Date: May 21, 2012
Title: Encore:LCROSS and the Land of the Lunar Shadows
Organization: NASA Lunar Science Institute
Links: (NLSI) http://lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/
Music courtesy of Ben Bedford, from his “Land of the Shadows” CD. Used by permission.
http://benbedford.com/
Description: The permanently shadowed craters on the poles of the Moon have long been a mystery, because we could never see what was inside. But now the LCROSS mission has allowed us to take a peek inside one of those craters at the Moon’s south pole. If you remember back in October of 2009, NASA successfully slammed part of a Centaur rocket in to Cabeus crater on the Moon, sending a plume of ejecta up into the sunlight. The “shepherding” LCROSS spacecraft –which stands for the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite followed close on the impactor’s heels, to see what materials could be found inside this dark, shadowed, and unstudied region of the Moon. Recently, the LCROSS team released their most recent findings from their year-long analysis. Nancy Atkinson talks with the principal investigator of the mission, Tony Colaprete.
Bios: The NLSI brings together leading lunar scientists from around the world to further NASA lunar science and exploration.
Tony Colaprete is the Principal Investigator for the LCROSS mission. He received his Ph.D in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Science from the University of Colorado.
Nancy Atkinson is a science journalist and is the Senior Editor for Universe Today.
Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by — NO ONE. We still need sponsors for many days in 2012, so please consider sponsoring a day or two. Just click on the “Donate” button on the lower left side of this webpage, or contact us at signup@365daysofastronomy.org.
Transcript:
***Transcript coming soon.***
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
=====================
The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Astrosphere New Media Association. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow…goodbye.