White Label Space to Participate in ESA Field Campaign

On the last weekend of September the White Label Space team will test its first rover prototype during a field campaign organized by European Space Agency (ESA) in the course of the ExoGeoLab project. The campaign will take place in Germany, near the Laacher lake in the Eifel region, which is particularly interesting due to it's geological characteristics.

The aim of the ExoGeoLab is to operate comprehensive instrument packages that could help in the technical research and science preparation of future lander/rover missions. Also part of this campaign are TNO with the MECA (Mission Execution Crew Assistant) Project and the Austrian Space Forum with the Aouda spacesuit simulator for Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) on Mars.

Greatest Space Ads - Irresponsible Astronauts Lose Bridgestone Tires

This space advertisement played on TV during the superbowl features a pair of fun-loving astroanuts enjoying their stay on the Moon but when they come back to their rover, they find that there is a little surprise waiting for them.

Superbowl advertising is the most expensive in the world. In 2009 a 30 second advertisment slot cost $3 million (see USA Today article). We are happy to see that this Superbowl ad included two themes quite close to the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP) - rovers and Moon exploration.

Underwater Training for Lunar Exploration

Can the oceans and lake's of planet Earth be useful environments for practicing future lunar exploration?

According to this article in SpaceRef.com they can..

NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt believes that more scientific value can be obtained by mission planning allows astronauts more flexibility to investigate interesting discoveries, and he is using his extensive diving experience to try and prove it.

Well, it's not clear if Earth-bound mission planners will give more autonomy to lunar astronauts, but one's things for sure, it's much easier to test operational concepts at underwater sites rather than in space.

(Featured picure insert: ANZ-100 submersible from sub-find.com)

Moon Walk Without Spacesuit

Just in case you were thinking of hitching a ride on our GLXP moon lander and you forgot to bring your spacesuit ...

Unlike in the movies, this NASA page explains that exposure to the vacuum of space does not cause your body to explode, but you would probably not enjoy the feeling of your tongue boiling or the asphixiation.

In fact, depending on your age, weight and other factors you could might survive many tens of seconds without permanent injury. Sounds like just enough time to grab a handfull of moon dust or try to see how high you can jump in the lunar gravity without that heavy spacesuit!