Questions tagged [lunar-orbit]
The lunar-orbit tag has no usage guidance.
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Will the Artemis Gateway Lunar Space Station be visible from Earth by amateur observers?
When the entire Lunar Gateway space station is built it would be a bit smaller than the ISS. We amateur astronomers and observers love to spot the ISS and be able to follow the history of space ...
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How did the Lunar module reached orbit speed?
How does the lunar module of Apollo 11 reached an orbit speed of 1600 meter/second in order to rejoin the CSM (Command/Service Module)?
Additional question, Where are the Oxygen & Fuel tanks of ...
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Understanding the Viewgraph by Dr. John Houbolt and the probability of success calculation of a Lunar Landing
The well known Dr. John Houbolt used a viewgraph to explain the much higher probability of success with LOR in comparison to EOR and Direct Flight for a lunar landing.
I used Python to check the ...
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Can ion propulsion system be used to maintain lunar orbit?
I am doing research on propulsion systems and it was suggested that I use an ion propulsion system for a theoretical satellite I am tasked with designing, I need to maintain orbit for three years ...
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Will Artemis 2 and/or subsequent Artemis moon flights be able to break humanity's Earth distance record?
How high above the Moon are Artemis' Orion spacecraft going to orbit, in comparison to the Apollo spacecraft? Will their flights surpass or be able to surpass humanity's current record of the farthest ...
user46063
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Could the ascent stage of Apollo 11's Eagle still orbit the Moon?
This video: Is Apollo 11's Lunar Module Still In Orbit Around The Moon 52 Years Later? claims, based on orbital simulations, that there is a chanche that the lunar module of Apollo 11 might be still ...
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Lowest possible lunar orbit and has any spacecraft achieved it?
Because the Moon has no atmosphere a spacecraft can theoretically cruise at a very low orbit. What is the lowest possible lunar orbit and which spacecraft achieved it? Was it the Lunar Module of ...
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What is the closest polar lunar orbit that can be sustained? What are the limiting factors on closest approach?
I'm wondering how close a lunar orbit can get at periapsis to the south pole. I want an orbit that is sustainable for at least ~20 orbits. I'm working on a small sat concept for studying the lunar ...
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How many people have witnessed Earthrise?
How many astronauts orbited or went around the moon and saw Earthrise?
Am I correct in the conclusion that nine missions orbited the moon or used a free-return trajectory around the moon, Apollos 8, ...
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Will Soyuz spacecraft be able to visit the Lunar Gateway?
I mean launch from Earth, dock to the gateway and come back.
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How much delta-v does it take to get from a Lunar Transfer Orbit to a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the moon
There has been a lot of talk of NASA putting a Lunar Gateway in a Near Rectilinear Halo orbit around the moon, but I don't actually know how much delta-v it takes to get there.
Most delta-v maps I can ...
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Would it be possible to Boost ISS to L1 or Lunar Orbit?
NASA and Russia plan to retire the ISS before 2030, and to launch a new lunar outpost to lunar orbit. This output could then be a gateway to future mission to Mars or the outer solar system.
My ...
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What's the record for the fastest trip to the Moon?
The line
"Therefore the USSR sent detailed instructions to Jodrell Bank how to find their second lunar probe, Luna 2, that was launched on 12 September 1959 and hit the moon the next day."
from ...
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Why don't SpaceIL's Beresheet spacecraft and Moon orbits line up?
The question Tracking SpaceIL Beresheet Moon lander links to some data files that are from the site: http://live.spaceil.com (also linked here):
Raw data:
http://live.spaceil.com/data/data_s1....
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How would one calculate the Lunar liftoff thrust required for a spacecraft?
I used the thrust to weight ratio of 2.12 to determine the thrust my spacecraft needs for a lunar liftoff, Apollo Lunar Ascent Stage Thrust to Weight Ratio.
Is this a proper way of determining and ...
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Orion Exploration Mission-1; clarification and additional trajectory information?
This September 2017 video NASA | Exploration Mission-1 – Pushing Farther Into Deep Space is over a year old. I found some aspects interesting and wonder if more details about this trajectory are now ...
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Direct transfers to inclined lunar orbits?
I'm trying to find examples of direct earth–moon trajectories ending in inclined low lunar orbits. I've found a few classes, such as
those with plane changes between SOI encounter and capture ...
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Will Chang'e-4 really take a month to "get to the Moon"? With what trajectory?
