DREAM2 | Dynamic Response of the Environments at Asteroids, the Moon, and moons of Mars

2013 DREAM NEWS

DREAM scientists examine a 'self-sputtering' source to the lunar exosphere
December 12, 2013

Led by UCB's Andrew Poppe, a team of DREAM scientists examined surface sputtering from exo-ions. The lunar exosphere is produced by a combination of processes including thermal desorption, micrometeoroid bombardment, internal gas release, photon-stimulated desorption, and charged-particle sputtering. The team performed theoretical calculations to model an additional mechanism not previously considered for the Moon, namely the role that newly born ions from the exosphere itself play in sputtering additional neutrals from the lunar surface, a process known as self-sputtering. The DREAM scientists found that in certain plasma environments, the amount of neutrals produced through the self-sputtering process could yield a significant fraction of the lunar exosphere.

NASA Goddard Joins New Virtual Research Institute December 2, 2013

Researchers from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. have joined a new NASA virtual institute that will focus on questions concerning space science and human space exploration. Nine research teams from seven states were selected for NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). The Goddard scientists include researchers from the Dynamic Response of the Environments at Asteroids, the Moon, and moons of Mars (DREAM2) project as well as other researchers in Goddard's Sciences and Exploration Directorate.

Read more at Press Release

DREAM scientists publish recursive wake study October 21, 2013

Lead by Dr. Mike Zimmerman (DREAM postdoc now at APL), team members published a study of the solar wind ion and electron inflow into lunar craters, but now with a secondary smaller crater inside (i.e., crater-in-a-crater). This 'recursive wake' simulation study also discusses sputtering losses of ice at crater floors, and compares such plasma-created losses with the reported crater 'frost' of 1-2% icy regolith reported by the LRO/LAMP team.

See http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103513002698#

LADEE has a successful and spectacular night launch September 9, 2013

On 6 September 2013, at 11:27 pm EDT, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft successfully launched from Wallops Flight Facility. Congratulations to the LADEE team! More information and pictures can be found at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ladee/main/index.html

Go LADEE!!

LADEE Launch Scheduled for Sept 6 2013 August 20, 2013

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) will be launched on Sept 6, 2013 at 11:27 PM from NASA Wallops Flight Facility. LADEE has three key instruments including one built by our DREAM co-i Tony Colaprete (the UV spectrometer), one built by NLSI PI Mihaly Horanyi (dust detector), and one built by GSFC's Paul Mahaffy (the neutral gas mass spectrometer). More information about the mission can be found at:

http://phys.org/news/2013-07-ladee-lunar-probe-unveiled-nasa.html

NLSI Forum Agenda Now Available July 8, 2013

This year's Lunar Science Forum will be a virtual conference held July 16-18. The agenda of speakers is now available at http://lunarscience.nasa.gov/lsf2013/agenda. Connection information can be found at http://lunarscience.nasa.gov/lsf2013/lsf2013/welcome.

LRO investigators describe new chemistry from irradiation of lunar polar ices
June 25, 2013

Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission, scientists believe they have solved a mystery from one of the solar system's coldest regions.a permanently shadowed crater on the moon. They have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The finding provides insight into how radiation can change the chemistry of water ice throughout the solar system. A number of DREAM investigators and collaborators are authors of this study, including lead author Andrew Jordan at UNH.

NLSI preparing for virtual Forum from July 15 to 19, 2013 June 14, 2013

The NASA Lunar Science Institute will broadcast the annual NASA Lunar Science Forum (LSF) as a virtual conference the week of July 15-19, 2013. The conference will be broadcast approximately 6 hours per day between the hours of 8 a.m. . 4 p.m. PDT, Monday-Friday. DREAM team members have submitted a large number of abstracts and the agenda will be available shortly.

For more detail see:http://lunarscience.nasa.gov/lsf2013/welcome

Workshop Without Walls: Lunar Volatiles Schedule May 20, 2013

The schedule for the NLSI Lunar Volatiles Workshop without Walls is now posted on the NLSI website. The Science Organizing Committee hopes you can join virtually on May 21-23, 7:30 am - 1:15 pm PDT (1030 am -415 pm EDT) to learn the latest in lunar volatiles.

DREAM scientists identify new sources of lunar pickup ions using ARTEMIS in the geomagnetic tail May 9, 2013

Led by postdoc Andrew Poppe at the University of California at Berkeley, DREAM scientists have used recent data from NASA's twin probe ARTEMIS (Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun) mission to investigate the thin neutral atmosphere surrounding the Moon by looking at the trajectories of ions originating from the lunar atmosphere. These ions were detected by ARTEMIS while the Moon crossed Earth's geomagnetic tail, where the Moon is protected from the energetic blast of solar wind particles.

NLSI to host upcoming Workshop Without Walls on Lunar Volatiles May 1, 2013

DREAM co-I Dana Hurley is one of the science organizers of the upcoming workshop. Participation in the workshop is open to all members of the international research community. The workshop presentations will be streamed live on AdobeConnect. During the event, questions can be submitted online or through call-in audio. The entire workshop will be recorded and archived on the NLSI website. The workshop will take place over three half-day intervals from May 21-23, 2013.
See http://lunarscience.nasa.gov/articles/nlsi-workshop-without-walls-lunar-volatiles-part-1/ for more details.

Leaping Lunar Dust March 14, 2013

LRO image across the north rim of Cabeus Crater

Electrically charged lunar dust near shadowed craters can get lofted above the surface and jump over the shadowed region, bouncing back and forth between sunlit areas on opposite sides, according to new calculations by NASA scientists.

The research is being led by Michael Collier at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., as part of the Dynamic Response of the Environment At the Moon (DREAM) team in partnership with the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI), managed at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

NLSI South Pole - Aitken Basin Focus Group develops unique data base February 14, 2013

The NLSI SPA Focus Group developed a new visualization tool for examining this basin region of great interest. See: http://lunarscience.nasa.gov/articles/south-pole-aitken-basin-landing-site-database/

Solicitation for LADEE Guest Investigator Program January 13, 2013

This solicitation is for investigations in the LADEE Guest Investigator Program (GIP). The goals of the program are to: a) enhance the scientific return from the LADEE mission by broadening participation in the mission and b) augment the existing LADEE science team to include new members conducting investigations that broaden and/or complement the funded Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (Co-I)-led investigations, thus maximizing the contribution of LADEE to the future exploration and scientific understanding of the Moon.