Re: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

From: Allen Thomson (thomsona_at_flash.net)
Date: 01/31/05 

Date: 31 Jan 2005 08:20:56 -0800

Douglas Holmes wrote:

> Also check out this page:
> http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/text/lro_pr_20041222.txt
> for a description of these instruments:
> Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) Measurement Investigation
> Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera
> Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment
> Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project
> Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation

Another possibility:

http://space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_050131.html

NASA and NRO to Team-Up on Lunar Spacecraft

By Jeremy Singer
Space News Staff Writer

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and NASA have agreed to
cooperate on the development of a lunar spacecraft intended as the
first shot in a series of robotic probes paving the way for future
human exploration missions, according to an NRO official.

NASA and the NRO signed an agreement in November to work together on
the payload for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter with the hope that the
technology from that effort can be applied to a military satellite
expected to be launched around the same timeframe, said Pedro
"Pete" Rustan, director of advanced science and technology at the
NRO.

The cooperation will focus on developing a miniature synthetic aperture
radar sensor that the lunar probe will use to develop detailed maps of
the Moon's surface, Rustan said in a Jan. 25 interview.

The lunar probe is expected to begin its mission, which will run over
the course of a year, in 2008. The Pentagon is planning to launch the
fourth in a series of small spacecraft known as TacSat or Joint
Warfighter spacecraft that year.

While the Pentagon has not finalized the payload for that spacecraft,
the NRO hopes to place a small synthetic aperture sensor on the
satellite, Rustan said.

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