Lunar News Network

Top Space Stories of 2007

Robot Guy counts down the Top Ten Space Stories of 2007. Happy New Year everyone!

Boeing Wins Ares Contract

Some launch hardware news (Space - NASA Taps Boeing to Build Avionics for New Rocket):

Boeing Space Exploration of Houston nabbed its second major role on NASA's new astronaut launcher, winning a contract potentially worth $800 million to build and outfit an avionics ring that will control the Ares I rocket in flight. [...] The avionics ring will be outfitted with all the electronics needed to provide guidance, navigation and control for the entire Ares I rocket. Boeing's job is to select the electronic components that best meet NASA's needs and install them on the inside of a large metal ring that connects the Ares I upper stage and the Orion capsule.

Radiation Threat to Colonists

The results of a new study indicate that solar and cosmic radiation will be a threat to the health and wellbeing of lunar colonists (Daily Galaxy - Will Radiation Zap Astronaut’s Brains in Deep Space?):

Using a mouse model designed to reveal even slight changes in brain cell populations, scientists found radiation appeared to target a particular type of stem cell in an area of the brain believed to be important for learning and mood control. These findings from a team of researchers from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida, suggest that identifying medications or physical shielding to protect astronauts from cosmic and solar radiation is necessary for the success of all human space missions beyond low Earth orbit.

Perhaps it's time to think of building lunar habitats below ground?