SMART-1: the Moon from ESA |
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The Central "Peak" of Zucchius Crater (HR - extra detail mgnf)76 visteQuesto extreme detail mgnf del rilievo anomalo di Zucchius non aggiunge molto alle nostre considerazioni e ne siamo consapevoli; tuttavia, per chi ha un "occhio" uso alle Stranezze Lunari (e non solo...), la regolarità sostanziale della forma più chiara (che possiamo chiamare "basamento") ed il rilievo circolare che lo sovrasta - se si osserva con attenzione - non Vi potranno sfuggire.
Certo, da qui a dire che si tratta di un rilievo "artificiale" ce ne passa e, credeteci, nessuno di noi sta inferendo nulla del genere. L'unico dettaglio che desideriamo sottoporre al vaglio critico dei Lettori attiene la curiosa (ed apparente) "regolarità" del rilievo ripreso e la costante "deficienza" (nel senso di "mancanza", ovviamente...) delle Agenzie Spaziali le quali, tutte le volte in cui ci si imbatte in una possibile Anomalìa (da Cydonia, a Giapeto a Zucchius etc.), producono immagini di qualità indecente.
Ecco: perdonateci l'ironia, ma forse quest'ultima riflessione costituisce la vera - e la più grande - "stranezza" di qualsiasi Programma Spaziale!
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The "end" of SMART-164 visteCaption ESA originale:"This artist's impression shows the trajectory of ESA SMART-1 Spacecraft in the final phase of its mission, due to end through a small impact on the Lunar Surface.
After two weeks of manoeuvres started on 19 June and concluded on 2 July 2006, the impact is now set to occur on the Near Side and most probably at 05:41 UT (such as 07:41 Central Europe Standard Time) on 3 September 2006".
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The "Peaks" of Eternal Sun-light (2)174 visteAstronomers say they have identified a place on the Moon that lies in permanent Sunlight and close to regions suspected to hold water ice: in short, an ideal location for a tentative Lunar Colony.
The spot is located on a highland close to the Lunar North Pole, between 3 large impact craters called Peary, Hermite and Rozhdestvensky (report in Thursday's issue of Nature, the British weekly Science Journal).
The temperature there is estimated to range between -40 and
-60°C, which by Lunar Standards is relatively balmy and stable.
By comparison, the temperature on the Moon's equator ranges from -180°C to +100°C!
Since the area is bathed in perpetual Sun-light, a future human outpost on the Moon could draw on abundant solar energy and,
in addition, the Lunar Pioneers could tap into supplies of water if (as some Scientists speculate) ice lurks in permanently shadowed craters at the Lunar Poles. The study is lead-authored by Ben Bussey of Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.
In January 2004, President George W. Bush sketched plans for a US return to the Moon as early as 2015, saying a lunar base would be a launch pad for manned missions to Mars and "across our Solar System".
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The "Peaks" of Eternal Sun-light (1)188 viste"If we can confirm peaks of eternal light", says Bernard Foing, SMART-1 Project Scientist, "these could be a key locations for possible future lunar outposts". The existence of peaks of eternal light at the poles, that is areas that remain eternally illuminated regardless of seasonal variations, was first predicted in the second half of the nineteenth century by the astronomer Camille Flammarion.
Even if for most of the Moon the length of the day does not vary perceptibly during the course of seasons, this is not the case over the poles, where illumination can vary extensively during the course of the year. The less favourable illumination conditions occur around the Northern Winter Solstice, around 24 January. There are areas at the bottom of near-polar craters that do not see direct sunshine, where ice might potentially be trapped. Also there are areas at higher elevation on the rim of Polar craters that see the Sun more than half of the time. Eventually, there may be areas that are always illuminated!".
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The "North Pole" of the Moon110 visteCaption ESA originale:"This image was taken by the AMIE camera on board SMART-1 on 29 December 2004 from a distance of 5.500 Km.
It shows an area, 275 Km across, of heavily cratered highland terrain close to the Lunar North Pole (upper left corner).
The image is used to monitor illumination of the polar areas, and long shadows cast by large crater rims".
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The "North Pole" of the Moon113 visteCaption ESA originale:"This image was taken by the AMIE camera on board SMART-1 on 19 January 2005 (close to the northern winter solstice) from a distance of 5000 Km.
The image shows an area 250 Km wide near the Lunar North Pole.
The illuminated part of the crater rim at the top of the image is very close to the Lunar North Pole and is a candidate for a peak of eternal sunlight".
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The "Impact Site" of SMART-1 (mineralogy)37 vistenessun commento
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The "Impact Site" of SMART-1 (detailed)46 visteCaption ESA originale:"Map of the Lacus Excellentiae Region, showing the nominal SMART-1 impact orbit (central red line: orbit 2890) and possible impact location at perilune on the Lunar Surface.
The two adjecent orbits, 2889 and 2891, and their perilune locations are also indicated.
Note that 1° of Latitude corresponds to 30 km on the Moon, and that one arcsec from Earth subtends 1,8 km on the Moon centre".
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The "Impact Site" of SMART-138 visteCaption ESA originale:"Reconnaissance view of the Moon on 20 August 2006 at 00:00 UT.
The Lunar North Pole is up.
The SMART-1 impact is expected on 3 September 2006 in the Lacus Excellentiae Region, at the top of the U-shape feature situated North of the crater Clausius "B". The nominal impact position is marked by the red circle".
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The "Impact Location" (2)52 visteCaption ESA originale:"The blue star indicates the approximate impact site assuming that the coordinate system used to produce the reference Clementine Base Mosaic is correct. The yellow star indicates the approximate impact site using USGS's lunar control network revised with respect to the Clementine Base Mosaic. The distance separating the blue and yellow stars is about 7 Km.
In this image North is up".
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The "Impact Location" (1)66 vistenessun commento
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The "Apollo 11 Landing Site"63 visteCaption ESA originale:"This image, taken by the Advanced Moon Imaging Experiment (AMIE) on board ESA’s SMART-1 spacecraft, shows the Apollo 11 Landing Site in the Mare Tranquillitatis Region of the Moon.
AMIE obtained the image on 5 February 2006 from a distance of 1764 Km from the surface, with a ground resolution of 159 mt per pixel.
The imaged area is centred at a Long. of 23,9º East, close to the Moon Equator, at 1,7º North Latitude.
The area is close to crater Moltke (outside the field of view of this image) in the Mare Tranquilitatis Region. The arrow shows the Landing Site of Apollo 11, where the first men from Earth set foot on another object in our Solar System, on 20 July 1969. The two prominent craters nearby are named after two of the Apollo 11 Astronauts. The first man on the Moon, Armstrong, has a crater named after him outside the field of this image".
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