Category: The Moon

Our moon

Mercury has a layer of diamond 10 miles thick, NASA spacecraft finds

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The solar system’s tiniest planet may be hiding a big secret. Using data from NASA‘s MESSENGER spacecraft, scientists have determined that a 10-mile-thick diamond mantle may lie beneath the crust of Mercury, the closest planet to the sun.  Mercury has long puzzled scientists as it possesses many qualities that aren’t common to other solar system planets. These include its very dark surface, remarkably dense core, and the premature end of Mercury’s volcanic era.  Also among these puzzles are patches of graphite, a type (or “allotrope”) of carbon on the surface…

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SpaceX makes Starlink Roam available throughout the US

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Your internet connection today is brought to you by space. No, that’s not an ad from a science fiction movie; it’s the reality now thanks to SpaceX‘s ever-growing constellation of Starlink satellites. In June, SpaceX introduced its new version of its satellite internet antenna, providing users the option to have an on the go service that’s the perfect size to throw in your backpack. Now, Starlink Roam is available anywhere across the United States, connecting customers in even the most remote locations with high-speed internet that can be accessed from…

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SpaceX wins $113 million contract to launch advanced NOAA climate satellite

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SpaceX just added another mission to its already crowded launch manifest. Elon Musk‘s company won the launch contract for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) JPSS-4 satellite. If all goes according to plan, JPSS-4 will lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2027. The firm, fixed-price contract is worth $112.7 million, “which includes launch services and other mission-related costs,” NASA officials wrote in an update on Monday (July 22).  The JPSS (“Joint Polar Satellite System”) program is a cooperative effort of…

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Alien weather report: James Webb Space Telescope detects hot, sandy wind on 2 brown dwarfs

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The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has discovered stormy weather in the sky of two brown dwarfs in the most detailed weather report yet from such “failed stars.” The two brown dwarfs form a binary pair called WISE 1049AB that was discovered by NASA‘s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in 2013; the duo sits just 6.5 light-years away from us. They are the closest brown dwarfs to our sun, and thus make an excellent target for the James Webb Space Telescope‘s powerful infrared instruments. A brown dwarf is an object…

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Europe on the moon: ESA targeting 2031 for 1st ‘Argonaut’ lunar lander mission

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A European moon lander being developed to provide the continent autonomous access to the moon is targeted to launch in 2031, according to a development call published last week by the European Space Agency (ESA).  The robotic lander, called Argonaut, is expected to lift off on an Ariane 6 rocket, which after a long series of delays made its debut flight on July 9.  ESA wants Argonaut to perform multiple deliveries of cargo and science instruments to the moon. The lander will be capable of ferrying up to 4,600 pounds…

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‘A dark day for lunar science:’ Scientists shocked as NASA cancels VIPER moon rover

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It is a classic wait-a-minute Moon moment. The message from NASA last week: “NASA Ends VIPER Project, Continues Moon Exploration.” The space agency’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project had undergone a comprehensive internal review. NASA found price tag sticker shock, delays to the launch date, and risk of future cost growth – reasons to “stand down” the lunar ice-hound mission.  Some disassembly required At this point in time, NASA had put in $450 million into VIPER. NASA said it’s planning to disassemble and reuse VIPER’s instruments and components…

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Who are the sisters of the Bene Gesserit in the new ‘Dune: Prophecy’ trailer? (video)

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Dune: Prophecy | Official Teaser 2 – Control | Max – YouTube Watch On Previously announced back in May as a 6-episode “Dune” prequel series destined for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming platform, “Dune: Prophecy” has been rebranded for HBO airing and a new release window was just announced alongside a “Game of Thrones”-ish teaser loaded with a spice-hauler of fresh intense footage. This backstory spinoff show will land sometime in November of 2024 and was adapted from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s 2012 “Dune” novel, “Sisterhood of Dune.” It’s…

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Explore an Apollo-era mission gone wrong in sci-fi mystery game ‘Lifeless Moon’ (video)

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Lifeless Moon – Launch Trailer – YouTube Watch On With an eerie “The Twilight Zone” vibe and surreal cosmic elements, Stage 2 Studios and Serenity Forge’s sci-fi video game called “Lifeless Moon” has arrived and we’ve got the odd launch trailer to share that highlights its immersive old-school storyline. It’s appears to be a trippy 3D action adventure release designed with platform stages that combine logic and puzzle-solving skills, where a pair of Apollo-era astronauts encounter a strangely familiar desert town during a dream-like expedition to the Moon.  “Lifeless Moon”…

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Signs of life could survive on solar system moons Enceladus and Europa

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If life exists on the icy ocean moons of Enceladus and Europa, detectable trace molecules could survive just below their frozen surfaces.  Scientists have long theorized that both Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 146 known moons, and Europa, one of Jupiter‘s four large Galilean moons among its total 95 moons, could host vast liquid water oceans that harbor life. If this is the case, then complex organic molecules like amino acids and nucleic acids, the building blocks of life as we know it, could serve as “biosignatures” of life on the…

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New ‘Star Trek’ novel calls back Dr. Gillian Taylor of ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home’

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New York Times bestselling novelist Greg Cox is a household name within the Trekkie literary community who’s penned dozens of “Star Trek” universe novels and short stories over the years. Now he’s back with “Star Trek: The Original Series: Lost to Eternity,” a new 400-page trifecta of “Star Trek” movie-era tales arriving July 23, 2024, tied together with the common theme of an ancient extraterrestrial civilization and the reappearance of a fan favorite character from “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.” Remember the sassy, pizza loving whale biologist named Dr.…

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