What do we already know about the Moon? Find out at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

NASA's LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission recently discovered the presence of water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. This recent discovery will certainly change our understanding of our closest neighbor, and we still have a lot to learn, but...what do we already know? What did the Apollo astronauts find during their time on the lunar surface? Want to learn more? Visit the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, a record of the lunar surface operations conducted by the six pairs of astronauts who landed on the Moon from 1969 through 1972.

The Journal is intended as a resource for anyone wanting to know what happened during the missions and why. It includes a corrected transcript of all recorded conversations between the lunar surface crews and Houston. The Journal also contains extensive, interwoven commentary by the Editor and by ten of the twelve moonwalking astronauts.

Scroll to the bottom of the introduction page (pictured above) to enter the Journal; there you'll find information from Apollo missions 11 through 17 (including Apollo 13, which was never able to land on the Lunar surface). Browse by mission or by information source - which includes video, Lunar sample catalogs, mission logs and transcripts, and more.



Visit nasa.gov to learn more about LCROSS and the new things we're discovering about the Moon; but don't forget to revisit what we've already learned and our previous accomplishments at the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

NASA Glenn Research Center's role in the latest images from the Moon

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been successfully transmitting high-quality images since arriving at the Moon in late June. Those images are being sent with greater efficiency thanks to communications hardware - a traveling wave tube amplifier - provided by the Glenn Research Center.

(Hahn Crater, bottom left. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.)

While LRO will help NASA to better understand the Moon's composition and topography, the primary goal of LRO is to conduct research in preparation for future lunar exploration by scouting for safe landing sites and locating potential resources. Learn more about the communications hardware provided by Glenn and the LRO mission and its accomplishments.

GSEL/Wyle Librarians speak at Special Libraries Association Annual Conference

Alan Montroso and Jaime Scibelli, Librarians at the Glenn Science & Engineering Library (GSEL), gave a presentation at the 2009 Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on June 15th. Alan and Jaime, along with Dr. Roger Launius (current Chair of the Division of Space History at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum and former NASA Chief Historian), talked about NASA's plans for manned missions to the Moon and Mars, and the collaboration between NASA scientists, engineers, and librarians that will help to make those plans successful. The presentations were followed by a question and answer session.

SLA described the session in the 2009 Conference Planner:

Mission to Mars: NASA Engineers and Info Pros Set Sights on Red Planet
The red planet has long lived in the imaginations of sci-fi writers, engineers and scientists. Now there's a concrete plan to send astronauts to Mars. This mission would not be possible without the vision, innovation and cooperation of many disciplines, including engineers and information professionals. Come listen to NASA personnel discuss the manned mission to Mars, and plan to be inspired!

Alan (Wyle IS) is the Embedded Librarian at GSEL, and currently works on building and maintaining the NASA Exploration Soils Bibliographic Database. Jaime (Wyle IS) is the GSEL Science Librarian.