05.08.2009. 14:50 Veikta Mēness zondes LCROSS instrumentu kalibrēšana, kuras gaitā dažādos diapazonos fotografēta Zeme, ziņo portāls „SpaceRef”, atsaucoties uz informācijas avotu NASA. Zonde „pārliecinājās” par tādu molekulu esamību uz mūsu planētas, kuras liecina par dzīvības esamību. Zeme tika fotografēta tādēļ, lai aprobētu LCROSS kameru dažādus parametrus. Bez tam, zondes misiju uzraugošie inženieri gribēja pārliecināties, ka fokuss un kameru darba diapazoni ir noskaņoti pareizi. LCROSS fotografēja Zemes spektrus ultravioletajos un optiskos diapazonos. Spektros, kurus saņēma zonde, ir labi redzami biomarķieru „nospiedumi": metāna, ūdens, skābekļa un ogļskābās gāzes. Šo molekulu klātbūtne uz citām planētām ir nopietns iemesls uzskatīt, ka uz tām pastāv dzīvība.
Zondes LCROSS zondes misiju uzrauga ASV kosmiskā aģentūra. LCROSS un tās „pārinieks” – aprāts LRO – 19. jūnijā tika nosūtīti uz Mēnesi. Pēc starta LCROSS kopā ar nesējraķetes pēdējo pakāpi atvienojās no LRO un devās autonomā lidojumā. 2009. gada oktobrī zondei ir jāietriecas Mēness virsmā. LRO vēros šo procesu un analizēs sastāvu no trieciena radušos putekļu sastāvu. Tāpat abu aparātu uzdevums ir Zemes pavadoņa topogrāfiskās kartes sastādīšana.
NASA Invites Reporters to Events for LCROSS Lunar Impact MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – NASA is inviting journalists to events this week in Washington and California to observe the twin impacts of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and its rocket's upper stage as they impact the moon. The goal of the mission is to search for water ice on the moon.
The satellite and upper stage both are scheduled to hit a permanently shadowed crater of the moon, four minutes apart, at approximately 4:30 a.m. and 4:34 a.m. PDT on Friday, Oct. 9. NASA Television coverage begins at 3:15 a.m. PDT
NASA will hold a pre-impact media teleconference on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 11:30 a.m. PDT from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. NASA will provide a mission update and discuss what to expect as the Centaur upper stage rocket and the LCROSS spacecraft impact Cabeus crater, near the lunar south pole. Briefing participants on Oct. 8 are:
Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager, Ames Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator, Ames Jennifer Heldmann, coordinator for the LCROSS observation campaign, Ames
Live audio of the teleconference will be streamed online at:
http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio
Ames also will hold a post-impact news conference at 7 a.m. PDT on Oct. 9 in the Ames main auditorium in Building N201. The news conference will be broadcast on NASA TV and the agency's Web site. Briefing participants on Oct. 9 are:
Daniel Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington Pete Worden, Ames center director Daniel Andrews, LC ROSS project manager, Ames Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator, Ames Jennifer Heldmann, coordinator for the LCROSS observation campaign, Ames Paul Tompkins, LCROSS flight director, Ames
To participate in the Oct. 8 teleconference and the Oct. 9 post-impact news conference, contact Jonas Dino at 650-604-5612 or jonas.dino@nasa.gov or Rachel Prucey at 650-604-0643 or rachel.l.prucey@nasa.gov.
Also on Oct. 9, reporters are invited to the Newseum in Washington to view the LCROSS impacts. The Newseum is located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Journalists should arrive by 7 a.m. EDT. There will not be an opportunity for questions at the Newseum event, but reporters may participate by telephone in the 7 a.m. PDT news conference that will take place at Ames.
Reporters interested in attending the Newseum event in Washington should RSVP to Grey Hautaluoma at grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov or Ashley Edwards at ashley.edwards-1@nasa.gov.
The NASA Exploration Center at Ames will serve as the press site for the LCROSS impacts. The press site opens to journalists at 5:30 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Oct. 8, and will remain open until 9 a.m. PDT on Friday, Oct. 9. All accredited journalists must sign in at the Exploration Center to receive badges and vehicle passes needed to gain access to the Ames main auditorium for the post-impact news conference.
For more latest information about LCROSS, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/lcross
For information and a map of additional LCROSS Impact Viewing Events, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/impact/event_index.html
For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
