NASA has announced that it is delaying a series of planned, unmanned launches of lunar scouting vessels.  The craft were planned to find sites for a manned landing in 2020.

The original launch date for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was early December.  The next launch window opens up late in February of 2009.  The two month delay will cost NASA about $7 million.  The LRO is designed to orbit the lunar poles for at least a year.  The craft will take detailed, high-resolution images of the lunar surface which will be used to scout landing sites for manned missions.  The mission will also include an impact probe which will crash into the surface of one of the poles in an effort to find signs of water.

In a somewhat surprising announcement, the NASA team monitoring the Mars Phoenix Lander has announced the identification of perchlorate in Martian soil.  The compound, which contains oxygen and chlorine, is found in soil on Earth; the best known location is in the high Chilean Atacama desert.  Despite its inhospitable climate, scientists have found bacterial life in this Chilean outpost.

The most obvious candidate for the source of the perchlorate compound is the Lander itself.  Perchlorates, which can be explosive under certain circumstances, are found in some rocket fuels.  Contamination from the Lander itself is considered unlikely by the Mars team, which means that perchlorate is indigenous to the Red Planet.  Perchlorates tend to be stable under most conditions in soil.  Of course, the big question is how did perchlorate compounds originate on Mars.  This topic should create some interesting and even heated discussions among scientists.

Cherokee Pharmaceuticals Profile

Cherokee Pharmaceuticals is an API small molecule contract manufacturer based in Riverside in the heart of Pennsylvania.  The company specializes in route-scouting, process development, optimization, scale-up and validation together with cGMP production of phase one clinical material through commercial supply.  With a dedicated project manager coordinating all activities, including technical transfer, material is delivered in specification and on time.  Cherokee Pharmaceuticals also offers complete analytical support including method development, transfer and validation.  The company boasts a sixty-year history in pharmaceutical development and production, specializing in complex, multi-step processes.  Cherokee Pharmaceuticals is a reliable and responsive partner.

Cherokee Pharmaceuticals serves emerging and legacy small molecule pharmaceutical companies world-wide.  While our major focus has been the US domestic market, our central Pennsylvania manufacturing campus benefits from its designation by the US government as a foreign trade zone.  This designation facilitates the easy movement of certain products into and out of the USA, allowing us to offer seamless service to pharmaceutical companies throughout the world.

With over sixty years of service as a dedicated production plant for a major US pharmaceutical company, the newly formed Cherokee Pharmaceuticals can easily handle demanding chemistry with a time-challenged delivery schedule.  We have unique experience in rapidly improving and running complex chemical processes.  Cherokee has dealt with all major chemistries and has unparalleled experience in working with anti-infectives, including anti-viral compounds, and oncology products.  We boast world-class regulatory support and full, in-house analytical support for any project.