit for themselves and their stock holders.

I hate corporations, but there you have it.

This might be like a small "investment" for them. A "branching out" to see if they can do this in order to do bigger things down the road.

They are not aiming to be the best, only to prove it can be done safely and reasonably inexpensively in comparisson to other, larger missions that have been. (apart from Clementine, which was probably the cheapest Lunar mission to date)

The idea is this mission is but one of many. It's a proof of concept deal, not a bigger and better than anything that has come before deal.

I say best of luck to them and others who decide to take the initiative on privately funded space exploration.

But...i'm going to bet here and now, that the mission won't clear the launch pad, or will have some other critical problem show up that scuppers the whole thing...the big boys won't like what the public will discover, so moves will be made and steps taken to delay the inevitable rise of private missions like this.

The US has already tried to declare Lunar 'no fly zones'..autensibly to protect heritage sites like the Apollo landing zones and so on...my argument would be, if the USA values the landers and rovers so much...go and get them back!

Finders keepers and all that jazz.

But this mission will either go boom during the launch, will have guidance 'issues' or will crash upon arrival..IMO.

As exciting as these anouncements and proposals are, I have yet to see a working private space mission. The effort and research that goes into things like that is commendable, but I'll wait 'till the thing in up there and working, before I start getting really excited.

And while such missions might not have a solid scientific purpose, we _do_ need more colour cameras out there which the public can access. Personally, I'm hoping for a lunar rover that would take hi-res colour images and HD videos, as well as take some pictures of the lunar landscape in earthshine, and lunar landscape and the Earth during a total lunar eclipse. I'd also like it to be in vicinity of one of the Apollo landing sites, and image it from distance, so that the hoax theory could be put to rest once and for all.

reply to post by MysterX


It's not that the US wants the lunar landers and equipment back. They want to preserve the area due to it's historical meaning.

Nothing at all sinister about it, and it was a request, not a demand.

We do this all around the world with historical sites. We tend to be destructive, even without meaning to.

Using flash cameras in a art gallery is forbidden to protect the paintings. You're not allowed to go up and put your grimy hands on them either. The oil on our skin is quite destructive.
Ancient books are kept this way.

Stone statues too, as marble and limestone will wear down and smooth out over time due to human contact. Up in Ruby Falls, the limestone formations there are beautiful, but many have been destroyed (they look like someone used a machine to buff them to a high gloss) because years before, the millions of people touching them with their bare hands did this. They keep people away from touching them now, but you can go see them.

That is all the US is asking, is that those sites be preserved and not disturbed. I have no doubt that the Chinese and Russians would honor those requests, and not land right on top of those sights or really close to them, so as to not disturb the foot prints. I'm sure that if they wanted to they would land not too far away and go to the edge of the sites where pictures could be taken.

So again, it's not that they want the equipment back. They just want to preserve the landing sites as they are is all.

Originally posted by MysterX

....The US has already tried to declare Lunar 'no fly zones'..autensibly to protect heritage sites like the Apollo landing zones and so on...my argument would be, if the USA values the landers and rovers so much...go and get them back!

Why in the world would they get them back (especially the Apollo 11 stuff). The historical significance of Apollo 11 is the Moon site itself, not just the equipment. Taking items away from the Apollo 11 site would ruin the historical significance of the site.

Maybe a few minor items could be returned without damaging the historical nature of the landing site, but that's about it.

It would be like the Elgin marbles. The Elgin Marbles should be at the Acropolis in Greece, not in the British Museum where they are now.

reply to post by MysterX


I've read the Apollo landing sites guidelines (they are guidelines and recommendations, not laws). NASA are particularly protective of the first and the last moon landing sites (11 and 17), and more lenient about other landing sites. The guidelines allow to approach the sites up to a certain distance, which should be sufficient for photos and videos. www.nasa.gov...

If the elgin marbles went back to Greece, the atmosphere would eat away at them, and the marbles would degenerate, they are better off under a roof, well away from the acid in the rain, ever had your eyes stinging when out it the rain? that's the dilute sulfuric acid in the rain, which comes from the exhaust gases of gasoline cars.

Originally posted by eriktheawful

The world’s first mission to the South Pole of the Moon was announced Thursday, opening up the possibility that the public will be able to access images from the moon online. The private enterprise mission, announced by the International Lunar Observatory Association and Moon Express, Inc., will be both scientific and commercial, and plans to deliver the International Lunar Observatory (ILO) aboard a Moon Express robotic lander.

Fox News

Rather interesting. First privately owned telescope on the surface of the moon, and being made available to researchers, educators and the public.

Not something from NASA or some other world government.

I believe that all those on here that do not like or do not trust NASA will be rejoicing if this indeed happens.

That or I speculate people will claim this is some sort of "disinfo" campaign by NASA or someone to distract us.....

Personally I don't really buy into the whole NASA/JPL conspiracies, but I do respect other's opinions and ideas, and I do enjoy reading what others think.

So how do you ATS members feel about this?

edit on 18-7-2013 by eriktheawful because: (no reason given)

thank you for the information ETA

ofcourse its a hoax
to establish firmly souls attention to this Fake moon again

= to establish 'belief ' in this fake moon
that means: make sure souls believe in this Matrix prison

regards