The spacecraft that ferried India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander-rover duo to the moon has returned home — sort of. In a surprise announcement on Monday (Dec. 4), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it had moved Chandrayaan-3‘s propulsion module out of lunar orbit and placed it high above Earth for a bonus mission, where it now survives on leftover fuel. The new experiment will demonstrate technologies that will help Indian scientists bring samples from the moon to Earth someday, ISRO said. The propulsion module, a box-shaped component of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft…
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Artemis 2 moon astronauts autograph their own rocket 1 year before launch
The next four moon astronauts signed their names Monday (Nov. 27) on a rocket piece that will send them to lunar realms in late 2024, only one year from now. The Artemis 2 crew, amid moon training, put their signatures on the adapter for their Orion spacecraft, which will be mounted on top of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The four astronauts, clad in cleanroom wear, did the ceremonial activity at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The adapter will sit just underneath the astronauts’ Orion…
Read MoreScientists suspect there’s ice hiding on the Moon, and a host of missions from the US and beyond are searching for it
Building a space station on the Moon might seem like something out of a science fiction movie, but each new lunar mission is bringing that idea closer to reality. Scientists are homing in on potential lunar ice reservoirs in permanently shadowed regions, or PSRs. These are key to setting up any sort of sustainable lunar infrastructure. In late August 2023, India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the lunar surface in the south polar region, which scientists suspect may harbor ice. This landing marked a significant milestone not only for India but for the…
Read MoreScientists find hydrogen in Apollo moon rocks, suggesting astronauts can harvest lunar water
A fresh analysis of moon rocks brought home during the Apollo missions has, for the first time, revealed the presence of hydrogen. This finding suggests future astronauts could someday use water available right on the moon for life support and rocket fuel. Researchers with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), to whom NASA provided the lunar samples for a research study, announced last week that they discovered hydrogen in lunar soil sample 79221. The detected hydrogen is thought to have been brought into existence by incessant showers of solar wind,…
Read MoreRogue rocket that slammed into the moon last year confirmed to be Chinese vehicle
The case of the mysterious moon crash is now conclusively closed, a new study reports. On March 4, 2022, a rocket body slammed into the moon’s far side, blasting out a weird double crater about 95 feet (29 meters) wide. The crash did not come as a surprise; astronomers had been tracking the rogue rocket for weeks and predicted, with impressive accuracy, where and when it would slam into the lunar surface. The mystery involved the identity of the impactor, which astronomers designated WE0913A. Initial observations suggested it might be…
Read More‘Lunar swirls’ have confused scientists for years. New NASA moon data might clear things up
Swirls across the lunar surface are connected to changes in the moon’s physical features after all, new observations from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have revealed. Lunar swirls are twisted-looking patches on the moon that shine brightly because they reflect high levels of sunlight. Because the amount of sunlight reflected back to space by a body is called its “albedo,” these swirls are often referred to as being “high albedo.” The swirls are marked by contrasting bright and dark imprints on the lunar surface, expressed as broad, bright loops separated…
Read MoreWatch NASA build Artemis 2 astronaut moon rocket boosters ahead of 2024 launch (video)
A new timelapse shows a moon rocket for astronauts under construction at NASA, ahead of the 2024 launch. The twin rocket boosters for Artemis 2 will add oomph to NASA‘s powerful Space Launch System rocket, which will launch four astronauts on a mission to the moon in 2024. Each Northrop Grumman-made solid rocket booster weighs 1.6 million pounds (720,000 kg), which NASA officials have said is the equivalent mass of four blue whales. The massive boosters arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by train in early October, following construction…
Read MoreAstronaut Callie Rodriguez helps deploy a lunar telescope in NASA’s new online graphic novel
NASA aims to inspire future space explorers in fresh and innovative ways. Case in point: Fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez advances her outer space exploration mission as the first woman to step onto the moon in a brand-new issue of NASA’s “First Woman” digital graphic novel series, “First Woman: Expanding our Universe.” In this second installment, available now at the “First Woman” website, readers will discover how Callie and her fellow astronauts work together as a unit to overcome various obstacles while trying to install a next-generation telescope on the far…
Read MoreFull Hunter’s Moon puts on a spooky display today with partial lunar eclipse
The moon will put on a spectacularly spooky show for trick-or-treaters this weekend as the full Hunter’s Moon experiences a partial lunar eclipse. The partial lunar eclipse will be visible to observers in Africa, Europe, Asia, and parts of Western Australia. It will begin at 2:01 p.m. EDT (1801 GMT) on Oct. 28 and you can watch the action unfold live here on Space.com beginning at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT). Our guide to what time the Oct. 28 lunar eclipse occurs has more details on when to look up.…
Read MoreThe moon will match up with Jupiter on Oct. 28
The two most brilliant objects in the night sky will make an eye-catching duo on Saturday (Oct. 28). Looking low to the east-northeast around 7 p.m. local daylight time, you’ll see the Hunter’s full moon of October. Sitting about 4.5 degrees to the lower left of the moon will be the lordly light belonging to the largest planet in our solar system: Jupiter. Your clenched fist held at arm’s length measures roughly 10 degrees, so the moon and Jupiter will be separated by about half a fist.f you stay up…
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