The Verge's This weekend, China embarks on a historic mission to land on the far side of the Moon says (near the end):
We know that the mission is set to launch on top of one of China’s Long March 3B ...
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What are the "Boeing Lunar Orbiter spacecraft" from the 1960s? Why is "Boeing" in the name?
An October 2013 article in SpaceRef.com The New Race for the Moon says:
Although LRO data remains unrestricted there is other evidence that NASA is worried about such data transfer to China.
NASA ...
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Technical challenges to improving resolution of lunar orbit imaging by using solar UV light?
@Uwe's question and answer seem to illustrate that the resolution of surface-imaging spacecraft orbiting around the Moon has not dramatically improved over the decades, and that this is pretty-much ...
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Why Spacex Lunar Mission date postponed?
Previously SpaceX Lunar mission date was 2022, but it is mentioned in the wiki that it is no earlier than 2023.
Why the date has been postponed?
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Comparison of Lunar Orbiters image resolution after 4 decades?
The Lunar Orbiters, LO were launched 1966 and 1967. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LRO was launched more than 40 years later in 2009.
This paper has some information about the narrow angle camera ...
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Better source for the 1967 photograph of Surveyor-1 by Lunar Orbiter-3?
In 1969 Apollo-12 Lunar Module pilot Alan L. Bean photographed Apollo 12 Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. standing next to Surveyor-3 because despite all of NASA's technological innovation that had ...
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How to develop a photographic film in lunar orbit?
The Lunar Orbiter program was very successful in mapping the surface of the Moon. Images were taken on a 70 mm film, developed in a semidry process, and then scanned by a photomultiplier for ...
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For an Apollo Lunar Module Ascent Stage launch, what is the optimal profile of $\beta$ (or $\gamma$) vs time?
When Apollo astronauts departed the lunar surface in the Lunar Module's Ascent Stage, it appeared to rise vertically ($\beta$ = 0) for ~10 seconds and then begin the "tipover" (videos of Apollo 15, 16 ...
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What would be needed for ISS to function in lunar orbit?
Not only the Chinese are rather unimpressed by the concept of "Lunar Gateway", which is summed up as a much smaller ISS in the Moon orbit.
It made me wonder - wouldn't it be better to move ISS into ...
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What is the official universal time system of Mars?
According to standing global treaty organizations specifications, 'What is the official universal time system of Mars?'
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Going from LEO to lunar using only low-thrust ion propulsion - can it be done?
@SF.'s question What are the parameters of the new Iodine electrical rocket engine developed by RSC Energia? links to the short RT article 'Ten times cheaper': Russian space company testing iodine ...
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Why is Queqiao's dish antenna so big? (Chang'e-4 relay satellite) Largest ever on/near the Moon?
Source: Chinese language blogpost
The NASA Spaceflight article Queqiao relay satellite launched ahead of Chang’e-4 lunar mission describes the communications relay satellite that will be used to ...
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Lunar Ascent Module Off-Center Thrust
I was recently told that for parts of the Lunar Module's ascent from the surface of the Moon to its rendezvous in orbit, its thrust vector was not in line with its center of gravity, and actually ...
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What is a near rectilinear halo orbit?
A proposed option for the lunar orbit of a Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (formerly known as Deep Space Gateway) is a near rectilinear halo orbit, or NRHO.
This excellent answer discusses the ...
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Why is a near rectilinear halo orbit proposed for LOP-G (formerly known as Deep Space Gateway?)
Why is a near rectilinear halo orbit a good place for a Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (formerly known as Deep Space Gateway)? Are there specific logistical and orbital-mechanical advantages over ...
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How much delta v is required to keep a low Lunar orbital station stable?
I'm interested in studying where in Lunar orbit a station could be deployed. Due to mascons, Lunar orbits below about 200km will eventually decay according to this answer. Presumably, if the goal of ...
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How does Exploration Mission 1 orbit differ from Apollo-era free-return? How far from Earth (and Moon) does it go?
I'm having trouble understanding the current orbit planned for NASA's Space Launch System's Exploration Mission 1. Is it possible to explain how the planned orbit works and what the maximum distance ...
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What does it (actually) mean when spacecraft are "intentionally crashed" on the moon?
This List of Artificial Objects on the Moon lists 21 objects as "intentionally crashed". Because of the moon's lumpy gravity due to sub-surface mass concentrations most low lunar orbits will be fairly ...
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