 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Taos Goes Lunar With International Talkfest
Los Alamos - Sep 12, 2002 The Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory is hosting an international gathering of lunar scientists in Taos, N.M. beginning Thursday. Los Alamos, who played a major role in the recent Lunar Prospector mission to the moon, together with the University of California Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Los Alamos' Center for Space Science and Exploration and the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, is organizing and hosting "The Moon Beyond 2002: Next Steps in Lunar Science and Exploration." In light of the recent and successful Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions to the moon, the purpose of this meeting is to gather together the international community of lunar scientists to answer the following questions: what are the key questions that should be addressed to advance lunar science and exploration and what actions should the planetary science community carry out to best answer these questions? In addition to the science discussions, "The Moon Beyond 2002" meeting will host geological field trips around the Rio Grande Gorge. Two Apollo geologists, Gordon Swann and Bill Muehlberger, as well as Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt will lead the field trips. The Rio Grande Gorge was one of the training sites for the Apollo 15 astronauts. The field trips simulate an astronaut geology expedition - participants are playing the part of an astronaut, the trip leaders act as Mission Control - with the aim of unraveling the geologic history of the Rio Grande Gorge and vicinity. David Lawrence of Los Alamos's Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group said, "When we planned this meeting last August, I was unaware of the significance of the date Sept. 12 for lunar science. It was on this day in 1962, 40 years ago, that President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he gave credence and inspiration for the United States to go forward with the Apollo Mission to the moon. It was in this speech that he made the following well-known statement: 'We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone.' " At the meeting, scientists will discuss recent advances in lunar science as well as the prospect of future scientific missions to the moon. Representatives from Japan and the European Space Agency will discuss future missions they plan to launch to the moon in the upcoming years. Email This Article
Related Links 
Zurich - Oct 14, 2001According to the "Giant Impact" theory the moon was formed by a collision between a proto-earth and a smaller planet. In the October 12 issue of Science, ETH researchers present results showing that the composition of the oxygen isotopes of the moon and the earth are identical. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
