Tag: The moon

What happened when the moon ‘turned itself inside out’ billions of years ago?

NeRD

Over 4.2 billion years ago, the moon turned itself inside out to create the lunar surface that has become familiar to humanity.  Most scientists would agree the moon was created around 4.5 billion years ago, when another massive body in the solar system smashed into Earth, flinging molten material into space that coalesced as our natural satellite. How the birth of the moon proceeded after this violent start, however, has been described as “more of a choose-your-own-adventure novel” by a team of scientists from the University of Arizona’s Lunar and…

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Astronomers call for radio silence on the far side of the moon

NeRD

There’s a growing and passionate call for preserving radio silence on the far side of the moon. A first-of-its-kind international symposium is being held this week, turning up the volume to mull over the prospect of protecting real estate on the moon’s far side exclusively for dedicated scientific purposes. Despite the moon being surrounding by a vacuum, there’s an air of urgency to the meeting.  Held under the auspices of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the first IAA Moon Farside Protection Symposium is taking place March 21-22 in Turin,…

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DARPA picks Northrop Grumman to develop ‘lunar raiload’ concept

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Railroads could open the moon to serious and sustained economic development, as they did in the American West in the late 19th century. That’s apparently the hope of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is supporting the development of a “lunar railroad” concept proposed by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman. “The envisioned lunar railroad network could transport humans, supplies and resources for commercial ventures across the lunar surface, contributing to a space economy for the United States and international partners,” Northrop Grumman representatives wrote in a press statement…

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The next chapter of lunar exploration could forever change the moon — and our relationship to it (op-ed)

NeRD

Aparna Venkatesan is an astronomer and dark-sky advocate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University of San Francisco. John Barentine is an astronomer, historian, author, science communicator, and founder of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC. For as long as there have been humans, the moon has been a calendar, ancestor, ritual, inspiration, and origin story for humanity. Its monthly and subtler generational cycles have been — and are still — painstakingly recorded and celebrated by cultures around the world since prehistoric times.  These recurring sequences include the “major lunar…

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NASA taps Nikon cameras to help Artemis astronauts photograph the moon

NeRD

When the Apollo astronauts snapped some 18,000 photographs on the moon in the 1960s, they did so with some very 1960s camera technology. Lacking viewfinders, the astronauts had to attach their cameras to their spacesuits’ chests. Reliant on photographic film, the astronauts needed separate equipment entirely to capture video. If all goes to plan, Artemis astronauts will soon be taking their own trips to the moon. As such, NASA plans to equip them with some very 2020s camera technology — and the space agency will do so with the help…

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Could tardigrades have colonized the moon?

NeRD

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Laurent Palka is a microbiologist at France’s National Museum of Natural History. Just over five years ago, on 22 February 2019, an unmanned space probe was placed in orbit around the Moon. Named Beresheet and built by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, it was intended to be the first private spacecraft to perform a soft landing. Among the probe’s payload were tardigrades, renowed for their ability to survive in even the harshest climates.…

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Private Odysseus moon lander broke a leg during historic touchdown. ‘He’s a scrappy little dude.’ (new photos)

NeRD

Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus moon lander overcame a number of hurdles during its epic touchdown last week, including one or more broken legs. The 14-foot-tall (4.3 meters) Odysseus settled onto the gray dirt near the moon‘s south pole on Thursday (Feb. 22), pulling off the first American lunar landing since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. But Odysseus’ touchdown was a bit rough. Thanks to an issue with its navigation equipment, the six-legged lander came down faster than expected, onto a patch of lunar ground that was higher in elevation than…

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Intuitive Machines’ historic moon landing builds momentum for Artemis, astronaut Tracy C. Dyson says (exclusive)

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NASA sees an even brighter future for its human moon-landing program after a private robotic mission safely touched down last week. Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson says NASA‘s Artemis program, which aims to put boots on the moon as soon as 2026, is getting “momentum” from the private Intuitive Machines landing. That mission, known as IM-1, made the first soft U.S. lunar touchdown in 52 years this past Thursday (Feb. 22). “It means we can do it,” Dyson told Space.com Monday (Feb. 26) in an exclusive interview before she returns to…

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President Biden congratulates Intuitive Machines on historic moon landing

NeRD

The company that pulled off the first American moon landing in more than half a century just got a shout-out from the country’s commander in chief. U.S. President Joe Biden congratulated Intuitive Machines on the historic touchdown of its Odysseus moon lander, which occurred on Thursday (Feb. 22) near the lunar south pole. The landing was “a thrilling step forward in a new era of space exploration,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday (Feb. 24).  “I congratulate the Intuitive Machines team who successfully landed Odysseus,…

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Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander is aiming for a crater near the moon’s south pole. Here’s why

NeRD

Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus mission is targeting touch down near the moon’s south pole this week for a historic lunar landing.  The Nova-C lunar lander, named Odysseus, was built by the Houston-based company Intuitive Machines and launched to the moon atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 15 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, known as IM-1, is scheduled to touchdown on the moon on Thursday (Feb. 22), at 5:49 p.m. EST (2249 GMT) in a region near the lunar south pole. If all goes according to…

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