2023-07-06 15:06:36
Orbiting and Rotating: NASA’s veteran Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbiting the moon since it first entered lunar orbit in June 2009. In the 14 years since its launch, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has produced proven images and data that have transformed our understanding of Earth’s celestial neighbor. With the old rover still on a mission — now helping determine where NASA’s Artemis astronauts will make their way through parts of the moon’s south pole — how long will this venerable orbiter last? Related: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Orbiter: A Guide to NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Operational Health Mark Robinson is the principal investigator for the LRO’s Ultra Powerful Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC for short). Robinson told Space.com that the biggest factor limiting LRO’s operational health, other than the catastrophic failure of one of its moving parts, is the life of the spacecraft’s batteries. “They don’t last forever,” he said, adding that these batteries are needed during solar eclipses to reduce the power of the solar panels as the LRO orbits the moon. As for the driver on board, the orbiter doesn’t fly in smoke. As for fuel, LRO should stay in good shape for several years, Robinson said. He said the rover launched its fifth expanded mission in October 2022 and the ground controllers have become very smart about managing LRO fuel. Technicians assemble the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida in 2009. (Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller) Moonscapes Library LRO’s long and ongoing work tour around the Moon has produced an enormous library of images, revealing a view of the Moon from various angles and lighting conditions. Robinson added, “There have been incredible and unexpected scientific returns,” such as the discovery of new impact craters. In addition, along with the scientific research equipment on board, the big surprise from LRO is the overturning of the upper lunar regolith, a process that happens much faster than previously thought. Then there is data collected by the LRO that may indicate more recent volcanic activity on the moon than conventional wisdom would suggest – and possibly future eruptions. “It’s controversial, but it’s fun,” said Robinson. Recently, LRO images have been used to help sort out the best places to deposit robotic assets — even the discovery of debris from the Japanese company’s moon lander, Hakuto-R, crashing after its fall on April 25. Thanks to photographs taken years earlier by the LRO of the crash area, the before/after distinction made identification of the wreck possible. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s before and after images identify Japan’s ispace’s Hakuto-R lunar lander after it crashed on April 25. Arrows indicate changes in the lunar landscape around the impact site. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU) Making the difference on a more positive note, LRO’s ability to identify future lunar rover missions and identify promising sites that increase science return, Robinson said. “At the moment we are collecting notes for all potential Artemis [human] Landing zones, he said, are 13 of them, and NASA and the science community are asking to go to specific places that are much more difficult in terms of landing. In addition, LRO data is used to build digital terrain models for several US companies that will deliver equipment to the lunar surface through the Commercial Lunar Surface Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. “It’s gratifying to feel like you’re making a difference scientifically, and also from an exploration or engineering perspective,” said Robinson. “I like to imagine an astronaut having a display unit on the arm of his space suit, looking at our LRO data so he can see over the next hill.” On the other hand, at some point, LRO will be no more. “I will be sad at first, but maybe I will rest after that,” said Robinson. It was a big responsibility and a lot of work for the LRO team.” “There are lifespans for the data to analyze. I will have more time to work with all the information that the LRO has produced.” Where will it be? Presentation of 13 candidate landing areas for the Artemis 3 mission – the return of an American man to the moon. Each district measures approximately 9.3 by 9.3 miles (15 by 15 kilometres). A landing site is a site in these areas with a radius of about 328 feet (100 meters). (Image credit: NASA) And yet? “LRO is currently funded to operate through September 2025, which is the end of our current expanded mission,” said Noah Petro, LRO project scientist assistant on NASA’s Goddard Space Flight. . center, and newly assigned project scientist for the Artemis 3 mission. All LRO systems are showing “graceful degradation,” Petro said, but nothing should affect their ability to continue collecting data. Meanwhile, NASA is funding a mission concept study to think about what a post-orbital mission might look like. Named the Lunar Exploration Science Orbiter (LExSO), Petro said it was an option being considered to fill the void left after the LRO mission is completed and “we expect any solution to meet the agency’s priorities, including science and exploration goals.” Next Generation Observations “I am convinced that it is essential to plan and implement the next generation of orbital observations of the Moon,” said Carl Peters, a renowned lunar researcher at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. LRO’s accumulated digital images document how the current lunar surface is changing, but slowly. Peters told Space. com, “An array of state-of-the-art sensors is also now available to provide additional detail about the physical and compositional character of the materials across the surface and how the properties change with the time of day.” in lunar water ice. The data provided by these sensors will be difficult to replace once the LRO reaches the end of its life. The rim of the Aitken Basin, a remnant of the Moon’s south pole that formed more than 4 billion years ago, has been seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. This peak (lower left) was chosen as one of the candidate landing sites for the Artemis III expedition crew. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/ASU) Leadership Role “Because of its intimate relationship and proximity to Earth, the Moon has been a reliable witness to activities in this small part of the solar system in which we live. We will and must continue to document and monitor the characteristics of the moon. and learn from it. Peters said. “The remarkable reliability and throughput of the LRO, which continues to provide data more than a decade beyond its expected life, has made us both overconfident and lazy.” Peters co-chaired a recent report by the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) that highlighted the need for continued lunar orbital capabilities. He said it was “essential” that the United States maintain a leadership role on the moon over the next few decades in international science and exploration. The report concludes that “plans must be put in place now to ensure continuity.”
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