Tag: The moon

NASA is seeking the public’s help for innovative solutions to help Artemis astronauts navigate in and around the lunar south pole. The Artemis program aims to land humans on the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions managed to achieve the feat over 50 years ago. Astronauts will land near the lunar south pole, where permanently shadowed regions may contain areas of water ice that could be accessed to support future missions to Mars. The Lunar Navigation Challenge, which officially opened on Sept. 4, seeks ideas for a…

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It is easy to imagine the moon as an atmosphere-less hunk of rock orbiting Earth. However, while lacking breathable air, our planet’s loyal natural satellite companion does have a thin and wispy atmosphere.  Scientists have long puzzled over the existence of this tenuous atmosphere or “exosphere” and have searched for the main process that sustains it, but new research indicates that this tenuous lunar atmosphere or “exosphere” owes its existence to renewal and replenishment caused by the violent bombardment of space rocks upon the moon.  The team behind the research…

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Could the moon soon be home to frozen biological samples of Earth’s endangered creatures? New research suggests scientists could use naturally occurring lunar cold spots, some of which haven’t seen sunlight for billions of years, to do just this. Recent studies have shown that as many as 8 million species exist on Earth, and over 1 million of these are under threat of extinction. Worryingly, this estimate could be the tip of the iceberg, as there could be many species that could become extinct before they have even been identified.…

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An autonomous, robotic hydraulic excavator could build a dry stone wall to act as a blast shield around a launch pad on the moon, propose a team of Swiss researchers. The excavator would make use of in situ materials (rather than the costly practice of transporting building material from Earth to the moon), collecting rocks on the lunar surface for use in a ringed wall with a radius of between 50 and 100 meters (164 to 328 feet). “The robot would be used to both collect the boulders as well…

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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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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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