Hubble Scans For Moon Base Locations

[zavvy]

<b>Hubble Scans For Moon Base Locations</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />Planetary scientists are using the Hubble Space Telescope to scout out sites for potential human bases on the Moon.<br /><br />Previous missions have observed the Moon at a range of wavelengths. But none have boasted Hubble's sharp resolution at ultraviolet wavelengths - it can identify spectral features just 50 metres across over swathes of lunar terrain.<br /><br />"We're trying to ascertain the potential of ultraviolet spectra for indicating lunar resources," says Bruce Hapke, a planetary scientist at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, US. He is one of a team of six researchers led by NASA's chief scientist, Jim Garvin, using Hubble to view the Moon.<br /><br />In particular, the team hopes to be able to identify a mineral called ilmenite - or iron titanium oxide - which has previously been found in lunar soil samples. "It has properties which would be useful in constructing a lunar base," Hapke told New Scientist. <br /><br />Ground-truth calibration<br />It contains oxygen, which could be extracted for breathing, as well as hydrogen and helium absorbed from the solar wind. Heating the mineral would release the gases, which could then be used as a power source for the base, says Hapke. Iron in the mineral might eventually be used to produce construction materials, such as steel, for lunar buildings.<br /><br />Ilmenite was found in different concentrations in the several areas visited by the Apollo astronauts more than three decades ago. Hubble observed two of these sites - where Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 astronauts touched down in 1971 and 1972, respectively - as part of an observing run that finished on Sunday. <br /><br />"We're looking at those two sites because we know what's there," says Hapke, who was a principal investigator for the Apollo lunar sample analysis. "This is a ground-truth calibration" for ultraviol

 

[vogon13]

Wow! I thought the moon was too bright for Hubble to look at. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[nexium]

If too bright, Venus and Mars would also be too bright. Hubble could look at the portion lighted by Earth shine, but not sunshine. Neil

 

[mrmux]

The most expensive imaging system ever built and no way of adjusting the brightness...<br /><br />I can picture the astronomers talking to the managers as it cleared the launch-pad;<br /><br />"Wow, fantastic. There we go."<br />"Yup. Looks perfect."<br />"This will revolutionise astronomy."<br />"We've built you a good one. The best."<br />"I mean, the views we will get..."<br />"Oh, yeah..."<br />"Stars, galaxies, nebulae..."<br />"Yeah, yeah..."<br />"The planets..."<br />"Er..."<br />"Jupiter's clouds?"<br />"Oh, yeah. Jupiter's clouds."<br />"Saturn's rings..."<br />"Yeah..."<br />"The martian ice caps..."<br />"Yeah, I suppose..."<br />"Every little crater on the moon..."<br />"Now just hold on one cotton-picking minute, my spec sheet said nothing about a moon..."<br />

 

[erioladastra]

It is too bright - for SOME of the equipment. The concern is that with a small field of view, if your pointing is off you could get light in and damage the equipment. Therefore, they were very careful and had to disable some safing algorithims (but NASA had signed off on the risk due to the importance).

 

[kdavis007]

The Hubble going out in style....