[NASA Press Release - 16.09.2009]
During the LRO Commissioning Phase, the high-resolution Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) captured this 1-m pixel scale (angular resolution) two-image mosaic of the lunar south pole, which is located on the rim of the 19-km diameter Shackleton crater. At meter scales features such as boulders and ridges can be mapped, paving the way for future explorers. Right now we know little of the poles and much is to be learned from the data now being returned from LRO. The rim of Shackleton crater is a prime candidate for future human exploration due to its proximity to permanently shadowed regions and nearby peaks that are illuminated for much of the year. The permanent shadow may harbor cold-trapped volatiles deposited as comets and asteroids impacted the Moon over the past billion years or more. Highly illuminated peaks provide opportunities for solar power during most of the year for future human habitation.

[LPOD - 12.09.2009]

Editors note: This is a comment made by Chuck Wood on the LPOD wesite

I am confused by NASA's selection of Cabeus A as the target for the LCROSS impact of October 9. According to the NASA press release Cabeus A was selected based on a set of conditions that include proper debris plume illumination for visibility from Earth, a high concentration of hydrogen, and mature crater features such as a flat floor, gentle slopes and the absence of large boulders.

[NASA Press Release - 11.09.2009]
NASA has selected a final destination for its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, after a journey of nearly 5.6 million miles that included several orbits around Earth and the moon. The mission team announced Wednesday that Cabeus A will be the target crater for the LCROSS dual impacts scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EDT on Oct. 9, 2009. The crater was selected after an extensive review as the optimal location for LCROSS' evaluation of whether water ice exists at the lunar south pole.

[NASA Press Release - 11.09.2009]
To prepare for human exploration of the moon and other destinations in our solar system, NASA is conducting a field test of rovers and equipment at an Earthly site in the Arizona desert. Hundreds of students are invited to experience it. NASA's annual Desert RATS -- or Research and Technology Studies -- field test is underway. The agency has planned a variety of activities to engage students in the practical application of the science, technology, math and engineering skills critical to space exploration.

[NASA Press Release - 08.09.2009]
NASA has identified the spot where it will search for water on the moon. Reporters are invited to attend the announcement of the target location where the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and its spent Centaur rocket will hit in October. The briefing will take place at 10 a.m.
PDT, Friday, Sept. 11, in the main auditorium, Building N201, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency's Web site.

[NASA Press Release - 04.08.2009]
NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate is accepting proposals from teams of undergraduate and graduate students for the inaugural Lunabotics Mining Competition. The event will be held at the Astronaut Hall of Fame near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., May 25-28, 2010.

[NASA Press Release - 25.08.2009]
Upon starting an early morning communications pass on Aug. 22, 2009, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission operations team discovered the spacecraft had experienced an anomaly.

According to spacecraft data, the LCROSS Inertial Reference Unit (IRU) experienced a fault. The IRU is a sensor used by the spacecraft's attitude control system (ACS) to measure the orientation of the spacecraft. The anomaly caused the spacecraft ACS to switch to the Star Tracker Assembly for spacecraft rate information and caused the spacecraft's thruster to fire excessively, consuming a substantial amount of fuel. Initial estimates indicate that the spacecraft still contains sufficient fuel to complete the full mission.

[LOIRP Press Release - 20.08.2009]
Yesterday the LRO team released a new image of the Apollo 14 landing site. You can clearly make out the paths that the crew walked as well as the location of the Apollo 14 Antares Lunar Module Descent Stage.

In June 2009 LOIRP issued its own view and analysis of this landing site - as seen by Lunar Orbiter III back in 1967.

Comparing our high resolution image of the site with that taken by LRO clearly shows no feature where Antares' Descent Stage now stands [larger image]. While the resolution of the Lunar Orbiter image (0.8 meters/pixel) would probably not reveal astronaut tracks in great detail, we're rather certain that it would have seen an object the size of Antares' Descent Stage.

[LPI Press Release - 21.07.2009]
The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is pleased to announce the release of an expanding lunar education new-media portal, MyMoon. MyMoon leverages our new scientific exploration of the Moon and innovative social networking opportunities to engage a fresh new audience in lunar science and exploration - the Net Generation. LPI is collaborating with lunar scientists, educators, artists - and the public - to populate it with science content, diverse media exhibits, events, and opportunities for involvement. Through MyMoon, the public can interact with lunar content that will inform them about NASA's lunar science research and missions, and engage them in future plans for lunar exploration and eventual habitation.

[PSI Press Release - 24.07.2009]
NASA and other national space agencies are again focused on lunar exploration, which raises the question of how to best use semi-autonomous rovers to explore the Moon’s surface.

R. Aileen Yingst, a senior scientist at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute, is leading a group of Mars-rover veterans who are conducting field studies to answer that question.