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NASA's LADEE Rocket Mission To Launch September 6
An anonymous reader writes "NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) will orbit Earth for three weeks before heading to the moon for a 100-day trip where it will measure lunar dust and the moon's atmosphere. from the article: 'A $6 million University of Colorado Boulder instrument designed to study the behavior of lunar dust will be riding on a NASA mission to the moon now slated for launch on Friday, Sept. 6, from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The mission, known as the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE, will orbit the moon to better understand its tenuous atmosphere and whether dust particles are being lofted high off its surface. The $280 million LADEE mission, designed, developed, integrated and tested at NASA's AMES Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., will take about a month to reach the moon and another month to enter the proper elliptical orbit and to commission the instruments. A 100-day science effort will follow.'"
Dupe.
Whenever you see a space article about an actually rocket going into space, Ask yourselves this: What is it's real, covert mission? (whether it be benevolent or malevolent)
I would have expected this sort of shortsighted shallow comment anywhere on the internet but not on slashdot.
How the times have changed...
I expect it here more than anywhere else.
And you'd think a /. poster would know how expensive it can be to get access to ladee parts!
Not _if_ it's dusty, _how_ dusty. Then we can send the correct number of Roombas.
Its a better use than $34 Million for a never used building in Afghanistan, over $1 billion on a DOD/VA health database that has been effectively scrapped, $66 billion on 187 fighter aircraft not likely to ever find a role in todays military.... I could go on but you get the idea.
Definitely yes, even if it explodes on launch, it's still $280 millions less spent blowing up people.
It's worth spending $280 million taxpayer dollars to see if the moon is dusty?
Probably more worth it than a $trillion+ on a bunch of war planes that are designed to do everything poorly for everyone, and that the enemies planes can outlast and outshoot already. Even one of said war planes of which costs vastly more than the piddly $280mil to see if the moon is dusty and how much atmosphere it has.
So, your argument is that cutting someone's arm off is OK, because you're not killing them.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
I may head up that way just to see this launch. I have never watched any launch, and manned launches occur nowhere near me. This is a big rocket, and a night launch to boot, so if anyone knows the area and good spots to view I would appreciate it. The next trick is getting my GF to go along for something that may be weather cancelled/delayed and that she has little to no interest in.
Silence is a state of mime.
Did no one catch on to fact that this is the first air date of the original Star Trek series James
...who reads "NASA LADEE" in Jerry Lewis's voice?
From what I understand, the existing theory of UV dust excitement is pretty solid...sometimes I wish people would keep their own spoiler theories to themselves, especially when we send up a multi-million dollar spacecraft and the conclusion is "yep, it's like we always thought." KEEP IT TO YOURSELF IT WAS A SURPRISE TO ME UNTIL NOW.
You remember NASA, don't you? That's the group who went to the moon over 40 years ago, but now has to ask the Russians to take a crap in space.
The dust could affect future low-altitude orbiters, so studying it (with a satellite that has a low orbit itself) is useful for future missions.
Don't take this wrong, I'm all for discussion of "stuff that matters" on /. But how can it really be that a story about rockets and moon gets, at the time of my posting, only 24 comments while a story about private schooling gets well over 600? Have all the nerds looking for news gone elsewhere?
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Tickets are free, but registration required, see http://www.nasa.gov/ames/events/ladee-science-night, they say this will still occur even if launch is postponed. Ames held a science night for Curiosity and it was fantastic, carnival atmosphere with key people presenting the mission and discussing the science. There were exhibits and they provided free water (may be expensive but much cheaper than dealing with medical emergencies from dehydrated people). However, this is 5 pm to 9 pm, right on commute times where hwy 101, 237, and 85 converge (dang orbital mechanics).
I expect Ames video group will stream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-arc (they have events shown here even when NASA-TV does not). They did the same for IRIS, footage is there to watch for those that didn't see it live.
Amateur radio participation in LADEE lunar science
http://hamradio.arc.nasa.gov/meetings/LADEEpresentation.html
and download the PDF of Brian Day's presentation at http://hamradio.arc.nasa.gov/meetings/LADEE-AARCpresentation.pdf
Yes, posting AC (can't find my /. password at the moment).
if the LADEE was a boondoggle, particularly the Dust Analysis module which had an exorbitant cost. to which the NASA administrator replied, "Well, LADEE DA..."
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
Stand still, LADEE! Yes, yoo, LADEE! How can ya have any pudding if ya don' eat ya meat?
Sure enough, the cow costume was hanging up next to the superhero outfit and sailors uniform. (S,Spud)