Raytheon Tech Can Help NASA Track Astronauts, Put Robots On Moon

MOON DAILY

Illustration of the MicroLight Radio. Credit: Raytheon.

by Staff Writers
Marlborough MA (SPX) Nov 22, 2006
Raytheon, in partnership with Hamilton Sundstrand, successfully demonstrated the capabilities of its MicroLight(TM) networked, communications and navigation system at NASA's recent desert research and technical studies annual demonstration.

Raytheon's MicroLight radio provides voice, data and situational awareness information to all users on its network. One feature of the system enables each user on the network to know the location of other users at all times. As NASA sends its next generation of astronauts to the moon, along with their robot helpers, that capability will be vital.

Raytheon has a long history of supporting the military with the use of its battle-proven MicroLight and the radio's Enhanced Position Location Reporting System capabilities. Now, it hopes to transition that technology to space as NASA readies for future missions to the moon, Mars and beyond. Raytheon's partnership with NASA dates back to the Apollo missions when Raytheon provided solutions for the Saturn launch vehicle, lunar modules, and space suits.

"Leveraging our Department of Defense technologies to meet the mission of NASA is a natural extension of our integrated solutions," said Jerry Powlen, vice president, Raytheon Network Centric Systems' Integrated Communications Systems. "One of the clear benefits to NASA is minimal investment in new technology because these systems are proven and readily applied to space."

MOON DAILY

Genesis Findings Solve Apollo Lunar Soil Mystery

Pasadena CA (SPX) Nov 22, 2006
Ever since astronauts returned from another world, scientists have been mystified by some of the moon rocks they brought back. Now one of the mysteries has been solved. "We learned a great deal about the sun by going to the moon," said Don Burnett, Genesis principal investigator at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. "Now, with our Genesis data, we are turning the tables, using the solar wind to better understand lunar processes."

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