[X] My Assistant

[edstrick]

Closest Europe's gotten to a penetrator was Beagle 2.

>ducks and hides!<

[NMRguy]

Well, MoonLITE is back in the news on BBC. I must say that I always grin when I hear about a UK-sponsored space project. The UK has more than enough industry, science, and inginuity but space science has never been a major focus. Their last one was very exciting proposal--a real budget "ride along" trying to take some wind out of the MER's sails. It just needed a few more pounds in the project, I guess.

Anyway, back to MoonLITE. This time around, NASA is apparently "very likely to support plans to send a British probe to the Moon" with a hopeful launch date in 2012. NASA should ask the UK space community to carry out a detailed feasibility study by the end of the summer. The proposal still uses multiple (4) penetrators with a simple relay orbiter. "These would quite literally enable scientists to scratch below the lunar surface. These would hit the Moon at extremely high speeds, about 300m/s (1080km/h) and penetrate to a depth of two metres. Once embedded in the surface, instruments in the penetrators would listen out for 'Moonquakes'." Another story can be found here as well as a more official MoonLITE/Moonraker proposal.

The MOONlite mission looks remarkably similar to JAXA's Lunar-A (lunar penetrators/seismology) - I was wondering if it would be a UK/JAXA collaboration, or if they intended to use Lunar-A's lunar penetrators(if Lunar-A is cancelled)?

I think the MoonLITE proposal builds off a lot of the Lunar-A ideas, but it will not be a direct collaboration. The only possible partners with MoonLITE at the moment are NASA and the Indian Space Agency, but no one is officially on board. I did find something about the possible Russian Luna-Glob mission reusing two of the Lunar-A penetrators in addition to ten of their own. We'll see where all of this this goes.

[djellison]

And meanwhile :
http://chrislintott.net/2007/12/11/stfcs-plans/
http://www.scitech.ac.uk/About/Strat/Counc...FC_DelPlan.aspx

Seems odd to be proposing a lunar mission when big cuts are underway.

Doug

[Phil Stooke]

Big cuts for pure science, big bucks - I mean pounds - for engineering?

Phi

[djellison]

In this field - they're one and the same - STFC is where the funding for such a thing would come from ( Science and Technology Funding Council - although I remember it as Swindon Town Football Club, as the offices are in Swindon) I would have thought. There might be other pathways from other sources, but I can't see them being sufficiently large for a project like this.

Doug

[mps]

NASA is apparently "very likely to support plans to send a British probe to the Moon" with a hopeful launch date in 2012.

I would like to see it launched in 2011 on the same EELV as GRAIL. The total launch mass of MoonLITE is about 846 kg. Compare it with 834 kg total wet mass of LCROSS Sheperd Spacecraft.

[simonbp]

I would like to see it launched in 2011 on the same EELV as GRAIL. The total launch mass of MoonLITE is about 846 kg. Compare it with 834 kg total wet mass of LCROSS Sheperd Spacecraft.

Actually, that's not that bad of an idea, as it make it politically harder to kill either mission (though there's little chance GRAIL will be canceled). Problem is, you have to get funded first before worrying about getting canceled...

Also, considering the nightmares the Japanese had with their lunar penetrators, I wonder just how successful MoonLite would be...

Simon

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

Nice article in the April 2008 issue of TheSkyAtNight magazine "Britain's Moon Shot "pages 36 - 41
with comments by Sir Martin Sweeting & Prof Alan Smith

[ngunn]

http://news.google.co.uk/news/url?sa=t&...vjbWScEFKePjzMw
Here's one for the Brits:

Me an me Mam an me Dad an me Gran
are off to clock the moon
Me an me Mam an me Dad an me Gran
and a rocket of MoonLITE

Hit the moon (stomp stomp)
Hit the moon (stomp stomp)
Hit the moon, hit the moon DAA DAA

[nprev]

Okay, I'm jealous. Not only do you guys get to hit the Moon, but you got a pub song for it! Can't get anybody to sing anything except bad karaoke in the US, dammit...

[djellison]

The music goes like this :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T1pXsJp_go

And I think...I THINK... Colin Pillinger is in the video somewhere. I might be wrong on that one.

Doug

[ngunn]

Then there's that immortal line

Can I introduce you please to a lump of cheddar cheese

('cept its really Wensleydale)

[Stu]

1998?!?!?!??!?!??! O.... M..... G.....!!!! Is it really ten years since I was on my feet singing "Vindaloo" in the pub in front of a huge TV screen, wrapped up in a St George flag and crunching my way through my tenth packet of Scampi Fries?!?!?!

Happy days....

(I know, I know, you're seeing me in a whole new light now, eh? )

[imipak]

Here's another BBC report on Moonlite with some video of impactor tests. Whooooosh... CLONG!!

Hmmm.

[SFJCody]

I'm worried for two reasons:

1) Penetrators are high risk landers and Moonlite will only carry four. Hitting a rock= goodbye data return.

2) Luna-Glob will launch first, carry more penetrators (both Japanese and Russian designs) and may well steal Moonlite's thunder