SLAS Regular Meeting
Friday, November 16, 2012, 7:30pm
McDonnell Hall, Washington University

Exploring the Moon Now,
and A Return To the Moon In the Future
by
Professor Bradley Jolliff
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Washington University

           Professor Bradley Jolliff of Washington University, will be featured at the November meeting of the Saint Louis Astronomical Society. The meeting will begin at 7:30 pm Friday, November 16, in McDonnell Hall, Room 162, on the Washington University campus, Saint Louis, MO 63130. McDonnell Hall is accessible from Forsyth Boulevard via Tolman Way. The event, cosponsored by NASA's Missouri Space Grant Consortium, is open to the public free of charge.
            The Moon is the only other world that humans have visited in person. The last astronauts left there forty years ago, but several robot spacecraft have been sent to the Moon since then. The mission of the current NASA spacecraft, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), is to map the surface of the Moon in great detail and to investigate its chemical composition. The goals are to understand better the formation and history of the Moon and to prepare for future human exploration and development. Dr. Jolliff works with the spacecraft?s high resolution camera (LROC). He will talk about some of the LROC science results, but also discuss some of the options for future exploration, including the return of humans to the lunar surface. Other possibilities include missions to the Moon?s polar regions, robotic exploration of the lunar far side, and orbiting science platforms.
           Dr. Bradley Jolliff is a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and a Fellow of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University. His teaching and research focus is on the Moon and Mars, the materials that make up their surfaces and interiors, and what they tell about the planet's history. To complement the LROC data and images, he uses an electron microprobe and other advanced instruments to obtain detailed analyses of NASA Apollo lunar surface samples and lunar and Martian meteorites.

Meeting Agenda

Welcome

Introduction of Officers

Speaker - Bradley Joliff

Astro 101 - Programs at the Planetarium and Babler State Park

Election - Board Member at Large through 2014 position

Announcements and Upcoming Star Parties