Luna Philosophie: Hitch-hiking to the Moon
Wednesday September 23, 2009 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Scribd
539 Bryant St. (2nd Floor)
San Francisco, California 94107
Hitch-hiking to the Moon: LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) Model, a novel space mission and approach
Dr. Ennico will provide an overview of the NASA LCROSS mission, a secondary payload that hitch-hiked aboard an Atlas V rocket with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on June 18th, 2009. LCROSS was a fast-paced mission concept that embraced risk and utilized off-the-shelf components, to meet a rigorous budget and schedule profile. Scientifically, LCROSS is looking to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed region on the moon. The impact location is a crater on the lunar south pole, where LCROSS will meet its spectacular end on Oct 9th, 2009. The impact is expected to be visible from Hawaii and the western continental US. The speaker will share all the neat things she has learned on this very hands-on and engaging project and how this type of mission concept is an excellent training experience for spacecraft engineers. Dr. Ennico will also touch on how NASA has been expanding the concept of “participatory exploration,” with LCROSS as an example, and looks forward to a lively discussion.
SPEAKER BIO: Dr. Ennico has been a staff scientist at NASA Ames Reasearch Center since September 2000. She volunteered to work on the LCROSS mission in the summer 2006 and has been the LCROSS Payload Scientist and the LCROSS Payload Integration & Test Manager, while supporting other mission work. She is excited to be a part of this exciting phase in NASA’s exploration program and also part of NASA Ames’ approach to innovative & participatory small space missions. After launch, she sits at the science payload operations chair in the LCROSS Mission Operations Center here at NASA Ames.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
6:00 – 6:30 PM Socializing
6:30 – 7:30 PM Presentation by Dr. Kim Ennico & Discussion
7:30 – 8:00 PM Socializing
WHO: All are welcome!
Please RSVP to Delia.L.Santiago@nasa.gov, snacks and drinks will be served but space is limited.
Unable to attend?
Watch the livestream of this event or sign up to receive an email about future Luna Philosophies.
Website: http://spacehack.org/luna-philosophie
