Site offers NASA moon data as soon as scientists see it
Date:	98-07-05 00:28:27 EDT

Site offers NASA moon data as soon as scientists see it
By: Bill Pietrucha
Newsbytes
07-04-1998
The domain name debate may have to begin considering adding ".pla" for planet to Internet 
addresses now that NASA's Lunar Prospector is beaming back continuous, real-time science 
data from the Moon. 

But until the Internet Society and other groups decide to tackle interplanetary Web sites, 
students and the general public will have to stay firma on terra and retrieve the data from 
the Prospector's Earth-bound Web site: 
"http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/" Lunar Prospector Homepage   http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov 

The lunar data stream, which has been visited more than 75 million times already, is the 
first time science data and spacecraft telemetry information on the Internet is being sent 
back in real-time from a space mission orbiting another planetary body</B>, Deputy Lunar 
Prospector Mission Manager Sylvia Cox said. 

"For most past missions, data belonged to the principal investigator for up to a year or two 
before being released," Cox, from NASA's Ames Research Centre, said. "Now, with Prospector 
and many other new missions, we are releasing data at the same time the scientists see it." 

Cox said that the Website audience is viewing actual data coming from the Moon-orbiting 
spacecraft, along with NASA documentaries, short video clips, and hundreds of thousands of 
archived Moon pictures from all previous lunar missions. 

The Lunar Prospector is orbiting 63 miles above the lunar surface on a year-long mission that 
began last January.  The compact spacecraft is mapping the surface composition, internal 
structure and volatile activity of the Moon, as well as its magnetic and gravity fields. 

Roger Smith, the Lunar Prospector Webmaster at Ames, said that to view the data, a Web user 
should select the "DATAVIZ" button on the Web site and then click on "Science Data." 

After following directions, users can see spacecraft data in computer "windows" that remain 
visible even while other windows are open. By clicking on the "Location/Position" link, users 
can see archived pictures that represent the Moon's surface immediately below the space 
vehicle. 

The Internet audience can also see graphical satellite instrument readings indicating 
spacecraft health, including antenna, battery, thruster and fuel-tank readouts. 

The site can handle more than 100 million computer "hits" daily.