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The article discusses results of the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar mission launched by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), published in an issue of "Science" journal.

The article discusses the agenda of India's space program. According to the author, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch five rockets and four satellites in 2012. India already has 11 remote-sensing satellites in orbit, which is reportedly more than any other country. Topics include a brief overview of ISRO's five-year plan and the discovery of water on the Moon by ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe.

The article reports that the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) moon orbiting spacecraft were renamed Ebb and Flow by a class of elementary school students from Bozeman, Montana that won a NASA competition to rename the probes.

The article focuses on debate over information from the Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites (LEAM) experiment concerning micrometeorites impacting on the Moon. It states that former Apollo space program physicist Brian O'Brien has argued that the LEAM was detecting electrical interference instead of charged lunar dust particles. It mentions that the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration will launch a lunar satellite in 2013 whose instruments could determine if charged lunar dust does exist.

The article reports on the ending of the 21 months mission of the Japanese lunar orbiter on June 10, 2009. It notes that the lunar orbiter, which formerly known as Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE), was launched by Japanese agency KAGUYA in 2007. According to the article, the lunar orbiter gathers geological details, which includes mapping the moon's gravitational field and taking high-definition videos.

The article reports on the moon mission of China. Xu Shijie, professor from the Beijing University of Aeronautics in Beijing, China, identified the three-stage moon mission of the country which centers on orbiting, landing, and returning. It mentions that the returning stage can last from 2017-2020 as the country launch recoverable moon rovers. Accordingly, China plans to send Chang'e-3 for lunar probe in 2013, while Chang'e-2 will be launched in 2011.

Several excerpts from the periodical "Nature" are presented including the American Air Force lunar probe in the October 18, 1958 issue and another on the accomplishment of aeronautical experts Wilbur Wright and M. Painlevé as a passenger on a flight of 1h.9m.45.6s in duration.

The article reports on the agreement of nine national space agencies to create an International Lunar Network. Scientists from Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, South Korea, India, Canada, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) aimed to set up seismic stations on the moon. The author said the mission would begin in 2014 with $200 million anchor nodes. In addition, the European Space Agency, Russia, Ukraine, and Australia are among the countries that are included in the discussion.

Ian Crawford and John Zarnecki report on an RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting held on 14 December 2007. A return to the Moon will confer scientific benefits in several different fields. Although the principal beneficiary is likely to be planetary science, the lunar surface also offers advantages for observational astronomy and future plans for lunar exploration should take these into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the launch of the Japanese lunar probe Kaguya, officially known as Selene. This lunar spacecraft aims to collect data to unravel the origin of the moon and the process of its evolution. It comprises two kinds of spectrometers to examine the distribution of elements on the surface of the moon. The next stage after the completion of Kaguya's mission calls for the country to dispatch its successor Selene-2 for landing on the moon for direct exploration.

The article reports on the launch of the China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e on October 24, 2007 that kicked off the country's Moon exploration program. It discusses China's exploration program that is directly aimed at sending astronauts to the Moon by 2020 and become the fifth country to launch a probe into the lunar orbit. Moreover, Joan Johnson-Freese, a China space analyst at the Naval War College in Rhode Island relates that the launch of the Chinese orbiter reflects a technological confidence-builder for the country's space scientists. Furthermore, the article infers that the space program of the country is spurring competition from other Asian countries.

The article discusses the threat of lunar junk to the serious pollution problem of the world. Several countries conducted exploration on the moon including Japan, china, U.S., Italy and Great Britain and scientists feared that the piles of junk brought by the space mission will be a serious threat to pollution. So far, only China has plans of disposing its lunar rubbish. According to Bernard Foing, director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group in Netherlands, the Apollo missions left behind hundred kilograms of waste.

The article illustrates how Italian astronomer Ermanno Borra initiated the creation of an infrared-spectrum telescope on the moon. Borra and his colleagues from Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec revived the idea of a liquid-mirror telescope (LMT). A lunar LMT needed to be very cold and a highly reflective liquid. Borra and a graduate student added metal coatings to thick and syrupy liquids. However, it was ionic liquids that provided the breakthrough for their team.

The article reports that U.S. Congressmen have forced Michael Griffin, the chief of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to restore $20 million to operate the robotic lunar lander program at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Griffin had pledged to shut down the program to save the money of the agency. This decision had upset Albama Senator Richard Shelby, who lead the effort to keep the Marshall office open. The rising costs of several science missions are reflected on the operating plans of the space agency for the fiscal year that ends on September 30, 2007.

The article offers developments in the field of astronomy in Great Britain. The European Space Agency's lunar probe called SMART-1 is set to land into the Moon's surface on the morning of September 3, 2006 releasing debris and material. Astronomer members will gather for the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czech Republic where they will have deliberations on the standing of Pluto. The British Astronomical Association's meeting was held in Portsmouth, England.

The article reports on the completion of a 3-year technology mission of the European Space Agency's diminutive Smart-1 probe with a lunar crash landing after successfully testing a propulsion system that fires out xenon ions. According to mission scientist Bernard Foing, Smart-1 has left a legacy of technology and scientific excellence. A camera and two spectrometers on board yielded information on the lunar surface including data on calcium, which could help scientists determine the age of the moon.

The article features the likely event of smashing of spacecraft SMART-1 onto the lunar surface on September 2006. The space craft, which is a part of moon mission will be out of fuel. The mission has proved successful and has some positive inputs about the ion engines, fuel economy of space crafts and chemical energies. The article also reports on future lunar missions by Japan, India and NASA.

The article reports global developments related to earth sciences. Chinese music officials in China are asking the public to pick 30 songs to be broadcast from the country's first lunar probe to be launched in 2007. Overfishing has led to a jellyfish explosion in the waters of Namibia. The Worldwatch Institute organization has revealed statistics about global energy trends.

India wants its upcoming mission to the moon to be an international affair. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that there was room for a 10-kg payload on its orbiting lunar probe and that Canada, Russia and Israel have already expressed interest. Chandrayaan-I, scheduled for a 2008 launch, will spend 2 years mapping the lunar topography and conducting spectroscopic studies from 100 kilometers above the surface. This month the Indian government gave ISRO a down payment of $18 million for the mission, about one-fifth of the total cost.

Europe's solar-powered moon probe is facing new launch delays. The European Space Agency said this week that SMART-1, originally scheduled to lift off this month from Kourou, French Guiana, won't fly until late September at the earliest due to scheduling conflicts with other payloads. SMART-1 is the first of an international string of lunar missions. Miniature electronics will help it maneuver to the moon in a new way: SMART-1 will be launched into an elliptical Earth orbit, spiraling closer to its target for about 16 months until it is captured by the moon's gravitational field.

India has decided to send a spacecraft to orbit the moon and create a high-resolution topographical map of the lunar surface. With this mission, its first outside Earth orbit, India will join a decade of lunar exploration that is due to begin next month with the launch of Europe's SMART-1 probe. The $100 million mission, proposed 4 years ago by the Indian Space Research Organisation, will place a 525-kilogram spacecraft in polar orbit 100 kilometers above the moon. Although most scientists applaud the government's endorsement of the mission, some worry that the country isn't doing enough to ensure an adequate supply of astronomers, astrophysicists and other scientists to take full advantage of such an ambitious space effort.

Discusses lunar craters. Crater named after Sir Ernest Shackleton; Craters which are permanently sunlit or in shadow; Images from the Clementine spacecraft; Possibilities for the location of a space base; Planned crash of the Lunar Prospector.