Lunar Forums and Anniversaries

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I’m attending the NASA Lunar Science Institute’s Lunar Forum at Ames Research Center in California, which will feature sessions on recent scientific results as well as talks on future opportunities for lunar science, education and outreach. Notably, there will be new results from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LCROSS and more. If you’d like to know more about the Forum, I did a 365 Days of Astronomy podcast for NLSI to preview some of the highlights of the Forum, and talked with with Greg Schmidt, the Deputy Director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute, and Doris Daou, the Institute’s Director for Education and Public Outreach.

Click here to download the podcast (or listen on the little embedded player at the bottom of this post).

Or see the 365 Days of Astronomy webpage here.

I’ll try to report as much news as I can, although my real mission here is to interview the lunar scientists for more NLSI/365 Days podcasts.

It’s fitting that the Lunar Forum is held this week: Forty-one years ago today, one of the most important events in American history unfolded on the surface of the Moon as the Apollo 11 lunar module, the Eagle, settled down on the landing site, Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) at 00.67408 °N latitude, 23.47297 °E longitude. That’s an image of the Apollo 11 landing site above, as seen by LRO. So, happy Giant Leap Day!