Hasta La Gadget!

Ready for a return to the moon? NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will collect information about the moon’s poles, measure radiation, and check out potential sites for an eventual human return to the moon’s surface in 2020–and it’s on track for a June 17th launch aboard an Atlas V rocket, according to Space.com.

NASA is launching the orbiter in tandem with the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which will plunge into the surface of the moon in an attempt to find water ice. LRO’s seven instruments will help scientists compose high resolution,
three-dimensional maps of the lunar surface as well as complete a survey of the far ultraviolet spectrum, the report said. (Image credit: NASA)

The Hubble Space Telescope has certainly been in the news this past week. Astronauts from Shuttle Atlantis stopped by for a billion dollars worth of refurbishing, hopefully succeeding in giving Hubble another decade of exquisite observation. Though in-orbit repairs were anticipated and designed into Hubble’s physical structure this mission saw some work no one ever expected–and it looks like it worked!

It’s an incredibly dangerous job which few Gearlog readers would turn down. Imagine a chance to do some fix-it work while traveling at 17,000+ mph at 350 miles above the Earth’s surface. Wow!

Of course most of us will never get to Hubble, but you can build your own. There are instructions to roll-your-own at Hubblesite.org.

Make a scale model of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope using easy-to-find supplies and our printable materials.

These models aren’t working telescopes – you can’t peer at the sky with them. But they can give you an up-close look at the telescope’s structure and a challenging project to engage your model-making skills.

Detailed instructions are available for models using PVC (low detail, average difficulty) and paper (two sets of plans including a highly detailed but very complex model). Though I am not personally licensed for powertools, a more coordinated builder should be able to take the detailed instructions and build a model of true beauty. It’s the next best thing to being there.

NASA’s latest shuttle launch is set for today at 2:01 PM EDT. The self-assessed “high risk” mission is an attempt to repair the Hubble telescope one final time.

According to the weather reports for Cape Canaveral, there’s a 90 percent chance of favorable launch conditions. The 11-day mission will include five spacewalks, at up to 7hours each.

“This will be the most challenging servicing mission that’s been faced by our astronauts in terms of the total amount of work,” said mission manager, Preston Burch. If the mission succeeds, it will add up to five years onto the life of the 19-year-old telescope.

NASA is running a live feed of the launch all day with commentary over on its official site.