LUNAR PROSPECTOR

GROUND BASED OBSERVING PROGRAM

By

David O. Darling

The following is the ground based observations made by observers around the world during the Lunar Prospector active period around the Moon.  Attempts were made to monitor the Moon for Lunar Transient Phenomena to see if these events would correlate with detection of out gassing by the alpha particle spectrometer on board the spacecraft. The spacecraft was in polar orbit between 15 January 1998 to 31 July 1999.

I had begun this program by contacting Dr. David Williams of  National Aeronautical and Space Administration. (N.A.S.A.) With his assistance I got an address to contact the Principle Investigator Dr. Alan Binder. I sent him a letter on 24 September 1995 to the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company at Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Alan Binder then sent me an email on 5 December 1995. 

"Dear David

Thank you for your letter regarding the ALPO's participation in the Lunar Prospector (LP) mission. I welcome your participation in LP and will provide you with all the information the ALPO needs (spacecraft ephemeris, etc) to conduct a parallel search for L.T.P. events. The spacecraft ephemeris and science data will be available on the net in real-time for everyone's use,  but we will have to setup a coordinated effort to maximize the ALPO's effectiveness in adding to the mission. To this end, please indicate how you think this can be best accomplished from your side and we will iterate to find the best possible solution. In the main time I will put you on our newsletter list and keep you informed of our progress. 

Thanks for you interest in LP and your efforts to help understand the L.T.P. phenomena.

Alan"

I was informed by Dr. Alan Binder that real time data would be available by the internet showing the location of the spacecraft over the Moon. Also the alpha particle spectrometer data was to be displayed on the screen in real time as well. The system worked well if you had a fast internet connection. At the time of the mission I had a 16K modem which struggled to handle the changing of the screens. The most effective viewing session using these windows was to have all three windows open at the same time. I had sent out mailing to all the observers who participated in the Clementine program. It looked very promising on the level of participation,  but by close of the mission only a few dedicated observers submitted their observations. To these individuals listed below I give a job well done.

During this time before the launch of the Lunar Prospector I was invited by Dr. Alan Binder to come out to Ames Research lab to view the spacecraft before it was sent to the launch site. Unfortunately due to restriction from my job I had to decline. I was also given an invitation to view the launch at the Kennedy Space Center. This I was able to attend, to learn more about that click here.    Attending Launch!   To learn about the preliminary results on the Alpha Spectrometer data view here..   To learn about the latest information on the Alpha Particle Spectrometer data check here. You will need to use Acrobat Reader to view this document. To Learn more about the Lunar Prospector space craft and the Alpha Particle Spectrometer instrument click here.

TABLE 1. PARTICIPATING OBSERVERS, LUNAR PROSPECTOR/A.L.P.O. PROGRAM

TABLE 2. OBSERVED FEATURES NAMES, POSITIONS, AND ABBREVIATIONS,

LUNAR PROSPECTOR / A.L.P.O. PROGRAM

Abbreviated Terms

TABLE 3A.  L.T.P. OBSERVING LOG