Category: The Moon

Our moon

Curious asteroid Selam, spotted by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, is a cosmic toddler

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When NASA’s Lucy mission passed by the near-Earth asteroid Dinkinesh last November, it discovered that Dinkinesh had a companion — a little moonlet that astronomers soon named Selam. And now, scientists have measured Selam’s age. Their estimate suggests that tiny Selam separated from its larger partner Dinkinesh just 2 to 3 million years ago, making Selam a toddler — by solar system standards, of course. “Finding the ages of asteroids is important to understanding them, and this one is remarkably young when compared to the age of the solar system,…

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Astronauts on the moon could stay fit by running in a Wheel of Death

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Any human who spends enough time in a low-gravity environment — such as a future habitat on the moon — will experience bodily changes as their muscles atrophy, their bones lose mass and their control over their whole body itself declines. This is why astronauts who spend time beyond Earth’s atmosphere must exercise on their missions. Without physical fitness, they’ll struggle to function on even a basic level when they return to Earth’s gravity. Now, researchers from the University of Milan have devised a new form of exercise to keep…

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Watch live: China launching Chang’e 6 mission to far side of the moon early May 3 (video)

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China is set to launch its next robotic moon mission on Friday (May 3), and you can watch the action live. A Long March 5 rocket carrying the Chang’e 6 lunar far side sample return mission is scheduled to launch between 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 GMT) and 6:18 a.m. EDT (1018 GMT) on Friday. The mission will take off from China’s Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the tropical island province of Hainan, off the southeastern coast of mainland China. You can watch the action live here when the time comes,…

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Watch SpaceX’s Crew-8 astronauts move their Dragon at the ISS May 2 to make way for Boeing’s Starliner

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The four astronauts of SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission will move their Dragon capsule to a different port at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday morning (May 2), and you can watch the action live. The Dragon, named Endeavour, is scheduled to undock from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module on Thursday at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 GMT), then autonomously dock with Harmony’s space-facing port at 8:28 a.m. EDT (1228 GMT). You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA. Coverage will begin at 7:30 a.m. EDT…

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‘It almost feels unreal’: NASA astronauts excited for 1st crewed Boeing Starliner launch May 6

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Two NASA astronauts are days away from partaking in a new spacecraft’s first-ever human launch — if schedules hold, that is. Boeing Starliner‘s debut crew, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams, told reporters on Wednesday (May 1) that their test pilot experience with the U.S. Navy will help them assess the spacecraft during its debut crewed launch. Liftoff is currently set for Monday (May 6) at 10:34 p.m. EDT (0234 GMT May 7). The event will be livestreamed here at Space.com, via NASA Television. “It almost feels unreal,” Williams, who…

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NASA prepares for intense sun storms on Mars during ‘solar maximum’

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Two NASA spacecraft will pay special attention to increasing levels of radiation that bombard Mars during this year’s approaching solar maximum, to better prepare astronauts for future missions to the Red Planet.  Every 11 years or so, the sun experiences a peak in activity known as solar maximum, due to its strong and constantly shifting magnetic fields. During this period of the solar cycle, the frequency and intensity of sunspots on the solar surface increases, generating solar flares and coronal mass ejections that send powerful streams of solar radiation out…

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The highest observatory on Earth sits atop Chile’s Andes Mountains — and it’s finally open

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A new telescope billed as the world’s highest astronomical site is officially open for business. The Japanese University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, or TAO, which was first conceptualized 26 years ago to study the evolution of galaxies and exoplanets, is perched on top of a tall mountain in the Chilean Andes at 5,640 meters (18,500 feet) above sea level. The facility’s altitude surpasses even the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, which is at an elevation of 5,050 meters (16,570 feet).  TAO is located on the summit of Atacama’s Cerro Chajnantor mountain,…

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Satellite operator SES acquiring Intelsat in $3.1 billion deal

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SES plans to buy fellow satellite operator Intelsat, in a deal that could help the combined company compete with SpaceX’s huge Starlink broadband network. Luxembourg-based SES is acquiring Virginia-based multinational Intelsat for $3.1 billion in a deal that’s expected to close next year, the two companies announced today (April 30).  “In a fast-moving and competitive satellite communication industry, this transaction expands our multi-orbit space network, spectrum portfolio, ground infrastructure around the world, go-to-market capabilities, managed service solutions and financial profile,” SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said in a statement.  “I am…

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Einstein Probe X-ray telescope releases 1st images taken with ‘lobster vision’

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A joint Chinese and European X-ray telescope mission called Einstein Probe is successfully viewing the universe in widescreen, with a telescope design that mimics the eyes of lobsters. Einstein Probe, which launched on Jan. 9 aboard a Chinese Long March rocket, is currently undergoing testing and calibration of its instruments as it orbits the Earth at an altitude of 600 kilometers (373 miles). Its first observations were revealed at a symposium in Beijing. The problem with X-rays is that they are so high in energy that they are difficult to…

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Evidence for Planet 9 found in icy bodies sneaking past Neptune

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More evidence for a hypothetical extra planet lurking in the most distant reaches of our solar system has come to light — and the clues are associated with icy bodies that cross the orbit of Neptune while traversing  long, looping paths around the sun. Planet Nine, as the predicted planet is referred to, was first postulated in 2016 by Caltech’s Konstantin Batygin and Michael Brown, the latter having also discovered the dwarf planet Eris in 2005. Their original evidence predominantly focused on the clustering of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), which are…

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