Items tagged with lunar
Firefly has announced that its "Blue Ghost" spacecraft has captured a stunning video showing the dark side of the moon while it was preparing to land on the lunar surface. Firefly is one of the private companies selected via NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, the purpose of which is to transport...
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Chinese researchers have had their first look at rock samples brought back from the far side of the Moon by its Chang’e-6 mission. The mission was China’s second excursion to the Moon’s far side, after the Chang’e-4 mission in 2019.
The Chang’e-6 spacecraft landed on the Moon’s far side in June of this year, touching...
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Ever since William Gibson's Neuromancer, thousands or even millions of nerds worldwide have fantasized about the idea of the 'deck', or 'cyberdeck' as it has been known in later cyberpunk fiction. The idea is that of a portable computer, but not like a laptop—more akin to something like a condensed Commodore 64, with...
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As NASA and other space agencies continue working toward sedning humans back to the moon, the agency’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) program is leading efforts to create a coordinated lunar time standard. The goal is to enable a future lunar ecosystem that could be scalable to other locations in our solar...
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China launched its Chang’e-6 mission, which is headed to the far side of the Moon. The probe onboard the rocket is expected to return up to two kilograms of lunar soil samples to Earth.
Until now, China has focused on bringing soil samples from the Moon back to Earth with previous missions. Chang’e-6, however, will...
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NASA utilized cameras on two separate lunar orbiters to produce a stunning image of the Moon's darkened South Pole region. The mosaic was created using imagery from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LROC) and NASA's ShadowCam onboard the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO).
As NASA prepares to send humans back...
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NASA is preparing to send a trio of miniature rovers to the Moon in order to test how well they can cooperate with one another with little to no direct input from mission controllers back on Earth. The Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration (CADRE) program looks to make future missions to the moon more...
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Chinese scientists discuss the best method for building a moon base at the first-ever Extraterrestrial Construction Conference. Topics ranged from how to build basic infrastructure on the surface of the moon, to ways of simulating the lunar environment here on Earth.
The conference at Huazhong University of Science...
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April's full moon is set to fill the night sky on Wednesday, April 5, reaching peak illumination around 12:35am EDT on April 6, 2023. Tonight's Pink Moon is also known as the Paschal Full Moon, or the first full Moon of the spring season.
Contrary to its name, tonight's full Moon will not appear pink in the night...
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NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE) are teaming up to develop a science instrument that can survive the harsh climates of the dark side of the Moon. The instrument, called the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment - Night (LuSEE-Night), will attempt first-of-its-kind measurements of the Dark Ages of the...
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Blue Origin recently shared Blue Alchemist, which it believes can safely provide unlimited solar power wherever it is needed on the moon. The concept utilizes a process known as molten regolith electrolysis and has a very useful byproduct.
The space company says it has been making solar cells and transmission wire...
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The race to get humans back to the Moon, and eventually, Mars has led to a precarious situation concerning the new frontier of space real estate. This has some concerned that it could lead to future tensions between Earth's superpowers, and possibly end in war.
Some will remember the first race to the Moon between...
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The first image from ShadowCam reveals the permanently shadowed wall and floor of Shackleton crater in incredible, never before seen detail. NASA-funded ShadowCam is one of six instruments onboard the Korean Aerospace Research Institute's Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter.
The poles of the Moon are in a perpetual state of...
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Chinese researchers believe they have discovered the origins of water in lunar soils. The team published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).
A joint research team from the National Space Science Center (NSSC) and the Institute of Geology and...
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China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe has discovered a new mineral and confirmed the moon's surface contains a key ingredient for nuclear fusion. The People's Daily, China, posted a tweet sharing the news concerning the find of the mineral, called Changesite-(Y) last week.
In the tweet, it states China is the third country...
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People around the world were privy to a gorgeous Harvest Moon over the weekend. Unlike other full moons, the Harvest full Moon rises into the night sky around the same time for several evenings in a row.
The Moon has been in the headlines in the recent weeks, as NASA has unsuccessfully attempted to launch its first...
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Scientists at the University of Florida (UF) have been able to grow plants in soil from the moon for the first time ever. This milestone in lunar and space exploration could prove vital as we look to travel to the moon and beyond.
UF researchers have shown that plants can successfully be grown in lunar soil...
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A lunar eclipse will occur on May 15-16, as the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth's shadow. Some will be privy to a total eclipse, which is often referred to as a Blood Moon due to its reddish hue.
If you are wanting to view the upcoming lunar eclipse, you do not need to worry about...
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A 3 ton (2.7 metric tons) upper stage of a rocket has presumably impacted the far-side of the moon today. Not that we got to witness the event, but the space junk was expected to make impact on the lunar far side equator at Hertzsprung crater at 7:25am EST.
The discarded upper stage of a rocket that is believed to...
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NASA's Artemis 1 mission is nearing launch, and you can hitch a ride for free a trip around the Moon. Well, your name can at least.
The Artemis program looks to return human boots back to the surface of the Moon, and eventually even further into space. Future missions will include the first person of color and...
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China's Yutu-2 lunar rover detected two distinct glass globules on the far side of the Moon. Discoveries like this could hold information about the Moon's history.
The spherules were spotted by the lunar rover's panoramic camera as they twinkled like stars on the dry, dusty surface of the Moon. While the rover was...
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NASA is looking into using nuclear fission to power a lunar base and future spacecraft to travel to Mars and beyond. If you happen to be good at nuclear fission, you also have an opportunity to score a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy for $5 million dollars.
It is no secret that NASA is working hard to...
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